I once heard some B&W 601s at a show with some friends. They were on chrome pedestal stands being driven by some Arcam gear.
We were all surprised that such small speakers could sound so large.
I later auditioned some 602s and whilst I didn’t end up buying them, there was no denying that they were very well rounded speakers. [ I’ve also heard some B&W Zeppelin Bluetooth speakers which were nothing to write home about, but that’s another story.]
Therefore it’s a bit strange to read that later and far more ambitious models are failing to satisfy.
Surely, in a head to head, the 800 series would be better than the 600 series? Especially given the reputation of their much vaunted tweeter tech in their larger speakers.
Could it be that as asking the price goes up our expectations go up accordingly?
If so, then would it ever be possible to be satisfied?
Therefore might it not be better to forget about price and judge purely on sound quality?
For example I heard the Kerr K320s at another show and whilst I loved them, I found the much larger (and more expensive) K1000s left me cold. They just sounded more washed out despite their power handling and dynamics.
They reminded me of the Naim S 600 with their BMR driver. Impressive in scale but not in tone.
This thread seems to be suggesting that every listener has a correspondingly different set of needs when it comes to loudspeakers.
One which often defies price.
We were all surprised that such small speakers could sound so large.
I later auditioned some 602s and whilst I didn’t end up buying them, there was no denying that they were very well rounded speakers. [ I’ve also heard some B&W Zeppelin Bluetooth speakers which were nothing to write home about, but that’s another story.]
Therefore it’s a bit strange to read that later and far more ambitious models are failing to satisfy.
Surely, in a head to head, the 800 series would be better than the 600 series? Especially given the reputation of their much vaunted tweeter tech in their larger speakers.
Could it be that as asking the price goes up our expectations go up accordingly?
If so, then would it ever be possible to be satisfied?
Therefore might it not be better to forget about price and judge purely on sound quality?
For example I heard the Kerr K320s at another show and whilst I loved them, I found the much larger (and more expensive) K1000s left me cold. They just sounded more washed out despite their power handling and dynamics.
They reminded me of the Naim S 600 with their BMR driver. Impressive in scale but not in tone.
This thread seems to be suggesting that every listener has a correspondingly different set of needs when it comes to loudspeakers.
One which often defies price.