B&W 602 S3 VS JMLAB Chorus 707s

[stereo_always]

Hello everybody,
I am trying to decide beween B&W 602 S3 and JMLAB Chorus 707s. I listened to JMLAB Chorus 707s and I was not impressed. I did not have a chance to listend to B&W 602 S3 yet. Does anybody have any reflections on this? If not what other bookshelfs in the price range $600-$900 would you recommnend worth listening to.
Thanks and regards,

[topspeed]

Hello everybody,
I am trying to decide beween B&W 602 S3 and JMLAB Chorus 707s. I listened to JMLAB Chorus 707s and I was not impressed. I did not have a chance to listend to B&W 602 S3 yet. Does anybody have any reflections on this? If not what other bookshelfs in the price range $600-$900 would you recommnend worth listening to.
Thanks and regards,

I'm confused. You didn't like the JM Lab's and yet they are still a consideration? Why bother? There are so many good speakers in your price range and I congratulate you on recognizing that you'll get a better standmount than floorstander at this price point. If you do a thread search for this, you'll see that this question has been asked (and responded to) about 3 or 4 thousand times over the past few months so that should answer any specifics. As far as brands, obviously the 602's are very well respected, Energy, Monitor, AudioNote, NHT, Paradigm, DefTech, Boston, Magnaplaner, Green Mountain, Mission, and Von Schweikert are others to consider. It really depends on what you like, music you listen to, front end, and room size and characteristics.

Good Luck

[Jack]

Hi....Without knowing much about your tastes in music or room size, etc, I can only tell you of my experience. My room is about 12x14 and I generally listen to classic rock, some jazz and some blues. I auditioned a pair of Energy Veritas 2.1's on their dedicated stands for 3 days and was very impressed. Audioadvisor.com has these speakers in cherry only for $499/pair and the dedicated stands are only $249. Energy has discontinued this particular speaker, thus the price drop (retail for speakers and stands was about $1400+). Of course at that time I was unaware of the Audioadvisor deal and my local guy wanted $900 for the set and unfortunately for me (I guess it's not bad), I got a great deal on a pair of AAD floorstanders and went with them... $$ vs. quality...bad choice . While I'm generally happy with the AAD's, in the back of my mind I wish I had gotten the Energy's. I have a pair of Energy A5+2's in my living room and love their sound. I guess my point is if you have a chance, listen to the Energy's and above all, don't rush into buying something (trust me). Best of luck....Jack PS...I'm thinking about buying the 2.1's anyway.

[stereo_always]

Topspeed and Jack,
Your inputs are greatly appreciated.
Here is a little bit more about my tastes. I listen to mostly classic rock, a lot of piano and guitar. Also, my room size is 14'x15' roughly.
I will be listening to B&W DM602 S3s sometime this week. Did you guys have a chance to listen to them?
Again, thanks for your inputs.

[topspeed]

Topspeed and Jack,
Your inputs are greatly appreciated.
Here is a little bit more about my tastes. I listen to mostly classic rock, a lot of piano and guitar. Also, my room size is 14'x15' roughly.
I will be listening to B&W DM602 S3s sometime this week. Did you guys have a chance to listen to them?
Again, thanks for your inputs.

Yes, in addition to the 705's. Very similar actually, although the 705's had better resolution and extension. Nice speakers both. It's a good all-rounder that can handle just about anything. Decent bass if a bit bloomy with a very neutral sound. If you like the Bowers & Wilkin's sound, you may want to see if you can track down a pair of CDM 1NT's which were recently succeeded by the 705's and are a big leap over the 602's in sound quality. Their sound was closer to the N805's than 602's and you might be able to get a good deal on the remaining stock. Cleaner, faster, far better extension, very smooth mids, and flat beautiful. Of course, I have a pair so consider me suitably biased .

You're doing the right thing by listening for yourself. Now do it a lot more. As Jack recommends, take your time and enjoy the journey. An involving, musically accurate set of speaks will satisfy you for decades so exercise patience.

Good luck

[stereo_always]

Guys,
Sorry to bother you with another qeustion but do you have any ideas about

B&W CM2 speakers?

