B&W Center Speaker

porcupinetree

New Member
Joined
Jun 16, 2012
Messages
17
Points
0
Location
Bangalore
Hi Folks,

I am in complete dilemma about which best center speaker to pair with my old but AMAZING B&W 603. I read mostly negative reviews on htm61 and htm62. Can anybody suggest which would be the best option for me? Does it make sense to go for a different brand other than B&W for my center channel? Please put in your comments and suggestions.

Thank you
 
No it doesn't make any sense running after other brands

reviews are to be taken with a 'pinch of salt' unless you get to actually witness the scenario hands-on .. That's my take

If you're in love with your pre-millennium DM603, then you should be running after that kevlar cone for your Centre Ch.

Try to hunt down a nice clean used CC6 from the USED market

you can also go for LCR6
 
Last edited:
I think I'm going to have a tough time finding good used speakers in Bangalore. What if I upgrade my main speakers tomorrow? I'm very sure of chucking my Yamaha dsp a2 and buying marantz sr6006 or Yamaha rx-a2010 or rx-a1010. So this would make a difference???


Thanks
 
I have auditioned the 62. Not too impressed. Though I did not feel it was muffled as the reviews for the 61 stated, I felt it did not tonally match the main speakers which were 684's. The best option would be to buy a pair of 685's and use 1 as the center.
Cheers,
Sid
 
What an excellent suggestion, Sidvee !

There is more than one reason to do what he said, incl the spatial dispersion of a typical horizontal MTM speaker configuration, but let's not get into that.

Porcupinetree, if you decide to go the way Sidvee suggested, I'll take the other 685, though my first choice would be a ProAc bookshelf.

Viki
 
Last edited:
Actually I am helping a relative of mine setup his HT system and we have finalized on on 684, htm61, ds3 & 686 for a 7.1 system with a velodyne 15" sub. Now I am not so sure on the 61 (based on my previous audition) so I have asked for a quote to replace 61 with 685's. I also plan to go and spend some time nxt week at the dealer with the 685 in ctr. position to make sure that it works well. Will post my findings. I will be listening specifically for off axis dialog intelligibility for the far corner listeners.
Cheers,
Sid
 
Last edited:
Hey Sid... I will wait for your post before I proceed.. Meanwhile, il get an audition myself if possible.. Viki, I will keep you posted as well.. Also, any place where I can get an audition for the bookshelf you are speaking about? Will it go along with my old b&w mains?

Cheers
 
Last edited:
I work part-time as an AV demonstrator in one of London's leading Highend audio stores & we have the B&W 600-series setup in 2 of our outlets on demo for AV.

One of 'em uses 683 / htm61 / DS3 / 686 combo with a REL R-528 along with Arcam AVR-600

while the other setup has the earlier discontinued series with 604-s3 / LCR600-s3 as centre / DS6-s3 / 601-s3 - all with Arcam AVR-600 along with 2 REL Storm-III subs.

I must add that the crossovers of earlier 601-604 regime are differently tuned from today's 68x series hence mixing a 685 as centre with earlier 60x series is not desirable.

Either update the main to today's 68x series or stay back and mix in a centre of that group.

Ofcourse - an AVR like Arcam AVR-400 will just do wonders to even the 603s. We've tried several of the AVR but have settled on Arcam based purely for the sonics it can attain.
 
Whilst AV setup are great for what they do to movies & music videos, I still feel for musical concerts, the other highend demo room where we have the analog / digital sources with Audio Research Ref 5 pre hooked straight to ATC SCM-100 Anniversary with Tara Labs premium balanced ICs for the 2-ch rocks digital musical concert videos with a large flatscreen in-between.

I would prefer this anyday over an AV setup .. :)
 
. Also, any place where I can get an audition for the bookshelf you are speaking about? Will it go along with my old b&w mains?

Cheers

I have to agree with 2chfreak. The current 685 may not work with the earlier 600 series, but if you can get a demo. you can take a call after hearing it yourself.
Cheers,
Sid
 
Hey 2chfreak,

I think audition is the only way out. Thank you for your valuable suggestions. I wouldnt think 2 channel would be the solution for me since I am also into movies. So I guess an AV set up is the only way to go. But I am all the more confused now :)

Hey sid,

Thank you for your suggestions.


Thanks!!
 
I spent a hour at my dealer with the htm61, saw & listened to 2 dialog heavy blurays. My observation - it is better than the 62, and nowhere near as bad as the reviews mentioned. I did not feel that the dialog was muffled, in fact to my ears it was quite clear and intelligible. Off-axis listening was also quite good. So I am going ahead with the 61. Did not have enough time to mess with the 685, and since the 61 sounded quite good, I was not inclined to do so anymore.
Cheers,
Sid
 
@ Porcupinetree

The HTM61 is a lot more sharper than the subtle sounding CC6. You have mentioned that you have a 603 as your Front Main speaker. However - there are 3 versions of THaT 603, i.e. the DM 603, 603-S2 and 603-S3.

Which of these do you have ? The 3 speakers are quite different to each other inspite of them sharing the same model numbers.
 
Follow HiFiMART on Instagram for offers, deals and FREE giveaways!
Back
Top