Customer Ratings & Reviews

We were looking for decent speakers with a moderate price for front surround and music. After hearing these in the Magnolia room we decided to go out of our price range. So far we are pleased and don't regret paying the extra price.

Not a fan of surround sound where the speakers are above you. This set up allows for the speakers to be level with viewing area.

These are some great speakers. They look great hung next to my 60" led sharp tv.

These speakers put out great sound quality for the size.

Good enough but this is not the no 1. The KEF Q300 is better.

I love music very much. I've gone to over 110 major concerts, also countless local live music events. I think music is magic, just like life, although it's ususally hard to see what's so magical about life. Ha ha. I've been listening to music ever since I was a kid (mid 40s) and have always tried to have something decent for sound reproduction at home although my budget always limited my choice. My favorite relative offered to buy my previous sound system that I liked very much. It could reproduce 114 db fairly accurately I'm pretty sure. I sold it to him. Most of my current music consists of flacs I have ripped myself, piped via optical to a 120 w/ch home theatre receiver running stereo. I would honestly rate these speakers lower than perfect because I think they seriously need a sub, but they are BOOKSHELF speakers so I won't. Paired with a 400W sub, it's almost a religious experience listening to what comes out of these speakers. They almost sound better than the live music concerts I go to! Well, that's because I usually don't sit in a perfect spot, but... If you can't get a sub because of sensitive neighbors I think they'd be OK without a sub but if you aren't getting a sub because of money I think I'd consider cheaper (used?) speakers with a sub. But if you can get a sub, I'm pretty sure you will not be disappointed at all at what you just paid for these. I do plan to upgrade in a few years but to floor B&Ws. Oh yeah, I almost forgot, read the manual. I was disappointed at first because they sounded boomy but I couldn't put them 20" away from a wall. The manual says to plug the hole with the included plug. Yeh. Really, they are almost magic. Oh yeah again. I wish they had magnetic snaps for the grill covers like the speakers I just sold. Kinda cheap of them. Grrrr. Yeah, I broke a few of the snaps already.

I have had these for a couple of years now and I have been overjoyed at their Quality, Build & Sound! At first I thought that the money was too much to spend for a pair of bookshelf speakers but after owning them and enjoying them as I have, I am convinced that they are worth every penny! At first I had these in my living room but I moved them to my bedroom shortly after purchasing them. Mainly due to size and not sound, in my bedroom I had two old school (Vintage) large square Technics SB-LX90 15" 3Way Speakers. These Technics were just way to big in my bedroom and sat on my dresser. I have a 7 foot tall bookcase with heavy duty slide out shelves, which is my converted Bedroom ET Center. In the very top is my Vixio 32" HDTV and on the outside of the bookcase and beside the Vizio I mounted two shelves (depth of bookcase and 1x8 board) with L shaped brackets and put my B&W 685's on the shelves right beside the HDTV. On the shelf below the HDTV I put a Polk CS10 Center channel speaker, which I also like very much! Next Shelf down has a Blu-Ray player and DIRECTV DVR and then below that is my new Pioneer Elite VSX60 AV Receiver! For Surrounds I use two Polk T15 Bookshelf speakers sitting in my headboard. I also use the Polk T15 speakers in my living room for surrounds, I like them a lot! I guess I had my bedroom a little loud this AM because my next door neighbor (live in Condo) wanted to know what speakers I have, because they sounded great in his apartment! LOL! He said that they must have sounded great in mine!. He was not upset at all but serious, so I showed him. He's checking out a purchase of the B&W 685's, so I may soon hear his room! LOL! I might have unleashed a Beast! Suffice it to say, I like my B&W's and their setup! If you get a chance, head to a BB Magnolia store and check them out for yourself! Bud

