Bowers & Wilkins 685 Loudspeakers

zepplongfellow · 02-15-2008, 06:45 PM

It is finally arrived my tax return in the back countless hours of overtime and now sitting in my living room is a pair of B&W 685 speakers. To say I am happy with them is the biggest understatement I could ever speak.

So far I have been listening to them for about 4 hrs straight with zero hearing fatigue I have listened with them as 2 ch, 2 ch with sub, DD and DTS with my remaining athena's. Early impressions of 2 ch is unreal how much bass a bookshelf speaker can put out. I put on my wife's Rihanna CD and Oh My I have to double check if my sub was on and it wasn't. I also listened to Diana Krall, Dave Mathews Band, Pearl Jam, Carrie Underwood, NIN, Carrie Underwood, Pink Floyd, and others I can't think of. After throwing every genre of music at these things they continue to amaze. The sound stage crushes my athena's in the ground. Also a bad rap from some is that B&W's don't like to play loud. Well they diffidently do play loud.

On to movies. My biggest fear is that the B&W speakers would over whelm my other speakers while listen to music and movie's the the 5.1 + formats. Well they do and they don't. After calibrating with my RS meter the center sounds thinner but not that noticeable to annoy. Dialogue was still easy to listen to and not drowned out. I think my room treatments have something to do with that. I don't think I'll upgrade my center or my surrounds or my sub anytime soon. I am damn happy watching movies with these. Mid range sounds are vastly upgraded from my older speakers. Movies used were Underworld, Casino Royal and X-Men: The last stand.

So the verdict ? Where they worth $600 ? You bet your ass. These sound better than any floorstanding speakers I listen to growing up from your "Big Box" store.
Here are the pics

firestorm · 02-15-2008, 07:34 PM

Awesome! New speakers are fun! I went through a similar scenario with my Paradigm Monitor 7 floorstanders a couple years ago. I couldn't get enough of them! When it comes to 5.1, as long as you calibrate all the channels to the same level, there wouldn't be a problem with the mains overpowering the other channels.

The timbre of the B&Ws may be a bit different from the Athenas, but different brands and models can sound good together. I find that particularly true with movies. Before picking up the floorstanders, I used my Paradigm center with Boston Acoustics HD-8 bookshelves, and they sounded great together (they have very similar timbre though). For music, I simply stuck with 2 channel mode (my preference anyway), but "stereo surround" still sounded just fine for parties. I would probably still aim for a matching center some day. I still have my Bostons as surrounds though.

sub780lime · 02-15-2008, 07:37 PM

Can't wait to see some pictures of these. B&W is the route I would go if I could revamp my whole system. I am trying to get the wife to let me buy the VM6's as rears since she doesnt like how far my 6th channel sticks out from the wall and how big my left and right rears are. It hasnt gone too well for me.

***chlngr1970*** · 02-16-2008, 02:20 AM

Congrats on the new speakers. Next step is to get a matching center. Then you can take as long as you like to replace the rears. I would probably look into the sub, or the receiver before doing the rears. Maybe even a new player

j

Iguana Man · 02-16-2008, 12:15 PM

From a fellow B&W owner, congrats!

EM3 · 02-16-2008, 12:51 PM

Man I haven't preped my taxes yet! Glad your happy with them. What are the dimensions of the speakers. I can't tell how deep they are because in that one pic they look really deep and I'm wondering if it could be the camera angle.

Iguana Man · 02-16-2008, 01:16 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by EM3

Man I haven't preped my taxes yet! Glad your happy with them. What are the dimensions of the speakers. I can't tell how deep they are because in that one pic they look really deep and I'm wondering if it could be the camera angle.

