Review: B & W Loudspeakers DM-605 s2 Monitor
Category: Speakers
These are my main speakers. They are active in the bass region, each speaker having a 130W amp driving 2 7 inch woofers. Basically, I love them. Compared to the Polks I used before them, they are much faster, more powerful, and open. They are also more recent, more expensive, and I got the Polks used. They are a very fast speaker, and quite dangerous if used with the wrong equipment. Mid-fi solid state is generally a no-no with these, though the Acurus A100 drives them without adding harshness. They are much smoother and cleaner sounding than the somewhat "zippy" paradigm Monitor 9s, though the paradigms again are less expensive speakers, by a good margin. The B&Ws are very tight, and as such, do not really rumble like many towers- the bass goes low, but it doess't really get "boomy". It has power, and can flap your hair around, but doesn't set the whole room resonating as some sloppy subs do. I like the tighter bass. These were a great match with the Acurus amp and pre, but the system was a little too foward with all SS and digital, so a tubed preamp (ForePlay) really helped balance things.
Paradigm pro series are very good, but I find them a little slow, and less resolving than the beemers. These speakers are sensitive to cabling, so I use a very exclusive kimber cable, the KKSV-1, which is excellent. My own powercords power the bass region.
I love these, they are everything I could ask, as they let me know exactly what's happening in the system without adding things. When I help the digital front end by improving power supplies and whatnot, they always tell me what even a minor change does to the sound. Very resolving speakers, but I imagine they'd be harsh when fed by a bright amp.
Associated gear
Acurus A100
Acurus RL-11
Bottlehead ForePlay
DIY preamp
EAD-DSP-1000 DAC
NAD 3155 integrated
Toshiba SD-3109 DVD player
Similar products
Paradigm pro series
Paradigm monitor 9
Polk Monitor Jr. 5
These are my main speakers. They are active in the bass region, each speaker having a 130W amp driving 2 7 inch woofers. Basically, I love them. Compared to the Polks I used before them, they are much faster, more powerful, and open. They are also more recent, more expensive, and I got the Polks used. They are a very fast speaker, and quite dangerous if used with the wrong equipment. Mid-fi solid state is generally a no-no with these, though the Acurus A100 drives them without adding harshness. They are much smoother and cleaner sounding than the somewhat "zippy" paradigm Monitor 9s, though the paradigms again are less expensive speakers, by a good margin. The B&Ws are very tight, and as such, do not really rumble like many towers- the bass goes low, but it doess't really get "boomy". It has power, and can flap your hair around, but doesn't set the whole room resonating as some sloppy subs do. I like the tighter bass. These were a great match with the Acurus amp and pre, but the system was a little too foward with all SS and digital, so a tubed preamp (ForePlay) really helped balance things.
Paradigm pro series are very good, but I find them a little slow, and less resolving than the beemers. These speakers are sensitive to cabling, so I use a very exclusive kimber cable, the KKSV-1, which is excellent. My own powercords power the bass region.
I love these, they are everything I could ask, as they let me know exactly what's happening in the system without adding things. When I help the digital front end by improving power supplies and whatnot, they always tell me what even a minor change does to the sound. Very resolving speakers, but I imagine they'd be harsh when fed by a bright amp.
Associated gear
Acurus A100
Acurus RL-11
Bottlehead ForePlay
DIY preamp
EAD-DSP-1000 DAC
NAD 3155 integrated
Toshiba SD-3109 DVD player
Similar products
Paradigm pro series
Paradigm monitor 9
Polk Monitor Jr. 5
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