B&W Speakers question

[randomfeaturezero]

Hi

If you could buy B&W 602 s3 's for around £300 mint (used) , would you? Or would you save the rest required for the 685s2 brand new? (£500)What would be the benefits and disadvantages, what outweighs the extra cost, if anything, or indeed, would it be true to say there's not much difference and both are great speakers, or not.. or even as I read somewhere else, could the 602s actually be better at imaging, etc?

Any thoughts

Thanks

 

[hybridauth_Facebook_100004211376004]

Don't discount the original 685's.they are great speakers if you can find a s/h pair.I was very underwhelmed when auditioning the 685 s2 with a friend,they sounded very agricultural to my mind with not much in the way of refinement and the build quality (compared to the 685)wasn't up to much . Although the ones for demo use were white and a bit tacky looking to me.we moved on to some cm1's and they were very good and that's where my money would go,but if you don't mind going second hand and are set on b&w's,you should take a look at some cm5's . they are in a different league to the speakers you mention and can be found at attractive prices on the well known auction site.what amp are you using?

 

[grimharry]

If the sq is poor how did it get rated as best stand mount under £800. Which is a bit of worry because I thinking of buying a pair.

 

[Al ears]

If the sq is poor how did it get rated as best stand mount under £800. Which is a bit of worry because I thinking of buying a pair.

I don't think he meant that SQ was poor just that he didn't like it where he heard it. This is another reason foor always attempting a home audition, particularly when it comes to speakers as these can often sound rather different when ideally positioned in a home set-up compared to poorly placed in a dealers shop. Again everyones hearing is slightly different as is equipment and listening room environment so taking other peoples impressions to heart is maybe not the best thing to do.

FWIW, I had a pair of the original 685's and they suited my purposes very well performing very nicely even when positioned close to a rear wall in, what I would consider to be, a small room.

 

[hybridauth_Facebook_100004211376004]

I never said s/q was poor,but for £500 there are better speakers out there and don't believe everything you read in whf . it's taken me 20 years to realise this.

 

[randomfeaturezero]

OK so I'll explain. I have a Cyrus 6 XP D amplifier. I certainly don't agree with everything What Hifi suggest, as someone else pointed out in this conversation, but I am looking for speakers a tad meatier and more refined than my Dali Zensor 1s, to complement the Cyrus and to be honest I am doing the research first simply because here on the Isle of Wight there is no real hifi vendor to speak of, so by the time Ive run in any item and it's too late to take it back..... you can see what I'm getting at. Sending hifi back from here is a nightmare. So I am trying to add a bit of density and dare I say it bass to the Cyrus and I was basing the B&W speaker prices on something I had read saying the old sets were as good as the new ones. As you might guess I would prefer to spend £300 on an offer or second hand, than £500. I read a lot of people saying that for bass punch I should go straight to the Zensor 3 from my Zensor 1 - I know its a sound I can get on with plus I'd be getting the extra bass. THEN I started thinking, there's got to be something better in the sub £500 market. Hence me looking on EBAY after reading the recent B&W review. edit : [although plenty of people saying the Zensor 3 out-class even the B&W even at £200 less! ? ]About the only other thing to note is that I simply can't see how speakers worth less than £500 as new, would get the best out of my amp, which origianlly retailed at £925!! But I'm on a serious budget. Almost went for some s/h Dynaudio Excite 12, but read they don't like to be pushed near a wall (mine need to be).

I'm happy with the Cyrus. I just think the Zensor 1s are a bit soft / unrefined and I could do better. I don't even think I really need more bass, just more 'oomph' and 'class'..

Any other ideas still welcome!

 

[grimharry]

Funnily enough I live on the island and understand that it's a bit difficult to demo things. island camera has 685 s2's you could try through the kandy k2.

 

[randomfeaturezero]

Hey grimharry, thanks for that very valid/useful suggestion! (about them having those speakers specifically) I will bear that in mind next time I'm in Newport. Cheers

 

[grimharry]

Every one thinks the island is a wonderful place but getting thingsover here is a pain in the proverbial, roll on the fixed link

 

[randomfeaturezero]

Which other speakers should I consider for £300 to £500 second hand? Any gems I don't know about that I should watch out for?

 

[stavvy]

£300 seems a tad steep for 602s. I've seen quite a few pairs of 685 s1's go for sub £300 on ebay

 

[Blacksabbath25]

I never said s/q was poor,but for £500 there are better speakers out there and don't believe everything you read in whf . it's taken me 20 years to realise this.

lol same here my friend i used to believe everything that what hi fi magazine said too but not now but been buying this magazine from 1988 -89 when i started to get it ... but anyway i was looking at the B&Ws too the 685 s2 they are meant to be more refined going by what the magazine says about them but not sure what difference there are with sound quality with new and old model the new ones the only difference i see is the top tweeters they got new grills on the tweeters as the old ones used to get dented easily but would be interesting to find out if they sound any better then the old model .

 

[Blacksabbath25]

£300 seems a tad steep for 602s. I've seen quite a few pairs of 685 s1's go for sub £300 on ebay

yes been looking myself at the old ones but new ones are around £500 to buy new but there are lots of the older model mint on ebay

 

[hybridauth_Facebook_100004211376004]

My post was a bit brash earlier,my apologies.I think if you keep an eye on the bay.you might be able at some point (within your budget)find a wee pair of pmc db1i's which I have heard suit the little cyrus quite well.these diminutive little boxes can really rock out.If there anything like my twenty 21's you might be amazed.

 

[grimharry]

May not be any use but 2 pairs of 686 on wightbay most expensive pair £250

 

[Blacksabbath25]

My post was a bit brash earlier,my apologies.I think if you keep an eye on the bay.you might be able at some point (within your budget)find a wee pair of pmc db1i's which I have heard suit the little cyrus quite well.these diminutive little boxes can really rock out.If there anything like my twenty 21's you might be amazed.

yes i would agree with you on the 21's pmc speakers i had a demo on them and i was amazed what big sound they knocked out so i am saving for a pair of 21s myself now i did see the set on ebay but was put off with the bad feedback this chap had so i will get myself some new ones .

 

[NS496]

I have both the original and S2 685's although in different setups, but there is not much difference I feel. They both deliver a fairly 'big sound' for their 'bookshelf' dimensions. With small kids around the protected tweeter is a bonus on S2. S2 appears to have lower sensitivity to Original and therefor slightly harder to drive I guess. They respond well to better poweramps, even so, my little NAD D3020 (30 wpc) gets them going loud in a smaller room - pretty impressive actually. They are versatile speakers, the proverbial 'workhorses' of my hifi setup.

 

[rainsoothe]

Hi. Fwiw, I think B&W aren't what you're looking for, because if I understand correctly, Cyrus gear is pretty attacking. Imo you should look at Dynaudio dm 2/7 or, if you can find a cheap pair, Wharfedale Jade standmounts. Maybe Monitor Audio Silver 2 for a smooth presentation.