B&W 601 S3 Bookshelves (Without Stands)

Description

The speaker systems of 601 series are positioned by the manufacturer as stereo systems and systems of high class home cinema. The design of shelf speaker systems of the model DM601 S3 is classic: a rectangular body, finished by qualitative veneer; the tweeter is on the top, midrange/woofer head is under it, a small bass-reflex is at the bottom. A 25mm tweeter with a metallic dome is equipped with damping system of unwanted sound vibrations from the back side of the speaker. A 165mm midrange/woofer speaker with yellow Kevlar diffuser and metallic dustproof cap in the form of bullet looks very attractively. The horn of bass-reflex is very interesting. Small holes allow decreasing airflow turbulence near walls, facilitating the motion of air through the port and reducing noise. The body is equipped with braces inside, which minimize internal resonances.

The British pair produces a perfectly balanced sound, in which even the most sensitive ear will hardly find grains of critical information. If imagine the aspects of sound reproduction notionally in the form of special scales, DM601 S3 places the indicator arrows on them quite close to the position of “optimum”. We can say that the pair plays objectively truly and it is one of the bright Hi-Fi achievements in its price category. Many best definitions of sound will be appropriate here – clear, but not excessive, smooth in all registers. Tonal picture is very natural. The bass is perfectly balanced. The most demanding listener will love an expressive and harmonious sound of DM601 S3.

B&W DM601 S3

We’ve opted for Series 3 as our favourite version of the DM601 speakers, though again we could have opted for pretty much any model. These speakers, reviewed in March 2002, were famously described as having “voice coils of the Gods” by one What Hi-Fi? reviewer, such was the impression they made in our test rooms.

The basic ingredients are unchanged here, with the Kevlar-coned mid/bass driver, alloy-dome tweeter and tapered internal tube. Various tweaks and upgrades around the driver and cabinet helped lift these B&Ws to new heights and beat-off opposition at its £249 (March 2003) price tag: “Stunning speakers with a formidable array of strengths.”