Is the B&W 600 series a good value?

knownothing:
i did know that the 600s were made in china, which does keep manufacturing cost down; however they're still imported by brits, which means that their price is jacked up because of the terrible exchange rate between dollar & euro (i think the euro was up to $1.50 today)--ergo an identical product made in china for a US company will, all other things being equal, still be significantly cheaper. add in dealer markup, which i've heard can be as much as 100% on some lines, and the consumer is really getting walloped. now, i agree with you that if you like the sound, the 600s are qualitatively competitive in their price class--they (or at least the 603s, which I've heard the most) are a good, well-balanced speaker. however i still think our poster would be better served with a similarly priced ohm or totem, if only because the manufacturer can afford to put more and better stuff in them.

Years ago I bought a pair of 603S3 (made in England) at my local dealer and I presently own a pair of 704's (also made in England). Recently I stopped by the local dealer as I do periodically, and looked at the new 684 and 683. Unfortunately I saw they are now made in China. There was a sale on the Demo pairs - $850 for the 684 and $1150 for the 683 (if my memory is correct). At those prices I believed they would have been competitive to other brands I heard, but not at the MSRP, especially when B&W did not lower the MSRP's and pass the "Made in China" savings on to the end-user. It looks like the prices stayed the same and they just made more profit, like every other manufacturer does.

I happened to be in a place where I could listen to a pair of the 683's yesterday and this was my impression.

They have a really nice midrange - following on B&W's general strengths. The upper end was more subdued compared with a new pair of Paradigm Monitor 9's which were a bit more sparkly and tipped up. The B&W's killed on piano and female vocals compared to the admittedly less expensive Paradigms. Bass response on both speakers was somewhat disappointing, although it may have as much to due with the electronics used - 80 wpc NAD C-355BEE, the room set up (speakers up on a platform), and the spaghetti of wiring and switches used in the display room as to the speakers actual low-end capability. A stronger amp may have driven the woofers of both speakers harder and lower, and placement on the floor may have provided a better foundation.

The B&W 685's had a similar presentation relative to the Paradigm Titan Monitors, with more life-like and lush midrange and a little softer top end. Bass was adequate for both speakers given their smaller size relative to the larger towers.

thanks for all the info guys

this is probably off topic but i actually spotted a 805 for sale here for $1395

http://www.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/cls.pl?spkrmoni&1261356733&/B-W-Nautilus-805-dark-red-cher

the guy is local to me and i need some quick advice on what you guys think of the price? i'm going to take a look at them tonight

for 685's, i'd be paying $710 out the door at my local dealer

is it worth it to spend an extra ~$700 for the 805's? i believe they're the older 805N, not the new S version, does anyone know if the difference is huge or not?

thanks again

805N is a very good speaker - "S" version is even better. They are beautiful to look at but need a strong amp and very clean source to sound their best - you will suffer upgrade-itis, or just suffer, if using with lo-fi electronics. Great upgrade path and very revealing, but not very happy with less than 100 true watts of solid state power and at least a mid-fi or better source. For tube amp might get by with 40 or more watts per side in a small room.