Ekistler_sj,
I'm running B&W 604S2 with German Symphonic Line RG4-3 mono blocks.
What I learnt w/ these speakers (don't know if this is extrapolated to other Brit speakers) is
* B&W need lots of clean power - "lots" => high current source/sink capacity at lower volume level to flesh out details & "clean" => refined, not grainy in the mids. This, of course, means MONEY! Unfortunate but true!
* placement is paramount - B&W floor standing units are quite self contained => do not need walls to reinforce bass.
* room treatment is needed if the cabinets are cheap as they are in the DM series! Bloated bass needs help & really makes the acoustics so much better. A friend said "more listenable"
* biwiring helped a lot. There's a very good reason to do it from an electrical point of view. Some speakers do not benefit despite this reason Physics gives us => these speakers are better engineered in the 1st place. B&W cut some corners w/ the DM series so biwiring helped.
* The 4th order x-over used prolifically in the B&W line-up makes the impedance & phase shift curves look like the Swiss Alps! Also, a "brute" amp is required 'cuz the imp. can go down to 3-3.5 Ohms in the mid-bass region. Actually this point is the reason for #1 above.
Overall I like their sound but you have to be careful w/ what you drive these speakers
I'm running B&W 604S2 with German Symphonic Line RG4-3 mono blocks.
What I learnt w/ these speakers (don't know if this is extrapolated to other Brit speakers) is
* B&W need lots of clean power - "lots" => high current source/sink capacity at lower volume level to flesh out details & "clean" => refined, not grainy in the mids. This, of course, means MONEY! Unfortunate but true!
* placement is paramount - B&W floor standing units are quite self contained => do not need walls to reinforce bass.
* room treatment is needed if the cabinets are cheap as they are in the DM series! Bloated bass needs help & really makes the acoustics so much better. A friend said "more listenable"
* biwiring helped a lot. There's a very good reason to do it from an electrical point of view. Some speakers do not benefit despite this reason Physics gives us => these speakers are better engineered in the 1st place. B&W cut some corners w/ the DM series so biwiring helped.
* The 4th order x-over used prolifically in the B&W line-up makes the impedance & phase shift curves look like the Swiss Alps! Also, a "brute" amp is required 'cuz the imp. can go down to 3-3.5 Ohms in the mid-bass region. Actually this point is the reason for #1 above.
Overall I like their sound but you have to be careful w/ what you drive these speakers