Let me know if you do .
Thanks,

[topspeed]

Guys,
Sorry to bother you with another qeustion but do you have any ideas about

B&W CM2 speakers?

Let me know if you do .
Thanks,

Style over substance. Stay with the 602 or higher.

[92135011]

Add Quad to your list.
Their sound is sweet and cabinet is superb!
4 choices of real wood veneer (maple, bird's eye maple, black, rosenut) all coated with "grand piano" finish. Absolutely beautiful.

[mboldda1]

check out the usher line of bookshelf speakers at www.theehighend.com
these have been getting great responces.

[Jack]

Hi....Without knowing much about your tastes in music or room size, etc, I can only tell you of my experience. My room is about 12x14 and I generally listen to classic rock, some jazz and some blues. I auditioned a pair of Energy Veritas 2.1's on their dedicated stands for 3 days and was very impressed. Audioadvisor.com has these speakers in cherry only for $499/pair and the dedicated stands are only $249. Energy has discontinued this particular speaker, thus the price drop (retail for speakers and stands was about $1400+). Of course at that time I was unaware of the Audioadvisor deal and my local guy wanted $900 for the set and unfortunately for me (I guess it's not bad), I got a great deal on a pair of AAD floorstanders and went with them... $$ vs. quality...bad choice . While I'm generally happy with the AAD's, in the back of my mind I wish I had gotten the Energy's. I have a pair of Energy A5+2's in my living room and love their sound. I guess my point is if you have a chance, listen to the Energy's and above all, don't rush into buying something (trust me). Best of luck....Jack PS...I'm thinking about buying the 2.1's anyway.

Update....I went to my local dealer today and traded in the AAD floorstands (got what I paid for them) and bought the Energy Veritas 2.1's with dedicated stands. I paid a tad more for them than I could've gotten at audioadvisor, but gotta support the local people. Just wanted to say thanks to stereo_always, I probably wouldn't have done it if I hadn't written that post....Jack

[stereo_always]

Jack,
I am glad I helped. I will be listening to the Energies on Saturday.
Thanks,

[stereo_always]

Topspeed and Jack,
Guys, I was able to lsiten to DM603 S3 (floorstading) yesterday with a RCD1072 CD Player and 100Wpc ROTEL integrated amp. They sounded great.
However, the amp that I will be getting is a 60Wpc Rotel. So, do you think, with the 60Wpc, the DM603 S3's are still gonna perform the same?
Or should I stay with hunting for a bookshelf? The delaer did not have the 60WPC to try with the DM603 S3's.
Would you expect a major improvement going from 602s to 603s. The price difference is about $500 a pair. So, we are looking at $1000 MSRP. I am sure I can negotiate on the price a little bit. I am thinking of getting the RCD02 CD player which is $200 less than the RCD1072. This will make it possible for me to invest more on the speakers.
Please, tell me if you have any reflections on this.
Thanks in advance,

[92135011]

60 watts should be fine really...
The most popular power ratings in the UK are about 30watts to 70watts or something like that and since BW was designed in the UK, 60 watts should be sufficient, unless you have a large room. RCD02 is fine...except it wont match the look as well as 1072. Dont really know the difference in sound though. In the specs they look almost the same.

[stereo_always]

Thanks 92135011, I appreciate your input.
I have a small room. About 150sqft,or 17msq. At the dealer we tried the B&W DM603 S3s with the 100WPC amp. I think they sounded great. But I really do not have the experience to compare them to a lot more speakers out there. But compared to JM LABS 707s (bookshelf) they sounded better. This weekend I will be able to try the DM602 S3s (bookshelf).

