This Has NEVER Happened Before with a Speaker! Bowers and Wilkins 606 S3 Review
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- čas přidán 13. 07. 2024
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You should try it with just an old fashioned AVR and CD player and see how they sound. Nothing extra , no extra DAC no EQ just the basics like most people would have
Most people with $1100 B&W speakers don’t have a CD player and a cheap AVR. And if they do, why?
You missed the point of the review, you need a good upstream to make these speakers work well, in other words don’t buy these if you have an AVR and budget CD player.
Good lesson in synergy! Years ago I passed up a couple of great deals on Klipsch La Scala’s because the seller auditioned them with cheap receivers in terrible rooms. Once I listened to a pair with good quality equipment I was sold!
@@tylerhackman6832I have a Rotel cd player. Sounds great.
@@tylerhackman6832 who said cheap AVR? Mine were in the 1500 dollar range and would power those speakers easily
Great review. Love the detail,and comparisons. Keep it up.
And that's why the proper way to debut speakers is with the same reference setup and physical media every time.😅
They're very revealing. I have a decent Yamaha amp with tone controls and a subwoofer added. Ive heard things through these speakers that I've never heard before and that's always fun!
I am glad you have reviewed these b&w speakers which I always considered to buy. very helpful. thanks
I love B&W! I have a pair of 683 S1 I love them. I have upgraded my amp a few times and they have grown with every new amp. Rn it's hooked up to an NAD c389 really amazing! My local hifi store has a lot of b&w and I often come down to listen and I have never been disappointed
Congats on 200k!
Awesome analysis, Randy. Your description of the sound at freqs was great. Love the new interlude music.
Glad you liked it!
@cheapaudioman - Thanks for these. Two questions. I still own my pair of ELAC UB52’s primarily because of what I read about them and CZcams reviews like yours on them. Three years later, how do you feel they hold up? Also, I’ve them paired up with an ELAC S10.2 sub and a Marantz SR5013 140W/channel @ 6 ohms. I play locally stored lossless ALAC files via WiFi & AirPlay 2 hosted on my MacBook Pro. So I get CD quality “lossless” playback. You mention your application of AirPlay was bad here in this video. Can you recommend a way to get better playback of the lossless files on my MacBook with my AVR? Thanks, bud.
Thanks CAM, fun review! 🙃
Awesome review Randy. Always love your perspectives.
I appreciate that!
The B&W 600 series speakers have been a great “budget” speaker. In my experience,and as you have shown, if they don’t sound good, check the source before assuming the speakers are at fault.
I bought a pair of 601 S2 speakers 22 years ago and they are still in daily use. They were $427 new which would be $743 today. The current equivalent speakers are the 607 S3 which are $900 list. The price has outpaced inflation a bit but is still reasonable.
I’m planning on upgrading to the new 600 series next year and retiring my 601 S2’s. They’ll still be used but not as daily drivers.
Totally. Got an ancient pair of 601 S2 and they are amazing. You can pick them up as used in the UK for next to nothing
I'm stuck wondering if they're made in the same factory as the old ones. What's the extra $ gone towards?
@@jamesrobinson9176 they are not made on England anymore now made in China I believe. Buy a old pair. My old ones sound good but lack mids somewhat. I haven't heard the new ones but I've read they don't sound quite as good as the old ones
@@mattm2684 The ones I spoke of that had a big midrange suckout and too hot tweeter all had a minimalist 1st order crossover too, which is usually not a good thing. However, some designers are fixated on them, even though they present many problems that you don't see in even 2nd order filters. But, they do cost less 'cause there's fewer parts. A good compromise is a 2nd order filter on woofer and tweeter, which uses an inductor and capacitor on both the woofer and tweeter and has a 12db per octave rolloff. 1st order crossovers will only an inductor on the woofer and a capacitor on the tweeter, and will have only 6db per octave rolloff, which creates more overlap between drivers, which can lead to phase and other issues.
It's interesting that you had trouble with Airplay. I always thought Airplay was terrible. I have a nice sounding Denon AV receiver, but streaming from Roon using Airplay always sounded awful, whereas using an external streamer, even a chromecast dongle, was far better. I don't know if it is the compression Airplay uses, but it's always sounded bad to me. Glad it's not just me.
