Help on speakers - thinking B&W 684 or 683 system

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Hi guys.  I have already bought my surround amp - the Onkyo TX-NR905.  My living room size is 6m by 4m - but it is open and adjacent to the dining area - to make the total room size 6m by 9m.  Was originally considering the 685 theater system but one of my audiophile guru friends recommended I go for floorstanders considering the size of my room - a decision which has now been given the green light by the wife.  What Hi-Fi gave the 684s 5 stars but cannot see a review on the 683s from this site although some other sights and forums say that they can be a little boomy.  I also read a review where they didn't match very well with the HTM61 center speaker.  I will eventually go to arrange a test but I was interested in your views on this.

 

So my questions are:

1)  At this early stage I am only going to use the Onkyo to drive 2 channel music from one of these floorstanders (could upgrade to a 2 channel power amp at some later stage).  Is this receiver a good match?

2)  What do you guys think of the 683 or 684?  Do you strongly suggest another brand?

3)  Would it be strange if I bought the HTM62 center speaker and 686s for the rears if I went for the 683s?

 

Well, I would appreciate any comments.  Cheers. 

 

 

[Anonymous]

Painful isnt it.

First of all let me tell you i am a complete novice, but; I have been reading lots about speakers over the last few days (only decided to spoil myself a few days ago and have since realised that spoiling ones self is not as straight forward as i thought it maight be!). What i can say is that the MA RS6's keep cropping up as comparisons against the 684's and 683's so maybe have a look at that package too??

Im going to be tyring to test the following. 685 system, 684 system, the RS6 and the R270 AV12 (looks lush and the mrs will love that), tannoy mercury f1 and (takes a breath) and quad l-ite. The list may grow! I will also be getting the Onkyo 905. I might also have a listen to the Dali Ikon 6.

I first have to find a home to put it all in of course! The mrs has been looking at some today (we are iving in different parts of the country) and my first question is always "how big is the lounge?". Cant think why

 

[Lost Angeles]

What hifi mag gave the 683s 4 stars in Jan 08. I've just bought an Onk 875 and am going to demo 684s against MA RS6s

You need to demo the speakers (B&W) with the 905 if you can

 

[Anonymous]

I have been using a TX-NR905 with a 683 'Theatre' setup for the past few months. So that's basically 683 fronts, an awesome HTM61 centre, and DS3 surrounds. I was planning to add the ASW610XP when it comes out - but I'm not so sure I will now.

The 683's are awesome driven through the 905, and the low end is so strongly reproduced, I am simply not sure I can justify putting a sub-woofer in. And I have a large lounge.

Good speaker cable is important, as always, I use Chord Carnival SilverScreen all round. But the biggest difference was going into the setup, and ensuring you switch the sub-woofer channel off, and converting the front to 'full range', or some similar terminology.

Before I bought, I auditioned a number of approximately equivalent receivers, as well as the 875, and some Monitor Audio RS8's.

There was no competition. Really, to my ears, none whatsoever.

Best kit I ever bought.

So your questions:

1) answer should be above really? 😉 Yes, the 683's driven in 'full range' mode, through the 905, are very good.

2) 683's awesome. If they weren't to be compared, I am sure the 684's are lovely, however personally I found the 684's very similar to the Monitor Audio RS8's, even though they're not an appropriate comparison, as both lacked low end punch. The 683's are clearly fuller and stronger at the low end. But then their design is obvious to that.

3) I personally think the HTM62 would be lost in-between the 683's. As for the surrounds, I think it is less relevant. They are only infill anyway, as we all know. I went for the DS3's only because they were dipole and I had to put them up against a wall that the sofa was also up against. I'm sure the 686's would do just as good a job, just factor in the direction they send the sound.

You won't go wrong with a 905 and 683's, and the various people saying the Onkyo amps aren't much cop for audio, or are misreading reviews, I challenge them to go listen to an 875 or 905 with some decent floorstanders, and eat their own words. 😀

 

[Anonymous]

LOL, how many times did I say awesome in that post? I'm not American, honestly!!

Just seriously chuffed with what I bought. As you can probably tell.

 

[Anonymous]

That was "awesome" Mattspeed - thanks for that. Just one quick question - you mentioned that the HTM61 would be lost between the 683s - although the HTM61 is actually the bigger center channel speaker in the 600 range (the HTM62 is the smaller one) - was that a typo?

 

[Anonymous]

Yes, sorry typo, as you could guess from the rest of the post. I have an HTM61, I tend to think the HTM62 - which I saw before I bought, would be lost when paired with 683's.

The HTM62 might well be fine with the 684s though. I didn't spend long auditioning them to be honest, as the 683+HTM61 setup was overwhelmingly better.

 

[Anonymous]

Hi,

have you buy your HT system,and please can you tell me are you satisfied?

 

[Anonymous]

I have just up graded my speaker system to a kef IQ5s and IQ6 front and IQ1s rear. I have an onkyo 875. The sound is excellent! Kef are up grading the IQ range to IQ50 IQ 60 you get the idea (out this month) I strongly recommend you give them a listen! They ar very easy to listen to really not that fussy about positioning which suits my room! I listen to music in pure audio mode and it sounds great. I wouldn't be aloud to start addind extra amps to my system so im just using the onk 875.

This is just my humble opinion!

 

[Frank Harvey]

The Monitor Audios and the KEF iQ's are good alternatives to the B&W's - you should always try alternatives.

Catenaccio - is this speaker system for music as well a movies?

 

[Anonymous]

To add to what has already been said I would like to add the following:

1. I have not heard the 600 series with the 905 although I have with other receivers/ amps. To put it simply I think it depends on how big your room is. In a carpeted room of about 10 x 8m proportions I found the 683's too heavy going for my liking, too much bass and not enough detail. The 684's on the other hand were fantastic. However if you had a bigger room I believe the 683's would come to life once you turn the 905 up.

2. I've heard both the htm61 and 62 with all of the 600 setups. Again in a smaller room I found them to be quite similar. However when turned up a bit I found the 61 definitely revealed a little more detail and felt a little more transparent. I think you should also think about the 61 if you get the 683's because the FST driver which they both have will integrate better.ÿ