First post here in quite awhile, but I hope this is helpful to someone.
I don't know about you, but I am a little suspicious when WHF reviews the big brands. B&W have won quite a haul of awards around here over the years, and even though I have nothing against the brand, I have never truly loved their products the way some people do. I always considered them reliable and high quality, but I never really warmed to their sound. I tend to like paper drivers and soft dome tweeters, and their preference for woven cones and metallic domes was just never my thing. Once we hit the streaming and docking era, the company's focus on these kinds of consumer products further dented their reputation in the mind of THIS hi fi snob. It's not like any human could ever afford the 800 series anyway, sniff.
Once I became obsessed with speaker building, I became further ensconced in my snobbery. Mass produced speakers have cheap drivers, poorly damped cabinets, and most of all, crappy crossover components. How else to sell a pair of speakers for under $1000 and make any money? Your component cost needs to be 10-15% of that - how good can each little detail really afford to be?
Then I found myself needing to replace my son's stereo speakers. He had been using a pair of first generation Roth Audio RA2s, which he loved, and which I destroyed while testing a new sound system that I built for the kitchen (don't ask, yes in the end it sounded great, and yeah my wife is cool). We have moved to the States, so another pair of Roths was not really an option. I was in the middle of the other project and had just melted his speakers, so telling him I would be spending 6 months (and likely a lot of cash) building him a set of speakers for his bedroom was not really going to fly either. And I did not have the bandwidth to do a huge amount of auditioning. I needed to buy him some speakers, and they needed to be good (because the ones I killed were good, and I wanted these to be an upgrade, since he was pissed).
There were a number of reasons I chose the 607s: very solid reviews and awards, a dealer who would take them back no questions asked if we weren't thrilled, the good reputation of the big company, etc. But these were 40% over my budget of $500 USD, and of course you could argue that that 40% was going towards having them imported, not towards better speakers. The thing that made me give it a go, actually, was B&W's insistence that they had paid extra attention to the Anniversary Edition crossover components, using some of the same components (sourced from Mundorf, which to us speaker geeks means a lot) that they used in the new 800 series. NOBODY in the sub-$1000 sector even wants to discuss their crossover components, not to mention tries to source name-brand capacitors! This little nugget of marketing was blindingly effective when deployed against yours truly, and that, combined with liking the looks of the updated, polypropylene midbass driver, somehow convinced me to spend extra to bring them home.
I know I'm a speaker geek and everything, and there aren't any Danish drivers in the things, but since this is getting long I will get to the point: These speakers are stunningly good. Like - I can't believe how good. The soundstage is sharp and wide, and there are hints of dynamism that belie their size. Like St. Nick, they are lively and quick. But what makes them so stunning is the lack of grain. At this price, I didn't think it was possible. The extra attention that was paid to the crossover, in my opinion, has paid off here - upper female voices, horns, and harmonica have a clarity and organic timbre that you just don't get at this price. I am beyond blown away - these are hands down the best bookshelf-style speakers under $1000 that I have heard.
Don't get unrealistic expectations: They are small. Because of this, they can only go so loud and still sound natural. This is physics - it can't be avoided if you want any bass. Also, polypropylene drivers have their limits - they will not deliver the last ounce of detail that a metal or sandwich cone would do, especially if you have lots of high-end components and you are chasing perfection.
But anyone chasing perfection will soon want something bigger. If bookshelf speakers or small standmounts are really what you are seeking, these sweet-sounding little jewels are almost guaranteed to please, and are a massive step up from the many (already very good these days) options that are a few hundred less. I'm sure B&W are making a lot more money from Zeppelins and home theatres in a box, but at least this time, they clearly decided to bring the resources of a giant to bear on this Anniversary project, and their engineering team really the mark.
One footnote: My son loved the speakers (he's running them from his PC through a Schiit Asgaard DAC/Pre and a kit-built Hypex UC180 - it sounds damn amazing, the spoiled brat). But six months in, he blew one of the speakers. He had disconnected everything and moved some things around - clearly he made a hash of something during reconnecting. I contacted B&W and was very straightforward about what happened - it clearly was not their fault. I explained he was a teenager, he screwed up, we expect to pay, just please help us out because no way can he afford another pair at full price. They said they would take a look and do their best. So I packed them up and sent them to a service center. Three weeks later, I got them back - they are as good as new. No charge.
There are so few great companies left in the world but I guess Britain still has at least one: Bowers & Wilkins. Every word I wrote about the speakers is truth - but I figured the least I could do is take the time to share it here. My brother still has a pair of 606's that he bought in uni in 1996 - they are still in the front of his living room three amps (and a wife, two kids, and four houses) later. The speakers of the updated Anniversary edition range are significantly, noticeably better in almost every way. Highly recommended - the WHF review is dead honest.
