B&W 703 front and HTM7center low end speakers ??


some nitwit said they were at the lower end of the B&W speaker range, there number. 3 from the top. did i miss something i'm no wizard and quite new at this but if (George Lucas use them the 800 series)i'm using the 700 series. this make mine low end some one tell me what i don't know like i said I'm new at this all i have is a Mcintosh MHT 200 receiver 8X 140 and my 703 front & HTM7 center did i make a mistake i thought i did good but its hard to get a lot of feed back from more than one person maybe I'm wrong but then the last man thought my receiver was a c200 Mcintosh but he may have read it wrong thanks manfred7
manfred77
I wouldn't so much concentrate on if it is the low end or high end of the B&W as much as do you like the speakers and the sound in your listening room?

The HTM7 is a nice center and the 703 is in their mid-range but uses their metal dome tweeters where the newer models of the 600 line uses their aluminum speakers. It is something B&W did after the 703 was developed to provide a low entry point into their speakers.

Matched with the right components and amps, I'm sure you are happy listening to them or you wouldn't have bought them. Yes, the 800 series is 'higher end' but everyone has a budget and the idea is to get the best system sound you can from the money you have to dedicate to the sound system.

Hope this helps. Ignore the other guy. This is ALWAYS soemthing better no matter what you buy.
Whoever you were talking to is talking out of his rear-end. The 700 series is certainly not the "low end" of the B&W range, in fact, they are near the "high end" with only the 800 series being "better".

Under the 700 series, there is the CM series, then the 600 series, and then a few other ranges geared more for the home theater flatscreen crowd, and then there is always the M-1, which is truly an "entry-level" speaker in terms of price, but which offer performance that blows away most speakers in its price class, making it a "value" speaker as well.

So yes, you could do a lot "worse" with B&W than the 700 series.

Having said that, the 700 series is being discontinued, with the new CM models (CM9, CM5, etc.) leading the transition of the CM series to the position of the penultimate B&W line.

Still, since you have already purchased your speakers, that shouldn't matter much to you. The 703 is a great speaker, and most importantly, if YOU like it, then it doesn't matter whatsoever where it sits among the B&W lines or what anyone else says about them.
I agree whole heartedly with Dylanhenry. I own the 703's along with the HTM2 center channel but the HTM7 "is" the matched 700 series center so you did good. My HTM2 is in the nautilus line so it is arguably "higher" end however it is not exactly voice matched to my 703's being from the upper line series. Your 703's should match seamlessly with your HTM7 which is ideal. Now about the 703's.... My buddy has a set of Nautilus 802's along with the HTM1 Center. I have been able to do a direct comparison between our two systems and guess what??? His does sound a "little" better...his system also cost 10k more than mine yet there is nowhere near a 10k difference in sound quality. The 700 series is definitely the sweet spot in the B&W line from a price to performance standpoint and I have to tell you...I think the 703's are one of the most revealing and listenable speakers I've ever heard...so enjoy them!
BtW, case anyone cared, the 800 series BMWs are /were used in one of the Lucas Film Editing rooms for years, not likely necessarily because theyre the best sounding loudspeakers attainable for movie playback reproduction perse, but likely because they represented what could reasonably be expected to be heard from a higher end home music speaker system as a reference, i believe.
Ive sold the entire BMW line on a retail level for years, and can say from experience that they arent the most dynamic, ultra refined, most effective even revealing speaker out there for that job!! (Dubbing studio mixing playback, whatever). Im just saying they wouldn't likely be my among my first choice there at the ranch. Id be prob looking for ultra efficient high end active units myself.
Just some imput. However definitely run your speakers as 80hz crossover n let sub do bass is best option here, clearly.
A while back a buddy of mine had a B&W Matrix HTM center, and although I'm not really a B&W fan I thought it excelled as a center speaker. I think at least some of it had to do with the tweeter being positioned directly above a single mid driver (like yours) as opposed to the more common tweeter flanked horizontally by two mids. As your center is probably a big improvement over what I heard and assuming you like what you hear, who cares what some other nimrod says?

That aside, dude, I'd ask you to please try to clean up your grammar a bit if you plan to post in the future. I know you were probably just trying to post out of expediency (and you're certainly not the only one) and I might get my head bitten off for saying this, but it seems just a little lazy and disrespectful to throw something like this out when you're asking for help or opinions from others on this site. Maybe it's just me, but reading this post was like chewing on verbal tin foil. Painful. I'm sure you can do better.
Soix,
I couldnt give two smurf's twinkies of a rats gas passer what anyone here thinks of my lack of a diligent Spell Check effort on some posting!! In fact, if you or anyone else here cares more about punctuation and proper sentence structure over actual pertinent audio chat forum content then, please, feel free to pass right over my dialogue!
In the mean time, feel free to take a few weeks off from your title of AGon punctuation Sheriff? ..and then, like, take a hike
Avgoround, I was referencing the original post, not yours. Sorry for the confusion.
Well then, the man still has McCintosh n B&W gear n stuff. So he can't be all THAT bad, now could he?!
..maybe we could lighten up there a wee bit now there Francis!! Lol
The 703s and HTM7 are highly detailed speakers.  It's only if you compare to say the much more expensive 804S and HTM4S that the 703s begin to sound a bit forward and a bit harsh in the midrange.  But for the money, the 703/HTM7 is tough to beat.  Enjoy.  They are also beautifully finished.  Happy listening.  :-)

I know I'm late to respond to this but it's so funny how brave people become when they are hiding behind a computer screen.

Ok so I can see both points, the guy has bad grammar (at least in this post) but maybe, he comes by it honestly. Typing with good grammar, if you possess it is second nature to most. The guy would have had to try pretty dang hard to "purposely" write the way he did so maybe it isn't his strong suit.


Either way the knee jerk reaction to attack and re-attack can blow up in your face (the above is a perfect illustration of this...the guy wasn't even talking to soix lol)

Bottom line, this is supposed to be a safe place for people to come to ask questions and get/give an opinion.


Let's try to be adults folks...cheers!