B&w 683

[Brett A]

I thought I'd move this post over here from another thread ("90 min audio cassette"). It is something of a review. Last I knew however, these speakers were not posted in the review section of AR Dig:cool:


Hey Brett A:

How do you like your B&W 683's? ...Do you highly recommend them?
I really love my B&W's. What leads me to say this is how seldom I think about them. Rarely do they draw attention to themselves. I'd say their strengths -at least in my system- are detail resolution, soundstage, and frequency range (This can actually be disconcerting when i hear the heal pounding of a musician and think something is going on in the house) Music seems to transition through the crossovers smoothly and without fault.

They have handled every upgrade I have made to the components in between them. When I upgraded to an amp with a massive, deep soundstage, they produced a massive, deep soundstage, when I got more open, warmer IC's, they sounded more open and warmer. When I hook them up with speaker cables with crappy symbalance they produce crappy symbalance. Even the subtle improvements provided by AC cord upgrades are readily heard. As far as interpreting the sound from the equipment between them, I'd say they're pretty sensitive, dare I say transparent.

On the cautionary side, I'd say they may exaggerate forward, analytical sounding equipment. (I upgraded my Rotel 1060 integrated a couple months after buying these for this reason) Also, at 15x17x8, my room is about as small as I would recommend putting them in-I have some treatments behind them. Occasionally -and I want to stress occasionally- they seem to swell the frequencies produced by the upper-middle register of some piano recordings. This could be partly my room however as I experienced the same with my old AR floor standers.

They seem to work well for my jazz/neo-folk/chamber music diet and when I rock, they're good sports about it.


Wow, do you see the drivers actually moving back and forth with that much power? How loud do you listen in dB's?
I don't have an SPL meter, so i don't know how many db's I subject my ears to. I listen mostly to acoustic jazz (Monk, Coltrane et al) and set the volume something short of the actual volume a drum kit or sax would produce in my living room. Depending on the recording, this is achieved with the volume knob of my 200wpc amp between 8 and 9 0'clock (but sometimes 10).

And yes, you can see the woofers pushing air.:)

[Ajani]

Nice review! Giving feedback like that helps other members (msyelf included) who are considering similar purchases...

Quick question though: Did you find the sound fatiguing when you had the B&W/Rotel combo? I want to know since I've dismissed B&W based on lots of auditioning with Rotel & Yamaha (both of which are known to be on the bright side)... So I'm wondering if I'd have better luck trying B&W with a more relaxed brand....

[bobsticks]

Nice review Brett. I haven't had the pleasure with the 683's yet, so it's good to know folks are having a go with 'em. I can relate on the disconcerting effect of unexpected sounds--I've gone to the door or the phone a few times during movie playback.

It's cool to read about someone who's found a speaker that pleases them beyond the point of quibbling over minutae.

[Bigmoney]

Brett, I must say I agree with your review. Although I don't own the 683's I do claim to 603's (last years model). Feel free to call me out on it but I will venture to say they are comparable. Unless I skipped over a section I don't recall you mentioning the quality of bass. Advice I may offer to those considering these speakers is that they are very respondent to room placement. With that said, I would treat these speakers in a similar manner as floor standers when it comes to placing them. I noticed with getting them under 20 or so inches from the wall the bass started to becoming congested with the midrange. As to the harshness some may atest, I would agree b and w in general produces a more forward sound (thanks to all who helped in my previous thread on these speakers). I have a rotel b and w combo myself and would reccomend the pair for very analytical music such as classical. Also, I tamed the harshness with a few acoustical treatments. That is, 4 inch deep acoustic panel at the early reflection points, behind the listening position, and directly behind each speaker. I have considered selling my 603's towards the 683's so I would be interested in hearing what you have noticed different about the 683's and the 603's in comparison. By the way, I just started a threat about using subs with my 603's for stereo, do you use a sub for your 683's during stereo?

[Ajani]

Brett, I must say I agree with your review. Although I don't own the 683's I do claim to 603's (last years model). Feel free to call me out on it but I will venture to say they are comparable. Unless I skipped over a section I don't recall you mentioning the quality of bass. Advice I may offer to those considering these speakers is that they are very respondent to room placement. With that said, I would treat these speakers in a similar manner as floor standers when it comes to placing them. I noticed with getting them under 20 or so inches from the wall the bass started to becoming congested with the midrange. As to the harshness some may atest, I would agree b and w in general produces a more forward sound (thanks to all who helped in my previous thread on these speakers). I have a rotel b and w combo myself and would reccomend the pair for very analytical music such as classical. Also, I tamed the harshness with a few acoustical treatments. That is, 4 inch deep acoustic panel at the early reflection points, behind the listening position, and directly behind each speaker. I have considered selling my 603's towards the 683's so I would be interested in hearing what you have noticed different about the 683's and the 603's in comparison. By the way, I just started a threat about using subs with my 603's for stereo, do you use a sub for your 683's during stereo?

