B&W 601s?

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zypher_84

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Hey guys,

I'm thinking of getting a pair of b&w 601's for a 2.1 setup. What do you guys think of these speakers - they sound great to me and have really good reviews. In other words, are there better speakers out there for the money that I should listen to before purchasing these?

Also, do you have any suggestions for receiver? I want something that will support an upgrade to 5.1 later (using the 601s as my rears and putting a pair of 603s up front or something). Not too high end, but along the same level as the speakers.

Thanks!
 
I have the 602 S3s. I really recommend spending the $150 or so more and getting these guys instead. It really is quite a step up in my opinion. For the price, I think the enhanced frequency response can't be beat. Might want to check them out!
 
I have the 601's as surrounds and 603's as mains. They are good speakers, but you have to make sure that you get decent/good receiver also.
 
What kind of system dio you have? Soundcard? Those speakers are going to be very revealing of the shortcomings of your system. If you are using the analog out of your onboard soundcard, you probably should get more modest speakers and put the extra money into upgrading the other parts of your system, like external DAC, better soundcard, ect.
 
zypher_84 said:
Hey guys,

I'm thinking of getting a pair of b&w 601's for a 2.1 setup. What do you guys think of these speakers - they sound great to me and have really good reviews. In other words, are there better speakers out there for the money that I should listen to before purchasing these?

Also, do you have any suggestions for receiver? I want something that will support an upgrade to 5.1 later (using the 601s as my rears and putting a pair of 603s up front or something). Not too high end, but along the same level as the speakers.

Thanks!
Click to expand...

I have owned both the 601 and the 602 Series 3. I currently use the smaller 600 speakers as rear surrounds and they are terrific.

The 601s are excellent speakers. They are an excellent entry into high-end speakers. You probably won't find as much speaker for the money. They have a lot of punch and are great for home theater. They have a nice smooth midrange as well. Excellent stereo imaging. Everything about these speakers is top notch. I used them for years.

The nice thing about the 600 series is that they give you a lot of subtle detail but not SO much that they won't sound good with just a decent reciever. If you have a solid reciever these speakers will sound good, but if you want to upgrade these speakers will reward you for every upgrade you make. They are more "revealing" than some speakers and so you are liable to hear things you don't like in your source components but that is par for the course with good speakers. The flip side is that you hear more of what is good about your components. I would not hesitate to connect these speakers up to a computer rig with a mainstream soundcard, however.

I don't agree that you should buy more "modest" speakers and other components first. With some speakers that is the way to go but not here. If you were talking about 800 series speakers I would agree, but the 600 series are very versatile.

If I were in the market for speakers for a desktop computer system or a small system with a reciever or integrated amp, I would buy 600 series speakers and not look back, and I use N800 series speakers for my main system. Also, the 601's are perfect for rear surrounds when the time comes. If you have the extra coin and the space for the 602 it is better and I agree with the poster above that they are worth the extra money.
 
"modest" doesn't have to mean sucky. I was talking about something like PSB Alpha Bs, Paradigm Atoms, JBL control 1s, something that has good performance but not too revleaing. You need to be careful with PC audio, it is easy to highlight the shortcomings of lossy compression for example.
 
Yashu said:
"modest" doesn't have to mean sucky. I was talking about something like PSB Alpha Bs, Paradigm Atoms, JBL control 1s, something that has good performance but not too revleaing. You need to be careful with PC audio, it is easy to highlight the shortcomings of lossy compression for example.
Click to expand...

I do agree with you on hte lossy compression. That is a really good point. You will not want to use lossy compression with B&W speakers. WAV is best, followed by Apple or some other lossless format. With speakers that good MP3 is just murder on the ears.
 
I agree with what has been posted above: there is a HUGE difference between lossless and compressed audio on my 602's. However, I would not say that they sound bad with compressed audio; uncompressed files just sound that much better! I think this is a good thing though. It sounds great now, and as you upgrade your music to lossless formats its like listening to it all over again! Not to mention they sound amazing as a H/T speaker and boy games sound great! BTW, I use a X-fi Xtrememusic for my soundcard. However, you are going to need good interconnects. I snagged the Kimber Kable Ipod interconnect off audioadvisor.com. It MADE the system. I am not one to spend hundreds on cables, but it just sounded mediocre until I upgraded my cabling.

Question to the above posters. I am wanting to go surround on my B&W system and was contemplating the 601s as the rears. Would you go the 60 or 600 for the center speaker? I have heard the LCR 60 is just not adequate for the job. Second, what are you using to power the suckers? I currently have a Rotel 2-channel intamp and am worried about the down step in SQ as you go to a receiver. Thoughts? Lastly, what are you using for a subwoofer. I listen to A LOT of electronica, di.fm, and need a little more on the low end. HTSU 10"? AV123.com X-sub? Looking at a 10" sub more for the tight, accurate bass than boomy stuff.
 
TheAMAZINGNorad said:
I listen to A LOT of electronica, di.fm, and need a little more on the low end. HTSU 10"? AV123.com X-sub? Looking at a 10" sub more for the tight, accurate bass than boomy stuff.
Click to expand...

I would try for something sealed in design. Although not a sweeping generalization, a well-designed sealed sub will not add abberrant colorations to the sound and will be quick as a hare.

Try the AV123 ULW-10.
 
You should look into the Blue Sky Mediadesk 2.1. It looks to be a great little 2.1 system with a quality much much higher than your typical computer speakers. The tweeter used on these is the same used in polk's high end LSi series.

I am not too fond of subs, it is hard to get them properly integrated with just music, so a 2.1 system that is already designed with this in mind might be the way to go... if bass is what you are looking for.

Your typical entry level sub is not going to have a way to put your mains behind it's crossover making it very hard to integrate unless you have an AV receiver with an LFE out that can be used for music as well as movies.
 
I h ave the 601's as well.

I paired it with an RX 496 receiver. They sound fantastic to me. I'll probably end up with a newer receiver but the place I buy it from guarantee's the receiver for 10 years.
 
I too have the DM601 S3.
I use it with a budget Denon Receiver, and a Paradisea DAC.

Honestly, for 380$, these are really fine speakers! The upgrad to the 602 at about 650$ is usually not recommended because they are twice as much.

They have nice imaging, and a quite neutral midrange. In fact, these speakers are pretty spot on, and I don't notice much coloration at all. A great plus (compare it to some of the Polk audios, and oh man, clarity!)

Here's the thing though. These speakers are extreamly (!!!!!!) dependent on placement for both soundstage and bass. You pretty much want them symmetric to where you are going to listen to them. You also have to be on ear level with the tweeter (being so small, they don't have a lot of vertical projection, meaning you need to be on ear level with them).

I have had the chance to use mine at home, and at school. At home, they are pretty much free (nothing in back), with lots of damping (carpets, etc). The bass is not very powerful in this case, and I leave the ports open.
When I brought them to school, with the tile floors, smaller size, and cinderblock walls the bass was HUGELY increased. I had to plug up the bass ports, and even then it was a tad bit excessive. So, just as a heads up, be careful what you read about these in terms of bass, it's very dependent on room acoustics.

All in all, for 380$ a pair, I recommend them.
If you want a floorstanding version, check out the 603 S3.

PS: I use mine near field, and they still are great!
 
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