Opinion about B&W DM 602 speakers

AMITNOIDA

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Hi

Can anybody advise the sound quality and suitability of B&W DM 602 (stand mounted) speakers for my 165 sqft (14.5 ft x 11.5 ft) bedroom?

Thanks
Amit
 
Hi

Can anybody advise the sound quality and suitability of B&W DM 602 (stand mounted) speakers for my 165 sqft (14.5 ft x 11.5 ft) bedroom?

Thanks
Amit

Hi Amit,
What do u really want to know about these? Suitable to what amp?

well its the larger bookshelf from the earlier 600 series and was made in UK.
Its basically a 2 way vented box (ported) speaker which has a 1 inch alloy dome tweeter and a 7 inch kevlar bass/midrange. Sensitivity is about 90db and power handling is about 120 W. Impedance of all B&W is 8 ohms.I guess the price it was last sold was about 35/40 K so used should be about 20/25 K.

Now i had liked this 600 series at the time. This one is a real 'party' speaker for a SM. Just be careful to select an amp thats not edgy, shrill and u will be a happy camper. Give it as much power as u can afford. Needless to say buy the best amp u can and u will have a good HIFI. The tweeter is edgy and can sound over the top and hence an amp has to be chosen wisely. I have the 601 and the 805 and have also used the 603/704 so i have a fair idea of these B&W.

Lastly this info is about the 602 Series 3 and i hope u are not looking into any older 602s.

Rgds
 
Last edited:
Hi Amit,
What do u really want to know about these? Suitable to what amp?

well its the larger bookshelf from the earlier 600 series and was made in UK.
Its basically a 2 way vented box (ported) speaker which has a 1 inch alloy dome tweeter and a 7 inch kevlar bass/midrange. Sensitivity is about 90db and power handling is about 120 W. Impedance of all B&W is 8 ohms.I guess the price it was last sold was about 35/40 K so used should be about 20/25 K.

Now i had liked this 600 series at the time. This one is a real 'party' speaker for a SM. Just be careful to select an amp thats not edgy, shrill and u will be a happy camper. Give it as much power as u can afford. Needless to say buy the best amp u can and u will have a good HIFI. The tweeter is edgy and can sound over the top and hence an amp has to be chosen wisely. I have the 601 and the 805 and have also used the 603/704 so i have a fair idea of these B&W.

Lastly this info is about the 602 Series 3 and i hope u are not looking into any older 602s.

Rgds

Thanks Dinyaar. Actually I am absolutely noobs. I require a pair of bookshelf for my 165 sqft bedroom. This B&W DM602 speakers (hopefully s3, but the owner could not confirm me) are definitely big size for my purpose. But the placement wise I can provide this beauty about 40 cm clearance from rear wall and about 3.5 ft clearance from the side walls. The gap between the two speakers could be max 5.5-6 ft. Our position will be approx. 7-8 ft from both the speakers.

I will use my PC (with Asus Xonar Essence STX card) as the source (no separate CDP). The most important thing, as you have rightly said, will be selection of the matching amps.

You have very good experience in handling / listening B&W speakers. I think you are one of the most competent person in this forum to guide me. Now my questions are:

1) Shall I go ahead to purchase the speakers (the price is 22-23K with original B&W stand) for my bedroom?
2) Which amps will go perfect with this speaker (within price range of 30-40K) I don't mind to go for Tube amp of Lyrita (Mr. Biren Bakshi is only 12 km away from my place). Also I noted few amps e.g. NAD S300, NAD C370, Rotel RBM 1075 while googling. Offcourse, I don't have any idea about their availability and prices.

If you are in my place, what would you do with all your experience and knowledge? I need your genuine advise please. I want to use, whatever set I will purchase for about 8-10 years with satisfaction and pleasure.

Regards

Amit
 
Thanks Dinyaar. Actually I am absolutely noobs. I require a pair of bookshelf for my 165 sqft bedroom. This B&W DM602 speakers (hopefully s3, but the owner could not confirm me) are definitely big size for my purpose. But the placement wise I can provide this beauty about 40 cm clearance from rear wall and about 3.5 ft clearance from the side walls. The gap between the two speakers could be max 5.5-6 ft. Our position will be approx. 7-8 ft from both the speakers.

I will use my PC (with Asus Xonar Essence STX card) as the source (no separate CDP). The most important thing, as you have rightly said, will be selection of the matching amps.

You have very good experience in handling / listening B&W speakers. I think you are one of the most competent person in this forum to guide me. Now my questions are:

1) Shall I go ahead to purchase the speakers (the price is 22-23K with original B&W stand) for my bedroom?
2) Which amps will go perfect with this speaker (within price range of 30-40K) I don't mind to go for Tube amp of Lyrita (Mr. Biren Bakshi is only 12 km away from my place). Also I noted few amps e.g. NAD S300, NAD C370, Rotel RBM 1075 while googling. Offcourse, I don't have any idea about their availability and prices.

If you are in my place, what would you do with all your experience and knowledge? I need your genuine advise please. I want to use, whatever set I will purchase for about 8-10 years with satisfaction and pleasure.

Regards

Amit

Hi Amit,

1) Yes 22/23 K with 'original 600 series" stand is very very good PROVIDED speakers are Series 3. The owner can just go behind his speaker and confirm as its written there in case he cant look it up in the manual and also PROVIDED that the speaker is not tampered with. The former is easy the latter can be verified with physical inspection and an audition. Finally a little bit of trust.

2) Too many amps will drive this. 30/40K will surely get u a good match. Try Lyrita as its so close to u. There are mixed opinions of tube amps (as opposesd to SS or SOLID STATE amps) with the B&Ws. But i have heard both and both can excel. Leave out Rotel and consider amps from Marantz, Nad, etc etc for these speakers.

