Auditioned B&W 602S3, 700's

[Rex]

I really liked the sound of the 602's compared to the 603 floorstanding. The sound seemed clear and concise although with the 602's a sub is a must.

I then listened to the 700 series floorstand(more than I want to spend) with 700 series bookshelfs as rears, 600 B&W sub and HTM Center. I must admit that since I have not auditioned many speakers and am new to all this that the speakers were very clear. Soundstage and imaging was good, but without anything to compare it too...

I did hear some Klipsch speakers there, but they were really bright sounding,so I couldnt listen to them for long.

I do want to listen to many who have proved that there are better speakers than B&W for the price, so I would really like to explore maybe Axiom or RBH, Etc.

 

[mike c]

I have no personal experience on this but a lot of people say that the Paradigm Studio series are a match for the B&W 700 series but are a lot cheaper.

 

[Rex]

I have no personal experience on this but a lot of people say that the Paradigm Studio series are a match for the B&W 700 series but are a lot cheaper.

How do you like that Axiom Sub?

 

[mike c]

it's great ... it goes lower than the Velodyne (19hz vs. 25hz)
it has a lot less distortion than the Velodyne, of course the velodyne is only about 60% the price of the axiom. but you might need a comparison.

if you are into music, its a lot better than the Velodyne
if more into HT, the Velo is about 90% of the performance for 60% the cost.

 

[Johnd]

Yes. Like Mike said. I don't know if I'd characterize B&W and Paradigm as a "match", but I would say they have similar sounds. I auditioned the 6 and 7 series B&W, and my friend has 703's hooked up, and I really like them. I, however, opted for the Studio 100's @ 1/2 the price of the 703's and haven't looked back. Great sounding speaker that is very musical.