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Produttore

B&W http://www.bwspeakers.com/

Caratteristiche

2 vie  bass reflex

 Costo

718/00  la coppia   Punto vendita B&W  Audiocostruzioni   Sbisa' Giovanni e c snc  Via Grosoli 6 41012  Carpi  MO tel 0039.059.685054 info@audiocostruzioni.com   colori disponibili Nero - Rovere chiaro - Calvados

chiedere disponibile tutta  la gamma  B&W chiedere .

2 vie, bass reflex, woofer/midrange in Kevlar, tweeter a cupola metallica con caricamento a condotto Nautilus, 25-120 W. Predisposta per bi-wiring.

  Come potete notare , troviamo la connessione per i diffusori , posti nella posizione alta  del diffusore  e un tubo di raccordo anteriore.

Oltre alla serie di  punte coniche , troviamo anche il tappo di spugna da infilare nel raccordo reflex al bisogno.

Bowers & Wilkins doesn’t just build speakers; it engineers and builds every driver, crossover network, and many of the enclosures that leave its factory in Worthing, England. And because the B&W line-up spans a range of prices that at the lower end could purchase a pair of nice shoes and at the higher end might buy a fine car, much of the company’s technology, like Ronnie Reagan’s theory of economics, is "trickle-down" in nature.

Indeed, pretty much every aspect of B&W’s design philosophy over the past decade has derived from its flagship model, the five-years-in-the-making, escargotesque Nautilus (a speaker that, were I an interior designer, I would spec for the home of the alien diva in The Fifth Element ). In addition to its snail-shaped housing, the Nautilus’ most striking visual elements are three long tails emerging from the rear of the enclosure, immediately behind the high-frequency and midrange drivers. The idea is for these tapering tubes to absorb unwanted energy from the rear of a driver’s diaphragm by "trapping" it until the energy has dissipated. Slowly, over the years, this technology has made its way into many of B&W’s models, and can now be found in the company’s entry-level 600 Series 3 bookshelf and floor-standing speakers.

But the Nautilus-loaded tweeter is not the only thing that B&W’s design team engineered into this third-generation 600 Series. Improving the bond between the metal dome and its voice-coil winding has extended the tweeter’s smoothness and uppermost frequency response, which according to the company’s literature, benefits the ultra-high frequency potential of DVD-A and SACD sources.

A similar change has been made to the bright yellow Kevlar woofers that have been a B&W trademark since the 1970s. Thoughts of smiley-face jokes aside, B&W discovered that woven Kevlar—the same stuff used to make flak jackets—also makes for a very low distortion driver (because it retains its shape while being bombarded by heavily amplified bass signals). As with the tweeter, the connecting points between the voice coil and Kevlar cone have been made stronger, creating small but noticeable improvements in linearity, and a more seamless blend between the two drivers. And borrowing from the midrange unit used in the Nautilus 800 Series, the basket assembly of the Kevlar bass/mid driver is now both lighter and stiffer than before. The idea is similar to that behind the Nautilus tweeter, but manifested differently. With a cluster of thin, star-shaped legs supporting the driver’s dual-layer frame, the reflective surface area behind the driver is minimized, lowering rear-wave-induced distortion.

Other 600 Series 3 refinements include a newly selected batch of crossover capacitors, extra-bracing inside the cabinets, and in the top model, the $1,400/pair DM604 S3, a newly developed aluminum woofer.

The model I’m reviewing is the smallest of three Series 3 floor-standing towers—the DM602.5 S3.

Clad in "light oak ‘Sorrento’" vinyl (a "black ash" wrap is also available), the $700 per pair 602.5 is a handsome thing. The slender cabinet’s dimensions are pleasing to the eye, and the faux wood veneer is well done, making this a speaker that should fit nicely into almost any environment. Furthermore, the sheer black grille cloth contrasts well with the pale Sorrento (or adds uniformity with the black ash), and the speaker is equally attractive with the grille off, revealing a dove-gray baffle, rounded at the edges, that’s been patterned with tiny cornice shapes engineered to break up front-baffle diffraction. The top third of the enclosure houses a 1-inch metal-dome tweeter (the Nautilus tube is internal, about four inches long) and a 6.5-inch version of the Kevlar bass/midrange driver. Immediately below it sits B&W’s Flowport, a tapered vent whose surface has been dimpled like a golf ball in order to smooth the flow of air from the cabinet. Depending on proximity to the rear wall, a (supplied) foam plug may be inserted in the port to reduce bass output, and stabilizing spikes are also supplied. Single or bi-wired connections complete the package.

