Quote Originally Posted by stevos2005
I haven't heard either of the speakers, so I'm not sure what to think. Thanks!
And therein lies the problem.

No one here can tell you which one is better, only our preferences, which of course mean nothing. It's the same as one preferring redheads while another prefers blonds. You need to grab some of your favorite tunes that you're familiar with, go listen, and determine for yourself which sound you prefer. Once you do, you'll find that DefTech and B&W don't sound anything alike so differentiating between the two will be easy.

The quality you perceive in B&W is not some cheap veneer. B&W's are reknown for their meticulous build quality and their high resale prices reflect that. I agree with N. that the CDM's sound better than the 602s3's, by a good margin. However, the CDMNT line is out of production and was replaced by the 700's, which have been very well received by both Stereophile and TAS, if that means anything to you. Unfortunately, the smallest is the 705 and it starts at $1,500/pair. You can try audiogon.com and see if you can find a nice used pair of CDM 1NT's (the 705's predecessor) for around $600-700. The 1NT's use a real wood veneer (cherry, birch, or ash), are gorgeous, and voiced much closer to the Nautilus line than the 700's. Yes, I have a pair, in case you haven't guessed. These are pending, but will give you an idea.
http://cls.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/cls....ull&1089561970

When purchasing a set of standmounts for my br system, I preferred the Von Schweikert VR1's to anything comparable from Paradigm, DefTech, Monitor Audio, JM Lab, Energy Veritas, and a host of others. These are much smaller than the 1NT's yet have mind blowing dynamics. The VR's also use real wood which is a rarity in this price class. Sound is paramount but let's be honest, you still have to look at them. They have a warm, musical sound and aren't quite as analytical as the CDM's, yet give up nothing in detail retrieval. The best characterization is the VR1's are a cabernet whereas the CDM's are a pinot. The VSA house sound is as different from the B&W as they are from DefTech so again, you'll have to listen to see which one you prefer. VR'1 list is $990 but can be had for dramatically less, trust me.
http://vonschweikert.com/vr1.html

Hope this helps