Yes, the compression Apple uses is tailored to sound best with earbuds and those USB speakers the size of a stuffed toy (95%+ of their users I'd wager). Putting their stuff through a real speaker/amp setup is almost as bad as playing rock music over AM radio. Yes, years ago we had one station where I lived that was cheap and did that, so I unfortunately remember. lol.
This comment is not about your current video. It is about your recommendation of the Aiyima A08 Pro. Thank you, thank you, thank you. I bought this amp last week off Amazon for less than $80 to use with my desktop computer and Jamo Speakers. This is by fair the best “cheap” set up I have ever owned/heard. These comments are coming from a guy who has far to much expensive audio equipment (a system in just about every room).
I truly appreciate your recommendation. Spot on!
I heard some 606’s a few years ago before buying some ProAc Tablette 10’s. They shrieked at me through most gear. I did get to hear them sound ok, never great, through an Audiolab system. The Tabs are better in every way and sound great with any gear. They are very well made and look good.
The problem with B&W is that they are really high end speakers and need to be matched with high end components- I guarantee you the "problems" with the sound you mentioned can be resolved with better quality/matched electronics.
Great review Randy. I would like to hear more about this airplay delima. You referenced a Darko video? Cant seem to find it. Can you provide a link? Thanks
Great to see you try out this speaker!
i have a sa7800 vintage amplifier hooked up to a pair of B&W DM601S1, it sounds so good.
Detailed sound with good bass is present to me too, it can shake my wooden ceiling .
Detailed mids and highs, i just liked it so far.
Another excellent review. Will you review the Yamaha R-N1000A network receiver/amp? or the KEF R3 Metas? Thanks
Suggestion for a test track, dire straits "you and your friend". Had never heard it till a few months ago, but it seems to be on almost every hi fi play list I've come across on spotify or amazon. It had sounds coming from places where a speaker wasn't even close. The different guitars come through clear as day, and the way you can hear the little finger tube thingy sliding across the strings. The imaging for a song that old is next level.
Recently I switched from a gen3 apple TV to a Wiim Mini (Used your affiliate link, thank you!) and noticed a drastic difference when using the Wiim's app versus the native amazon music app. Airplay would never exceed 24/44.1 regardless of the track quality, frustrating when you're subscribing for hi-res. The Wiim app streams full resolution, but it will take me a little while to get used to the UI/UX and I do miss the credits and lyrics provided in Amazon.
At the same time I upgraded my Aiyima DAC-A2 to the SMSL SU1, and let me say I'm a DAC believer now. Had I continued to use the A2, I doubt I would have noticed the difference between Airplay and Wiim. For reference I'm currently running B&W 606 S2 Anniversary on a Marantz model 1060, I love this setup.
Thanks for the reviews, Randy!
I picked up a pair of early 90's B&W dm 620's awhile back for the purpose of putting together an all British system. When I went to audition these speakers they sounded absolutely terrible. It sounded like both tone controls were set at -6. I figured that for $100 for the pair it was worth the risk. I took them home and hooked them up to a Cambridge amp and Rotel cd player. Well the sound coming out of these speakers now is absolutely fabulous! So I concur that you need high quality amp and source to get the most out of this brand of speakers.
200K??!!! Let’s go!!!
Had Bowers and Wilkins for years and you are spot on, put crap in and it will punish your ears.
Currently have 704s2 powered by a Rotel power amp.
I use a my iPad as my primary source wired into a chord Mojo 2 and it sounds really good.
Good stuff, makes me miss my first pair of “audiophile” speakers, the old entry level b&w 602s with the gold tweeter, definitely sad I let those go 😢, thanks Randy!
That is a really good review. The upper tilt you hear on the B&Ws is why they appear to image so well for a speaker that size and price. The speaker is meticulously designed. B&W knows how to make a small speaker sound big. For cheap you can make a huge improvement. Take the speakers to a technician and have the tech change the sand cast resistors on the crossover for the tweeters to milled resistors of the stock values. That change makes any six series B&W first class.
... I would start with the caps , start with tweeter , than resistors , leave the inductors as is .
Than replace crossover wires for quality all pure copper in Teflon .
After all set try to add quality copper foil bypass like Miflex 0.1uf to tweeter , it will add lot of space and better imaging . Have fun 😉
I feel like a redesigned crossover would do more lol .
