Bowers & Wilkins - 603 S3 Series 3-Way Floorstanding Loudspeaker (Each) - Black

I owned the 603 Anniversary Edition for a couple years and I’m surprised at how significant the difference in sound quality is. While it isnt a 700 series sound, it is much closer than the 600 series has ever been before. Claims of trickle down tech can sometimes be more hype than substance but in this case the changes B&W have made are the real deal. I would even say the increase in cost is worth every penny. You get a sound very close to much more expensive speakers at a much more accesible cost. The 603 S3’s have a warmer sound without losing the detail in the high end. The sound stage is impessive and fills my 17 by 17 living room with ease. There is a presence and authoriry the 603 S3 sound has that just wasn’t there with the previous generation. I also took a chance and bought the HTM72 S3, and the 603 S3 towers pair beautifully with this center speaker. The musicality of these speakers and the punch for home theater shows surprising versatility. Using a Marantz Cinema 60 into a D-Somic amp, SVS PB 1000 Pro, Apple TV 4k and Panasonic UB-820. I highly recomemd all this gear.

Nothing like B&W sound dor listening to old school rock and metal. The lower tones are clean, without dominating the sound.

I love the speakers, but the customer service with Best Buy has been horrible following damaged speakers on two deliveries and a failure to refund the money in a timely manner.

Let me first start off by saying that I have been playing Piano for over 30 years, studied music, and have a trained ear. I say this to provide context to this review. If you're thinking about spending this much money (or more), read this review in its entirety. The first time I heard these speakers, I knew one day I would own them. I have had these speakers paired with two different Receivers. First they were connected to a Marantz SR5006 (100 watts per channel), They sounded great. I began with a simple set up just running in stereo. I then added a MartinLogan Dynamo 10 inch and that took the stereo to a new level. These speakers have absolutely beautiful, "accurate" sound. If you are new to higher end audio, the first thing I'd like to point out is that great speakers do not improve sound. They are designed to "emulate" or mirror the original sound/recording as closely as possible. I decided I needed more power and upgraded to a Marantz SR7007 (125 watts per channel) and that is when these speakers truly came alive. I would HIGHLY recommend that you give these speakers as much power as possible as the difference was day and night. With the additional power and running bi-amp, the only way I can describe what happened is these speakers became more rich, especially on the lower end and could be significantly louder without working as hard. I am now running a killer 5.1 set up with Bowers & Wilkins surround and a MartinLogan Dynamo 10. The B&W 600s will be the star of the show, so arguably a great set up would simply be these with a solid sub woofer (for music). For movies, you still may want a 5.1 or 7.1 set up. I would "not" recommend these speakers if you listen to a lot of electronic music. Not that they would be bad, it's just that these are truly for live music aficionados. If you listen to a lot of rap, pop, techno, or more electronic music you can probably find something at a lower price point that will do fine. They shine particularly with real instruments. Anything with horn in it will sound astoundingly accurate. Some singers and horn players sound as if they are performing "in" the room. Piano and vocals will also be clear and loud. Powered properly they kick enough to not need a sub, but a sub will round the sound out with more warmth and deeper frequencies than these can provide. I also really enjoy drums (particularly high hat and cymbals). In short, you will not be disappointed with these. The only other speaker I was considering over these were the Bowers & Wilkins 704 S3s. And to be quite honest, I found the 704s to be flatter and require even more power to be at their potential. Unless you have a very large room the 600s will be just fine. They punch way above their weight class but do not skimp on your power. These are very power hungry speakers. If you under power them, they will sound good. But if you power them correctly you will be shocked at just what these can do. I push mine pretty hard and have yet to hear any distortion whatsoever. Pros: Size (they're somewhat slim compared to other speakers in this range) Incredibly accurate horn Incredibly accurate vocals, mid range, and percussion Sleek and simple design Cons: (really none) Will not have good bass if under powered One last note, if you are more into movies than music, I would not recommend these. I listen to music 80-90% of the time and occasionally watch a movie or stream. Great for movies, it would just be unnecessary to spend this much "only" for movies. This is a music lover's speaker.

I was looking at the KEF Meta and Martin Logans as alternatives as I was skeptical that BW 603 will do well for movies. I did a demo at the El Camino Real Best Buy in Mountain View. Found that I didn't find any dispersion on the horizontal or vertical axis as I feared based on feedback shared in reditt forums. So I took a chance and bought these. The clarity is so good for movies as well as music (which I expected) that I don't need subtitles. I ended up over riding the Dirac Live settings from the receiver as it was running the speakers as "flat" in the curve. and I really felt that these speakers were being under utilized. I manually over rode the Dirac curve and made it a happy face - with a higher treble and higher bass - and wow ! what a difference that made. I am enjoying listening to music in lossless mode for the first time with no distortion. highly recommend these speakers. of course the 7 and 8 series will be better. but for a large room , these serve the purpose very well.. and all the listening positions are able to get the fantastic sound.