Attention: Current DS6/DS3 Owners

[audioqueso]

Just trying to get some feedback on those that currently own the B&W DS6/DS3 surround speakers. If you don't mind, could you please answer the following questions:

How long have you used your DS6/DS3 speakers?

How do you have them mounted (side wall, back wall, ear level, very high, etc..)?

Are you pleased with them, or do you plan on replacing them?

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*****UPDATED 6/8/09******
Short review posted at the end of thread.

[newguy987]

Hi, it doesn't look like there are too many DS3 owner's out there. I have the DS3's, they are wall mounted at 68" and about 10" behind the prime veiwing/listening position. I don't have any problem with them, the nice thing is the ability to switch from monopole to dipole mode. I went with them because of the looks vs a ugly bookshelf hanging on the wall. and I wanted the dipole mode. I also have a couple of in walls(cwm500) for my rear surrounds, same height as the sides. To me this sounds awesome, but they aren't like some set ups on this forum. Hope this helps.....btw the other speakers are the 683's and htm61. I listen to movies in Dolby Digital PLIIX, for the awesome 7.1 sound.

[Ken49r]

I have DS7's if that counts.

Have used them for 2 years. The front speakers have been 705's, 704's, and now the 805's. They paired well with all three.

My room is small and having the rear's on the wall is the best space saving option vs stand mounts that would have to come out away from the wall because of the bass reflections. My couch is up against the back wall so I mounted the surrounds to the side wall with the tweeter at ear level. (the DS7 tweeter is below the midrange driver)
I run them in monopole and am quite happy with the results.

No plans to sell them as when I ever go 7.1 the DS7's will move to the back surround duties and my 805's will be used as side surrounds.

[audioqueso]

newguy,
You have the DS3 on the side or rear of the main seat? You said 10" behind, but also mentioned that the in-wall speakers are in the rear.

[Sticky Hawk]

I have had the DS6's for two years. I have them mounted on the side wall about even with the main seating position. They are up higher (about 6 feet). I also have speakers mounted in the back so they are the side part of a 7.1 set up. I think they do a great job with movies, I have been very happy with them. As with all things in the hobby I think about upgrading, but they do a solid job and would be down the upgrade listing (I would look to upgrade to a new pre-pro and upgrade the amp before I thought about this). The only time I really think even about upgrading is when I am listening to concert DVD's, the timbre is a little different than my fronts (which are 804's) but this is such a small part of my listening it seems silly to upgrade for that alone.

[newguy987]

The Ds3's are being used for the sides, just a hair (approx 10") behind the listening position. From most of the info I've come across, this was the recommendation for the location of side surrounds. One note that I will point out, is once you've picked a spot to mount them, it's not so easy to move them around to test other listening spots. For example if you wanted to see what they sounded like just in front of the listening position, or right in line with the listening postion. With bookshelves/stand, you would have more flexibility. However, like I mentioned before, the ability to change from dipole to monopole is a nice option. I built my HT room from scratch so I had the luxury of locating things where-ever I wanted to. Hope this helps...

[audioqueso]

I appreciate all the feedback.
I'm trying to get as much feedback as possible because I'm looking to purchase the DS3 or DS6 S3, but unfortunately, none of the dealers here in Japan carry these. Even if I order it, I was informed it would be an order from the US. I am currently using a pair of B&W 600 S3 as a temporary surround solution for now.

[Ken49r]

audioqueso,

Why not go with the DS7's since you have the 805's up front? The DS7 is one that B&W recommends with the 805 in a HT/multichannel setup.

[audioqueso]

Room limitations.

[Hammie]

Room limitations.

Have you looked at any of the in-walls? The CDS3 is a DS3 in wall. Or you can do an 800 series in wall with the CWM DS8 which is what I am planning on getting.

[audioqueso]

No point. Room limitations.
Trust me, I've looked at all options.

[Ken49r]

Room limitations.

Not quite sure what you mean. The DS7 is the 700 series equivalent to the DS3.
Much better match to your 805's than the DS3.
Both are the same width (15 in) The DS7 is (2 in) taller @ (11.9 in)

[audioqueso]

Weight. I can't mount the DS7 or DS8 because it's too heavy. Room limitations.

[Hammie]

Weight. I can't mount the DS7 or DS8 because it's too heavy. Room limitations.

Can you construct stands to mount them on?

[audioqueso]

No. Trust me, I've looked at every option.
Using them on stands defies the point of why I don't want my 600 S3 in the room. When I use the 600's, they sit on stands. I don't want to keep stands in the living room because they will sit next to my sofa. I have two little boys. They play on the sofa a lot. They already know not to go near the front stage where the tv and stereo sits. They don't do it. It's a fair trade.
I'm not going to restrict them from playing on the other side of the room as well. It's fair.
Only wall-mounting, and only the DS6/DS3.

[newguy987]

Just a note about the DS3, if you plan on using them for wall mount, you'll want to make sure you hit a stud with at least one of the screws, they do have a fair bit of weight to them, I mounted mine at 68 inches high-to center. That should be well high enough that your kids won't interfere with them. As for sound, when i first got mine, I hooked them up as front speakers just to see how they would preform, and I wasn't dissapointed. In dipole mode they definately add more, how do I say "effect" to movies. ie planes flying over head(pearl harbour). As far as quality, I'm sure they don't sound as good as a 685 would, but really who cares...they are only a surround speaker, and for that purpose I feel they get the job done nicely. However if you are into multichannel music(sacd dvd-a) I'm sure most would rather have the better quality bookshelf surround. but like you said, room limitations, all in all I'm sure you won't be dissapointed with the DS3.

[Hammie]

If you ever look into mounting bookshelves on the wall, the B-Tech BT-77's are really solid. I currently have them holding my fronts, which are bookshelves. I did that to keep my little ones away from them and knocking them over, pushing in a tweeter, etc.

Now that the kids are older, I'm going towers.

[audioqueso]

I like the way the 600 S3's sound as surrounds, but they will get destroyed if I left them on stands next to the sofa all the time. I really want a pair of 805's in the back... but not yet.

[audioqueso]

DS6 S3 Review

Well, I purchased a pair of DS6 S3 and used them for a while. I'm not keeping them.

They're not bad speakers, it just isn't working for me. They're great speakers. Actually, I compared them side by side against the 600 S3 I have just to test how close they match the 600 series. Testing was conducted with the DS6 were in monopole configuration. It basically sounded identical to the 600 S3. In several cases, I found the DS6 to sound more control than the 600 S3. Strange.

So as I mentioned before, the speakers are on my back wall. My sofa is also on that back wall. I tried out the DS6 S3 since I received several recommendations that dipole would work well in my situation. The speakers were about 5ft from the floor, and 1-2 feet to the side edges of the sofa.

In monopole configuration it was difficult to hear any effects since everything was firing forward. If I stood up in the room, the sound blended great with the 805s front stage, but sitting down, it was just too hard to hear. Didn't seem worth it.

In dipole configuration the sound just didn't blend at all with the frontstage. I figured dipole would give the best effects since the speakers are pointing towards the seats, but those tweeters sounded just too different. It was like listening to an 805 frontstage with random speakers in the back. One movie I always try out is the Matrix blu-ray. I tested out the bullet scene and helicopter scene. The blending of the sound was just so out of order.

So I gave the DS6 S3 a chance, but it didn't really work out for me.
So I ordered a pair of FPM2s. The are lighter in weight, so I will be able to hang them. I'm going to try them tilted a bit towards the seating position.

[audioqueso]

I will add though... if you have a 600 series setup, these speakers would work great on the side wall in monopole configuration.

Take care.