Bowers & Wilkins 607 S2 Anniversary Edition Review

[Steve Dallas]

Please apply 1/24

View attachment 213799

Please apply 1/24 smoothing or post the .mdat file. I think you will see it with moderate smoothing applied.

How was this measurement taken?

 

[Christoph-ASR]

Attached the MDAT file (please rename the suffix !!!). How to apply the smoothing filter? The measurement was taken in 4m distance from the speakers in listening position in the triangle.

Here you can here an example -->

 

[Christoph-ASR]

Ok, I got it, there was of course a gap.

 

[Steve Dallas]

Ok, I got it, there was of course a gap.

View attachment 213816

If we draw a very rough approximation of the standard -10dB in-room response line to your graph, we get:

So, you do have some dips and dramatic treble roll-off above 10KHz where the tweeter beams. Batman has begun to take shape!

You can add some of the lost treble back by toeing the speakers in more, but you will probably also see treble lift above maybe 4KHz.

Import the attached target curve and overlay it with your measurements to get an idea of an ideal result vs. what you have measured.

 

[Christoph-ASR]

Excellent (was able to reproduce it). Really thanks for your explanation (I remember...

 

[Christoph-ASR]

The speakers were so bad that I sold them again.

 

[yellowdog815]

Hello, can you please post how to set the B&W 607 S2 Anniversary Edition EQ correction in Izotope Ozone 9 or Apogee ModEQ6 or FabFilter Pro-Q3 or can you recommend an EQ plugin and its correct settings.

 

[killdozzer]

Dont boring with this trail to deceive a physicist with marketing tricks from a bad company.

No need to be rude. You either can help the man or just say you can't. I t doesn't matter who likes which company.

 

[F1308]

Attached the MDAT file (please rename the suffix !!!). How to apply the smoothing filter? The measurement was taken in 4m distance from the speakers in listening position in the triangle.

Here you can here an example -->

Don't know which is which, but the ones placed outboards, without grills, yellow woofers, sound a bit plastic to me, the kick sounding first at 00:04 and then again at 02:09 is unbearable as perceived as coming out of a little child instrument. On the contrary, at 03:39 and 04:42 is heard as the real thing when played by the other pair.

 

[gitesh]

Hello. I have ordered bowers 706 s2 without demo as demo is not possible where I live . I will be pairing them with my old Harman Kardon 3380 stereo receiver. I have heard reviews that these speakers sound bright / harsh so one cannot listen for too long ? Did you have to do any tonal adjustments to 706 s2 ?

The latest generation of B&W speakers all seem to have the familiar 5-dB or so rise centered around 10KHz. I borrowed a pair of the 600 series' big brothers, the 706 S2. According to measurements I've seen, they share the rising top end of the 607s. I listen to classical music, which means a lot of violins, which in turn means listening to a lot of strident recordings of violins. I am very sensitive to this kind of shrillness (it's my pet peeve), and to my ears, the 706s presented a very subtle, very realistic portrayal of violins.

The speakers are a bit recessed in the brightness region, below 10KHz, but very airy and feathery around 10KHz and above. This is the sound I hear in the concert hall: a delightful, breathy, velvety sheen that hovers above the fundamental sounds. I didn't find the 706s to be shrill or strident on the music I love most. In reality, they presented a very realistic representation of real instruments. And they may be in my future!

 

[gasolin75]

Hello. I have ordered bowers 706 s2 without demo as demo is not possible where I live . I will be pairing them with my old Harman Kardon 3380 stereo receiver. I have heard reviews that these speakers sound bright / harsh so one cannot listen for too long ? Did you have to do any tonal adjustments to 706 s2 ?

Why so expensive speakers with a cheap amp like the Harman Kardon 3380 ?

 

[gitesh]

Why so expensive speakers with a cheap amp like the Harman Kardon 3380 ?

It’s an old amp I am having . Ran out of budget in speakers only . Will replace HK 3380 after sometime .

 

[Witterings]

I have heard reviews that these speakers sound bright / harsh so one cannot listen for too long ? Did you have to do any tonal adjustments to 706 s2 ?

I found a brilliant tonal adjustment for mine .... I sold them and bought some Elac's instead which worked a treat

 

[gitesh]

I found a brilliant tonal adjustment for mine .... I sold them and bought some Elac B5.2's which which worked a treat

Don’t have such options here

 

[Witterings]

Don’t have such options here

Could you have got the S3's instead of the S2's?

 

[gitesh]

S2 got it at a discounted price that’s why went with it .

 

[Propheticus]

The tonal adjustment you need depends a bit on your room and furnishing. The more 'soft' surfaces like drapes, rugs and sofa cushions the more reflections are absorbed.
To tune the direct sound you can reduce the toe-in angle, which affects higher frequencies more than lower ones.
Of course the effect an extra carpet or a bit of toe out has is limited and can't magically fix gross tonality issues.

 

[Chaconne]

Hello. I have ordered bowers 706 s2 without demo as demo is not possible where I live . I will be pairing them with my old Harman Kardon 3380 stereo receiver. I have heard reviews that these speakers sound bright / harsh so one cannot listen for too long ? Did you have to do any tonal adjustments to 706 s2 ?

I used bass and treble controls only when the recordings called for it.