I've recently bought a pair of 804N. Twenty years old. Paired with my Marantz PM-KI they are fantastic. A huge step up with respect to the LS50 I had before. I really don't think I'm ever gonna change speakers again😊
I own several B&Ws however I also own several other brand’s. The opposite of B&W to me is Magnepan’s which I also own. And this is all perfectly fine to me.
I love the sound of planar for upper frequencies. There's a big difference between ribbons, tweeters, and horns. I just recently discovered Emotiva's tweeters and I'll be buying myself a set of bookshelves for Christmas.
I figure everybody's ears are different that's why there's so many different speakers. I have about five pairs of speakers that I hook up and switch around according to my mood or the music I'm listening to that way I'm never get bored and none of them are high and speakers but all of them sound good in their own way
Why? People are bound to have different ears and brains which make sense of sound. People see differently, it's not a stretch to understand that people can hear differently too.
When I sold high-end audio, people often asked me what the best speaker was, and my stock answer was "the one that sounds best to you, and you should not let anyone dictate to you what that is." The proper reason for buying audio gear is to have personal enjoyment -- not to impress anyone.
My B&W 804s speakers are amazing I love them. Bryston amplification, Well Tempered Classic Black TT with Shure V15MR cartridge and PSA Power Plant, Perfect Wave DAC and Transport makes for a very musical combination!
I've always loved B&W, they use them at Abbey Road studios and you see them often in studios as a reference. I figure that if the music I listen to was mixed with them, then it makes sense to play back the audio with them also :) I'm running mine dual-amped with Linn Chakra and I think they're lovely. But as he says each to their own :)
I had some older DM series bookshelf speakers from B&W. (Made in the mid 80's to early 90's). They were definitely a little on the bright side but to each their own. We all have different tastes.
I have a pair of 607 and wharfedale 4.2. I like them both one does what the other doesn’t 607 - they are the very opposite of evos. The goods of these speakers are clarity, speed, holographic. I like them if im in the mood for live music, electric, rock. Evo 4.2 - sounds very big, sweets highs, room filling bass, turn it up, listen for hours, and no fatigue will come your way. I like them for primarily for jazz and reggae I was thinking of selling the 607 but having both serves me very well. And in the end both are impressive to me. Im set on my gear and i dont see me wanting for more... well maybe a cd player or turn table (it just never ends).
B&W are known to be brighter sounding, most know this but with the right gear and the right room all is good.My speakers are very neutral some would say boring in a fairly bright room with the gear I have they sound fantastic all about synergy.
I have acquired a set of B&W's DM14 recently. Had lots of different speakers and amps over the years, and I can't say the tweeters bugg me at all. Well roundend sound, no Shrill highs, and the bass...d#ng that bass just fills the room like no other, while never getting muddy even with the loudness button on. I use them with a vintage Sanyo A35 plus series amp at the moment.
I remember in 2014 I began to buy higher end speakers, I tried mid level Def Tech's, Paradigms, Boston Acoustic, etc.. just kept buying them and selling them a month or so after. I decided to go for it and really spend some money, got a pair of B&W Nautilus 903's I think it was.. So disappointed, I honestly thought they were way to laid back and just kind of boring. One day I purchased 10 pairs of different speakers at an auction, In that lot was a pair of Infinity RS-4B's, I knew they were older and looked cool but didn't really expect that within 5 minutes I would be saying "That's it, this is the sound I've been looking for!" I think I paid $70 for those! The magic of the EMIT tweeter and that fast, tight Infinity bass had bit me and I was hooked, Next came the RS-3B's then the Kappa 8.1's, and now my final resting place with Original Kappa 8's and Ren 90's. And that's only because I can't afford the Epilson or Beta's lol.
Paul, I doubt you will ever see this, as this little video is nearly 2 years old at this point, but I agree wholeheartedly. Since I was very young, reading Stereophile, Audio (it was a magazine and a good one way back), Stereo Review, all those old stereo magazines, and since then as well, Bowers and Wilkins has been held up as the best thing to happen to sound since, well ever. Fast forward to me being in my 30's, and I purchased not one, but two pairs of B&W. The first was a pair of bookshelves, and while they were okay...I was so unimpressed that I thought they must be wired out of phase, mine must be defective, maybe I'm just stupid, because what I've heard my entire life in the magazines, I did NOT hear in my room. Another year goes by and I buy a pair of floorstanding B&W speakers. Guys I'm sorry I don't remember the model numbers. Well, I liked these even less. It's not me, B&W, it's most definitely you. Unless I would get into the $15k line of B&W, I just do not believe they are the speaker for me (and even at $15k, the tweeters ARE fatiguing!) So yeah, at my middle income household, give me a nice set of Andrew Jones ELAC speakers, much more smooth and musical, which is what I am listening to now and I vastly prefer them to the Bower's and Wilkins' speakers that are collecting dust in my attic. Anyone want to buy them? lol
Now that is so funny as I had Elacs and loved them but when I replaced them with similar sized B&W CM10s I realized the top end was harsh on the Elacs. The B&Ws were just more refined at the top. Personal taste I guess.
Couldn't agree more, about ribbons! Once you have been exposed to them, there is no turning back. This is especially true if you are listening to types of music where natural timbre reproduction is very important, such classical music.
I think depends on the dome material, for example alu/magnesium has low break up frequency around 20khz (causes metallic coloration?), but diamond is around 70khz!
I was talking to someone who owned a high end stereo shop for 30 years and he was telling me that b&w speakers tweeters are very harsh. I thought yeah yeah, personal tastes and all... 5 months later, I am at a audiophile show in Toronto and we are coming up to a room around a bend, hiding the stereo brand, I could hear the music however. I Heard this high pitched sound that actually hurt my ears, I had to put my hand up to my ear, "What the hell was that?" It was a B&W system. So my point of view, I have to agree. A side note: we brought our service dog as well, and he loved all the TUBE AMPS!
Agree, my dad owns 802d's he says he like them a lot, hes very proud of them and so on, but guess what... he never, NEVER listen to them, that tweeter is unbearable.
@@ramonvives1674 the diamond tweeter is the thing that makes your ears ring...the nautilus tweeter is not that much of a problem (the difference being in the type of material used in the cone...)
Thanks Paul for being so diplomatic. As u said, its all a matter of taste. As for me i recall being attracted to b&w precisely becos of their highs. I was thinking wow that tweeter sounds very sweet, open & transparent. That was many years ago. Many yrs later i have owned several b&w spks and still continue to enjoy them. I also like ribbon tweeters and the best i heard so far are those designed by Bo Bengtsson. It was used in the Red Rose R3 bookshelf spks. However good as they are, ribbon tweeters are very difficult to mate seamlessly with a normal cone driver. Those that sounds coherent are those that have their output severely limited. For me that defeats the purpose of having a ribbon tweeter in the 1st plc. While i hv not heard all the hybrid ribbon/cone spks but most of what i heard are not totally seamless, even the very exp Raidho spks. Spks like Alta audio seems pretty seamless bcos they limit the output of their tweeters to a large degree. At least that’s what i heard. Ribbon tweeters are supposed to be very airy, extended & sparkling but those on Alta audio seems very dull & muted. In the 80s i have also heard many Infinity spks with Emit tweeters & somehow still felt that those didn’t really sound seamless too. The smaller infinity with dome tweeters sounded more musical & seamless but they lack a bit of refinement. At the end of the day, pick what u like & enjoy the music.
The Kevlar midrange of my B&W 804N's was as much to blame ad the tweeter for the often aggressive sound. With work, I got good recordings to sound good, but they were close to unlistenable on bad recordings. B&W said to have them pointed straight ahead, and specified a 10 foot listening distance. This was not possible in my living room, which no doubt, was evident in the overall sound.
I am actually on the same page as you are on B&W, its really odd though because the same brand sounds Much better in newer Volvos, however I purchased and returned a Zeppelin McLaren edition and my Harman Kardon onyx 4 and 7 both sound better and were way less expensive ! thanks for the content :)
I think it's also the CD that is playing and the room. I have PSB xt1 tower speakers and they sound very similar to my Bowers and Wilkins 685s2 bookshelves. Except the Bowers and Wilkins are bit more revealing. But PSB speakers are bright also. So are the vintage Polk audio monitor 4a speakers. Very fatiguing after awhile. Alot of it is the recordings.
I really enjoy Cerwin Vegas from the 80's and 90's. I love heavy hard hitting bass. Models with 12" or 15" drivers can go really deep with the lows. With that said the mids and tweeters sound good on the models I have no complaints from me.
I always thought it was just me that didn't like the tweeters on B&W speakers. I've owned a pair and listened to a pair that I thought I'd end up buying but couldn't gel with them either. I found the B&W tweeter threw the sound out in such a way as to make it difficult to place the high treble position in the soundstage. Well-off axis they sounded good though. When I demoed some B&W against the AE1 MkII and some AVI NuNeutrons, I ended up with the AE1's. The treble was actually better on the AVI but the overall joy was from the AEs. Still have the AEs 20 years on, and with the original surround foam! My listening tastes have moved on, so I now tend to listen with some TDL Studio 0.5s and a dinky pair of Alexander SE2. Much more 'musical' speakers as opposed to 'analytical'. Thanks for your great vids.