Although I’m told that the pair of 602.5’s sent to me had been broken in prior to shipment, I found their initial sound tight, dry, and a bit edgy. This speaker takes considerable time to loosen up and smooth out, so keep this in mind if you purchase a set or audition them in a dealer’s listening room. If the speakers sound pinched and aggressive, they need more time.

Along with a healthy break-in period, careful placement is the key to getting the most from this design. The spec sheet lists 70Hz as the 3dB-down point, and it is this critical midbass area that is most affected by room placement, and consequently so is our perception of the 602.5’s tonal balance. Put it too close to the rear wall and the bass, though richer and more authoritative, turns pudgy and somewhat unpredictable (though the foam port plugs help minimize this effect). Place it too far from the rear wall, and the scrawny nature of an unbroken-in pair is exacerbated. The ideal balance in my room was about two feet out from the rear wall and about three from the sides, angled slightly inward. Once placed like this, the speakers were fully and well integrated, with a wide soundstage, lots of air, and a precise focus. The bass tends to be more quick and punchy than deep, and the tweeter, as expected, is quite crystalline and extended.

With Ella Fitzgerald singing "Spring Can Really Hang You Up the Most," from Clap Hands, Here Comes Charlie! [Verve 835 646], the dips and rises she navigates across her vocal range were nicely balanced, and her beautiful phrasing quite articulate, with a slight emphasis given her throat and chest registers. Among the accompanists, the upright bass was extremely well defined, with a decent if not full body, and the guitar and piano were detailed in both texture and tone. The stage was spread wide, slightly beyond the speaker boundaries, with good air and very precise imaging. By contrast, PSB’s similarly priced Image 5T (discussed in TAS Issue 137, Page 25, "Real World High End") is warmer and more relaxed, with fuller—if not quite as well defined—bass, slightly more air, and more lilt in Fitzgerald’s vocal. But then the 602.5 is not a romantic speaker. In fact, it strikes me as being more precise than earlier 600 Series designs. And given that many speakers currently serve dual duty for music and home theater, I wonder if this more up-front, slightly cool, and dynamically lively approach reflects that.

For instance, on Elvis Costello’s When I Was Cruel, the opening track, "45," contains a gut-throbbing kick drum and equally powerful bass-guitar line. Over the 602.5s, the bottom end had amazing punch and power, the song itself was snappy and dynamic—it really rocked the house. On Count Basie’s 88 Basie Street [JVCXR-0021-2] the B&W’s didn’t have the harmonic richness I heard with the PSBs, but the soundstage was larger, individual images were tighter (though not as deep), the highs were more extended, and the brass took on a more sassy, if not as full-throated, attitude.

Trade-offs, trade-offs; any way you slice it, all speakers, especially in the $1,000-and-under category, reflect a series of design choices that every company—and every consumer—is confronted with. If you’re a romantic, you will probably prefer a warmer, easier musical experience than the one given by the 602.5. If you’re into speed, extended highs, a bass with no fat, and exciting dynamics, and space and dollars are important considerations, then B&W’s DM602.5 Series 3 is a speaker you’ll find yourself embracing.

Specifications
Driver complement: 6.5-inch woven Kevlar bass/midrange, 1-inch alloy dome tweeter
Frequency response: 70Hz–20kHz
Dimensions: 33.5 x 8 x 11.3 inches
Weight: 31.9 lbs. each
 

Associated Equipment
Balanced Audio Technology VK-D5 and NAD C541i CD players; Rega Planar 25 turntable; Cardas "Heart" cartridge; NAD C370 integrated amplifier; Balanced Audio Technology VK-3i preamplifier; Balanced Audio Technology VK-6200 multichannel amplifier; Cardas Neutral Reference and Kimber 4VS speaker cables, Cardas Golden Reference and Kimber HERO interconnects; Finite Elemente "Spider" equipment rack; ASC Tube Traps; Essential Sound Products Power Conditioner/Strip, Richard Gray’s Power Company 400S and 600S

718/00  la coppia   Punto vendita B&W  Audiocostruzioni   Sbisa' Giovanni e c snc  Via Grosoli 6 41012  Carpi  MO tel 0039.059.685054 info@audiocostruzioni.com  

colori disponibili Nero - Rovere chiaro - Calvados

chiedere disponibile tutta  la gamma  B&W chiedere .