B & W 703 or 704

[CURATORIS]

Hello

I am trying to buy a pair of speakers for a 2-ch system. Went to a dealer and listen to both, 703 and 704, and they both sound great.

My question is: which one of this speakers is more suitable for a 2-ch set up?

Thanks

[Briz vegas]

Question is, did you prefer one more than the other and what electronics were running the speakers when you auditioned them.

I recently had a CD player audition at a shop and the differences between players was minimal. I took the players home to hear in my system and it was chalk and cheese, the more expensive player was far more dynamic, detailed and natural sounding. Auditions are tricky as other components can mask the potential of the component you are auditioning.

Have fun choosing !

[bvk_houtx]

The opinion from most people is the 703 is better for 2 channel because it uses the FST midrange driver. If there is a chance that a home theater is in your future I would go with the 704, at least you will have center channel speaker ( HTM7 ) that will match the 704.

[RACER4551]

Having owned both the 704's and the 703's,i would definatly agree that the 703's are the ticket for two channel setup and the 704's suit the bill for home theater setup.To use the 703's in a home theater setup you would need to purchase a htm1 or one of the newer center channel speakers which drives the price up real quick compared to the 704's and the htm7.

[B&W 700 Guy]

I think the 703 is much beter then the 704 for 2 channel and for HT. The only reason I would go with the 704 is if I was going to use a small seperate amp or a recever to power my speakers. With smaller output amps the 704 can sound better.

[Ted]

I've got to agree with what everyone has said above, the 704 for HT and the 703s for 2 channel. I got some 703 a little over a month ago, and haven't looked back since!

Listen for your self though, you are your own best judge!

[jim777]

Another vote for 704 HT and 703 stereo

[ejuanpiman]

can someone further explain to me how the fst is better for 2 channel mode, or how it works, i checked on the b&w website but not too much to learn...

[jim777]

Make sure you check out this B&W website.. http://bw800.com/

You can even order a DVD than goes in greater detail

Or check out the 800 series white papers.

Many of the 800 series technologies are in the 703's.


And the only reason the 703 isn't suggested for HT is price and no matching 700 series center.

[dknightd]

I found the 703 did a better job with acoustical instruments (including voice) than the 704. I think this was probably due to the fst driver. But it could be that the 703 has a dedicated midrange driver (required for the fst) whereas in the 704 one of the woofer pulls double duty as both a midrange and a woofer. The 703 could also "rock" out a bit better than the 704 when asked to do so. The problem with the 703 is matching it to a center channel speaker - this is not an issue for two channel sound.
So often the 704 is recommended to HT and 703 is recommended for 2 channel. But some people prefer the 704 for two channel as well. And some people prefer a different brand. You could probably find people who prefered the 705 with a sub instead of the 703 for two channel. There is no right answer for everybody. For me the "best" comprimise was the 703 (I really wanted the 803d, but didn't want to take a loan to buy speakers)
I think the B&w web site has some info on the fst driver. I don't get too wrapped up on what technology is being used, I just buy what I think sounds good, and for me the 703 sounded enough better than the 704 to justify the extra cost.

Here is the b&w page on the fst driver in case you did not run across it

http://www.bwspeakers.com/index.cfm/fuseaction/products.techfeatures/ObjectID/3808A556%2D3AB8%2D11D4%2DA67F00D0B7473B37