I've been a proud owner of 685's since the beginning of the year. I, like most non-audiophiles, wasn't familiar with B&W's line up because before now, you had to go to specialty home theater stores to purchase them. I happened to demo them almost a year ago and was blown away by the quality of sound they were putting out for the money. I was really happy to see the Bowers and Wilkins name come to a larger distribution channel like Best Buy/Magnolia because it will give this incredible British brand more reach and exposure. These speakers have a great, smooth sound which for those more used to Klipsch will probably be a little disappointed. IMO, B&W's give a more accurate reproduction of the sound being sent to them. I'm not 100% on this, but I think that "smooth" sound is very characteristic of British brand speakers. My set up is: Pioneer Elite VSX-32, B&W 685 (L-R), B&W HTM62 (C), Bose V100 (surr), Polk 10" sub. Pretty mismatched, but the B&W front channel speakers are stars. I removed speaker covers to show off the yellow kevlar woofer cone and "Bowers and Wilkins" name plate. Movies sound very dynamic, detailed and move seamlessly from speaker to speaker. I'm eventually going to get a pair of 686's or 685's to replace the surrounds. For music, I go with just a 2.0 set up to let the 685's really shine. They sound very detailed and create a wonderful sound stage-- you'd swear the other speakers were on! For a little more lower end punch when listening to a little hip-hop, r&b, or rock, I'll switch to 2.1. I wasn't real big on just sitting and listening to music, but these speakers have really made me rediscover my music collection. Nothing to take away from the 686 or 684/683 floor standers, but the 685 is the sweet spot in the 600 series. For $650, these sound like a much more expensive set. Don't take my word for it! The 685's won all kinds of awards when they came out a few years ago. Go to What HiFi?'s website and read for yourself. They just named the 685 home theater the best traditional home theater package (1000-1500 british pounds) for the 3rd straight year.

If you're reading reviews of this product you already know that all loudspeakers are not created equal. There is little credible information that would lead you to doubt that Bowers & Wilkins represents an excellent value in their price range. These speakers are TRUE bookshelf design, meaning they're ported through the front! Any loudspeakers ported through the back, bottom, or sides is not true a bookshelf design because they rely on clearance behind, above, and on the sides for sound. Simple but effective wall mounts are available and work wonderfully. In my living room I simply cannot have floorstanding speakers because they will instantly become cat scratching posts. Sigh. But I had these on the wall, up and out of the way with very little work and no extra expense for brackets or mounts. I was very pleased to find that the package included small stick-on feet intended for setting the speakers on a surface, and also a set of larger standoff "feet" to put on the back when using the wall brackets. These standoffs hold the bottom of the speaker out the same distance as the bracket holds the top, so the speakers are perfectly parallel to the wall. This also eliminates cabinet-to-wall rattling. It's good to see the small touches like this. The two foam port plugs can be used to partially or totally choke the cabinet. Each plug will tighten the bass, meaning that you lose a little of the lowest frequency but gain response just above the choke point. Proper use of the port plugs is DEFINITELY dependent on your room and speaker location. It's very easy to swap them in and out. For instance, my speakers get a good deal of bass reinforcement from my ceiling and wall and sounded a little boomy until I put in the semi-closed plugs. Sound wise, both drivers in this speaker have well-known properties. The tweeter is crisp and moderately bright with no shrillness. Any reports of this tweeter being shrill are likely due to its inability to hide harshness; it's unforgiving of poor signal quality. The woofer is beautifully innocent of break-up and comes across a bit warm, which works very well for rock or jazz but may be a little too colorful for demanding classical listeners. The cabinets are more solid and resonance-free than almost anything you'll find (especially retail) in this price range. You're dealing with MDF wood with black laminate, which is not ideal but you'd need to pay more for a true hardwood finish. This is more a price than quality issue. I can't imagine anyone having a problem with these speakers unless their idea of audio is solely based on sattelite-subwoofer systems.

