DM601+ASW650 vs DM604 vs 705

**PewterTA** · 03 January 2005, 20:54 Monday

Well with 27lb stands, as long as they are not in the way of traffic, there shouldn't be a whole lot of fear, there are a lot of really sturdy stands out there...

As far as the 603, 604s...you should get the 604s. I would bet that you could not tell the difference in imaging of the 604s over the 602s...infact, if you could, I'd buy your 602s for you. I have the 604s and 602s and have A/Bed them multiple times and they sound exactly the same except the 604s have a little more low end. I'm highly impressed by these (602, 604) speaker sets. I would recommend the 705s, but I'd think you'd want to start pushing more power to them then the Marantz will do...

Granted that the 705s will probably sound better than the 604s... It's a tough call...

If you are happy with the 600 series then I think the 604s might be your way to go since you don't mind the 2ch only, don't need stands, and will provide the bass you want (though still a nice sub you can never go wrong with).

**rick c** · 03 January 2005, 21:16 Monday

whats wrong with the 603s3's?I have them w/rotel rsx1056 and they sound fantastic.They're smaller than the 604's though.Is there really that much of a difference between the two that makes one that much better.

**junior77blue** · 03 January 2005, 21:17 Monday

With some stands, you can fill with lead shot...no kid or dog will budge it. I have the 705s on the overprice B&W stands filled with lead shot, very nice..very sturdy!

The 705s will need a sub, at least for me they do.

You should compare the 604s and 705s side by side, with and without sub to see what you preferr. When I was comparing bookshelf speakers to bookshelf speaker, the 705 was a clear winner.

**audioqueso** · 03 January 2005, 21:53 Monday

I A/B'ed the 7 series vs the 6 series (sounds like BMW... but B&W... strange lol). The difference is very noticeable. The 705 is so much more opened. I would love to get the 705s, but yes as Pewter stated, the Marantz will bottleneck it's performance. Regardless, they would still sound better. The 804s would have the lower range covered though. The stands I am looking at can be filled with lead shot. I thought about that but I don't know if that would be good enough or not. My right speaker will be right next to the door way, and it's not so much knocking the stand itself down, but the speaker on top of the stand. Very interesting and tempting scenerio, wouldn't you agree? lol Please, more comments and suggestions. It's very helpful to me. Thank you in advance.

**junior77blue** · 03 January 2005, 22:46 Monday

Well, if you were to splurge and spend the coin for the B&W special made stands for the 705s ~$300US you can then mount the speaker to the stand via 4 screws.

Just giving you options to consider.

But for the price of the 705 & stands, you might just want to consider 704s or better yet 703/804s.

**BlazeMaster** · 03 January 2005, 23:35 Monday

see how easy it is for your money to fall down the drain when you want a upgrade?
audioqueso, are you happy with the 600s' sounds? If you're you should be even more happy with the 604s/603s. Going with the 604/3 will delay the need of a sub, until you have the funds for a kicking sub. The 604s/3s have plenty of bass, but you still need a sub for the lower bass regions, so whether you go with 705s or 604s, you're still going to need a sub, IMO. I would just go with 705s, (since you like the imaging of bookshelves better) and save the extra money on stands or subs when you're ready.
Not sure how much you're planning on spending for stands, for the price of the 700s stands you can get a pair of these, custom-made for you www.soundanchor.com very sturdy stands and they actually have a very good relationship with B&W and have existing models for B&Ws.
If you're going with 705s, you will need to pour in more $ for the HTM7. IMO, the LCR60/0 (I have the LCR600) are not clean enough to produce clean dialogue and I think the differences between the 600s and 700s are the most noticeble in the LCR600 vs. HTM7 in the price/performance ratio. Highly recommend the HTM7 also, if you go the 700s route.

**audioqueso** · 04 January 2005, 06:36 Tuesday

Originally posted by junior77blue

Well, if you were to splurge and spend the coin for the B&W special made stands for the 705s ~$300US you can then mount the speaker to the stand via 4 screws.

Just giving you options to consider.

But for the price of the 705 & stands, you might just want to consider 704s or better yet 703/804s.

LOL junior, I really don't need your helpful "why-not-just-buy-the-804" suggestions... LOL. I was actually waiting for someone to mention something above my price range. So, no offense, but... no. lol

My absolute max for speaker stands are $200. I will not going any higher. And I was looking at some Plateau stands. Plus about $600 for a sub. That puts me at $800 in expenses.

