B&W DM603 S3 modern equivalent

[mr.x]

Hello, Years ago my friend own pair of DM603. I was fascinated how good and rich they sound. I'm do not know much at all about speakers, amplifiers in genaral but I do know one thing - I really like how they sound. I've tried to find these for sale but they seem to be rare these days. What speakers could I look at to find similar sound profile to these speakers? Thanks for any advices.

Best regards,

A.

 

[rainsoothe]

Hi. What's the rest of your system and room size? What kind of music do you listen to? And, above all, what's your budget?

 

[mr.x]

I'm in the process of assembling the setup that would reproduce the sound of DM603 S3. I think they were powered with Onkyo and Cambridge Audio in medium to large room. The budget if flexible and undefined to some extent - not looking at top of the range products also. The main question is to people who had 603s in the past and they could compare them to widely available speakers.

 

[plastic penguin]

I heard the 603s years ago at Unilet. Can't remember much about them other than the bass was quite flabby (they were powered at the time by an entry-level Rotel amp RA-02 I think).

I would suggest you dem some MA Silver range or perhaps Focal 714V - or even B&W 683. They won't sound the same but they do share similar traits, as in big bass. But these modern versions will have tauter LFs.

 

[rainsoothe]

I used to own the standmounters in that range - the 602 s3. If you have the room to accommodate them, the 683 s2 should be what you want, as they're the 603's modern counterpart. Audition them with an Arcam A29 or A39, Rotel RA1570 or RA1592.

But be advised, the B&W 683 s2 (and most floorstanders, really) do need quite some room around them, so maybe standmounts are to be considered.

 

[rainsoothe]

Oh, Marantz pm8005 is also worth considering with them B&Ws.

 

[mr.x]

Thank you. I'll do my best to check out the recommended configurations. Much appreciated.

 

[lindsayt]

There are plenty of DM603's on UK ebay at the moment.

If you're going to buy a speaker of this genre, you might as well keep the cost down to a couple of hundred quid.