@@skylordsrebornpvpreplays5795 I owned a pair of B&W ZMF2002, albeit briefly and auditioned the B&W CDM1NT against the AVI NuNeutron and Acoustic Energy AE1 MK2 and settled for the AE1s. I've listened to many pairs of B&W speakers at HIFi shows in the UK in the 90s and although the look and finish of the B&Ws was and remains fantastic, I came to the same conclusion about the tweeters.
Had B&W 706 s2 for 6 months. They were to replace KEF LS50 which I had for 1 month. Both speakers auditioned well for an hour or so in the demo room. But at home quickly the KEF started to hurt my ears - too bright and aggressive , tiring and fatiguing to listen to. The B&W were better, but then after a month or so I felt they too were not as easy as I wanted. Used with a NAD M10 so I did a lot of tweaking with the full range DIRAC room correction I bought. Still too bright. Eventually replaced with Spendor A1. Nicer, easier and more intelligible mid range. I think I just might not like modern metal tweeters.
@@plblo858 Hi, I used them a lot for 6 months, so run in enough. They were not bad but still made me wince now and them. I thought do I want to be living with this for another 2 or 5 or whatever years ? A dealer let me borrow the Spendor A1's for a week and I switched them back and forwards. The Spendor were instantly less harsh - and the mid range vocals were unexpectedly clearer. As the B&W cabinets were larger their bass was a bit more room filling, but the Spendors were quite good enough for me in the bass. It's always a compromise - I am much happier with the Spendors.
I listened to a pair of B&W 802 speakers driven by (large) McIntosh tube monoblock amps. I found the tweeters quite nice and clear and not bright. The bass was a different story > weak and somewhat missing. I am a Acoustic Research owner (AR90, 9, 91 and 10Pi). I wish my tweeters sounded as clear. Like you said Paul --- It's personal preference.
You're cool. I like you. I'm over here with minimus 7s matched to a hilariously cheap Panasonic sub from the early oughts. Still enjoying your dulcet tones. Whatever works! One day I'll support you with dollars instead of just words, but in the meantime thank you for the great content.
I’m with you, Paul as far as tweeters go. I love my Adam A7X AMT tweeters. Even my $50/pair of Dayton Audio B652-Air AMT tweeters are very musical. Keep up the good work.🎼
I have a couple of pairs of B&W 602's as well as Ascend Acoustics Sierra Towers (dome tweeter) and Sierra 2EX bookshelf speakers. The ribbon tweeter on the 2EX is just phenomenal, and I absolutely agree with your stance on them. I do really the 602's as well - I feel like the bass & mid-bass is fantastic for rock music. They've really got some teeth.
I have six various CM speakers by B&W. They are not bad, but I prefer my Elac Debut Reference DBR62's by far. Much lower price. Much more balanced sound. Deep bass down to 30 htz (with tube preamp into 200 watt Class D amp). I dont care how pretty a cabinet is. I will not pay thousands of dollars for a nice paint job and shiny parts. As a musician, I want realistic sound with a big 3D soundstage. Elac does that. Well, mine do in my room! To BETTER the Elacs, I would expext to pay 10x. Thanks for the video.
Before I treated my listening room, my CM9 pair sounded too bright also, to the point of fatiguing. After acoustic treatments, they softened up and had more presence and depth and any harshness was gone. They do like to be driven at higher power levels.
Having lucked out on a pair of Matrix 804 floor standing loudspeakers with matching center unit for 75$, I think they’re superb when compared to my old Polk t50’s. I do like to hear a lot of treble though. A lot of speakers hide the details that these provide for me. Couldn’t bash on em but again 75$ was a heck of a deal.
Thanks Paul, I'm 100% agree with you regarding B&W sound signature. I have listened to many B&W speakers including very extensive one; however, they are too bright and dry to my taste.
50 odd years ago I built a pair of speakers using the Decca/Kelly ribbon tweeters which I loved. Too heavy to bring when I emigrated, I ended up with Maggies which have a similar treble. Over the years I have found metal dome tweeters do not agree with me, though I have not heard beryllium or diamond faced ones.
Your right Paul, I don't like B&W for the same reasons and I always liked Thiel Audio way better all around including price compared to B&W. Sad Jim Thiel passed he was a amazing engineer. I like Monitor Audio hands down over B&W there I just so many speakers better then that company to me anyway so I agree with you here.
Other adjectives to describe B&W speakers sound could be revealing, transparent,airy and precise none of which are faults but questions of synergy. I listen to B&W and when matched with valve pre amp gives a smooth yet detailed sound.
I've owned a pair of B&W Matrix 802 S3 since 2001 and it wasn't until 2019 when I bought a used pair of Dunlavy SC-III when I realized how bright the B&W tweeters are. They definitely sound slightly aggressive, and the drivers don't blend as well as the Dunlavy speakers. I've since gone from SC-III, to SC-IV to SC-V.
I had a pair of the original 801's for about 10 years. They were highly regarded on both sides of the Atlantic. For their day, their measurements were impeccable, and they had very extended bass response. Yet, I spent most of my time searching out amplification that could power them properly and sources (turntable at the time) that would complement their tonal characteristics. Turned up really loud, they sounded great. At moderate volumes, not so much. I finally sold the to a good friend who enjoyed them for many years, and still has the stored away in his basement after building himself a set of Linkwitz Orions.
I would agree - I have B&W 702 S2's and if they made them with a ribbon tweeter I'd snap them up. As it is I knock the treble down by 1db in my amp and it's enough to keep me happy. Overall I love the speakers but they are a pain in the ass to get positioned initially.
I had a pair and I had zero problems positioning them, and the tweeter was bright when the recording was crappy. Upgraded to 804s a few months ago and could not be happier. The treble is refined, airy and extended, never harsh except again when the recording is not up to snuff. I think this issue is the real knock on B&W, and the fact that most of them require quality power to sound good.
@@michaelmityok1001 I'm blaming my room, not the speakers for the positioning problems. I do need a decent amp - currently the PS Audio Stellar Strata, Rotel 1592, Parasound halo 6 and Musical fidelity 6si are on the short list. What do you power yours with (specifically your old 702's)?
@@michaelmityok1001 i agree, but i don’t even have 700 or 800 series, i am down with 600 series line as they was in my budget when i bought speakers for the first time 5 years ago, but i am intrested in the 702 s2 in the future
@@ruk2023-- CODA No. 8 Version 2, best amp I have ever owned by far. If there is a chance you can save up the money patiently, buy a CODA integrated (I think they are 6K approx). High current (75 amps!) and Class A bias, 10 year warranty with a buy-back program for when you want to upgrade - bonus is that it is all made-in-the-USA (if that is important to you). If not get the Kinki Studios EX-M1+ or Denafrips Hestia/Thallo pre/power stack through Vinshine Audio if you don't mind made-in-China gear. Vinshine Audio is the distributor, Alvin is the boss and a great guy, very professional and reliable when it comes to any warranty issues.
Paul planar ribbon tweeters while having excellent detail and fairly wide horizontal dispersion have narrow vertical dispersion and should be used in a line array ,is that what you are doing with your new speaker. Don't AMT tweeters sound as good with better vertical dispersion.
I prefer electrostatic tweeters. It was a real revelation to me when I heard KLH 9s. Now I listen to Acoustats. Only new speaker I heard that sounds as good are Sound Labs.
I had BW605 for a short time right before I got Maggie's, when I still had a pair Genesis genre 2s. The tweeter hurt my "cat ears" , too bright. I ended up giving them to goodwill.
@Jingle Nuts that was over 10 years ago and I had a Yamaha DSP-A1 at the time. My first experience with speakers was with my dad's Quad ESL 57 , so I have a bias for a type of sound I like. Oh I messed with dsp and eq settings, and other things. Tried a quad 405 amp and moscode 300 too. Was never really happy with the 605. I have magnepans + rotel class D power amp and a few pairs of stax now.
@@WillyJunior best I can figure it, is they'd rather shell out thousands of dollars and waste dozen of hours because turning the treble up or down is supposedly blasphemy. lol.
B&W typically uses aluminum dome tweeters that have a big ultrasonic peak (somewhere around 8dB at 28kHz), which could create some type of intermodulation distortion. I also think there is significant phase distortion from their use of second order crossover slopes. To me, they sound "Hi-Fi" vs natural.
in some of their speakers yes...there are also soft dome...diamond, and various other materials used in the domes all depending on the specific design of the speaker
I have 703s. Great for me with super tweeters. Yeah I had some French 3 ways speakers with a ribbon tweeter and a servo woofer. Amps gone years ago. Closer queens but wow were they great sounding. 3k list in 1980
I think personally, this topic can be very complex . It's Iike what would a person prefer as far as "room temperature" goes, at a particular time of day, evening, and at night. Now factor in the different house space locations, and finally the individual's age. I love these type of challenges which keeps the audiophile in me alive and active. Or maybe it's just that I'm losing it.