BlazeMaster, I absolutely love my 601s! Yes, I have heard the 7-series and 8-series, and of course fine them absolutely fantastic. I would love to own a higher series, but for now, I am very happy with my 601s. My initial idea was to fill my lower frequency range.... so buy a sub. But I have to think about baby proofing my stuff, so I could go for the floorstanding 604/3. But then at the same time, spending that much money for the 604s, I could go for the tempting 705 which I know I would love. Hmmmm.

**PewterTA** · 04 January 2005, 06:37 Tuesday

I still think if you go to the 7 and 800 series, you need an amp to drive them. I was just sadly disappointed with the performance of the 700 series on the Yamaha, Denon, and Marantz. Which is why I went with the 600 series, figured why spend the money to upgrade when there wasn't that much difference. There was a difference, but it was minor. Now if you add something like the RMB-1095 (which I just bought)... MAN does the 700 series sound good, and the 800 series...wow. I'm definitely (down the road) moving to the 800 series in the future (either 804 or 802s)...

Audioqueso, you need to decide if you are going to plan for the future or not. If you are going to upgrade your marantz (either buy seperates, or just get an amp), then I would say go with the 700 or 800 series, you'll really get EVERY little thing out of them...but if you aren't going for something better, I would A/B demo the 705s and 604s (I'm a little leary with the 603s, they sound good, but seem to lack a slight bit of detail and imaging to me -- my friend has 603s and we A/Bed them to my 604s and 602s). See what you think sounds best with your receiver, any place should have something pretty close to the SR7400 (if not have it) so you can see what you want to do.

I agree though, have no fear of getting bookshelves and lead/sand filled stands, they should be plenty sturdy enough.

**audioqueso** · 04 January 2005, 06:50 Tuesday

I agree Pewter, power is the biggest reason I have my doubts on the 700s and 800s. In my mind, I think that I rather spend the same money used for 705s for some used 805s, but I don't want to buy either without upgrading my power with either an amp or separates. So that's my biggest drive towards 603/4s. I think I will listen to all three sometime this week. I would like a sub because I have my doubts on the imaging of floorstanding speakers, but I'll listen and see.

**Spookyslow** · 04 January 2005, 08:24 Tuesday

Thought I'd throw in my 2cents....I wouldn't be too skeptical of the 604's if you're on a budget, like I am (not yet ready to shell out the $$ for 700/800). I've had a pair of S2 for about 5 years now. They've been in at least 4 different rooms and have sounded great in every one of them besides your Marantz shouldnt' have any problems powering them.

I wouldn't be too worried about any little ones pulling one down---I can barely move them! lol

An immediate advantage to the 604's: You can get by without adding a sub (at least for a little while). I was without a sub until just recently. I just turned the subwoofer 'off' on my receiver, sending the LFE signal directly to the speakers. Suprisingly, I didn't miss the sub for stereo, but it obviously adds a great punch to theater--as I knew it would.

So to sum up: if you like the 601/602's, I think you'll love the 604's. If you don't have a sub with any of them, there's no contest. 604's.

But, of course, if money for speakers is no object go for the 700/800's!!

Hope this helped a little.

**audioqueso** · 04 January 2005, 13:28 Tuesday

Thanks for the reply spookyslow, but to clear one confusion I'm talking about the 601 + sub vs 604. Not 604 WITH a sub.

**PewterTA** · 04 January 2005, 15:26 Tuesday

I'll tell you that the 604s image better than the 601s.

My friend that has the 603s, has the 601s for the rears (or did, until he heard my 602s and then bought a set for the rear for himself). To us when we demoed the 601s to the 604s we both thought the 604s overall sound (in every aspect) was just better. Not leaps and bounds like going up to the 700s or 800s, but it was a noticeable difference.

If I had the choice of 601s with a sub to 604s...that's a really really really tough call.

One side, you got the 601s, get a sub and stands, and you are paying for over half of the 604s right there. To be honest I think you'll get less imaging ability from this set up, but you will (with the right sub) get much lower sound. For lots of music listening, this is a good setup, but better for HT all around.

