B&W 703 vs 704

[drpje]

I am in the market for a new pair of speakers. I currently own the B&W CDM-1NT speakers. I would like a pair of floor standing speakers. I was thinking of purchasing the 703 or 704 speakers. My room is 22x11 feet with hardwood floors and concrete walls. I mainly listen to jazz CD's I plan to purchase the NAD C372 integrated amp and the C 542 CD player. I have heard the 704's and like the sound over my 1NT's Do you feel it is worth the difference in price to get the 703 over the 704 for my needs. Thanks

[Aussie Geoff]

drjoe,

Firstly - for the $ involved - I strongly recommend you listen for yourself. Bring your own CDs that you know well and compare - they are quite different speakers.

For my money (and I've listened to them both carefully) - I'd take the B&W 703 for a couple of reasons:

The FST Midrange (the 703 is a true 3 way whereas the 704 is a 2.5 way). for my ears the 703 midrange is markedly clearer and more transparent (especially on female vocals) than the 704...

The 703's deeper, tighter bass - which in your Stereo application will be a bonus...

That aside - it's all about $ vs. extra perceived sound quality - and only your ears can give you confidence...

Geoff

[asalvari]

hi

I second Geoff, they could sound quite different. My experience is that 705 and 704 are way different (see in the thread 705 vs 704).

So, the best course is to listen to them, keep open mind, and it may be usefull to listen to someting different (different speaker) to insure you like them most.

ttyl
Andon

[Elmac]

Hello Andon,
I second Geoff too.
I had a similar dilemma when I went from Paradigm to B&W. I had a choice of CDM9 VS CDM7 vs 705 vs 704 vs 703 that was a hard choice. Drove my sales rep crazy. Ended up with cdm9nt they sounded the same us 703 but where cheaper by $1000.00 . 3-way speaker makes a huge difference especially when you listen to them side by side. The difference with vocals will blow you away after you will compare all 3 model 703 to 705 side by side.
Hope this helps.

[theMaximus]

I went with 704 only because of my budget. I could tell 703 clearly sounded better in mid range and more spacious overall, but I just couldn't afford it . As for now, I'm pretty happy with my 704. I'm going to start saving up for purchasing 802 later. Much later :cry: .

Here is the list of what I'm using with my 704.

Cambridge Audio Azur 540C CD Player
Cambridge Audio Azur 540D DVD Player w/ DVD-Audio
Rotel RSX-1056 Receiver
Rotel RB-1070 Stereo Amplifier
B&W 704 Front
B&W HTM7 Center
B&W DM 601 S3 Rear
B&W ASW 600 Subwoofer
Audio Quest GR8 biwire
Ecosse "the Composer" analog interconnect (RSX 1056 to RB 1070)
Monster Cable M550i analog interconnect (540C and 540D to RSX 1056)
Audio Magic Xstream silver digital coax

[KRC]

I have recently changed from two channel to a HT. After trading componets and buying the required equipment for surround the balance did not fair well. I have B&W ASW 600, LCR 60 S3, B&W 600 S3 (rears) and keeping 15 year old Mirage 650's as mains until funds again come available. I purchased a high end receiver and low fi DVD player (Sony - again until I figured out the surround game). I am really big into well recorded two channel jazz and light classical so having an upgraded DVD source would be the next priority and finally new main speakers. Finally the question and comment; I like the sound and cosmetics of the 700 series and am considering them, however, would there be a problem mixing the 600 series and 700 series together ( I have heard alot about timbre matching etc) which would not help the surround sound. purchasing the 704/704, do you get the positives of the 800 series in a cheaper package?

[Mark_C.]

Unless you're into multi-channel music (where speaker matching is very important) the combination of 600s and 700s shouldn't be a problem, as long as you have the same series across the fronts for better matching. Heck, I've got Nautilus speakers across the front and the little 601s for rears--great system!