Customer Ratings & Reviews

Sound amazing when combined with my 683 S2s and HTM62 S2.

Just so happens the store had these on display. Bought the demo's at a heck of a price. Well over half price. Now I have B&W towers in front and in rear. And these being the rear surrounds. Will probably go with SVS for front height speakers, since b&W's are discontinued now. The series I have. Will be running 7.1.2 then.

Jerry at the Stockton store took me into the listening room, selected the speakers & receiver and turned it on. an acoustic guitar was playing, My first instinct was to look around and see who was playing. being a player myself I was blown away by the clarity & presence of these bookshelf speakers. More than I was planning to spend, by comparison to the other brands I wouldn't settle for anything less. I have already recommended to others to go see Jerry.

I normally don't even bother leaving reviews on items that I've purchased, but I felt compelled to for these B&W speakers. I got 2 of these bookshelf speakers as part of a 5.1 surround sound system from Best Buy about 6 months ago now. I was looking to upgrade from a Bose home theater system that I had been using for a few months that I was completely unimpressed with. Having put this B&W system to extensive use, I can honestly say that I've never been happier with a purchase decision in my life. Unfortunately for me, I doubt I'll get to cherish that blissful feeling ever again... These speakers are made using the highest quality, aerospace grade materials (like the "Rohacell" carbon-fibre reinforced Kevlar "cone" material...) in such a way that'll prevent them from losing their laser-precise sound quality for far longer than I'm likely to inhabit this world. It's unlikely I'll ever be provided the opportunity to replace them (with newer B&W speakers obviously), but worse things have happened though, right? Whether these speakers are blaring electronic dance music, belting out anthemic country tunes, harmonizing classical ensembles, or immersing an audience into the midst of a chaotic war-zone surrounded by the hiss of machine gun fire and the earth-shattering roar of mortar shell explosions -- Everything that comes out of these speakers sounds truly heavenly. The realism and clarity of sound that B&W speaker systems produce is down-right shocking. For example: On numerous occasions I've left TV shows playing in my living room while doing work in my study, heard a knock at my front door, opened the door expecting to welcome a guest, and then laughed when I realized that the sound actually emanated from my speakers during a scene in the TV show I'd left on. What's even more impressive though, is the fact that my dog started barking and ran to the door each time this happened too. He's a French Bulldog... Do you have any idea how MASSIVE their ears are!? Seriously, just do yourself a favor and go with B&W products. Your only regret will be the fact that nothing else you purchase will ever make you this happy again.

This is the 2nd set of speakers that I have purchased in the last few years. We all know that with the larger HD TV screens you need a method to amplify the volume from your TV. Don't pick something that can't be sufficiently turned up to accommodate larger rooms. Of course if you have a spouse that always has the volume up very loud this might be the speaker system to pick. The previous set of speakers were excellent but when my spouse turned up the volume to the extreme he blew the first set. He has had this set of speakers turned up to the point you need ear plugs of just leave the house and they are holding up just fine. I am glad we had options, these speakers are still reasonably low profile and fit well under the TV console.

I recently bought a pair of 686 S2 speakers to replace the back speakers in my 5.1 surround system. The sound these speakers produce is very clear with a full range of sound & excellent bass response . I also recently bought a pair of 685 S2 speakers to replace the front speakers in my surround system too. Combined all four speakers produce excellent sound with great bass. I would highly recommend buying these speakers.

Very nice and clean sound. I came from Bose 301's to these, and I can say that I am pleasantly surprised at how much cleaner sounding these speakers are. The Bose 301's definitely have more bass in them; however, the overall mid-range sounds produced by this speaker are unmatched!

I have friends that had older B&W speakers about this size, and really loved their sound. Bought these and they have made my listening experience so much more enjoyable. Used exclusively for music and paired with a subwoofer to round out the bass. Highly recommend these for any music lover.

We have had a home theater since 2000 that we thought was pretty decent. It was time for a rebuild so we visited the theater room @ BB. The decision to purchase these book shelf speakers along with a matching center channel was made without hesitation once we listened to a few of the options. We would have liked a smaller speaker but the quality of the sound from these speakers and the more expensive B&W speakers is simply amazing. We couldnt be more impressed and happy with our purchase.

We always had large pioneer speakers, but needed to downsize the physical size of our speakers. These did just that with enhanced sound quality. I have a very sensitive ear for sound distortion. These have CRYSTAL CLEAR SOUND QUALITY!!!

Simply put these are the nicest bookshelf speakers I've experienced. Sharp and clear throughout their range, although a little light on bass as one would expect with this type of speaker. Nonetheless, the bass you get is clear, not muddy and the mids and highs make listening to the Yellowjackets, or the London Philharmonic a true delight. AC/DC's "Thunderstruck" was an eye-opener as I heard stuff I've not heard on other small speakers.

I love the Bowers and Wilkins 600 series speakers, which i previously purchased the tower speakers and when I saw the bookshelf speakers I thought that I was going to just buy them to complete a 5.1 surround sound system. But when I heard the speakers play standalone they sounded amazing and i feel if you just want a great sounding set of speakers that can fill a room, these are a great choice.

I went out looking for small bookshelf speakers, not really expecting to buy the first time I went looking. I sat in the demonstration room and listened to different speakers. While listening to the B&W speakers I asked the sales person to turn off the sub-woofer and he told me that they weren't on. I was amazed at the base coming out of these small speakers. The sound coming out is very clear and the base is great.

Picked it up when it was half off, the audio sounds great. The mid and high ranges are wonderful and doesn't seem like it need much use to break in for a more crisp sound.

We chose to mount these in the kitchen, where my wife spends a lot of her time. We also bought a Heleos speaker and a pair of Klipsh at the same time. All are very good speakers, but the difference between them and the BW's is noticable.

These speakers are wonderful for music. I have not tried them for home theater. For music, the resolution is outstanding. For the price, these speakers delivery exceptional clarity and a lovely tonality. They are very easy to listen to to extended periods, and make you really enjoy the music. I also have KEF Q100 speakers, and I feel these are very comparable--both have different strengths and weaknesses, but both are outstanding speakers in the middle range of consumer audiophile speakers. These should be on the short list of anyone looking for clarity, balance, and lovely sound. These are not bass-heavy, so for home theater or for those who just love thumping bass, I would add a subwoofer.

I initially used these for a couple weeks without a sub and was a little underwhelmed considering the price. I added an SVS sub and it was a totally different experience. These really shine now and the level of clarity and detail is great. Really impressed considering how small these are. Always wanted to try B&W and am not disappointed in the quality.

I purchased these speakers as a holiday gift for someone whose life revolves around the arts. I can say without hesitation, the sound quality must be experienced to fully understand just how good these Bowers & Wilkins speakers really are.

Best speakers EVER - was going to buy Bose. So glad I got these. Sound is MUCH better!

Nice compact size, terrific sound, especially in the bass from such a small package.