Yeah the 600 series B&W speakers went through some odd changes over the years as far as their sound went. When I sold B&W back in the 90's they had just came out with their 600 series with the yellow kevlar driver and everybody rushed in to hear them but to me they had terrible bass and while the mids were very detailed they could be harsh with everything but lighter music and the treble was way to harsh for my tastes. They made my ears bleed after 15 minutes but as the years have went on it seems that they have perfected their more affordable speakers. They are not my cup of tea but they must be a lot of peoples because they sell an awful lot of speakers. I am not be any means saying you made a bad purchase and if the front end of the system that will be running them has a warmer character then they might be the perfect match for your son and depending on his age he might like the more detailed and sharp sound, I know I liked it better when I was in my teens than I every did when I got older.