After comparing a lot of speakers over the months. The B&W 685B is the best sounding bookshelf speaker out there. I think they sound even better then the higher end B&W bookshelf speakers with a fuller sound field. The quality and detail you get when listening to these speakers is amassing. Right now I'm using them as my main connected to a Pioneer Elite SC-35 and when I crank it up my neighbors hear them. If you want an accurate speaker that reproduces sound the artist intended you to hear get these speakers you will NOT be disappointed.

Picked these up after a friend did the same and have been using them as primarys for my vinyl rig. They sound great and deliver full range of sound, including low end, without need for a subwoofer. Driving with 90w per channel from a tube amp. Recommend to anyone.

I have very limited space in my apartment. I only have enough room for bookshelf speakers. I searched a long time before I found these units. They sound better than many floor standing speakers that I have heard. These are the best book shelf speakers on the market at any price. Check them out for yourself in Best Buy. They sound deeper and richer than the other B&W book shelf speakers that are twice the price. They bring out the life in the music, especially with vinyl. If you have the ability to bi-amp these speaks, do so. It will clear up the mid range, they will sound less muddy.

These speakers are pretty good. Let me first explain my situation. I have a small 12'x18' room with hardwood floors and 9' ceilings. I wanted a good pair of bookshelves with a sub port to create a simple audio package. I'm using only these, and no sub. The speakers are easy to use, and directly out of the box have a great, solid, smooth, and clear sound. As directed in the manual, positioning of speakers in relation to walls is important and makes a noticeable difference. They sound great will all sorts of music, I listen to them constantly, they fill my entire condo with smooth/beautiful sound. On top of that, they look great. I dislike the fact that they don't come with a tweeter protector as they are shown in the Magnolia section of your local Best Buy. I could see this being damaged somehow in the future. Conclusion: I love them, I don't see a need to add any additional speakers to my set up for a long time to come.

These speaker give off great soundfield,you should bi-amp or bi-wired them,for me im using them for surround backs with my 683 floorstanding speaker which take alot power to move them with this combo tho! the better receiver or amp processor the better the sound.

I've tried several speakers in my living room (15X30 Feet) to create a full and good imaging sound experience. These are (in my opinion) the only true bookshelf speakers that can deliver floor standing quality sound imaging. these are the only "bookshelf" speakers that are TRUELY bookshelf speakers. WHY? because the woofer port is front firing. Almost all other "bookshelf" speakers are rear port firing which defeats the "bookshelf" definition because the woofer port fires in the rear (wall). Well, if you place them on a "bookshelf" the port will be blocked from the back of the "bookshelf". whether you crank up some good old "Earth Wind and Fire" or "Adele", these speakers make you close your eyes and imagine you are at a live performance. As a bonus, you can Bi-Amp (google search what this means) these speakers which truly brings them ALIVE! They are floor-standing speakers at a fraction of the cost and space!

I own many floorstanding speakers and I recently decided to look into bookshelfs. Naturally I looked and B&W I was not disappointed. They are clean clear and produce more bass for their size than you would think possible. I just fell in love with these the moment I hooked them up. Use a nicer amp if you can and sit back and relax.

I was looking to fill a hole that my tiny satellites left. I had a Klipsch SW-450, which is an awesome sub, with little 3" polk surrounds. I replaced the two front with the 685s and the center with an HTM62. WOW! All I can say is WOW! The clarity with the B&Ws is just amazing. I was looking at Energy and Definitive Tech - the DefTech's were terrible!!! The Energy CB-20s were very good, but they sounded muffled compared to the 685s. If you can afford it, go for the B&Ws. My wife even gave her full approval after hearing them! :o)

Started out buying a Bose Soundbar and my salesperson said these were a better way to go; especially for the loft-like space of our den/dining area....and he was right. They sound great!

These speakers are amazing! I use them on a pioneer elite receiver and they provide awesome sound for tv, movies, and music.

These are great speakers for the price. Still blows any other brand, like Bose, away and provides great detail at low volumes which is a huge plus for me.