Not sure why people hate ceramic case resistors; there's hardly any change when with the tiny amount of inductance, and you can get non inductive ones too.
I used to walk to school each day past 'B&W House' in Steyning, West Sussex in the nineties.
I would peer into their floating isolation test room through the front window!
I loved old B&W speakers a lot
The ones using paper cones
Then they switched to kevlar and i can't say if it was a great change
Well, it's a good thing you didn't send them back! Excellent review, Randy! 🙋♂️✌️🙋♂️
HiFi World magazine (UK) had a great tip for taming bright speakers like this Bowers & Wilkins model. They suggested wiring your amp to the woofer terminals, then use the included jumper to connect the two minus terminals but then substitute for the jumper a 2 ohm resistor (5 watts or greater) when connecting the positive terminals. Feel free to try different resistor ohm values. Fancy audiophile resistors are worthwhile but hardly necessary. Cheap, easy, adjustable, reversible, won’t void your warranty, and you can’t break anything.
Just bear in mind that when you add a resistor, that increases the impedance of the tweeter, which lowers the crossover frequency for the tweeter, so there will be more overlap between drivers, which may or may not be a good thing, depending on the design. In many B&Ws, which have a big midrange suckout and too hot tweeter, that will improve the sound all the way around, as it will fill in the mids and reduce the too hot treble.
@@DougMen1 Thanks for your thoughtful addition 👍
@@DougMen1 Seems to me the added resistor would increase the impedance of the tweeter (and change the crossover frequency) only if the resistor is placed after the tweeter crossover components right at the tweeter’s terminal inside the enclosure. A resistor placed at the system’s input before the crossover would only cause the amplifier to see a higher impedance of the tweeter section and result in less power input to the tweeter crossover, which, of course, is the goal here.
One thing I've never understood is the passivity many audiophiles seem to have regarding tone controls. I got an earlier version of these in a sale, found them way too bright (especially when listening to a digital source), so I turned the treble down slightly and voila, they sounded perfect. Yes, blame B&W if you like for over-accentuating the top end, but it's not like there's nothing you can do about it! They're your speakers, after all.
Something else interesting, after about a year I found that the B&Ws settled down (or perhaps my ears did) and the treble didn't need to be adjusted so much. I've never known other speakers change quite so much in character with use, or, alternatively, take quite so long to "break in".
I've had 606s2, 706s2, 606s2, and now 702s2 Bowers. HT and audiophile applications. They all have a break in period. I now have my 702s2 pair in a 2.2 music arrangement. Wouldn't have anything else handle my music
+1 for tone controls, a must for me. Especially if you want to listen at different volume levels
Obviously they are used to auditioning audio under closer to 'ideal' situations where signal purity can be replicated, but doesn't always account for less than ideal room acoustics, or in my case, less than perfect hearing where I actually usually need to boost the treble for clarity, so I pretty much always need to boost levels too. Also, some music is just recorded less than perfectly!
Thanks a bunch Randy! Speaker position seems important. My front speakers sound like voices are coming through center channel or TV. No center channel speaker installed. Finally a little audio success on my relatively cheap stuff
i have the B W CM6S2 with the decoupled tweeter on top . To this day they are powerful very clear with very good bass .Clarity is amazing as long as your giving them a good source .If you can find them used buy them . I paid over 2k with stands many years ago New .Im sure now they are far cheaper.
It has been a hundred years since i had a b& w speaker- 602 s2, and what i remember is that they were revealing of sources, even with their own colored interpretation. I loved them, but was rewarded when applying a better source- a rotel cd player.
When is the review of the Vanatoo transparent one encore plus. I have them, they rule, but I'd like to hear your opinion.
Would it be ok to pair them with a Yamaha Rn 602? Or would they require a better receiver?
Is BW 606 S3 sounds good with WIIM Amp? I am now connecting WIIM Amp with KEF 50 which is almost 10 years old, the combination is pretty bad, I don't know what's wrong, I think it's similar to what you've said at the beginning, feeling want to send them back. :)
That makes a lot of different devices in where the signal are switching and travelling. Of course it sounded bad. I've tested these but with a cd player and a turntable, in a receiver and in a combo pre-amp/power, and they sounded like for my taste.
Cool!
GOOD JOB !!!!! KEEP IT UP!!!!!!