I don't know about you, but I am a little suspicious when WHF reviews the big brands. B&W have won quite a haul of awards around here over the years, and even though I have nothing against the brand, I have never truly loved their products the way some people do. I always considered them reliable and high quality, but I never really warmed to their sound. I tend to like paper drivers and soft dome tweeters, and their preference for woven cones and metallic domes was just never my thing. Once we hit the streaming and docking era, the company's focus on these kinds of consumer products further dented their reputation in the mind of THIS hi fi snob. It's not like any human could ever afford the 800 series anyway, sniff.
Once I became obsessed with speaker building, I became further ensconced in my snobbery. Mass produced speakers have cheap drivers, poorly damped cabinets, and most of all, crappy crossover components. How else to sell a pair of speakers for under $1000 and make any money? Your component cost needs to be 10-15% of that - how good can each little detail really afford to be?
Then I found myself needing to replace my son's stereo speakers. He had been using a pair of first generation Roth Audio RA2s, which he loved, and which I destroyed while testing a new sound system that I built for the kitchen (don't ask, yes in the end it sounded great, and yeah my wife is cool). We have moved to the States, so another pair of Roths was not really an option. I was in the middle of the other project and had just melted his speakers, so telling him I would be spending 6 months (and likely a lot of cash) building him a set of speakers for his bedroom was not really going to fly either. And I did not have the bandwidth to do a huge amount of auditioning. I needed to buy him some speakers, and they needed to be good (because the ones I killed were good, and I wanted these to be an upgrade, since he was pissed).
There were a number of reasons I chose the 607s: very solid reviews and awards, a dealer who would take them back no questions asked if we weren't thrilled, the good reputation of the big company, etc. But these were 40% over my budget of $500 USD, and of course you could argue that that 40% was going towards having them imported, not towards better speakers. The thing that made me give it a go, actually, was B&W's insistence that they had paid extra attention to the Anniversary Edition crossover components, using some of the same components (sourced from Mundorf, which to us speaker geeks means a lot) that they used in the new 800 series. NOBODY in the sub-$1000 sector even wants to discuss their crossover components, not to mention tries to source name-brand capacitors! This little nugget of marketing was blindingly effective when deployed against yours truly, and that, combined with liking the looks of the updated, polypropylene midbass driver, somehow convinced me to spend extra to bring them home.
I know I'm a speaker geek and everything, and there aren't any Danish drivers in the things, but since this is getting long I will get to the point: These speakers are stunningly good. Like - I can't believe how good. The soundstage is sharp and wide, and there are hints of dynamism that belie their size. Like St. Nick, they are lively and quick. But what makes them so stunning is the lack of grain. At this price, I didn't think it was possible. The extra attention that was paid to the crossover, in my opinion, has paid off here - upper female voices, horns, and harmonica have a clarity and organic timbre that you just don't get at this price. I am beyond blown away - these are hands down the best bookshelf-style speakers under $1000 that I have heard.
Don't get unrealistic expectations: They are small. Because of this, they can only go so loud and still sound natural. This is physics - it can't be avoided if you want any bass. Also, polypropylene drivers have their limits - they will not deliver the last ounce of detail that a metal or sandwich cone would do, especially if you have lots of high-end components and you are chasing perfection.
But anyone chasing perfection will soon want something bigger. If bookshelf speakers or small standmounts are really what you are seeking, these sweet-sounding little jewels are almost guaranteed to please, and are a massive step up from the many (already very good these days) options that are a few hundred less. I'm sure B&W are making a lot more money from Zeppelins and home theatres in a box, but at least this time, they clearly decided to bring the resources of a giant to bear on this Anniversary project, and their engineering team really the mark.
One footnote: My son loved the speakers (he's running them from his PC through a Schiit Asgaard DAC/Pre and a kit-built Hypex UC180 - it sounds damn amazing, the spoiled brat). But six months in, he blew one of the speakers. He had disconnected everything and moved some things around - clearly he made a hash of something during reconnecting. I contacted B&W and was very straightforward about what happened - it clearly was not their fault. I explained he was a teenager, he screwed up, we expect to pay, just please help us out because no way can he afford another pair at full price. They said they would take a look and do their best. So I packed them up and sent them to a service center. Three weeks later, I got them back - they are as good as new. No charge.
There are so few great companies left in the world but I guess Britain still has at least one: Bowers & Wilkins. Every word I wrote about the speakers is truth - but I figured the least I could do is take the time to share it here. My brother still has a pair of 606's that he bought in uni in 1996 - they are still in the front of his living room three amps (and a wife, two kids, and four houses) later. The speakers of the updated Anniversary edition range are significantly, noticeably better in almost every way. Highly recommended - the WHF review is dead honest.
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