I keep a pair of B&W speakers in the stable to occasionally remind myself what too surgical sounds like. Allows me to adjust my perception by A/B comparison when voicing new builds or re-voicing old builds. It is too easy to climb that ladder toward accuracy - occasionally one needs to be reminded what has become painfully bright. For me, B&W is a few levels too far, and immediate torture to my ears. Because of this I've learned (and re-learned occasionally) to stay away from metal tweeters - as a general rule.
Hey Paul, I couldn't agree more with the ribbons. I use the Raven R1. Incredible detail and flat as a pancake. An Orca Design product. Also, yeah, I found the BW tweeters to be "hot" and that should easily show on the response graph. They should put a pot on them. The reason I say this is because some recorded music is dead on the top, and needs a little top end life.
I still use b&w 683 s2 that i bought 5 years ago love them, great match with hegel h190, the best part about them is the midrange, but the treple is very good as well, bass is tight, great for the most part but can become a bit muddy at times
@Lloyd Stout the room is not treated, but i have improved It in some ways like adding a carbet in between, the room is still ok for sound, what i meant by muddy bass, was not boomy bass by Any means, more expensive speakers will have a more defined bass, but for the pricepoint there is not much To complain about
I totally agree 100% with you Paul on most things Audio, B&W are not for my taste in the tweeter as well. I sure wish I had some PS Audio speakers but still getting the shaft! lol
i have 802's and i adore them...they must have very, very good amplification to drive them though otherwise they sound bright with weak bass. serious amps smooth the high end and deepen and tighten the bass. i also own a pair of Adam Audio monitors in my studio that use a ribbon 'x-art' tweeter but these are harder sounding than the 802s (still very good though)
Funny old game really... even if hifi equipment and speakers could accurately reproduce a near perfect representation of the musicians, venue and recording. Not everyone would like that sound. So we are lucky to have so many options to mix and match to suit our personal tastes and needs.
Do realize that when we listen at a concert, we are listening from whatever speakers they are using also. I think most of us forget that bit of info. I for one am glad we have so many speakers to choose from. I have ran across some I like and alot I dislike.
I wanted to hear the diamond tweeter when it came out. Also in the room was the Sonus Faber Toy I believe. B&W sounded like real cymbals. Yes incredible! But! Being in close proximity to a cymbal will make your ears bleed! The chocolate smoothness of the SF was milk and honey for the ears.
It's with taste, but it also has something to do with what kind of music we are talking about as well. For my part who likes almost all kinds of music, it becomes difficult to find the most perfect speakers for it.
I picked up a pair of DM1400's cheap, they were overly bright in the top end, installed a fixed L-Pad in each which cost me less than $20.00, problem solved, sounded beautiful after that.
I had older Dynaco A25 and B&W DM6 that have silk dome tweeters. After upgrading to 805 matrix and 804 nautilus and other speakers that have metal dome tweeters , I find the treble to bright and harsh. Most metal dome tweeters have very high resonance peaks in the ultra sonics region which you may not expect to affect the audio range. However, I wonder if it would intermodulation with lower band signals to cause audible distortion?
B&W speakers need -extensive- acoustic treatment in order to sound right, they are super hard to dial in in a room, if you have evil reflections then that tweeter mounted on top will be a problem. Excellent comment, Paul, and I completely concur- B&W speakers play -music like- sounds, yes, it can be very sweet and tick all the audiophile boxes. Funny thing thought, as 'good' as my B&W rig sounds, it just does not move me, not at all. On the other hand I have another rig that is not sweet, does not try to make the music sound special, it just plays the content I send and does so in a raw direct way that sounds like I'm in a practice studio with the band, instrument sound like real instruments, music sounds like music and it moves me deeply. So, yeah, I agree with Paul 1000%
@@brianmoore581 Open baffle speakers I designed, pro drivers and amps, hifi source, which I built after doing extensive room acoustics for the B&W system and concluding I was not getting what I want from the speakers, so the new project became an exploration of all the things I wanted combined with a deep think on what sounds and sound systems in my past experiences actually rang the bell for me.
Hi 👋 Sir good evening, I have question for you, l have listened to all European speakers and used in my system, I was not at all happy , I purchased Klipsch RP 8000 F , and very happy, now I planing to buy Forty Four Klipsch, 3 ways, l listen to it and compared with so many European speakers. Klipsch forty four was superb to listen, it suites my hears. Value for money klipsch. Others are more expensive to buy it. Focal, Sonus Faber, KEF, B&W, Wharfedale, all good 👍 But money need more. Thanks sir 🙏 Waiting for your reply.
Obviously I'm late to the game, but FWIW I also hated the bright sound of B&W speakers, and had written them off entirely. Then one day a pair of 90s 802 Series 3 popped up on my local Craigslist for a price that was absurd. I immediately agreed to buy them with the plan to just flip them. When I got them home and tested them on my system my jaw dropped. Long story short, I've now had them over a decade as my primary speakers. I love these things! If you have the chance of giving some of there 20th century speakers a listen, you might, like me, end up surprised.
I am looking at a pair of Matrix 800. It has a tweeter needing replaced. I was thinking of upgrading to another set of tweeters eg satori berylium tweeters. Thoughts Paul?
That's a tough one because the crossover in the speaker is designed specifically around the original tweeter. If you feel confident in your measuring abilities and are able to redesign the crossover then go for it!
I have an old pair of Matrix 804's and I'm realizing the highs are just too harsh for me when the music gets complicated. 80%-90% of what I listen to is rock - Wilco, GBV, Dylan, Pretenders, Courtney Barnett etc. I thought my NAD electronics were the culprit but upgrading electronics to Musical Fidelity and a new Denafrips Aries II dac, although much improved, the highs are still hard edged at volume enough to get the air moving.
+1 for ribbons/planars. I had them all, horns, domes, etc. I got my first set of megnepans (vintage MG IIIa’s) and I am HOOKED! I’ll never go back unless it’s for HT. Keep in mind what paul said... MUSICAL. So for HT I would say B&W type/horns/sharpness is what one might want in a movie room
I got into headphones about a decade ago, and I just don't care for Sennheisers 'phones, their house sound, if you will. I love the company, they make some killer mics
Me too! The "Sennheiser sound" does nothing for me. I bought a Bose QC 35 (which Paul once recommended I think) and I absolutely love it. Perfectly fits my kind of sound.
Hello Paul, Pedro here from Barcelona. i have a doubt maybe you could clarify me. If we have 1 DAC connected to your computer (music source) via usb+opt then goes to receiver, which DAC dominates? The 1st connected to computer or the receiver as the last device in the chain? Is actually my setup, from my DAC into my receiver where speackers are connected... thank you
If we could all recognize that peoples hearing varies from person to person. Just like with our other senses. EVERYONE hears EVERYTHING differently. Just like with vision, taste, smell and touch. Even if we all had the exact same hearing, that doesn't mean that we will all like the way one speaker sounds over another. We still have preferences. If a speaker sounds good to you, that's the speaker you should get. Not the one that someone else tells you sounds good. If you don't know or care what sounds good and you are only interested in what looks cool in your living room then you'll probably need someone to help you with that.
@Fat Rat We indeed have a lot of vinyl stores (selling those discs moving around) here in Southern California: www.google.com/maps/search/vinyl/@32.825346,-117.3912312,10z/data=!3m1!4b1
B&W’s have some problems (or house sound) in their tweeter. The dispersion pattern of the tweeter becomes very wide on the transition from the midrange that is beaming at it’s upper range. This is very much visible in their power response. As peaker’s frequency response pretty much follows the power response in untreated room, it means that this sudden change in the dispersion is very much audible.
Like any transducer.. the final "this is good" is all about the Human experience.... Good is ALWAYS in the ear of the listener in the transducer world. (Mics and Speakers)
hey paul exellent review for my ears i love ribbons as well but there are amazing tweeters like scanspeaks d 3004/6600 that sounds like high end ribbons and have amazing dynamics that not all ribbon has it sounds more lifelike to me.....
b&w works really really well with EDM, dance, modern music. not my favorite for classical or instrumental....that said i would love to see you cover the dynaudio emit m10 and m20. they are the best under $1000 bookshelf speakers i have ever heard. the midrange balance which is so wicked hard to pull off without shrill....they did
I agree with Paul. I like ribbon tweeters. The highs are just sweet and pleasing. B&W’s tend to be bright and harsh. I prefer Paradigm over B&W’s also.
I have to agree with Paul that ribbon / planar tweeter sounds better than other designs like dome or horn ect. I just prefer the sound ribbon or planar sound as they sound more natural.