What do you call "directly from the wiim" Chromecast?
What you described regarding the top end is exactly what I experienced with my B&W's before break in. They need a good 80 hours before they come to life. I've had mine for 2 years and they just sound better and better. I have a NAD receiver as preamp and use Rotel 980 power amp. Sublime
Same. Mine are still going strong from 2002 but took ages to break in. Prolly 3 days
Mine are bi amped with arcam alphas from the 90's . Biwire is 99% snake oil but bi amp is useful
I've got the 707 s2 with my powernode I love them
B&Ws may not be best Metal or Grunge speakers , but they shine with folk, classical, jazz, acoustical.
I say that all the time abt jazz & acoustic, especially if it's an older recording bfore the 80's. Alot of the newer overly compressed stuff with alot of sibilance would probably sound best on a more neutral speaker.
Many heavy metal recordings are terrible, best way to gauge heavier , or heavy instrumental music go with a well produced , great music production Progressive Rock albums , Rush, Dream Theater , Aryeon albums are usually produced well . Grunge music is Terrible for any test listening runs .
Thanks!
Thank you so much!!!
Can you compare it with klh model 3?
How would they combine with the Wiim Amp?
Bowers legendary break in period. You're sitting there enduring this and all of a sudden beautiful music appears. I have 702s2's and they had a break in period. Worth it though
that intro was hilarious
I got the Px8 around a month back. And omfg these are the best headphones I have tried. After comparing against QC45, they are not even in the same league. I know that's not saying much. I haven't compared to other brands like AudioTechnica or Sony (I don't like Sennheiser at all) but Px8 will crush them all imo. The only other headphones which can beat the Px8 would be Focal headphones. Although they are quite expensive, and at that price I would definitely get B&W loudspeaker set. B&W speakers and tech reproduce sound faithfully imho.
Glad you were able to resolve the elephant in the room for these speakers. I'm now wondering how much of a sound change I'll get for my own speakers in altering my current streaming / DAC sources.
I've had the 606s2 for about 4 years. A lot of people hated them as harsh tweeter made the ears bleed. I initially didn't care for them either. I finally decided to give them no tow in and the harshness smoothed out. That fact and a lot of hours of playing they actually sound pretty darned good.
A few dealers have remaining brand new stock at £349 ( about 440 USD)
End of line now Were £699 in UK. Many bad reviews on the tweeter
I picked up a new pair of 606 s2 anniversary editions for $405 and I've thoroughly enjoyed them.
I knew of B&Ws reputation for being hot in the high frequencies and that's why I sought them out. I'm pushing 70yrs old and my high frequency hearing is diminishing, so the B&Ws are a perfect match for me...allowing me to hear the highs like I could, years ago.
Nice bass & mid-range too.
B&Ws are hard to beat. I've owned a pair of Matrix 803s2 for a quarter of a century now, and they sound amazing to this day. They are driven by a custom-made dual mono 250 Wpc power amp of the same vintage.
THANKS RANDY 🤗😎REVIEW…SHOWING,THIS IS THE BEST TIME TO BE AN AUDIOPHILE 💚💚💚
Huge B&W fan here from Grapevine thanks buddy for the review.
What up, brother! Been a while
Same old same ol, i still use my 804 D3's from B&W and a full set of their out door speakers too, @@cheapaudioman
Information coupled with entertainment, as always!
On a different note, this might be an interesting comparison: Edifier S360DB (a $500 powered 2.1 with planar tweeter, 4 inch aluminum mid-driver and a wireless 8 inch ported sub) vs a similarly priced 2.1 made-up of passive bookshelf, amp and sub. For many, $500 is probably a reasonable budget. If the Edifier's able to hold its own, it could be an easy recommendation for those seeking a simpler setup.
Hi Randy . Another great interesting video, how do you compare these over the 606s2 annerversary, I have still have dm602s3 with my Rotel A11 tribune , also sounds petty good but I prefer my old b&W speakers . Regards mark
I have the Rotel A11 Tribute and I am running it through the old 600 bookshelves. I like it, but I will be upgrading to these new S3's... The bookshelves will go in my office with the A10 and turntable.
I love that A11!
