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Experience with B&W 703?

My situation, that it really matters or not, is that I haven't been able to sell my old Sequell II's, so I'm going to have to trade with the dealer - he'll give me a very fair trade price. Anyway, based on the lines he carries and my budget, my choices are limited. The 700 series seems to be my best option. I just don't like the sound of the 704's - a bit too laid back and "vailed" in the mid to high ranges. I'm waiting to get back there and audition the 703's, but I thought I might get some feedback here. Most of the reviews I've read of the 703's say the same thing; that they tend to be a bit forward and bright. I don't want to end up with an edgy or harsh-sounding speaker. Any input from those of you familiar with the 703's would be greatly appreciated.
2chnlben
goatwuss
877 posts
 
I recently heard the B&W 703s with some excellent equipment in a relatively well setup room. The sound? HORRIBLE. The highs were tizzy and bright, the midrange un-realistic, dynamics were lacking, bass was boomy and ill-defined. In all honestly, it was the worst sound I've ever heard a real system sound. Maybe it was a synergy thing, but I doubt it.

Try Dynaudio, Quad L series, compare to Dynaudio, or Quad L series (for less money) and you tell me which you like better.
clarinetuofm4390
2 posts
 
Then there was a problem with set-up or the speaker.
I thought they sounded great in two channel and in a home theater setup, but it was at my house with my set up. I ended up purchasing a more expensive speaker from a different manufacturer, but I can at least say the 703's were pretty darn good.
2chnlben OP
595 posts
 
Wow! Two very different assessments. I have heard that the 703's sound very forward and harsh until properlly broken-in. I sure hope this is the case, as I have few options.
Thanks for the advice.

2chnlben
seandtaylor99
1,262 posts
 
It may be that the 703s are very amplifier dependant. That would seem to be the suggestion from the two posts above, and it is something that always comes up with the love-em or hate-em nautilus line from B&W. I'd recommend taking your amplifier along to the dealer when you demo the 703s so you get a better impression.
skyhawk
6 posts
 
The thing with audio equipment is that if you taje 10 people and send them out to look at speakers they will all come back with different opinions.

I think it unrealistic to say that a pair of speakers that costs 3K + CDN is a bad speaker.

Consider this if you compare these 3K+ speakers to those from 10 years ago that were 5-10K you will find they perform better in almost everyway.

We need to keep focus. In most cases speakers on show room floors have 40 minutes of play on average because the sales guys do demos once or twice a week for 3 minutes. How can you really judege a speaker under those conditions, a 703 needs 100-200 hours of full bandwidth playing to really perform.

That being said I think for the money there is an incredible amount of technolgy in a 703, and the speaker makes use of all of it.
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