There really isn't such thing as 'the B&W tweeter', I think.. They have many different types, depending on the series and price bracket. So, which one are you referring to, Paul..? 😉
- ... and the Crossover. The Tuning of a Tweeter via a "different " Crossover, can make a Change. Whether that would sound Better or NOT, is Very Subjective ! ;-)
@@RoaroftheTiger Isn't that really what he is saying? In general, he finds their sound to be tuned to a slightly different audio expression than his personal preference. The sound is a product of driver, crossover, wire and cabinet. I've never heard their top end product outside of an audio show. Based on the factory tours, they look like they put all the right ideas into them. I'm sure one could get used to them pretty quickly in most homes.
@@user-od9iz9cv1w - Actually, I Don't believe Paul was as explicit, as You say. But, of course, He Knows that. And He's said so, on many other occasions. A far, as "getting use" to a particular "sound or voicing" - You bet, It's true. But, I also worked in Audio Sales for Many Years. Speakers, ideally should be "auditioned", the way a Producer would Audition a Singer. What are You using to gauge " quality" ? For starters - You Need Reference Recorded MUSIC. (I've always found, that acoustic pieces, especially using "my favorite" Female Vocalist to be Very telling.) Were You able to have Your Music played, at said Hi Fi shows and Factory Tours ? Not likely. Factory Tours & Hi Fi shows (
I own 2 Pairs of B&W’S loudspeakers, a standmount pair and a floorstander pair. I like them a lot cause they are my first real hi-fi gear, before I had Philips and Technichs. Now, would I buy them again? Probably not! My tastes in music and sound have evolved, now I prefer Dali, Elac and Proac for the same money. I find them more natural, detailed and balanced, love ribbon tweeters! But B&W still makes great speakers, depends on taste and money!
The higher end B&W’s are very decent. But they are starting at close to 10k for relatively small speakers. But almost all decent contemporary speakers are at that price range
B&W speakers especially the mid and upper tier ones are fatiquingly bright. They may sound exciting at first but after a month or so the highs are so bright you don't want to listen to them for any extended time. I'll take Harbeths over them any day.
Likewise, I have owned my 801's for 30 years and never quite been comfortable with the upper mmids and hf. As I age and my tastes are not so much for ZZ Top and Robin Trower etc. the mid and tweeters bother me more. For years I have told people that the mid honks and the tweeter squeaks....even after the Northcreek upgrades.
All you guys that don’t like B&w sound, what kind of music are you listening to?? And also how about home theater and movies? What is your opinion of B&w in a home cinema??? Waiting for your opinion!!!
I have been disappointed in B&W's lower-end models. They remind me of Sennheiser's lower-end headphones -- dull and uninviting. B&W's higher-end speakers, however, have delighted me (when used with the right components) -- though these better models are priced above what I can afford to pay.
I've listens to the B&W D3 I think it was. Whatever the 12 grand a piece ones were and I thought they were ok. I went somewhere else and listen to a pair of dynaudio contour 60's and I thought they sounded way better for a lot lower price. The B&W was on a mac stack and the dyns were ran with atoll.
@@Badazz08 Those B&W speakers you heard were probably the 802 D3s. I have heard those and liked them. Unfortunately, I have not had the privilege of hearing the Dynaudio Contour 60s -- though you make me wish I had. I no longer live in a community that has a sufficient variety of high-end audio stores to which I can go and pretend I have the money to buy their products (and health problems prevent my traveling for trivial purposes).
The 598's & 599 series from Sennheiser are perfect gateway headphones. I do agree though that some of the lower end stuff built in the same frames can be a little on the dull side. (559's etc).
@@ShortHandedNow I bought a pair of the 598s a while back and returned them after two days of use. While I was not looking for the type of forward midrange some headphones in that price range have, the 598s lacked sufficient liveliness for my taste. I replaced those headphones with a pair of KLH (the new KLH under David Kelley) Ultimate Ones. These were reasonably priced (about the same as the 598s), had beryllium drivers, low impedance, and an open-back design. While these headphones were not exactly breathtaking, they were noticeably superior to the 598s and I still have them to use in my bedroom.
I think the issue may be related to the tweeter's transient and frequency response. People that like classical music generally like the sound like listening at a distance versus up close. When you listen at a distance instead of close to the instruments, the transients are less sharp and the upper trebles are rolled off a little due to the filtering effect of air. I'm not surprised about this.
Hi. What distance do you mean? I have 602sII & I listen to them at the distance of 4 meters. I usually listen to classical music, but they are absolutely great with any other styles.
@@kamrankheradbeigi8754 I am not talking about your distance from the speakers, but a about the distance between you and the orchestra in a live performance which is much more than your distance in a listening room. The B&W tweeters may be better simulating the response modification of the greater distance in a music hall. Think of how the sound changes if you could just walk right up to the stage and be maybe 10 feet away instead of 100 feet away, the transients and highest frequencies will be much more audible then.
@@StewartMarkley Thanks for the answer. Anyway B&W loudspeakers are great for classical music & many other styles such as electronic music. One of the very best sounds of Jean Michel Jarre's music I ever heard was & is from B&W. Details on these tweeters are absolutely amazing & crystal clear like.
@Fat Rat No, I haven't done much of anything lately because of TWO kidney stones and also will be going soon to get radiation on a pancreas tumor. I've beat pancreatic cancer for almost 5 years now and there is a small tumor that has been growing slowly that we want to attack now. Also If I don't pass the kidney stone by Oct. 26th I will go to the VA and get it surgically removed with a laser. LastlyI have a shake in my hands these days and I can't even solder the wires to the drivers so I have to get help with that. 😢
@Fat Rat That's real nice, thanks. You never beat pancreatic cancer, you have to try to manage it, which is why I get chemo every two weeks. And it is working for me except for this small spot that they have been watching that has been very slowly growing. It's 4.2 cm now and my markers have elevated so it's time to attack. I'm confident that the radiation will at least stop it for now or maybe even disappear,m we'll see. Having those speakers going would be great yes. I am having fun teaching my 9-year-old grandaughter electronics. She's my technician and started learning to solder but I can't hold the wires still. So I need her and my daughter to do it for me. In the meantime, I still do research and development work on a revolutionary speaker design that is top secret.
I just sold my B&W CM6 S2's almost exclusively because of the HF. I'm definitely new to the HiFi / Audiophile world, so excuse my verbiage: The tweeter is very bright, and feels like it's playing louder and prouder than the mids. I find in most of my listening experiences that a) i have to get up to a moderate volume to get enough mid range (running 120W/channel) ; b) after listening to 30min + my ears will actually hurt from the HF sounds... it's almost ear-piercing. The accuracy with which they played was phenomenal, but it was just not something I could enjoy over an extended period... which is what I like to do. So, I've purchased a pair of Tekton Design Double Impacts. Obviously huge difference between Bookshelf and Floor standing, but really wanted something that had presence and oomph without trying so hard.
the most likely solution would have treat your listening room as it demands - it is 50% of what you hear - been there, after made my room perfect I stopped turn down treble
I've recently bought a pair of 804N. Twenty years old. Paired with my Marantz PM-KI they are fantastic. A huge step up with respect to the LS50 I had before.
I really don't think I'm ever gonna change speakers again😊
I own several B&Ws however I also own several other brand’s. The opposite of B&W to me is Magnepan’s which I also own. And this is all perfectly fine to me.
Wow! You must be loaded with money!
I love the sound of planar for upper frequencies. There's a big difference between ribbons, tweeters, and horns.
I just recently discovered Emotiva's tweeters and I'll be buying myself a set of bookshelves for Christmas.
I figure everybody's ears are different that's why there's so many different speakers. I have about five pairs of speakers that I hook up and switch around according to my mood or the music I'm listening to that way I'm never get bored and none of them are high and speakers but all of them sound good in their own way
As a high-fi salesperson I'm baffled by what other people hear. It's all good though as long as they are happy with their purchase.
Why? People are bound to have different ears and brains which make sense of sound. People see differently, it's not a stretch to understand that people can hear differently too.
@@captainwin6333 it's baffling but I understand people have different ears.
B&W fanboys get really agitated if someone doesn't like it.
@@wa2368 I'm a KEF fan myself.
When I sold high-end audio, people often asked me what the best speaker was, and my stock answer was "the one that sounds best to you, and you should not let anyone dictate to you what that is." The proper reason for buying audio gear is to have personal enjoyment -- not to impress anyone.
My B&W 804s speakers are amazing I love them. Bryston amplification, Well Tempered Classic Black TT with Shure V15MR cartridge and PSA Power Plant, Perfect Wave DAC and Transport makes for a very musical combination!
I've always loved B&W, they use them at Abbey Road studios and you see them often in studios as a reference. I figure that if the music I listen to was mixed with them, then it makes sense to play back the audio with them also :) I'm running mine dual-amped with Linn Chakra and I think they're lovely. But as he says each to their own :)
I had some older DM series bookshelf speakers from B&W. (Made in the mid 80's to early 90's). They were definitely a little on the bright side but to each their own. We all have different tastes.