@@geographyinaction7814 hi, I also have dm600 s3 they are on my Hitachi ax-m140 system and sound pretty good, I recently bought 606 s2 anniversary although they sound good I still have my old dm 602 s3 , as you know on the A11 you have 2 sets of speaker outputs so I can still enjoy my old and new sound . I think the new A10 is great but won’t be replacing my A11 as new mk2 don’t have a b speakers and no pre output for your sub . Good luck with your new system it’s going to sound great . Regards mark
Any luck troubleshooting the original signal path?
"We can live beside the ocean... Watch the world die." From Lincoln Nebraska (1963 - 1990) to Clearwater Beach Florida.
I'd be really curious: does a speaker like this compare at all with something like a Wharfedale Diamond 12.2, which is way cheaper?
I'm also curious about whether it's worth upgrading from Diamond 12.2's, which I would characterize as a totally issue free, easy listening, speaker for music and movies.
@@NsteveAyou'd probably be better picking Wharfedale Evo if you already like the diamonds. Though I feel the Evo will be very slightly on the warmer side.
B&W is a whole different sound; maybe try to EQ the diamonds to the frequency response of b&W
hey, a trumpet can only play c6 & that’s about 1040 hertz, other reviewers loved the sound
Use a warm, powerful amp with these speakers (Parasound, Arcam, Hegel, Accuphase, McIntosh, etc..) & get rewarded.
If you can afford those amps, you're not going with B&W's entry level.
I tried a bunch of speakers. Really disliked them all except the b&w… which I totally loved.
I’ve got a WiiM amp at the moment. I think that’ll be an upgrade path for me in the future.
I'd buy these speakers before any other speaker you've +ever reviewed. The only exception might be the Tektons. I would definitely bi-amp them to dial in the woofer to the tweeter to my liking. I'd still high pass them at 100 hz and send the lows to my quad 15" woofers.
Tekton Lores and Zu Audio speakers made in the U.S.A. are bona fide excellent. But I have Martin Logans.
You should buy these and the tektons then. I would personally like to hear his experience.
I am confused what the problem was with AIrplay
it ranks high in this product category, especially since it costs around €1,800 in Europe, and in this product category, this is actually the best choice, because all the other brands that say at least this way are significantly more expensive
Is your son in law using eq settings in his apple music app? This might be affecting the Airplay performance.
When you first listen to a new speaker don’t use a streaming source. Why not just use a high quality CD player with a high quality preamp and amplifier? The fewer pieces of electronics that you have in the audio chain the better everything sounds. It’s an old fashioned theory that actually works. After the first listen then use a goofy streaming source. But minimize the equipment in the playback chain. Each piece of gear adds noise and distortion of different types. You may not agree with this but it’s reality and that’s all it is.
My go-to for years was an old (vintage) Pioneer amp with a CD player attached to it. The brick would go down to 4 ohms, so the problem was never the speaker - lol. But I get it - he's trying to replicate the experience us "cheap audio" people are likely to experience. But, yes, so many things in a chain, with so many little chips all waiting to have a headache with something else.
Is this the same issue with the 606 S2? They were being sold on ebay for under $400 for a white pair. There were a bunch of bad reviews here so I didn’t pull the trigger.
Got me a wiim pro plus on Amazon day, seems decent. Bluetooth is kinda weak, no surprise. Anyone know what bit rates it can output digitally? Pretty sure one of y'all youtubers ia getting an affiliate kickback 😊
You can go into the menu and select your output resolution, up to 24/192.
@@pnichols6500 thanks 👍
I had the B&W CM6 S2, now about at same price point, but originally a step above at >$2K/pair. The mid range was horribly mushed compared to my new Pearlacoustics Sibelius SG (higher price league) on a Rotel RA1572 (B&W and Rotel have same parent company, so should be tuned to one another) back then, with direct source input. Was happy to get rid of them. I think with B&W you pay a lot for the name, but not a lot of quality. I would look elsewhere. The B&W CM6 SII were my first serious speaker, so I paid for my mistake and lack of experience. Putting better electronics on the Sibelius (PrimaLuna Evo 300 pre, PassLabs XA25 power, solid sources) improved sound even further.
I thought it was a really fun speaker. I wouldn't mind having a pair to rotate in every now and again. Probably wouldn't be my forever speaker but they can be fun with the right tracks and the right front end.
Rotel doesnt pair well with B&W. Marantz is muuuch better pairing.