From the website:

Height: 340mm (13.4 in)
Width: 198mm (7.8 in)
Depth: 331mm (12.3 in)

02-15-2008, 06:45 PM	#1 (permalink)
zepplongfellow Thread Killer Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: The U.S. 2nd Most Dangerous City	Bowers & Wilkins 685 Loudspeakers It is finally arrived my tax return in the back countless hours of overtime and now sitting in my living room is a pair of B&W 685 speakers. To say I am happy with them is the biggest understatement I could ever speak. So far I have been listening to them for about 4 hrs straight with zero hearing fatigue I have listened with them as 2 ch, 2 ch with sub, DD and DTS with my remaining athena's. Early impressions of 2 ch is unreal how much bass a bookshelf speaker can put out. I put on my wife's Rihanna CD and Oh My I have to double check if my sub was on and it wasn't. I also listened to Diana Krall, Dave Mathews Band, Pearl Jam, Carrie Underwood, NIN, Carrie Underwood, Pink Floyd, and others I can't think of. After throwing every genre of music at these things they continue to amaze. The sound stage crushes my athena's in the ground. Also a bad rap from some is that B&W's don't like to play loud. Well they diffidently do play loud. On to movies. My biggest fear is that the B&W speakers would over whelm my other speakers while listen to music and movie's the the 5.1 + formats. Well they do and they don't. After calibrating with my RS meter the center sounds thinner but not that noticeable to annoy. Dialogue was still easy to listen to and not drowned out. I think my room treatments have something to do with that. I don't think I'll upgrade my center or my surrounds or my sub anytime soon. I am damn happy watching movies with these. Mid range sounds are vastly upgraded from my older speakers. Movies used were Underworld, Casino Royal and X-Men: The last stand. So the verdict ? Where they worth $600 ? You bet your ass. These sound better than any floorstanding speakers I listen to growing up from your "Big Box" store. Here are the pics Last edited by zepplongfellow : 02-15-2008 at 07:37 PM.

02-15-2008, 07:34 PM	#2 (permalink)
firestorm Actor Join Date: Sep 2005	Awesome! New speakers are fun! I went through a similar scenario with my Paradigm Monitor 7 floorstanders a couple years ago. I couldn't get enough of them! When it comes to 5.1, as long as you calibrate all the channels to the same level, there wouldn't be a problem with the mains overpowering the other channels. The timbre of the B&Ws may be a bit different from the Athenas, but different brands and models can sound good together. I find that particularly true with movies. Before picking up the floorstanders, I used my Paradigm center with Boston Acoustics HD-8 bookshelves, and they sounded great together (they have very similar timbre though). For music, I simply stuck with 2 channel mode (my preference anyway), but "stereo surround" still sounded just fine for parties. I would probably still aim for a matching center some day. I still have my Bostons as surrounds though. __________________ My Movies: http://movies.tjapkes.com

02-15-2008, 07:37 PM	#3 (permalink)
sub780lime Can't Spell Bilbo Join Date: May 2002 Location: A Galaxy Far Far Away	Can't wait to see some pictures of these. B&W is the route I would go if I could revamp my whole system. I am trying to get the wife to let me buy the VM6's as rears since she doesnt like how far my 6th channel sticks out from the wall and how big my left and right rears are. It hasnt gone too well for me. __________________ love comes and goes, but an avatar . . . that's forever. - Pirate

02-16-2008, 02:20 AM	#4 (permalink)
*chlngr1970* Producer/Admin Tenacious "OB" Join Date: Jun 2000 Location: Spanaway Washington	Congrats on the new speakers. Next step is to get a matching center. Then you can take as long as you like to replace the rears. I would probably look into the sub, or the receiver before doing the rears. Maybe even a new player j __________________ "The greatest thing you'll ever learn is just to love, and be loved in return" Christian, Moulin Rouge

02-16-2008, 12:15 PM	#5 (permalink)
Iguana Man Ex-BadHumor Man Join Date: May 2002 Location: New Jersey, USA	From a fellow B&W owner, congrats! __________________ Get outside and have fun! Nacho Website Focus

02-16-2008, 12:51 PM	#6 (permalink)
EM3 "Suspended" Join Date: Nov 2002 Location: Southern WV	Man I haven't preped my taxes yet! Glad your happy with them. What are the dimensions of the speakers. I can't tell how deep they are because in that one pic they look really deep and I'm wondering if it could be the camera angle. __________________ The beatings will continue until morale improves!

Thread Tools
Show Printable Version Email this Page
Display Modes
Linear Mode Switch to Hybrid Mode Switch to Threaded Mode

LinkBacks (?) LinkBack to this Thread: http://forums.dvdfile.com/audio-hardware/65208-bowers-wilkins-685-loudspeakers.html
Posted By	For	Type	Date
Untitled document	This thread	Refback	03-19-2008 06:38 PM