I have a pair of 607 and wharfedale 4.2. I like them both one does what the other doesn’t
607 - they are the very opposite of evos. The goods of these speakers are clarity, speed, holographic. I like them if im in the mood for live music, electric, rock.
Evo 4.2 - sounds very big, sweets highs, room filling bass, turn it up, listen for hours, and no fatigue will come your way. I like them for primarily for jazz and reggae
I was thinking of selling the 607 but having both serves me very well. And in the end both are impressive to me. Im set on my gear and i dont see me wanting for more... well maybe a cd player or turn table (it just never ends).
B&W are known to be brighter sounding, most know this but with the right gear and the right room all is good.My speakers are very neutral some would say boring in a fairly bright room with the gear I have they sound fantastic all about synergy.
Totally agree!
I have acquired a set of B&W's DM14 recently. Had lots of different speakers and amps over the years, and I can't say the tweeters bugg me at all. Well roundend sound, no Shrill highs, and the bass...d#ng that bass just fills the room like no other, while never getting muddy even with the loudness button on. I use them with a vintage Sanyo A35 plus series amp at the moment.
I remember in 2014 I began to buy higher end speakers, I tried mid level Def Tech's, Paradigms, Boston Acoustic, etc.. just kept buying them and selling them a month or so after. I decided to go for it and really spend some money, got a pair of B&W Nautilus 903's I think it was.. So disappointed, I honestly thought they were way to laid back and just kind of boring.
One day I purchased 10 pairs of different speakers at an auction, In that lot was a pair of Infinity RS-4B's, I knew they were older and looked cool but didn't really expect that within 5 minutes I would be saying "That's it, this is the sound I've been looking for!" I think I paid $70 for those! The magic of the EMIT tweeter and that fast, tight Infinity bass had bit me and I was hooked, Next came the RS-3B's then the Kappa 8.1's, and now my final resting place with Original Kappa 8's and Ren 90's. And that's only because I can't afford the Epilson or Beta's lol.
Paul, I doubt you will ever see this, as this little video is nearly 2 years old at this point, but I agree wholeheartedly. Since I was very young, reading Stereophile, Audio (it was a magazine and a good one way back), Stereo Review, all those old stereo magazines, and since then as well, Bowers and Wilkins has been held up as the best thing to happen to sound since, well ever. Fast forward to me being in my 30's, and I purchased not one, but two pairs of B&W. The first was a pair of bookshelves, and while they were okay...I was so unimpressed that I thought they must be wired out of phase, mine must be defective, maybe I'm just stupid, because what I've heard my entire life in the magazines, I did NOT hear in my room. Another year goes by and I buy a pair of floorstanding B&W speakers. Guys I'm sorry I don't remember the model numbers. Well, I liked these even less. It's not me, B&W, it's most definitely you. Unless I would get into the $15k line of B&W, I just do not believe they are the speaker for me (and even at $15k, the tweeters ARE fatiguing!) So yeah, at my middle income household, give me a nice set of Andrew Jones ELAC speakers, much more smooth and musical, which is what I am listening to now and I vastly prefer them to the Bower's and Wilkins' speakers that are collecting dust in my attic. Anyone want to buy them? lol
Now that is so funny as I had Elacs and loved them but when I replaced them with similar sized B&W CM10s I realized the top end was harsh on the Elacs. The B&Ws were just more refined at the top.
Personal taste I guess.
all depends a large extent to the room they play
Couldn't agree more, about ribbons! Once you have been exposed to them, there is no turning back. This is especially true if you are listening to types of music where natural timbre reproduction is very important, such classical music.
I think depends on the dome material, for example alu/magnesium has low break up frequency around 20khz (causes metallic coloration?), but diamond is around 70khz!
I was talking to someone who owned a high end stereo shop for 30 years and he was telling me that b&w speakers tweeters are very harsh. I thought yeah yeah, personal tastes and all... 5 months later, I am at a audiophile show in Toronto and we are coming up to a room around a bend, hiding the stereo brand, I could hear the music however. I Heard this high pitched sound that actually hurt my ears, I had to put my hand up to my ear, "What the hell was that?" It was a B&W system. So my point of view, I have to agree. A side note: we brought our service dog as well, and he loved all the TUBE AMPS!
Agree, my dad owns 802d's he says he like them a lot, hes very proud of them and so on, but guess what... he never, NEVER listen to them, that tweeter is unbearable.
@@ramonvives1674 the diamond tweeter is the thing that makes your ears ring...the nautilus tweeter is not that much of a problem (the difference being in the type of material used in the cone...)
Thanks Paul for being so diplomatic. As u said, its all a matter of taste. As for me i recall being attracted to b&w precisely becos of their highs. I was thinking wow that tweeter sounds very sweet, open & transparent. That was many years ago. Many yrs later i have owned several b&w spks and still continue to enjoy them. I also like ribbon tweeters and the best i heard so far are those designed by Bo Bengtsson. It was used in the Red Rose R3 bookshelf spks. However good as they are, ribbon tweeters are very difficult to mate seamlessly with a normal cone driver. Those that sounds coherent are those that have their output severely limited. For me that defeats the purpose of having a ribbon tweeter in the 1st plc. While i hv not heard all the hybrid ribbon/cone spks but most of what i heard are not totally seamless, even the very exp Raidho spks. Spks like Alta audio seems pretty seamless bcos they limit the output of their tweeters to a large degree. At least that’s what i heard. Ribbon tweeters are supposed to be very airy, extended & sparkling but those on Alta audio seems very dull & muted. In the 80s i have also heard many Infinity spks with Emit tweeters & somehow still felt that those didn’t really sound seamless too. The smaller infinity with dome tweeters sounded more musical & seamless but they lack a bit of refinement. At the end of the day, pick what u like & enjoy the music.
The Kevlar midrange of my B&W 804N's was as much to blame ad the tweeter for the often aggressive sound. With work, I got good recordings to sound good, but they were close to unlistenable on bad recordings. B&W said to have them pointed straight ahead, and specified a 10 foot listening distance. This was not possible in my living room, which no doubt, was evident in the overall sound.
Speakers are just very personal because everybody likes a different flavour of fake :)
So true.
I am actually on the same page as you are on B&W, its really odd though because the same brand sounds Much better in newer Volvos, however I purchased and returned a Zeppelin McLaren edition and my Harman Kardon onyx 4 and 7 both sound better and were way less expensive ! thanks for the content :)
I think it's also the CD that is playing and the room. I have PSB xt1 tower speakers and they sound very similar to my Bowers and Wilkins 685s2 bookshelves. Except the Bowers and Wilkins are bit more revealing. But PSB speakers are bright also. So are the vintage Polk audio monitor 4a speakers. Very fatiguing after awhile. Alot of it is the recordings.
I really enjoy Cerwin Vegas from the 80's and 90's. I love heavy hard hitting bass. Models with 12" or 15" drivers can go really deep with the lows. With that said the mids and tweeters sound good on the models I have no complaints from me.
My pick and all time favorite, the Cerwin-Vega AT-15. That model debuted in 1987.
@@derek15boom That's one of the pair a have. They are awesome.
I always thought it was just me that didn't like the tweeters on B&W speakers. I've owned a pair and listened to a pair that I thought I'd end up buying but couldn't gel with them either.
I found the B&W tweeter threw the sound out in such a way as to make it difficult to place the high treble position in the soundstage. Well-off axis they sounded good though.
When I demoed some B&W against the AE1 MkII and some AVI NuNeutrons, I ended up with the AE1's. The treble was actually better on the AVI but the overall joy was from the AEs. Still have the AEs 20 years on, and with the original surround foam!
My listening tastes have moved on, so I now tend to listen with some TDL Studio 0.5s and a dinky pair of Alexander SE2. Much more 'musical' speakers as opposed to 'analytical'.
Thanks for your great vids.
which b&w model did you get to try?
@@skylordsrebornpvpreplays5795
I owned a pair of B&W ZMF2002, albeit briefly and auditioned the B&W CDM1NT against the AVI NuNeutron and Acoustic Energy AE1 MK2 and settled for the AE1s. I've listened to many pairs of B&W speakers at HIFi shows in the UK in the 90s and although the look and finish of the B&Ws was and remains fantastic, I came to the same conclusion about the tweeters.
Had B&W 706 s2 for 6 months. They were to replace KEF LS50 which I had for 1 month. Both speakers auditioned well for an hour or so in the demo room. But at home quickly the KEF started to hurt my ears - too bright and aggressive , tiring and fatiguing to listen to. The B&W were better, but then after a month or so I felt they too were not as easy as I wanted. Used with a NAD M10 so I did a lot of tweaking with the full range DIRAC room correction I bought. Still too bright. Eventually replaced with Spendor A1. Nicer, easier and more intelligible mid range. I think I just might not like modern metal tweeters.
Sounds like Elac might b right up your alley🍻
Once the B&W speakers run in properly, never get tired even after whole day listening.