Other side, 604s, more expensive, would sell the 601s to recoup a little bit of the money, but wouldn't have to worry about stands. The 604s will give you better imagining than the 601s, they are as good at imaging as the 602 bookshelves. With the added woofers, you will get much lower sound, but not as low as if you had a sub. To be honest, they do a great job without a sub. I was 4 months without a sub when I got the 604s because I didn't like the B&W subs and wanted to find something better... Once I added a sub and turned the speakers to small (for HT use) I noticed a big difference in the sound quality. Now that I have a nice amp (RMB-1095) I don't notice the differences between small and large setting on my pre-processor (RSP-1098 ). So that goes to say something for an Amp able to push the speakers properly.

So I think it all comes down to whether you honestly think that the stands are safe enough or not. The trade-offs are minor in this case I think, because each option will give you a little something extra in one aspect, slightly less in another.

But I will say that the 604s sound a lot better than the 601s do as far as clarity, imaging, and over all "fullness" of sound when A/Bed.

If you had the 602s, then I'd say keep them and just get a stand and subs...since they image and clarity is exactly the same.

**audioqueso** · 04 January 2005, 16:42 Tuesday

Oh, I wouldn't keep the 601s if I choose the 604s Pewter. I would sell them and the LCR60 center in exchange for the two 604s. Buying stands and the ASW650 would cost the same as selling the 601s and LCR60 and buying the 604s. Well, I've set up an appointment with my audio dealer to setup a room with a Marantz receiver and the two speaker combinations. I think I'm not going to go the 705 route because I know if I get them, I will keep the "upgrade bug" and want to upgrade my amp soon. I'm happy with the 600 series, so I will just go and give myself a full frequency range for now.

Keep the comments coming. Thank you all in advance.

**junior77blue** · 04 January 2005, 16:57 Tuesday

I understand what your saying, but don't feel the NEED to have to upgrade the amp while using the 705s.

Do yourself a favor and just listen to the 705s...that way you won't kick yourself later for not. Maybe the difference in sound isn't that much better for you. From experience, I wish I would have auditioned a pair of 805s vs 705s...just to see what the difference was with my own ears.

**audioqueso** · 06 January 2005, 10:26 Thursday

Man... the dealerships in Miami are terrible! I called up one shop, and they said they don't have any B&W in an setup to audition, they only order B&W. I wrote another shop 3 days ago and they still haven't written back. I called them up, and they kept me on hold and hung up. I miss my dealership in Tampa. Those people in Audio Vision South were great. They would do anything to help you out and buy a product from them. Well, I'll keep trying. I don't think I want to buy anything until I listen to it.

**rick c** · 06 January 2005, 10:35 Thursday

Have you tried Sound Components over by sunset place?

**audioqueso** · 06 January 2005, 15:47 Thursday

Yeah. Sound Components is the one that I wrote to 3 (2 more people today) different people and never wrote back.

**PewterTA** · 06 January 2005, 16:37 Thursday

I'll warn you, if you do Demo the 705s or even the 800 series...that will probably be your downfall. It's almost better to NOT demo those if you aren't at all interested in going there. It's like starting a landslide.

I'd probably be happy if I had never heard the 802s...but I did....sooooooo lol.

**perato** · 06 January 2005, 19:58 Thursday

Stands

I have B&W 705 as front speakers and this is what I did for stands and I paid about US$140 for it all:

I bought a pair of Studiotech SP-24 stands from Amazon for US$87, including shipping. I then filled them with a total of three bags of lead shot for <$50 total. I bought some screws from Home Depot to fit the screw holes on the bottom of the 705 (they are metric and took some searching to find) and for each of the speakers, I cut two pieces of wood to fit the base of the speaker and screwed one piece of wood into the bottom of the speaker and cut a hole in the center of the other piece of wood to fit the diameter of the stand (approx. 3 inches diameter). I assembled the stand filling it about 85% full with lead shot. I placed the piece of wood with the hole around the vertical portion of the stand then I installed the top plate on the stand. I then put the speaker on the stand (with the wood attached) and screwed the two pieces of wood together. Each stand/speaker weighs about 55 pounds. This setup has lasted for about 9 months now. I don't know how it would withstand kids and dogs but it has functioned well up to now.

