Review: B&W DM-602 s3 Monitor

I just sold mine. It was not by choice. I bought them when I was putting together my first serious system. I drove them with an Arcam AVR200 and played vinyl on a Music Hall MMF-7. Are they house shakers? No. Can you hear the saliva in a vocalist's mouth? No. Do they give you an amazingly real and clean sound that is even more impressive considering the price? Absolutely.

I have owned a pair of 602 s3's for about a year now, and they still wow me. I work at a shop that sells B&W among other high end things, and 602's are my favorite product to sell because i know they are excellent and it feels good to help a customer hear what i hear in them, they are always surprised at the clarity and smoothness that you can obtain without sacrificing bass extension. I like the sound of other speakers that I sell, paradigm studio and signature models, but they still lack the sparkle of a B&W, even if they cost three times as much. There is just something more there. Their clarity comes from the nautilus tweeter, a technology that B&W uses even on its $40,000 nautilus speakers, it reduces distortion from treble reflections hitting the driver from inside the cabinet, and makes the speakers sound upfront, clear, and true. The kevlar bass driver is superb as well, kevlar has an ideal stiffness to weight ratio, especially in a detailed and agile driver. I asked the B&W rep what he thought the best speaker was in their lineup, and without hesitation he said 602's are the best value that exists, period. I agree with him completely, I think they sound better than 603's, because they are more fluid and accurate as a two way, if you want more bass, buy a subwoofer with the extra $400 dollars that 603's cost. Between the driver technology and the matrix bracing on the inside of the cabinets, when you play these speakers they become invisible, and you are truly in the acoustic experience, the music surrounds you and you couldn't point out a speaker, just a reality of sound. I am very pleased, and cannot conceive of a better sounding speaker anywhere near the price. Incase you were wondering about my other gear, I have a Pioneer Elite DV-45A as a source, with a Rotel RA-1060 integrated amp, and bi-wired Kimber 8tc. I am using Horizon interconnects, but will probably switch to Kimber Hero's.

I have had B&W 602 S2 for 10 years now.I bought these after auditioning many (more than 20) monitor speakers.It was for the first system i had;bought with the first bigger amount of money i earned.NEVER REGRETED IT.For that money,you can not get anything better.

Or at least,you weren't able before.Today you can buy 602 S3 for the same amount.I did so 6 months ago.S3 is in my workplace-plays every day.I don't agree with people who report lack of bass.For a monitor,it goes deep.40Hz (-6 db).The only monitor i've found till now that goes this deep (JMlab utopia L&R excluded-12000$).I don't need a sub with those,but i guess it depends on your habbits.

S2 still plays in my room.Even right now,as i am writing this.I still love these speakers,and i realized how good they are even more after listening to B&W801.Don't get me wrong,801 is a monster,better in every way.But returning from testing 801,i turned on the music in my room and i didn't feel too obvious lack of anything.
602 rules for the money invested.Whatever music you like.That's it.