@@plblo858 Hi, I used them a lot for 6 months, so run in enough. They were not bad but still made me wince now and them. I thought do I want to be living with this for another 2 or 5 or whatever years ? A dealer let me borrow the Spendor A1's for a week and I switched them back and forwards. The Spendor were instantly less harsh - and the mid range vocals were unexpectedly clearer. As the B&W cabinets were larger their bass was a bit more room filling, but the Spendors were quite good enough for me in the bass. It's always a compromise - I am much happier with the Spendors.
I listened to a pair of B&W 802 speakers driven by (large) McIntosh tube monoblock amps. I found the tweeters quite nice and clear and not bright. The bass was a different story > weak and somewhat missing. I am a Acoustic Research owner (AR90, 9, 91 and 10Pi). I wish my tweeters sounded as clear.
Like you said Paul --- It's personal preference.
You're cool. I like you. I'm over here with minimus 7s matched to a hilariously cheap Panasonic sub from the early oughts. Still enjoying your dulcet tones. Whatever works! One day I'll support you with dollars instead of just words, but in the meantime thank you for the great content.
I’m with you, Paul as far as tweeters go. I love my Adam A7X AMT tweeters. Even my $50/pair of Dayton Audio B652-Air AMT tweeters are very musical. Keep up the good work.🎼
I have a couple of pairs of B&W 602's as well as Ascend Acoustics Sierra Towers (dome tweeter) and Sierra 2EX bookshelf speakers. The ribbon tweeter on the 2EX is just phenomenal, and I absolutely agree with your stance on them. I do really the 602's as well - I feel like the bass & mid-bass is fantastic for rock music. They've really got some teeth.
I have six various CM speakers by B&W. They are not bad, but I prefer my Elac Debut Reference DBR62's by far. Much lower price. Much more balanced sound. Deep bass down to 30 htz (with tube preamp into 200 watt Class D amp). I dont care how pretty a cabinet is. I will not pay thousands of dollars for a nice paint job and shiny parts. As a musician, I want realistic sound with a big 3D soundstage. Elac does that. Well, mine do in my room! To BETTER the Elacs, I would expext to pay 10x. Thanks for the video.
Before I treated my listening room, my CM9 pair sounded too bright also, to the point of fatiguing. After acoustic treatments, they softened up and had more presence and depth and any harshness was gone. They do like to be driven at higher power levels.
Having lucked out on a pair of Matrix 804 floor standing loudspeakers with matching center unit for 75$, I think they’re superb when compared to my old Polk t50’s. I do like to hear a lot of treble though. A lot of speakers hide the details that these provide for me. Couldn’t bash on em but again 75$ was a heck of a deal.
Thanks Paul, I'm 100% agree with you regarding B&W sound signature. I have listened to many B&W speakers including very extensive one; however, they are too bright and dry to my taste.
50 odd years ago I built a pair of speakers using the Decca/Kelly ribbon tweeters which I loved. Too heavy to bring when I emigrated, I ended up with Maggies which have a similar treble. Over the years I have found metal dome tweeters do not agree with me, though I have not heard beryllium or diamond faced ones.
Your right Paul, I don't like B&W for the same reasons and I always liked Thiel Audio way better all around including price compared to B&W. Sad Jim Thiel passed he was a amazing engineer. I like Monitor Audio hands down over B&W there I just so many speakers better then that company to me anyway so I agree with you here.
Other adjectives to describe B&W speakers sound could be revealing, transparent,airy and precise none of which are faults but questions of synergy.
I listen to B&W and when matched with valve pre amp gives a smooth yet detailed sound.
transparent and clear, no other brand comes close in this regard
I've owned a pair of B&W Matrix 802 S3 since 2001 and it wasn't until 2019 when I bought a used pair of Dunlavy SC-III when I realized how bright the B&W tweeters are. They definitely sound slightly aggressive, and the drivers don't blend as well as the Dunlavy speakers. I've since gone from SC-III, to SC-IV to SC-V.
You nailed perfectly about B&W.
I had a pair of the original 801's for about 10 years. They were highly regarded on both sides of the Atlantic. For their day, their measurements were impeccable, and they had very extended bass response. Yet, I spent most of my time searching out amplification that could power them properly and sources (turntable at the time) that would complement their tonal characteristics. Turned up really loud, they sounded great. At moderate volumes, not so much. I finally sold the to a good friend who enjoyed them for many years, and still has the stored away in his basement after building himself a set of Linkwitz Orions.
I would agree - I have B&W 702 S2's and if they made them with a ribbon tweeter I'd snap them up. As it is I knock the treble down by 1db in my amp and it's enough to keep me happy. Overall I love the speakers but they are a pain in the ass to get positioned initially.
I had a pair and I had zero problems positioning them, and the tweeter was bright when the recording was crappy. Upgraded to 804s a few months ago and could not be happier. The treble is refined, airy and extended, never harsh except again when the recording is not up to snuff. I think this issue is the real knock on B&W, and the fact that most of them require quality power to sound good.
@@michaelmityok1001 I'm blaming my room, not the speakers for the positioning problems. I do need a decent amp - currently the PS Audio Stellar Strata, Rotel 1592, Parasound halo 6 and Musical fidelity 6si are on the short list. What do you power yours with (specifically your old 702's)?
@@michaelmityok1001 i agree, but i don’t even have 700 or 800 series, i am down with 600 series line as they was in my budget when i bought speakers for the first time 5 years ago, but i am intrested in the 702 s2 in the future
@@ruk2023-- CODA No. 8 Version 2, best amp I have ever owned by far. If there is a chance you can save up the money patiently, buy a CODA integrated (I think they are 6K approx). High current (75 amps!) and Class A bias, 10 year warranty with a buy-back program for when you want to upgrade - bonus is that it is all made-in-the-USA (if that is important to you). If not get the Kinki Studios EX-M1+ or Denafrips Hestia/Thallo pre/power stack through Vinshine Audio if you don't mind made-in-China gear. Vinshine Audio is the distributor, Alvin is the boss and a great guy, very professional and reliable when it comes to any warranty issues.
@@michaelmityok1001 Thanks man, I'll look into them.
Pol, north Finland at the same time north of Norway!
I wonder if Paul's referring to B&W's diamond tweeters, which I believe most of their line doesn't have.
They design ALL their speakers, no matter which tweeter they use, to be very tipped up and hot in the treble
Paul planar ribbon tweeters while having excellent detail and fairly wide horizontal dispersion have narrow vertical dispersion and should be used in a line array ,is that what you are doing with your new speaker. Don't AMT tweeters sound as good with better vertical dispersion.
I prefer electrostatic tweeters. It was a real revelation to me when I heard KLH 9s. Now I listen to Acoustats. Only new speaker I heard that sounds as good are Sound Labs.
I had BW605 for a short time right before I got Maggie's, when I still had a pair Genesis genre 2s. The tweeter hurt my "cat ears" , too bright. I ended up giving them to goodwill.
Why don't people use EQs?
@Jingle Nuts that was over 10 years ago and I had a Yamaha DSP-A1 at the time. My first experience with speakers was with my dad's Quad ESL 57 , so I have a bias for a type of sound I like. Oh I messed with dsp and eq settings, and other things. Tried a quad 405 amp and moscode 300 too. Was never really happy with the 605. I have magnepans + rotel class D power amp and a few pairs of stax now.
Ha, thats strange as hell Jaakan, bc a few years ago (probably in 2015) i bought my pair at goodwill :)
Not joking.
@@WillyJunior best I can figure it, is they'd rather shell out thousands of dollars and waste dozen of hours because turning the treble up or down is supposedly blasphemy. lol.
@@WillyJunior People don't like the phase issues caused by EQ.
B&W typically uses aluminum dome tweeters that have a big ultrasonic peak (somewhere around 8dB at 28kHz), which could create some type of intermodulation distortion. I also think there is significant phase distortion from their use of second order crossover slopes. To me, they sound "Hi-Fi" vs natural.
in some of their speakers yes...there are also soft dome...diamond, and various other materials used in the domes
all depending on the specific design of the speaker
I have 703s. Great for me with super tweeters. Yeah I had some French 3 ways speakers with a ribbon tweeter and a servo woofer. Amps gone years ago. Closer queens but wow were they great sounding. 3k list in 1980
They are bright as hell!!
I think personally, this topic can be very complex . It's Iike what would a person prefer as far as "room temperature" goes, at a particular time of day, evening, and at night. Now factor in the different house space locations, and finally the individual's age. I love these type of challenges which keeps the audiophile in me alive and active. Or maybe it's just that I'm losing it.
Good points Paul. Listening and taste\preference are as important as engineering when It comes to choosing loudspeakers for home listening pleasure.
Hi Paul great channel👍 what do you think of paradigm speakers,
I keep a pair of B&W speakers in the stable to occasionally remind myself what too surgical sounds like. Allows me to adjust my perception by A/B comparison when voicing new builds or re-voicing old builds. It is too easy to climb that ladder toward accuracy - occasionally one needs to be reminded what has become painfully bright. For me, B&W is a few levels too far, and immediate torture to my ears. Because of this I've learned (and re-learned occasionally) to stay away from metal tweeters - as a general rule.