I have seen an oak finish with a black baffle surround on a you tube video.
Might be available in another region.
Just out of curiosity, did anyone, not a patron, win a give-a-way item? I didn't see anything about it.
I always wonder about that too with these "giveaways". If someone will clickbait, they might not be above baiting their hook with fantasy without substance. I 've seen this kind of thing on other channels and on this one before. CZcams should check up on these guys occasionally and make them produce proof they sent someone something, with the date sent of utmost importance. Fudging something once you are called out on it, is what I think they would try. Using a friend or relative to deceive. Not saying this happened; but it's a good bet it has happened before on CZcams.
These remind me of the old Tannoy Revolution bookshelf speakers from about 20 years ago. Solid, and about as good as you can expect for something this small. That said, no, they are not even as good as my old JBLs from the 90s. But then again, large bookshelf speakers the size of a PA speaker /mini fridge haven't been a popular option for a while.
TL;DR: As good as these are, they are not a similar priced 8 inch speaker if you have the space, because mass generally wins in the end.
I like these better than my 909’s because the tweeters are on top.
…wait a minute…
😂
Just wondering if the grilles fall off incredibly easily and frustratingly like the 607 and 606 S2s do? With both of those models, all you have to do is breathe on them a bit too heavily and the grilles drop right off. Annoying.
True!
Great review on the speaker. A bit unrelated but I've had two non functioning WiiM pros recently. Both ordered thru Amazon. 1st had terrible sound and the WiiM smelled like hot wires. Unit didn't get hot but something was wrong with it. Second one came through Amazon as a replacement and I couldn't start it up. Everything plugged in and not life what so ever. Have you heard similar issues? I saw the reviews on Amazon and it seems more recently that a few people have had similar or quality issues. I think I'll go back to my Marantz for streaming...just not crazy about HEOS app.
Do you think the new 706 s3 have abandoned the excessive presence of bass with respect to 606 s3?
How I play via iPhone ?
Hey, B&W installer here.
Just use a Sonos AMP or a Rotel amp. No less than 125w per speakers.
They’re high end speakers, not $300 speakers.
B&W doesn't rate them that way.
I seen these on sale on Amazon during prime days for $599 but stayed away. All the reviews sounded like these had horrible top end. Holding out for the Revel Concerta2 M16 to go on sale in black.
I assume none of the described sound was due to the room instead?
When are you going to do the big "giveaway"?
Lo que suena bien lo hace con cualquier cosa 🤟 cuanto mas simple mejor, todo lo demas es colorear el sonido 😊
randy - when you switched away from airplay to use your wiim ... how did you stream it? maybe I'm a dumbass - I don't follow what you did to change your source?
Got the original 606 a couple of years ago for half off (like 450$). It sounds like the new tweeter's too bright. I don't have that lack of detail/overly bright issues on the original and the S2 HTM6. Not sure if you do this, but maybe try the older generations? See what you think in comparison.
I have used Rotel and B&W for some time; they are like owning an old Lotus, when running right, awesome, when not...not so much.
The 6 series has been up and down for a while, but mate them with the right amp, and you will get sound. They can be bright, but with a good sub, say a REL, you get everything. The new tweeter is less bright than the old one, and I believe the new 6 are better than the last ones.
These are an audiophile speaker, so absolutely use old school inputs like a turntable or CD player, if you are streaming, it does make sense to be hardwired through a proper DAC.
Interesting how they differ from S2 aniversary edition that I own ;-)
Well, the S2’s are on Amazon for $800 so what makes the S3’s worth another $300 ? or is it just inflation because S2 has been around for a while I don’t know how long the S2’s have been around? Seems like an aluminum to a titanium tweeter shouldn’t be another $300.🤔
I use my S2 AE with Naim 5i and SMSL -8 AE, and they sound very good. Tidal Master is the source over USB to my PC. Thinking of upgrading my DAC. What do you recommend MAN :-) ?
Upgraded cabnet braceing, higher quality components in the cross over, and the drivers are closer together for better intigration, I think the tweeter may be new with a smaller stronger magnet as well.