I doubt it.... the 683 aren't the new model for the 603... the 683 are the top floorstanders in the new 600 series (B&W adjusted their numbering with the current models), here's a link:

http://www.hometheaterstore.com/B_W_683_3_Way_Vented_Floor_Standing_Speaker_p/683.htm

[Ajani]

......As to the harshness some may atest, I would agree b and w in general produces a more forward sound (thanks to all who helped in my previous thread on these speakers). I have a rotel b and w combo myself and would reccomend the pair for very analytical music such as classical. Also, I tamed the harshness with a few acoustical treatments. That is, 4 inch deep acoustic panel at the early reflection points, behind the listening position, and directly behind each speaker.....

That's what I wanted to know, thanks.... If the brightness can be tamed then I can add B&W back to my list of options... since apart from the listening fatigue, I really loved the sound of all the B&W's I've heard....

[Bigmoney]

My mistake, I was thinking of the new bookshelves. Which are very much similar to the 603's in character although a smaller cabinet. I found with my b and w's that they are a bit forward, but also very accurate. I also notices that they never appear to sound sluggish as though trying to keep up with the music therefore I would call them tight sounding. I tried a different source (marantz5001) which greatly reduced the harshness. The forwardness can be tamed, atleast in my situation with acoustic panels, Ill load up some pics sometime. Overall, I like b and w speakers although I do believe they can be overpriced just a tad. My dealer only carries b and w speakers and subs with a few velodynes. That's a bold statement in his eyes that b and w's are the best. He himseld owns the 802d's, man they sound incredible. Not to make anyone jealous, but I listened to the SACD of darkside of the moon in his reference room composed of KRELL MONOBLOCKS, 802D'S, TRARA REFERENCE BI WIRE CABLE, FLAGSHIP VELODYNE AND A KRELL PRE/PRO...........sadly the set up's over 70 grand.

[Brett A]

Nice review! Giving feedback like that helps other members (msyelf included) who are considering similar purchases...

Quick question though: Did you find the sound fatiguing when you had the B&W/Rotel combo? I want to know since I've dismissed B&W based on lots of auditioning with Rotel & Yamaha (both of which are known to be on the bright side)... So I'm wondering if I'd have better luck trying B&W with a more relaxed brand....
I did experience too much fatigue when driving these with my Rotel RA1060. The Rotel did a good job of placing the instruments in the soundstage and had good detail retrieval; it just delivered it all in a way that caused pain. Just for yuks, I tried running its pre-section through the Shanling’s amps (its dual mono) and it still sounded like it wants to hurt me.

I understand B&W and Rotel are a recommended combo, but with my limited experience (only these speakers and that amp), and in my room, it ain’t a combo for me; too forward, not a deep enough soundstage, and fatigue that limits listening sessions to a half an hour.

I would definitely recommend trying warmer, more “romantic” sounding equipment between these speakers. (Thanks TS for the adjective.) FWIW, While I was auditioning gear, I had a Krell KAV 400xi for a week and it was a completely wrong fit for my system; too dry and boring. I didn’t even want to listen to music that week. OTOH, the B&Ws sounded exciting and musical with a Music Hall Maven. The speakers were not at all fatiguing with a Cambridge Audio Azure 740, I just didn't like its sound. A bit too compressed for me.

The Shanling seems to be an excellent fit. :yesnod: But perhaps that story will wait for another post.

Brett

[Brett A]

4 years later.....

An update with the benefit of hindsight.


I came to realize that the B&W 683's, for all their strengths, did sound a bit dark and boxy. I assume this is caused by the lower cost cabinets they spec'd to bring these to market at a price point.

They do image well and provide excellent retail retrieval. For the price, I would still highly recommend them.

I replaced them with a pair of Vienna Acoustic Mozart Grands. The Viennas were a welcome upgrade, but at nearly twice the price of the 683's that's to be expected.

The Mozart Grands sound more relaxed and open than the B&Ws and give an extra degree of timbre resolution and physical spacing cues resulting in a more engaging listening experience IMO.

Still, I will remember the 683s with fondness and high regard.