It's not the metal tweeter, it's the crossover design with the tweeter too hot
On a blind test no one can tell speakers apart. These audiophiles folks are pure comedy 😆✌🏽
Hey Paul, I couldn't agree more with the ribbons. I use the Raven R1. Incredible detail and flat as a pancake. An Orca Design product. Also, yeah, I found the BW tweeters to be "hot" and that should easily show on the response graph. They should put a pot on them. The reason I say this is because some recorded music is dead on the top, and needs a little top end life.
I still use b&w 683 s2 that i bought 5 years ago love them, great match with hegel h190, the best part about them is the midrange, but the treple is very good as well, bass is tight, great for the most part but can become a bit muddy at times
@Lloyd Stout the room is not treated, but i have improved It in some ways like adding a carbet in between, the room is still ok for sound, what i meant by muddy bass, was not boomy bass by Any means, more expensive speakers will have a more defined bass, but for the pricepoint there is not much To complain about
@@andreasmoller9798 muddy bass comes if you don't have good isolation between speakers and floor.
I totally agree 100% with you Paul on most things Audio, B&W are not for my taste in the tweeter as well. I sure wish I had some PS Audio speakers but still getting the shaft! lol
The picture quality is so good, better than the sound! Good job.
i have 802's and i adore them...they must have very, very good amplification to drive them though otherwise they sound bright with weak bass. serious amps smooth the high end and deepen and tighten the bass. i also own a pair of Adam Audio monitors in my studio that use a ribbon 'x-art' tweeter but these are harder sounding than the 802s (still very good though)
Funny old game really... even if hifi equipment and speakers could accurately reproduce a near perfect representation of the musicians, venue and recording. Not everyone would like that sound.
So we are lucky to have so many options to mix and match to suit our personal tastes and needs.
Do realize that when we listen at a concert, we are listening from whatever speakers they are using also. I think most of us forget that bit of info.
I for one am glad we have so many speakers to choose from. I have ran across some I like and alot I dislike.
@@Badazz08 true and we can save ourselves a fortune if we demo stuff before buying.
@@humanitech heck yeah. I always demo stuff. I listened to my focal 836v for a while before pulling the trigger on em.
I wanted to hear the diamond tweeter when it came out. Also in the room was the Sonus Faber Toy I believe. B&W sounded like real cymbals. Yes incredible! But! Being in close proximity to a cymbal will make your ears bleed! The chocolate smoothness of the SF was milk and honey for the ears.
It's with taste, but it also has something to do with what kind of music we are talking about as well. For my part who likes almost all kinds of music, it becomes difficult to find the most perfect speakers for it.
I picked up a pair of DM1400's cheap, they were overly bright in the top end, installed a fixed L-Pad in each which cost me less than $20.00, problem solved, sounded beautiful after that.
American & British speakers , different preference, to each his own of course
I had older Dynaco A25 and B&W DM6 that have silk dome tweeters. After upgrading to 805 matrix and 804 nautilus and other speakers that have metal dome tweeters , I find the treble to bright and harsh. Most metal dome tweeters have very high resonance peaks in the ultra sonics region which you may not expect to affect the audio range. However, I wonder if it would intermodulation with lower band signals to cause audible distortion?
Paul what do you think another the klipsch rp8000f ii and how would you compare them
B&W speakers need -extensive- acoustic treatment in order to sound right, they are super hard to dial in in a room, if you have evil reflections then that tweeter mounted on top will be a problem.
Excellent comment, Paul, and I completely concur- B&W speakers play -music like- sounds, yes, it can be very sweet and tick all the audiophile boxes. Funny thing thought, as 'good' as my B&W rig sounds, it just does not move me, not at all. On the other hand I have another rig that is not sweet, does not try to make the music sound special, it just plays the content I send and does so in a raw direct way that sounds like I'm in a practice studio with the band, instrument sound like real instruments, music sounds like music and it moves me deeply.
So, yeah, I agree with Paul 1000%
So what's the other rig?
@@brianmoore581 Open baffle speakers I designed, pro drivers and amps, hifi source, which I built after doing extensive room acoustics for the B&W system and concluding I was not getting what I want from the speakers, so the new project became an exploration of all the things I wanted combined with a deep think on what sounds and sound systems in my past experiences actually rang the bell for me.
hmm so which b&w model was that?
@@bc527c @
I hate to admit it but I used to own Bose, I upgraded to JBL and now have B&W. I just love the sound of B&W bookshelf & subwoofer combo.
me too, 805 D3 + subwoofer, sound great
Hi 👋 Sir good evening, I have question for you, l have listened to all European speakers and used in my system, I was not at all happy , I purchased Klipsch RP 8000 F , and very happy, now I planing to buy Forty Four Klipsch, 3 ways, l listen to it and compared with so many European speakers. Klipsch forty four was superb to listen, it suites my hears. Value for money klipsch. Others are more expensive to buy it. Focal, Sonus Faber, KEF, B&W, Wharfedale, all good 👍 But money need more. Thanks sir 🙏 Waiting for your reply.
Obviously I'm late to the game, but FWIW I also hated the bright sound of B&W speakers, and had written them off entirely. Then one day a pair of 90s 802 Series 3 popped up on my local Craigslist for a price that was absurd. I immediately agreed to buy them with the plan to just flip them. When I got them home and tested them on my system my jaw dropped. Long story short, I've now had them over a decade as my primary speakers. I love these things! If you have the chance of giving some of there 20th century speakers a listen, you might, like me, end up surprised.
Yeah, Paul. All in all, it's the one's perception that counts.
I am looking at a pair of Matrix 800. It has a tweeter needing replaced. I was thinking of upgrading to another set of tweeters eg satori berylium tweeters. Thoughts Paul?
That's a tough one because the crossover in the speaker is designed specifically around the original tweeter. If you feel confident in your measuring abilities and are able to redesign the crossover then go for it!
I have an old pair of Matrix 804's and I'm realizing the highs are just too harsh for me when the music gets complicated. 80%-90% of what I listen to is rock - Wilco, GBV, Dylan, Pretenders, Courtney Barnett etc. I thought my NAD electronics were the culprit but upgrading electronics to Musical Fidelity and a new Denafrips Aries II dac, although much improved, the highs are still hard edged at volume enough to get the air moving.
And what about focal do you like the speakers lines ?
+1 for ribbons/planars. I had them all, horns, domes, etc. I got my first set of megnepans (vintage MG IIIa’s) and I am HOOKED! I’ll never go back unless it’s for HT. Keep in mind what paul said... MUSICAL. So for HT I would say B&W type/horns/sharpness is what one might want in a movie room
I find b&w bright but still musical in my opinion
why though, why not just have 1 setup for everything
Good for you Paul. Decent and honest 😃
my tweeters wer made in the seventies.I got them in 1999 so you know i had a loud system, the tweeties still work as they are the voice of the music
I got into headphones about a decade ago, and I just don't care for Sennheisers 'phones, their house sound, if you will. I love the company, they make some killer mics
Me too! The "Sennheiser sound" does nothing for me. I bought a Bose QC 35 (which Paul once recommended I think) and I absolutely love it. Perfectly fits my kind of sound.
I had many, but i love only AKG.
Bit like North Carolina. ( the south or north thing )
Anyway what's your opinion on Dali ?.
Hello Paul, Pedro here from Barcelona. i have a doubt maybe you could clarify me. If we have 1 DAC connected to your computer (music source) via usb+opt then goes to receiver, which DAC dominates? The 1st connected to computer or the receiver as the last device in the chain? Is actually my setup, from my DAC into my receiver where speackers are connected... thank you
If we could all recognize that peoples hearing varies from person to person. Just like with our other senses. EVERYONE hears EVERYTHING differently. Just like with vision, taste, smell and touch. Even if we all had the exact same hearing, that doesn't mean that we will all like the way one speaker sounds over another. We still have preferences. If a speaker sounds good to you, that's the speaker you should get. Not the one that someone else tells you sounds good. If you don't know or care what sounds good and you are only interested in what looks cool in your living room then you'll probably need someone to help you with that.
I have the same opinion. JBL, B&W and Infinity tweeters. That also comes to car stereo
Most audio brands with a long history have made some excellent as well as some bad products. Just ignore those bad ones.
@Fat Rat We indeed have a lot of vinyl stores (selling those discs moving around) here in Southern California: www.google.com/maps/search/vinyl/@32.825346,-117.3912312,10z/data=!3m1!4b1
Warrior nodding to warrior. Nice vid Paul. Love B&W!
Many people complain about the squeaky sound of the KEF T27 and the honky resonances of the B110. But go check out the prices of BBC LS3/5a units.
I had a Bowers and Wilkins 802, I liked it....I liked it a lot. Until I went magnepan, sold the 802 never slept less over it
which model did you choose?