@@StellarGodlore well, the SMSL SU-9 PRO is alleged to be very good, but I’m not familiar with an SU-8. The SU-9 PRO is about a $500 DAC.. If you have a $300 or $400 dac,
I wouldn’t bother upgrading it unless it becomes apparent that it may “help” after changing your speakers and electronics to very expensive units. That’s my take on it, fwiw.
@@kevinsheppard6085 Still doesn’t “seem” make it worth another 35 - 40% increase in cost. Maybe the manufacturer thought hey, we have a 35 to 40% increase in the sound quality here lol (OR, we have to have a higher initial asking price until we recoup some NRE costs).😉
The best amp pairing would be one with a treble control so you can turn it down.😂
why do audiophiles consider using an amp's treble and bass controls a mortal sin?
Perhaps using a lower cost DAC would do a better job of demonstrating the kind of results that most users can expect with the more affordable gear in their systems. Its good to have your reference gear to see just how good something can sound when paired with it, but using more affordable gear for reviews helps us common folk form reasonable expectations. Lol Keep grinding CAM!
Wouldn'r set-up be a lot easier if you just used a decent turntable or CD rather than all of that electronics?
LS50’s aren’t my favourite speakers but they’re not ear burners. I’m surprised at the bass and balance I hear from my little LSX’s with their tiny woofers.
You can't use cheap audio amps or poor recordings with Bowers. They actually used to be worse. They have smoothed them out a little the last few releases. It's all about clarity and details. Bad sources are shrill...
Oh man Randy have you ever listened to a band called morphine
. Their main gig is an alto sax.. jazzy lomo ended slow beautifully creative splices of total x tilian kind of psychological tests and feeling in your brain.. I've been using this band morphine's music to audition both speakers and subs.. and what does band is created work so well for that it really does check it out. And tell me that you done what I've asked you..
Listen to the stuff that they created for MIT technology institute back in the day.. privately just for the student bodies who just happened to be around when they were playing.. you know that morphine is a cure for pain.....😂😂😂
Randy with the war going on, can you please change your opening rockets, blood & bloody bodies, thank you, 😢. Great job getting past 200k
Audiophile + Airplay = ERROR. B&W is known for their bright upfront presentation. They probably should be paired with a slightly warm amp. You should also review the Monitor Audio Silver 100 7G They are probably more balanced than these but have the same general character.
Bowers and Wilkins are generally on the cool side, but they are very transparent, I think what your hearing is rubbish in rubbish out. Note to self when testing higher priced speakers, make sure the rest of your test rig is up to it !!. Some Speakers will make rubbish sound okay, but really good speakers will tell it how it is and that's not always a bad thing.
I think rubbish in rubbish out is such an old terminology but if it makes people think they sound intelligent & knowledgeable then let them wallow in it. I personally think hifi critics can sound full of b s & obnoxious. Just enjoy music on a reasonably priced system without all the twaddle. If it is crap then you wouldn't buy it, that's why I listen to them before I buy after expert views from the likes of hifi magazines that have been around the block for many years before I decide on purchases. Hifi is in most of my families blood, I have a very successful dj in law that supports top chart bands at his gigs & another brother that was so obsessed with my system in the early 80's he baby sat for free while the wife & I had nights out, he eventually has such a collection of music running into hundreds of thousands with a personally hand built vinyl deck. Having hifi is infectious. Fun, relaxing, entertaining, obsessive, mesmerising, compulsive & costly if it gets out of hand. But you only live once. Oh I do own Bowers & Wilkins I bought them for the reason tens of thousand others have, because they are up in the top when it comes to speaker design & innovative tech.
@@ENGLISHISBEST Nothing wrong with reasonably priced anything, just best not to put with a highly resolving pair of 2 grand speakers and wonder why it sounds crap. Its not obnoxious just factual. Put a mini gear box in a porsch, it will pull away from the lights like a mini. I have a budget system in a spare room and its fab, because it's comparitviely priced. Put an expensive anything through something cheap and 99% of the time your getting the best out of it. As for Bowers and Wilkins I do not live far from them and have done the factory tour, personally I prefer the Dali house sound Bowers. Having hi Fi blood sounds obnoxious to me, but remember we are all entiltled to an opinion.
Well there's no surprises there, Apple audio streaming being trashy.
Yea I have a pair of 685 S2 speakers hooked up to a Technics amp and a Project turntable.
The difference between the lossy Bluetooth module input and the lossless vinyl input is palpable.