KEF iQ5 vs B&W DM309

superczar

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Need a new set of speakers for the living room predominantly for background music rather than a serious listening session

I have heard the iQ5 before and liked them, esp. the clarity of the midrange..even though the low end grunt was a bit amiss, the clarity of the mids and the intended usage (which does not need much of bass) makes them a good fit

a fellow forum member has them up for sale and am plannig to audition them tomorrow


Having said that, I can also get a pair of B&W DM309 floorstanders (new) within the same budget. Even though I havent heard these speakers before, I have played around with the DM603 for some time and do remember having liked them back then
Unfortunately, I cannot audition the DM309 in Chennai (no dealer stocks B&W here)
Any kind soul with a feedback on the DM309s?
 
Hi Superczar,
You have heard the 603 and not the 309 and are presuming they (both being budget FS) sound similar. The fact is that the 603 is a decent speaker with good bass and reasonably articulate but is boxy sounding. Uses an aluminium dome tweeter, the kevlar driver and an aluminium bass only driver. The 309 uses none of this and was a FS built for the HT experience only and was only meant for Asia(god knows why).
Had heard this speakers a few years ago and from what i remember they were a very mediocre speaker. Very cloudy and all bass. Just did not sell in bbay and tons of new units were offered at discounts and they still found no takers.
Look for used 602 s or go for the KEFs.
Regards
 
Thanks Dinyaar
I had heard the 603s long time back and my frame of reference back then was very different from what it is now :rolleyes:
The 603s were one of the first (so called) hi-fidelity speakers I have heard ...

which also reminds me how I was overawed when I first heard a Sony Compo system back in my college days or first sipped a McDowell single malt the first time :eek: :p
 
Hahaha i get it superczar. I know lots of guys who loved the 601/602/603 and some are musically satisfied till date but i feel there are better speakers around today in the same price range. Am saying this despite being a hard core B&W fan and user for a very long time.
 
superczar
why dont you look at other brands. i dont think either of the brands you are looking at have made any revolutionary product in the past few years (sorry dinyaar:) - i know youre a b&w fan, but imo apart from the 800 series b&w just doesnt do it for me). of the few products that i;ve listened to i really liked the monitor audios. in each class they compete in (bronze, silver, platinum - havent heard the gold) they're right up there. am not sure of the prices in india but give the bronze / silver a listen.
 
superczar
why dont you look at other brands. i dont think either of the brands you are looking at have made any revolutionary product in the past few years (sorry dinyaar:) - i know youre a b&w fan, but imo apart from the 800 series b&w just doesnt do it for me). of the few products that i;ve listened to i really liked the monitor audios. in each class they compete in (bronze, silver, platinum - havent heard the gold) they're right up there. am not sure of the prices in india but give the bronze / silver a listen.

Hi Afj,
Yes i am a B&W fan but as i mentioned above i dont think much of the 600 series( definately not the new avatar) either. I too feel the MA silvers/golds are good speakers.
I do like a few B&W speakers currently available though namely the 704,805,804,803,802. I have the 805s currrently and the 804s at my old home and would love to own the 802 s if i had the room that they demand. I love the way my speaker portrays the mids and i am happy with the bass too its the tweeter that i feel has room for improvement.Another reason i dont normally suggest the brand is the overpricing issue here in India though i feel they are more than keeping up with new innovations. The new IPOD dock zep is really popular here and from what i gather the 685 s are well received too. Dunno how much is credited to smart marketing/advts but the fact remains that they are a popular choice amongst not just audiophiles the world over and most of all in the US.
Regards
 
Hi Afj,
Yes i am a B&W fan but as i mentioned above i dont think much of the 600 series( definately not the new avatar) either. I too feel the MA silvers/golds are good speakers.
I do like a few B&W speakers currently available though namely the 704,805,804,803,802. I have the 805s currrently and the 804s at my old home and would love to own the 802 s if i had the room that they demand. I love the way my speaker portrays the mids and i am happy with the bass too its the tweeter that i feel has room for improvement.Another reason i dont normally suggest the brand is the overpricing issue here in India though i feel they are more than keeping up with new innovations. The new IPOD dock zep is really popular here and from what i gather the 685 s are well received too. Dunno how much is credited to smart marketing/advts but the fact remains that they are a popular choice amongst not just audiophiles the world over and most of all in the US.
Regards

when i said that they havent made anything revolutionary i meant in the pure sound reproduction from a speaker point of view. you wouldnt categorize them as being 'up there' throughout their range, and at best their best speakers compares to what the competition offers. at the price point of the 800's they cant afford not to make a good speakers. but they definitely have the pedigree and is one of the bigger selling companies for audio worldwide and the largest amongst uk brands (which does nullify my argument to an extent :)) - monitor audio comes in second. i;ve seen the zepplin ipod doc - it looks beautiful - am sure it must sound pretty good as well
 
I picked up the iQ5 from a fellow forum member today for auditioning them in my home

Before hooking them to my system, I compared them with a pair of Monitor Audio Bronze 2 on the same setup

All I can say is that I was looking for mellow speakers, and these just fit the bill perfectly

The mid range and highs are silky smooth and the imaging is wonderful

I needed decent off center/axis imaging to and they seem to manage 'em to a fair degree

The low end grunt is a bit amiss but I have my media room beasts to get my bass kick when I need it

For the intended usage (easy listening in my living room), these will do perfectly fine
 
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