When I auditioned the 705 and 602, I found the difference to be in the soundstage. The 705 has a three dimensional soundstage whereas the 602 only has a two dimensional soundstage. I could not audition the LCR60 or LCR600 so I do not know how they compare to my HTM7 but I suspect the same things. If you can afford the 705 and live with a possible mismatch to your current center channel then consider buying the 705. If not, you might want to save your money and just buy stands and a subwoofer until you can afford something better. Also, the ASW 650 I have, while it is probably not optimally positioned, does not seem like it is worth what I paid for it. Many posters on Audioholics.com say that Velodyne, HSU, and SVS subwoofers are good value. I don't think timbre matching is a concern for subwoofers so you don't have to buy a B&W subwoofer.

**shokhead** · 06 January 2005, 20:22 Thursday

I've been with the 603's and a big sub for 5 years and its a good match. 601's in the rear on stands.

**audioqueso** · 06 January 2005, 21:35 Thursday

Originally posted by PewterTA

I'll warn you, if you do Demo the 705s or even the 800 series...that will probably be your downfall. It's almost better to NOT demo those if you aren't at all interested in going there. It's like starting a landslide.

I'd probably be happy if I had never heard the 802s...but I did....sooooooo lol.

I've been well exposed the the 700 and 800s. My future upgrade will probably be right into the 800 series. I love the 801s. Absolutely beautiful sound! But I have to be realistic... I'm not going to cough up thousands of dollars for a pair of speakers while have my amp and source is mediocre (relatively speaking). I have decided not to go with the 705 at all. I will either go with my 601 with a sub, or sell my speakers and get the 604/3.

**mike c** · 17 April 2006, 00:18 Monday

what did you end up with audioqueso? is the difference between the 603 and 604 that big? I plan to use this as 2.0 for tv and music use...

was looking at the 602 but ... you know upgradeitis

**audioqueso** · 17 April 2006, 12:12 Monday

lol... bringing up a kinda old thread, huh? lol
I didn't end up with the 604s nor the 705s. I actually ended up with a pair of 805s as a birthday gift that following March. Within the following months I purchased a Parasound amp to power my 805s and a Velodyne sub to fill in the lower frequencies. :B

**mike c** · 17 April 2006, 18:31 Monday

heh, was searching "604"

805? lucky you!

you guys think the 602 can hold it's own in 2.0?

**audioqueso** · 18 April 2006, 01:17 Tuesday

I would say yes since when I had my 600 series, I went from full surround setup, sold piece by piece, and ended up with a 2.0 system with the 601 pair for a few months. They did pretty good. 602 have pretty good frequency range. I think you will be just fine with that to begin with. Oh, one other thing. The 600 bookshelf speakers in a 5.1 setup are awesome! I still remember how good movies sounded with them!

**mike c** · 18 April 2006, 03:49 Tuesday

thanks, you saved me a ton of money! I already have an HT setup though, this one goes into my bedroom ... I just thought that the price diff. between the 602 and 603 is pretty manageable; also the price difference between the 603 and 604; and also the 705 is the same price as the 604 and so on and so on ... that I was willing to delay buying a receiver just to get a better speaker. heh.

**steve998** · 20 April 2006, 10:52 Thursday

I have the 601 s3 speakers mounted on mass filled stands and i also use an active sub (REL 150). I tested this combination against the 604 speakers and prefered the sub route.

IMHO it was easier to integrate the sub with the main speakers in my 4 x 3.5 room.

I cant remember the 604's imaging better, but they may have done?

For 2 channel only then maybe consider just floor standers, but movies LFE track sounds great through a sub.

I also found that my Cyrus C7 60 watt per channel amp is great at midrange and top end, BUT lacked a bit of oooomph in the low end. An active sub has boosted the bass performance without draining excess power away from my amp. Not sure of the techinical explanation of this but 60 watts + 150 sub watts sounds better to me than my 60 watt amp powering the 604's.

**nikos** · 20 April 2006, 22:20 Thursday

For anyone doing research on the 604's....this is my experience...

With the 604's I find myself checking the center to see if its playing....and it's not. Everyone that comes over can bet that the sound is coming from the center when its off....

Plus the low end is stunning as many have previously mentioned.

Best value in B&W speakers IMHO.

Nick

DM601+ASW650 vs DM604 vs 705

DM601+ASW650 vs DM604 vs 705

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