Lastly i cant in any way say that this combo or any component will last 10 years. Too many things to factor in. Even new components can misfire from time to time. No problem if u are a noob. We all started of on this journey as a noob, but u have the advantage of tons of opinions/reviews in magazines and the net plus there is always this forum which is wonderful.

Rgds
 
Obviously, this forum is simply outstanding. I got addicted to this forum.
Whatever I could learn about Audio is from this lovely forum reading precious opinions/ comments of various experts like you guys.

Once again thank you very much Dinyaar. I am now planning to contact the seller and request for an audition.

Amit
 
This B&W DM602 speakers (hopefully s3, but the owner could not confirm me) are definitely big size for my purpose. But the placement wise I can provide this beauty about 40 cm clearance from rear wall and about 3.5 ft clearance from the side walls. The gap between the two speakers could be max 5.5-6 ft. Our position will be approx. 7-8 ft from both the speakers.

The placement plan you have given should be ok. My 603 S3 floor standers are placed just 40 cm from the wall behind it. the dealer said this gap only matters for 700 series plus, I think he is right. tilting inwards by a few degrees should take care of the things.

heard Rotel + 600 series, it sounds fantastic but could work out a bit costly. NAD + B&W also seems to be very popular combo. marantz is a musical amp but the sound could be a bit warm.
 
The placement plan you have given should be ok. My 603 S3 floor standers are placed just 40 cm from the wall behind it. the dealer said this gap only matters for 700 series plus, I think he is right. tilting inwards by a few degrees should take care of the things.

heard Rotel + 600 series, it sounds fantastic but could work out a bit costly. NAD + B&W also seems to be very popular combo. marantz is a musical amp but the sound could be a bit warm.

Hi Vishanv,
Placing speakers correctly matter in any speaker. Sticking to rear walls is disaster in most speakers unless designed to perform such. If the dealer in Dubai is telling u it only matters 700 series and above its rubbish. The 600 series were rear ported and would sound terrible stuck to a wall. Tilting in (i.e TOE IN) is not going to tame bass boom.
Secondly Rotel + 600 series B&W does exactly one thing i.e IMPRESS AT FIRST LISTEN. In time it gets painful. This is all relative so if u like it, thats that. BTW i had this 603 speaker at one time and it sounded better even with NAD amplification.
Rgds
 
From the picture uploaded by the seller, it looks like B&W DM602 s2 (not s3). Also the seller is not in a positiion to locate the manual.

I think I should let it a bye.
 
From the picture uploaded by the seller, it looks like B&W DM602 s2 (not s3). Also the seller is not in a positiion to locate the manual.

I think I should let it a bye.

If you can negotiate the price the S2s are not bad. One thing you keep in mind with B&W are that they are relatively hard to drive and you would need a powerful amp to drive them.

I would personnaly prefer separates or an integrated amp to drive these things.
 
Hi Vishanv,
Placing speakers correctly matter in any speaker. Sticking to rear walls is disaster in most speakers unless designed to perform such. If the dealer in Dubai is telling u it only matters 700 series and above its rubbish. The 600 series were rear ported and would sound terrible stuck to a wall. Tilting in (i.e TOE IN) is not going to tame bass boom.
Secondly Rotel + 600 series B&W does exactly one thing i.e IMPRESS AT FIRST LISTEN. In time it gets painful. This is all relative so if u like it, thats that. BTW i had this 603 speaker at one time and it sounded better even with NAD amplification.
Rgds

May be my explanation was not enough. what the dealer meant is for the 600 series its really not as critical as the bigger speakers. at first it appeared to me rubbish as well. but since the guy has been doing this job 6 yrs in U.K + 4 yrs in Dubai i wondered if there was any truth in it and did my own research.

I will take ultimateavmag test results of 602 S3 for instance. the test data shows the speaker can do 33hz at 77db (87db avg sensitivity and the -10db point is at 33hz). 77 db at close miking means, you can imagine how it would be at listening position. 603 results for stereophile was very similar but 2db more. IMO, the lower db levels should not hinder much when they are placed closer to walls, even with rear porting. In comparison 803D does ~84db at 37hz. for 600 series, i felt 30 to 40 cm to be sufficient gap. I tried the same and got highly satisfying results. toe in (not tilting...sorry) was suggested to mitigate any boominess in bass and to improve focus.

my above understanding could have some flaws (any comments are most welcome) but the performance of my set-up is much better than what i have listened to in many hifi stores.

Rotel + B&W, yes it could be a bit bright, especially with the bigger B&Ws. my auditions at the store lasted 3 hours total with various series but all run by rotels. I liked the package...a very personal opinion. it seems to be a popular combo from the way it is recommended in many forums.
NAD + B&W is equally popular but not listened to one yet. NAD C372 is now going on clearance sale for rs. 22K equivalent. may be I will have to buy it and exp it myself :)
 
Thank you Vishanv. I got your point. Let me visit the seller's place today and get an audition. If I ultimately purchase it, I will definitiely open a separate thread for selection of Amps. The clearance sell of NAD at Dubai will commence when? If it is really offered at bargain price, it would be worth to make a short visit to Dubai and pick it up. At least I think in this way. Can you please share the contact no. of the dealer there.

Cheers.
Amit
 
Thank you Vishanv. I got your point. Let me visit the seller's place today and get an audition. If I ultimately purchase it, I will definitiely open a separate thread for selection of Amps. The clearance sell of NAD at Dubai will commence when? If it is really offered at bargain price, it would be worth to make a short visit to Dubai and pick it up. At least I think in this way. Can you please share the contact no. of the dealer there.

Cheers.
Amit

I have sent you a pm with the contact details of NAD dealer. I would suggest you to work out the customs duty part before making the trip. should you plan to visit, feel free to give me a call. I will be happy to take you around.
 
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