Bowers & Wilkins 607 S2 Anniversary Edition Review (video)

[amirm]

This is a follow up video review to my text version of the same for the B&W 607 S2 Anniversary Edition. It is another tutorial on how to read the measurements and a bit more insight on the performance of this bookshelf speaker:

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As always, questions, comments, recommendations, etc. are welcome.

Appreciate any donations using: https://www.audiosciencereview.com/forum/index.php?threads/how-to-support-audio-science-review.8150/

 

[fredoamigo]

Thank you Amir, one of the most explicit explanations of what a well designed speaker should not do.

 

[Klint]

This is great. We should all send our speakers to Amir before purchasing. .
Now, still a little hard to fully understand how my purchase measures but if somebody can, please comment my new speakers.
Found this.
Heco Direkt Dreiklang: Testergebnis Seite 6 - i-fidelity.net (i-fidelity.net)

 

[diddley]

"Strong feelings" i see it as a lot of passion and caring for the hobby Amir.
Thank you again for a highly interesting video.
i learn and keep learning this way.

 

[MJR]

I am conflicted because i have these and love them.
They are in my office for low volume listening and they work well. I also tried the 603's in my main stereo set-up and found them to be bit bright at higher volumes so i returned them. I am a big believer in measurement and data, but not all data is relevant for all listeners or rooms IMHO.

 

[testp]

even WE don't want to know what goes into making these drivers...when frequency response is doing mount everest

 

[Koeitje]

I am conflicted because i have these and love them.
They are in my office for low volume listening and they work well. I also tried the 603's in my main stereo set-up and found them to be bit bright at higher volumes so i returned them. I am a big believer in measurement and data, but not all data is relevant for all listeners or rooms IMHO.

If you enjoy these imagine how much you would enjoy good loudspeakers!

 

[ctakim]

Enjoyed this video as an educational tool about what many of the plots and heat maps mean sonically. Also it was a clear outline of Amir's philosophy on what makes a speaker great. I learned a lot from this!

 

[ctakim]

I am conflicted because i have these and love them.
They are in my office for low volume listening and they work well. I also tried the 603's in my main stereo set-up and found them to be bit bright at higher volumes so i returned them. I am a big believer in measurement and data, but not all data is relevant for all listeners or rooms IMHO.

Don't feel bad about liking a non-neutral speaker. We place a premium on neutrality on ASR but that should not subtract from what you listen to and enjoy. I have Magnepan 1.6's in my living room and Rogers LS3/5a on my desktop and neither are neutral speakers. However, my next speaker purchase will likely be Genelec or Neumanns so my audio journey will continue.

 

[MZKM]

I am conflicted because i have these and love them.
They are in my office for low volume listening and they work well. I also tried the 603's in my main stereo set-up and found them to be bit bright at higher volumes so i returned them. I am a big believer in measurement and data, but not all data is relevant for all listeners or rooms IMHO.

We like more treble at lower levels. I wish more stereo gear would have loudness compensation (Audyssey in Denon/Marantz receivers have it).

 

[MZKM]

This is great. We should all send our speakers to Amir before purchasing. .
Now, still a little hard to fully understand how my purchase measures but if somebody can, please comment my new speakers.
Found this.
Heco Direkt Dreiklang: Testergebnis Seite 6 - i-fidelity.net (i-fidelity.net)

Page 5: https://www.i-fidelity.net/testberichte/high-end/heco-direkt-dreiklang/labor-seite-5.html

Very good expect the weird dip from 2-3kHz, if it looks like it can easily be adjusted via EQ.

95dB!

 

[stunta]

Very informative video and thank you for the detailed explanation of the measurement outputs. It would be great if you could do a similar video for a speaker that has excellent measurements.

As for B&W, as long as their sales numbers meet or exceed targets, I don't see why they would change anything in their design - customer is never wrong.

 

[Klint]

Page 5: https://www.i-fidelity.net/testberichte/high-end/heco-direkt-dreiklang/labor-seite-5.html

Very good expect the weird dip from 2-3kHz, if it looks like it can easily be adjusted via EQ.

95dB!

Thanks for commenting.

 

[Descartes]

Thank you for all these reviews, it seems that of all the audio companies the only ones that design speakers properly are:
- Harman who owns Jbl & Revel
- KEF
- Genelec
One would think that companies that have great engineering capabilities like B&W owned now by Sound United design speakers properly!
With that or they did some quantitative market research and found people prefer the sound they design

 

[Stephen]

Very interesting Amirm! Thank you very much for all the explanations.

 

[Andrej]

Audio is very subjective, and fortunately, or not, our brain has great adaptive abilities. Since I invariably use Audyssey XT32 or something similar, I am personally much more concerned with distortion and sharp resonances, than smooth irregularities in frequency response, which, over time, my brain can smooth out for me, even without Audyssey. I also do not hear much over 11.5kHz:-( Thus, this speaker would be more than acceptable to me.

 

[kevin1969]

I have always loved the high end from B&W speakers but I could never put a finger on what I didn't like about the bass and mid bass in B&W and Amir's description It's exactly how I've always felt about them. I've always wanted to like them because they are such beautifully built speakers but I've always ended up buying something else.

I also recently just found out that there's some sort of historical connection to PSB and Revel which are the two speaker brands I own.

 

[GimeDsp]

I want a cymbal to sound right, and I want a snare drum to sound right. the BnW 607's and 606 make everything sound wrong.

 

[BWard]

I have the new Philharmonic Audio AA+ and I guarantee you that at $350 a pair, it is twice as good as this $700 a pair speaker. Also the easiest DIY project you will ever attempt. The cabinets are sent to you complete, the crossovers are complete and all you have to do is put a little adhesive on the bottom of the crossover, install it or screw it in the cabinet if you have hands the size of a 3 year old. Attach the drivers to the crossover, install the suppled sheets of fill, screw in the drivers and you're done. The instructions are very clear and easy to follow for a DIY chicken like me.
Been in this audio hobby for over 30 years and these speakers are the best value I've experienced in all of those years. The designer is also a hell of a nice guy and extremely helpful if you have any questions. I honestly feel he has created a classic; especially at that price. Absolute steal.

 

[krott5333]

Thank you for all these reviews, it seems that of all the audio companies the only ones that design speakers properly are:
- Harman who owns Jbl & Revel
- KEF
- Genelec

The ELAC dbr62 tested well, hence the reason I bought it.