Does anyone out there own or ever listened to the B&W DM3000? I stumbled across a pair 2 days ago in an ad which had just been listed so I immediately made an appointment to see them. They were in excellent cosmetic condition considering their age but more importantly the drivers looked perfect. They had definitely been treated with the respect they deserve. The guy even had the original brochure. It took 2 minutes of auditioning and my offer was on the table and reluctantly accepted. After we loaded the last speaker into my van I looked at the gentleman as he gave his babies a last silent farewell. He turned to me and said in a soft spoken voice almost teary eyed “good times, very very good times”. As there was no appropriate verbal response, I silently assured him with a facial expression that suggested his babies were going to be looked after.
Now these speakers really are in another league compared to what I have been listening to. I won’t even attempt a review suffice to say that the definition in the mid to upper spectrum of sound is just so detailed, so clean and so neutral. Bass is tight and authoritative. The overall sound imagery just draws you into the music. I managed to listen to some Diana Krall, Stacey Kent, Fourplay and even a little Satriani and every track I played sounded like I was listening to it for the first time. The best way to describe it is that I found myself listening to the music as opposed to scrutinizing my sound system.
I now understand why Bower & Wilkins are at the forefront of speaker development. If this is what they were capable of 16 plus years ago then I can only imagine what the nautilus range sounds like today. I believe that original year of manufacture was mid 80’s using laser optimized Kevlar driver units, electronic time delay, computer-optimized crossover network ensuring accurate classic 4th order Butterworth characteristics etc, etc,etc.
As I have never had the pleasure of auditioning any of the B&W range I am in no position to draw a parallel comparism. I would however for the sake of knowledge be very interested in getting some kind of comparism between the DM3000 and its equivalent within the B&W range today, if anyone out there cares to share.
Now these speakers really are in another league compared to what I have been listening to. I won’t even attempt a review suffice to say that the definition in the mid to upper spectrum of sound is just so detailed, so clean and so neutral. Bass is tight and authoritative. The overall sound imagery just draws you into the music. I managed to listen to some Diana Krall, Stacey Kent, Fourplay and even a little Satriani and every track I played sounded like I was listening to it for the first time. The best way to describe it is that I found myself listening to the music as opposed to scrutinizing my sound system.
I now understand why Bower & Wilkins are at the forefront of speaker development. If this is what they were capable of 16 plus years ago then I can only imagine what the nautilus range sounds like today. I believe that original year of manufacture was mid 80’s using laser optimized Kevlar driver units, electronic time delay, computer-optimized crossover network ensuring accurate classic 4th order Butterworth characteristics etc, etc,etc.
As I have never had the pleasure of auditioning any of the B&W range I am in no position to draw a parallel comparism. I would however for the sake of knowledge be very interested in getting some kind of comparism between the DM3000 and its equivalent within the B&W range today, if anyone out there cares to share.
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