[topspeed]

Topspeed and Jack,
Guys, I was able to lsiten to DM603 S3 (floorstading) yesterday with a RCD1072 CD Player and 100Wpc ROTEL integrated amp. They sounded great.
However, the amp that I will be getting is a 60Wpc Rotel. So, do you think, with the 60Wpc, the DM603 S3's are still gonna perform the same?
Or should I stay with hunting for a bookshelf? The delaer did not have the 60WPC to try with the DM603 S3's.
Would you expect a major improvement going from 602s to 603s. The price difference is about $500 a pair. So, we are looking at $1000 MSRP. I am sure I can negotiate on the price a little bit. I am thinking of getting the RCD02 CD player which is $200 less than the RCD1072. This will make it possible for me to invest more on the speakers.
Please, tell me if you have any reflections on this.
Thanks in advance,

The price difference isn't $500. You're forgetting that you'll need stands with the 602's so factor in at least $200 for them. I just went through this, as in last week, and after researching brands that were recommended here on the board ended up with Skylans.
http://skylanstands.com/
Woochifer told me what to look for as far as quality and unfortunately, he was dead on where they skimp. While I'm not a big beliver in having dielectric super-impregnated widget infused stands that will magically deliver huge soundstages, bass that is 20hz lower than a speaker's design or other nonsense, I do think the damn thing sould be stable. Getting one under $200usd is a challenge indeed. So if you think about it, the 603's are closer than you think. And yes, 60wpc is plenty unless you really like to rock out.

Good luck

[stereo_always]

You are absolutely right. The speaker stands that the JM LABS dealer recommended cost $150/pair. and the JM LAB 707s (bookshelf) cost $650/pair.
So, I will be listening to the 603s again this saturday with a NAD amp in the 80WPC range. I can't wait to put my system together.
Again thanks for the insight.

[topspeed]

You are absolutely right. The speaker stands that the JM LABS dealer recommended cost $150/pair. and the JM LAB 707s (bookshelf) cost $650/pair.
So, I will be listening to the 603s again this saturday with a NAD amp in the 80WPC range. I can't wait to put my system together.
Again thanks for the insight.

This is a little late in the game so ignore this if you really like the 603's and the Bowers & Wilkins sound.

If you'd like to explore a different type of sound and can find them in your area, I'd recommend looking into the Von Schweikert VR1's.
http://vonschweikert.com/vr1.html
This is a fun little standmount with stunning sound and construction quality (equal to the CDM NT's, which is saying a lot). As you know, I have a pair of CDM 1NT's ($1200 retail) and just bought the VR1's ($999 retail) last week for my second system. Both are terrific, just in different ways. It would of course be up to you to decide which presentation suits your taste. I just threw them in because it doesn't sound as if you've heard anything without a metal dome tweeter. I'm obviously a fan of B&W and yet I'll readily acknowledge that there is more than one way to skin a cat. The reason I gave you the retail prices was to prove a point...everything is negotiable. I bought the VR1's new in the box for $675 so they can be had within your price range if you negotiate hard enough.

Again, if you like the 603's don't worry about the VR1's. The 603's are terrific speakers that will keep you happy for a loooong time

Good luck and buy what moves you.

[psonic]

I just did extensive auditioning for my floorstanders and B&W started out near top of my list. In your price range you should be running, not walking to look at Dynaudio, Vienna, Totem, Kef & Energy. Heck the Energy C3 is lower and the C5 tower is in your range...both of which I like better than the B&W 602. Kef Q series is a very good looking rounded cabinet like the Paradigm Signature, they sound very good, are getting good reviews from HIFI Choice etc. Dynaudio, Vienna, & Totem have stuff under $1k that sound waaaaay more expensive than that, make sure you please do yourself a favor and give them an audition if possible. If you like the accurate, nuetral sound of the B&Ws, you will love these with their larger more involving soundstages and more natural dynamics. They are a level above the Q3, C3 & 602, no question. They will probably cost a few hundred more but can be had on audiogon for less than the B&W 602 new. B&W has an excellent name in audio and is a good product, but there is much better stuff out there. With the Dynaudio Audience 52, I feel you get 3 times the speaker. Stretching a little now will save you from upgrading again later when you go out and hear those Dynes or whatever later. BTW, I bought a pair of Dynaudio 60s from audiogon at 50% of retail, they are amazing, dollar for dollar. Vienna Acoustics and Totem are very sweet sounding also. Enjoy yourself and listen to as much as possible, including some expensive speakers... the last thing you want to do is limit yourself to 2 brands.