B&W’s have some problems (or house sound) in their tweeter. The dispersion pattern of the tweeter becomes very wide on the transition from the midrange that is beaming at it’s upper range. This is very much visible in their power response. As peaker’s frequency response pretty much follows the power response in untreated room, it means that this sudden change in the dispersion is very much audible.
what does that mean in the end?
Like any transducer.. the final "this is good" is all about the Human experience.... Good is ALWAYS in the ear of the listener in the transducer world. (Mics and Speakers)
hey paul exellent review for my ears i love ribbons as well but there are amazing tweeters like scanspeaks d 3004/6600 that sounds like high end ribbons and have amazing dynamics that not all ribbon has it sounds more lifelike to me.....
I absolutely love my B&W’s for 2 channel.
b&w works really really well with EDM, dance, modern music. not my favorite for classical or instrumental....that said i would love to see you cover the dynaudio emit m10 and m20. they are the best under $1000 bookshelf speakers i have ever heard. the midrange balance which is so wicked hard to pull off without shrill....they did
Did you at the end buy the Emit20?
I agree with Paul. I like ribbon tweeters. The highs are just sweet and pleasing.
B&W’s tend to be bright and harsh. I prefer Paradigm over B&W’s also.
I have to agree with Paul that ribbon / planar tweeter sounds better than other designs like dome or horn ect. I just prefer the sound ribbon or planar sound as they sound more natural.
There really isn't such thing as 'the B&W tweeter', I think.. They have many different types, depending on the series and price bracket. So, which one are you referring to, Paul..? 😉
- ... and the Crossover. The Tuning of a Tweeter via a "different " Crossover, can make a Change. Whether that would sound Better or NOT, is Very Subjective ! ;-)
@@RoaroftheTiger Isn't that really what he is saying? In general, he finds their sound to be tuned to a slightly different audio expression than his personal preference. The sound is a product of driver, crossover, wire and cabinet. I've never heard their top end product outside of an audio show. Based on the factory tours, they look like they put all the right ideas into them. I'm sure one could get used to them pretty quickly in most homes.
@@user-od9iz9cv1w - Actually, I Don't believe Paul was as explicit, as You say. But, of course, He Knows that. And He's said so, on many other occasions. A far, as "getting use" to a particular "sound or voicing" - You bet, It's true. But, I also worked in Audio Sales for Many Years. Speakers, ideally should be "auditioned", the way a Producer would Audition a Singer. What are You using to gauge " quality" ? For starters - You Need Reference Recorded MUSIC. (I've always found, that acoustic pieces, especially using "my favorite" Female Vocalist to be Very telling.) Were You able to have Your Music played, at said Hi Fi shows and Factory Tours ? Not likely. Factory Tours & Hi Fi shows (
@@user-od9iz9cv1w He's in his 70's so we can safely say his hearing is nothing like your average guy in his 20's or 30's.
I own 2 Pairs of B&W’S loudspeakers, a standmount pair and a floorstander pair.
I like them a lot cause they are my first real hi-fi gear, before I had Philips and Technichs.
Now, would I buy them again? Probably not!
My tastes in music and sound have evolved, now I prefer Dali, Elac and Proac for the same money.
I find them more natural, detailed and balanced, love ribbon tweeters!
But B&W still makes great speakers, depends on taste and money!
The higher end B&W’s are very decent. But they are starting at close to 10k for relatively small speakers. But almost all decent contemporary speakers are at that price range
B&W speakers especially the mid and upper tier ones are fatiquingly bright. They may sound exciting at first but after a month or so the highs are so bright you don't want to listen to them for any extended time. I'll take Harbeths over them any day.
Likewise, I have owned my 801's for 30 years and never quite been comfortable with the upper mmids and hf. As I age and my tastes are not so much for ZZ Top and Robin Trower etc. the mid and tweeters bother me more. For years I have told people that the mid honks and the tweeter squeaks....even after the Northcreek upgrades.
All you guys that don’t like B&w sound, what kind of music are you listening to?? And also how about home theater and movies? What is your opinion of B&w in a home cinema??? Waiting for your opinion!!!
I have been disappointed in B&W's lower-end models. They remind me of Sennheiser's lower-end headphones -- dull and uninviting. B&W's higher-end speakers, however, have delighted me (when used with the right components) -- though these better models are priced above what I can afford to pay.
I've listens to the B&W D3 I think it was. Whatever the 12 grand a piece ones were and I thought they were ok. I went somewhere else and listen to a pair of dynaudio contour 60's and I thought they sounded way better for a lot lower price. The B&W was on a mac stack and the dyns were ran with atoll.
@@Badazz08 Those B&W speakers you heard were probably the 802 D3s. I have heard those and liked them. Unfortunately, I have not had the privilege of hearing the Dynaudio Contour 60s -- though you make me wish I had. I no longer live in a community that has a sufficient variety of high-end audio stores to which I can go and pretend I have the money to buy their products (and health problems prevent my traveling for trivial purposes).
@@DavidKowalski I am sorry to hear that. And I think your right for the model number.
The 598's & 599 series from Sennheiser are perfect gateway headphones. I do agree though that some of the lower end stuff built in the same frames can be a little on the dull side. (559's etc).
@@ShortHandedNow I bought a pair of the 598s a while back and returned them after two days of use. While I was not looking for the type of forward midrange some headphones in that price range have, the 598s lacked sufficient liveliness for my taste. I replaced those headphones with a pair of KLH (the new KLH under David Kelley) Ultimate Ones. These were reasonably priced (about the same as the 598s), had beryllium drivers, low impedance, and an open-back design. While these headphones were not exactly breathtaking, they were noticeably superior to the 598s and I still have them to use in my bedroom.
Kinda depends on which B&W tweeter we are talking about? The diamond tweeter on my 805D3:s are bloody marvelous..
if you like the bright sound,go for anything by klipsch.
They bring on my tinnitus thats'for sure.
I think the issue may be related to the tweeter's transient and frequency response. People that like classical music generally like the sound like listening at a distance versus up close. When you listen at a distance instead of close to the instruments, the transients are less sharp and the upper trebles are rolled off a little due to the filtering effect of air. I'm not surprised about this.
Hi. What distance do you mean? I have 602sII & I listen to them at the distance of 4 meters. I usually listen to classical music, but they are absolutely great with any other styles.
@@kamrankheradbeigi8754 I am not talking about your distance from the speakers, but a about the distance between you and the orchestra in a live performance which is much more than your distance in a listening room. The B&W tweeters may be better simulating the response modification of the greater distance in a music hall. Think of how the sound changes if you could just walk right up to the stage and be maybe 10 feet away instead of 100 feet away, the transients and highest frequencies will be much more audible then.
@@StewartMarkley Thanks for the answer. Anyway B&W loudspeakers are great for classical music & many other styles such as electronic music. One of the very best sounds of Jean Michel Jarre's music I ever heard was & is from B&W. Details on these tweeters are absolutely amazing & crystal clear like.
@Fat Rat No, I haven't done much of anything lately because of TWO kidney stones and also will be going soon to get radiation on a pancreas tumor. I've beat pancreatic cancer for almost 5 years now and there is a small tumor that has been growing slowly that we want to attack now. Also If I don't pass the kidney stone by Oct. 26th I will go to the VA and get it surgically removed with a laser. LastlyI have a shake in my hands these days and I can't even solder the wires to the drivers so I have to get help with that. 😢
@Fat Rat That's real nice, thanks. You never beat pancreatic cancer, you have to try to manage it, which is why I get chemo every two weeks. And it is working for me except for this small spot that they have been watching that has been very slowly growing. It's 4.2 cm now and my markers have elevated so it's time to attack. I'm confident that the radiation will at least stop it for now or maybe even disappear,m we'll see.
Having those speakers going would be great yes. I am having fun teaching my 9-year-old grandaughter electronics. She's my technician and started learning to solder but I can't hold the wires still. So I need her and my daughter to do it for me. In the meantime, I still do research and development work on a revolutionary speaker design that is top secret.
I just sold my B&W CM6 S2's almost exclusively because of the HF. I'm definitely new to the HiFi / Audiophile world, so excuse my verbiage: The tweeter is very bright, and feels like it's playing louder and prouder than the mids. I find in most of my listening experiences that a) i have to get up to a moderate volume to get enough mid range (running 120W/channel) ; b) after listening to 30min + my ears will actually hurt from the HF sounds... it's almost ear-piercing. The accuracy with which they played was phenomenal, but it was just not something I could enjoy over an extended period... which is what I like to do. So, I've purchased a pair of Tekton Design Double Impacts. Obviously huge difference between Bookshelf and Floor standing, but really wanted something that had presence and oomph without trying so hard.
the most likely solution would have treat your listening room as it demands - it is 50% of what you hear - been there, after made my room perfect I stopped turn down treble
I bought a used pair and love there detail and imaging. But they have brought on my tinnitus.