Customer Ratings & Reviews

went with wireless item. too much wire, a lot of wiring.

these were supposed to be amazing. they are ok. not worth what i paid.

These little speakers produce amazing sound. I am using them as rear speakers in a fairly small room in a 5.1 setup with B&W 865's for fronts. I listen to both movies and use them for television too using a Denon receiver to drive them and an old OPPO (Model 83) for Super Audio CDs and DVD Audio disks. The sound is great. I am not an audiophile but I can tell a big difference between these B&W speakers and the Energy speakers that they replaced. I am very pleased with them. I have read for years about B&W sound quality and I can now speak from experience that is true.

Bought these after returning Martin Logan Motion 4's. Wasn't happy with them cause they lacked mids. These are mostly used for music and have a great full sound. Best speakers in this price range for sure.

What an incredible set of bookshelves! B & W knocked these out of the park! Rock solid imaging. Lively, but not too forward treble. Set these up properly, or get some one who knows how to setup a pair of stereo speakers for you, and you will be rewarded with amazing sound! As for the layperson below who panned this speaker over lack of attachment holes, do what every one else does. Use blu-tac.... speakers with attachment holes is a very, very rare thing. Obviously the B&W stands were designed to be used with a specific speaker model, not as a universal stand. Just because your representative mis-informed you is no reason to pan a speaker for missing a very, very minor feature.

It'll be hard to find a better value than these bookshelf speakers. Nothing compares to the quality until you start paying $400-$500 EACH. At $549 a pair this is a heck of a deal for entry level Hi-res quality sound. I'm thoroughly impressed and I don't even have them set up and calibrated 100% yet. Amazing sound for the price.

Ive had these tested for a good while and they are definitely top notch. I wouldnt go back

I am rather frustrated right now. I took delivery of these B&W 686 speakers today and was all excited to integrate them into my HT system. Installation took all of five minutes. Piece of cake. They also sound fantastic. There is however - in my opinion - a fundamental design flaw in the 686/685 bookshelf speakers. Although I bought the B&W speaker stands that the Magnolia rep recommended, you can NOT fasten the speakers onto the stands. They just sit there. Now that will be fine in 99% of instances, but should your pet or small child bump in to said speaker stands, you run the risk of having your beautiful 686/685 speakers fall off. There is NO way to secure these speakers onto the stands, even though there are screw holes in the stands. After a long conversation with the Magnolia rep, I was informed that my only two options are to either 1) put velcro tape between the speaker and the stand (which seems absurd), or 2) upgrade to the CM1 speakers that have built in screw holes in their bases - that will only cost me an additional $500. I have no idea what the rationale was at B&W to NOT include pre-drilled holes to secure these wonderful speakers onto their stands. Bottom line, I give these speakers 5 stars for sound quality and 1 star for design. I'm probably going to return them because of the stand fastening issue.

These guys are amazing! Door bell rings, was it the movie or someone is at your door? You will never know.

No disturbance in the sound. The bass and treble sound are very clear. The best for the price. excellent overall quality.

I bought these for a family room 2 channel music. They sound great overall, obviously need a Subwoofer to fill 70hz on down. I found the highs to be very clear and revealing, perhaps a bit too insightful on older recordings that’s were not done well. I powered them with a Yamaha r-s700 amp and they definitely came to life and the overall sound was balanced as a whole but the Sonics character is on the sharp side. I decided to return them for the Elac Debut 2.0 6.2 and was very surprised at how much better they sound than the B&W’s, clear highs but not any sizzle to it, definitely what I was looking for in the long run. I would recommend these to someone that likes the brighter side of a speaker sound. Fit and finish is top notch as well

Used by the best. Great table speakers for your home entertainment.