Just about after the year 2000 B&W released the 602/s3 speaker; a three-way standmount that won an award in its class. Critical reviews and user reviews were positive in general.
A friend of mine bought a pair and I really liked the sound. One thing that caught my attention was its resolution with great detail, for example in guitar strings. This eventually was a reason for me to buy them.
And this is something I wonder about. Since I bought them and over the years they sound as I first bought them and I think they sounded well. But in recent years I began to wonder if they ever met the resolution I heard that day they were demonstrated. Now I wonder if this is just the way it has been or it should be different.
Recently I got the Wharfedale evo 4.2's, which were prize winning last year. They nearly share the same cabinet dimensions, but really sound like they have overall better balance and way more resolution. Given the same input sources connected to the same setup as the B&W.
A few factors
- Back in the day my reference of what Hifi speakers were capable of before I got them was kind of limited to small bookshelf Tannoys I had, and the bigger B&W DM7's from the mid 70's my dad once owned. Mid 70s to early 2000 is about nearing the same time difference as 2000+ till nowadays.
- The room accoustics could have played a role. He placed the speakers following the lenght of his home while the room was nearly empty. Though creating absorbers is best, a bit more reverb and distance might actually have added a dimension to the bass and the overall colored experience.
- Differences in amps(?) I believe he used Denon, I use a Harman Kardon amp that matched. I have had it connected to a Denon for a test with no differences.
- Connection. I sometimes read about people who think their speakers are damaged because they dont produce that much bass. This might be due cross connection (the red and black cable) In my case I didn't have polarity issues. The cables were well connected with strong solid cores connected to the right binding posts.
Long story short.. three questions
- Have speakers really improved a lot in resolution from 2000 till now?
- What are some other experiences here similar to this?
- Could it be that there is another factor at play?
many thanks in advance!
A friend of mine bought a pair and I really liked the sound. One thing that caught my attention was its resolution with great detail, for example in guitar strings. This eventually was a reason for me to buy them.
And this is something I wonder about. Since I bought them and over the years they sound as I first bought them and I think they sounded well. But in recent years I began to wonder if they ever met the resolution I heard that day they were demonstrated. Now I wonder if this is just the way it has been or it should be different.
Recently I got the Wharfedale evo 4.2's, which were prize winning last year. They nearly share the same cabinet dimensions, but really sound like they have overall better balance and way more resolution. Given the same input sources connected to the same setup as the B&W.
A few factors
- Back in the day my reference of what Hifi speakers were capable of before I got them was kind of limited to small bookshelf Tannoys I had, and the bigger B&W DM7's from the mid 70's my dad once owned. Mid 70s to early 2000 is about nearing the same time difference as 2000+ till nowadays.
- The room accoustics could have played a role. He placed the speakers following the lenght of his home while the room was nearly empty. Though creating absorbers is best, a bit more reverb and distance might actually have added a dimension to the bass and the overall colored experience.
- Differences in amps(?) I believe he used Denon, I use a Harman Kardon amp that matched. I have had it connected to a Denon for a test with no differences.
- Connection. I sometimes read about people who think their speakers are damaged because they dont produce that much bass. This might be due cross connection (the red and black cable) In my case I didn't have polarity issues. The cables were well connected with strong solid cores connected to the right binding posts.
Long story short.. three questions
- Have speakers really improved a lot in resolution from 2000 till now?
- What are some other experiences here similar to this?
- Could it be that there is another factor at play?
many thanks in advance!
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