To Switch To B&W DM 685 Or Not?

[admin_exported]

Hi All,

I am new to this forum & I lives in New Zealand. Pretty new to HiFi so got a newbie question for my home stereo setup.

I got a NAD C542 CD player & NAD C320BEE amplifier driving a pair of Mission m73i floorstanders in my 6x6m living room. I use QED interconnect and QED Silver Anniversary speaker wires in a biwire pattern. I usually listen to pop, some jazz and also vocals, occasionally some rock. Have been finding the Mission a bit unclear at the extreme ends of the frequencies.

Recently, I saw a pair of 3 months old B&W DM 685 on sale in a local stereo shop for half price - NZ$750 or 296 British Pounds. Seems quite cheap here in New Zealand. It comes with original box & everything. Haven't had time to listen to them yet with my own equipments.

Just wonder, will it be a worthwhile performance upgrade to get the DM 685 & put them on a pair of Mission Stanchette speaker stands I got and sell off my Mission m73i or am I just wasting my money. Also, will the NAD C320BEE be sufficent to drive the B&W or I need to upgrade to C352.

Cheers!

 

[d_a_n1979]

Good idea but I dont feel the 320BEE amp would drive the 685's as well as they'd like.

Dont get me wrong; the C320BEE amp is a stunner and will always be one of my favourites but having owned the C320BEE, C352 and the 685 speakers i'd say the C352 would be your best bet!

One thing I'd like to suggest changing is your speaker cable and interconnect. I have owned them as well and swapped to Chord Carnival Silverscreen speaker cable and Chord Crimson interconnect and the sound difference was very noticable. Deeper, more detailed and punchier bass; smoother and a better clarity of midrange and sweet, crisp treble.

 

[Anonymous]

Thanks for the prompt reply. I find it very helpful. Will definitely go for an audition for the DM 685. Hmmmm....probably have to wait a while before upgrading the C320 with the current recession. Not sure whether those interconnect & cables are available down south in NZ or not.

Cheers,

Kingwei