Ok.. so b&w 602 s3 vs. 685

[jjahshik32]

I have 1 day to think about this 602 s3 vs. 685, I have the 602 s3 with me right now and its a pair of bad ass speakers.. but I keep hearing about the 685 being even more bad ass.. i havnt had the chance of listening to the 685 but does it really blow away the 602 s3?? Anyone here have any real experience with these speakers?

Also doesnt the 602 s3 have 7" mid drivers while the newer 685 has the 6.5"? Also made in england as to the 685 made in china??

I hear from some people saying that the 685 are a step down from the 602 s3 or backwards...

[dknightd]

Only you can decide which one you prefer. Better go to the store and listen to them. Or just stick with what you have if you are happy. Sorry I have not compared those two speakers.

[wgriel]

Only you can decide which one you prefer. Better go to the store and listen to them. Or just stick with what you have if you are happy. Sorry I have not compared those two speakers.

I'd agree with this - the 685 does have some improved technology, but that doesn't necessarily mean that you will like it better than the 602.

Bill

[jjahshik32]

hmm I guess i'm going to have to go listen to the 685 tomarrow before deciding to exchange or not.. but then it did get an award..

[jjahshik32]

man I do love these 602 s3 though there are some people that told me the 685 is a step back like its the same price but step back and its made in china... I fear things that are made in china!! I might as well end up keeping the 602 s3, just the way they look too is just classy to me. Also I heard these at the local theatre homestore with a nice rotel receiver.. didnt know which one.. but these speakers were crazy good.. right now I have them hooked up to some bootleg theatre amp that I bought at wallmart with all the speakers it came with only costed 69.99 =( maybe after hooking up the rotel I ordered these will become beasts! Also i'm scared that these will be hard to find later and the ones made in china wouldnt hold up well..

[jack667]

No offense, but rather than reading all the hoo-ha, judge by your ears. No one on this forum can really make it any easier for you. We all have horribly different opinions around here!

The new 600 series is made in china by B&W workers from England. Nothing is outsourced, that's why B&W claim that its rare to find such quality at this price.

Judge for yourself - both have different qualities - the 602 has more bass to my ears, the 685 is in a different league on detail.

Take some of your favorite music, demo both pairs, and then you can decide which sounds best!

[jjahshik32]

Thanks jack i'm going to bring a cd with my fav songs and demo both of them tomarrow and will decide from there!

[jjahshik32]

No offense, but rather than reading all the hoo-ha, judge by your ears. No one on this forum can really make it any easier for you. We all have horribly different opinions around here!

The new 600 series is made in china by B&W workers from England. Nothing is outsourced, that's why B&W claim that its rare to find such quality at this price.

Judge for yourself - both have different qualities - the 602 has more bass to my ears, the 685 is in a different league on detail.

Take some of your favorite music, demo both pairs, and then you can decide which sounds best!

that part seems kind of weird though... if the england workers move to china why wont they just do that in england? I"m sure their hiring chinese workers to massively produce these speakers.. why else go to china?

[Russ L]

Not to mention the Danish workers who used to make the cabinets for the 600S3 series. Still do for the other series. I wouldn't move to China to keep my job! Seriously tho. They usually bring in supervisors from outside China to watch and train the Chinese assemblers.

[jjahshik32]

I guess long as the material is all the same and original by B & W it should be fine, I am probably going to exchange it for the 685 tomarrow I rather have more detail as to more bass...
one other question is why the 685 is so much lighter... just better technology??

[wgriel]

one other question is why the 685 is so much lighter... just better technology??

I'm not entirely sure, but that probably has to do with the physical size of the speaker, and the 685 may be using different magnets in the drivers (smaller, more powerful).

Bill

[jjahshik32]

i'm actually thinking about upgrading to the 705's what do you guys think?? 685 or 705?? is it worth it??

[jack667]

You're talking about a speaker that costs £900 compared to £380 (UK) - you seem pretty indecisive, trust your ears, not this forum.

[jjahshik32]

thanks jack667 for all your help!! I did do that exactly, in houston texas only one place offers b & w speakers and its at the hometheatrestore.com and they have all the 6 and 7 series hooked up in one nice room with nice rotel amps and I used the same amp to listen to the 683, 685,602 s3, 705 =D 705 in my opinion was the clear winner!!! beautiful little speakers and packs a lot of punch!! the bass was very good and the tweater is not so bright and its just sounds perfect to my ears!! 2nd speaker that I enjoyed was the 683, of course its a full stand speaker but it was very nice too the tweater sounded nice mid range was nice and bass was deep and smooth. But i compared the 683 and the 705 and the 705 in my book won by a mile!! oh and I listened to the cm7 as well but if I were going to choose 1 out of the cm7 or the 683 it would have to be the 683 =D those were amazing as well.

The reason that left me astray away from the 685 is that the speaker was so tiny compared to the 602 s3 also the tweater was way too bright and overly high. The high's did not match well with the mids in my opinion, the highs were way too high and the mids were good but just didnt go well sounded kinda crappier than the 602 s3. I guess I was expecting something new when I headed there hehe and if I had to choose between the 602 s3 and the 685, definitely the 602 s3 their beautiful speakers and of higher quality. I took a look at the front 685 speaker with the cover off but was disappointed in its quality seemed very low... but thanks!!! hey jack667 I ordered a refurbed rotel ra-985bx integrated amplifier, do you think this would do the job to drive these 705 beauties??

[wgriel]

hey jack667 I ordered a refurbed rotel ra-985bx integrated amplifier, do you think this would do the job to drive these 705 beauties??

The 705 shouldn't be a very difficult load, so I think that Rotel will work nicely with it.

Bill

[jjahshik32]

=D thanks!!