Bowers & Wilkins to release new speaker series?

Discussion in 'Audio Hardware' started by Vern, Sep 3, 2017.

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  1. I agree about your assessment regarding Magnolas set up. Not ideal. I listened to these as well four separate times in two of their stores plus once again when an indie hi fi shop got them in two weeks later.

    I actually returned to one particular Magnolia sales person who really knew her stuff and took a lot of time with me auditioning them. I offered to buy them the spot- 5 speakers and asking for a discount and delivery and set up. They couldn’t do it. Just wanted to offer me financing, but I was paying outright so I didn’t need that. She even spoke to her manager. I was hoping for some sort of counter offer, even a gift card if they found dealnon the speaker iTunes. So I walked And they lost a 7k plus sale.

    A few days later i walked into the indie and we made a deal on the spot. Saved almost 9% overall. They are being delivered and set up tomorrow

    Really looking forward to the 702S2. Your comments were in line with my initial thoughts as well. And they will sound even better after 50 plus hours.

    I’ll post pictures when I have them set up.
     
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  2. Delivered. 702s2 for main stereo. Plus Center and surrounds.

    Now should I stay awake four days straight to burn them in ? :tiphat:

    I’m actually thinking of letting the music from my hardrive run while I’m out.

    [​IMG][​IMG] [​IMG] [​IMG] [​IMG]
     
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  3. Echoes Myron

    Echoes Myron Forum Resident

    Location:
    USA
    Congrats! Love the white...i have 805s in the same color. Gorgeous.

    Listened quite a bit to the CM series and thought they were excellent. So I am sure these are great. Awesome buy.
     
    Last edited: Oct 12, 2017
    Mazzy likes this.
  4. Heroes at 40

    [​IMG]
     
  5. DrZhivago

    DrZhivago Hedonist

    Location:
    Brisbane Australia
    Very nice. Congrats mate. Didn't think the white could look so good. It perfectly gels into your decor.

    Happy listening.

    Regards
     
  6. 60 hours and counting. Nice.

    [​IMG]
     
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  7. Bananas&blow

    Bananas&blow It's just that demon life has got me in its sway

    Location:
    Pacific Beach, CA
    Gorgeous speakers and set up Mazzy! They look like terrific speakers. How do they compare to your CM4's from before? I'm really hoping this iteration of the 700 series improves upon the CM series that preceded it. I had a pair of CM 5's in gloss black and they are the only pair of B&W's I've ever owned that I did not enjoy. I just bought my 6th pair of B&W speakers a couple of weeks ago. The cm5's were too bright and fatiguing. Had a hole in the mid-bass. Couldn't believe B&W produced them.

    Have the new speakers led to the itch to upgrading your other components? Not that there is anything wrong with them. Just happens sometimes.

    A couple of years ago I went to Best buy to audition the CM5's and the kid who was demoing them for me started to hook up his iPhone via his headphone out to a receiver to demo them for me. He looked perplexed when I asked him to play a CD or DVD. I listened for a couple of minutes and left shortly after shaking my head.
     
  8. Eigenvector

    Eigenvector Forum Resident

    Location:
    Southeast PA
    You're killing me!! :D I've been trying to stay away from my B&W dealer and NOT listen to these and convince myself that I don't need to upgrade from my CM10S2's. Then you keep posting these great pictures........:evil:
     
    Kohl88 likes this.
  9. I had CM 4 since around 02/03. I enjoyed them and they served me well for all that time. I played them loud a lot. My 702s are far more revealing and fulfilling than my old CMs. Again mine were an earlier series than the recent ones like the CM9s and 10s is I can't compare to those. I had purchased them with a full 5.1 set of CMs The 700s have some trickle down design from the 800s.

    For one thing my CM4s had decent bass and mid range, they sounded nice but I didn't realize what they lacked until I got the 700s. Three bass and a wonderful midrange speaker along with the large cabinet shakes things up quite a bit. A fuller richer sound from most recordings.

    I will point out that right out of the box and for at least the first 30 hours, they were pretty bright. Almost like you're afraid that's how they will always sound, but at around 45 hours they blossomed and really opened up. And I have been pushing and blasting them much of that time. I even left them on playing from my hard drive while I went out a few times early on.

    It's not that the tweeters suddenly rolled off but the midrange and bass loosened up and their potential is so much more apparent now. I'm probably over 65 hours right now and I'm really enjoying them. My local seller told me you really need 100 hours to be full broken in. It does take time and that's also what I read from someone on these forums who bought a pair of 804s .

    In terms of upgrading anything else now? I love my upgraded Rega RP6 (with the groovetracer sub platter) so I'm good there. My Rotel RSX 1065 is also 15 years old and is pretty powerful. I sort of have an itch to eventually swap that out for separates so I can emphasis my 2 channel system because music is my top priority, but I also love 5.1 for films and television. I'm not so fanatical about that but I eventually need to upgrade there because the old receiver doesn't even have HDMI so I'm somewhat compromised with multi channel playback.

    But my Rotel has great power for 2 channel so I can't really complain. Rotel and B&W play nicely together.

    The main thing is when you buy new speakers, be patient. I read that everywhere but when you spend some good money and they don't knock your socks off on day one, you can feel slightly disappointed. I initially experienced that but no longer. And buying from a local indie I can always upgrade to sometime higher up and get full trade in credit as long as I keep them clean and in good shape. Today I wouldn't really consider, but who knows.

    Edit. Not sure how much difference you’d hear after cm10s??? Probably more subtle not as dramatic as my change.

    [​IMG]
     
    Last edited: Nov 4, 2017
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  10. captwillard

    captwillard Forum Resident

    Location:
    Nashville
    Are you plugging the ports? When I had CM8's (I think that was the model) there was a mid bass hump without them. It was a compromise of less bass for better midrange.
     
  11. No. I’m about two feet out from the back wall. I tried but like better without them.
     
  12. Bananas&blow

    Bananas&blow It's just that demon life has got me in its sway

    Location:
    Pacific Beach, CA
    Thanks for the report Mazzy. They make for a gorgeous setup. Looking forward to my amp showing up to making my 804's shine.
     
  13. Since I seem to be the only one owning these here I’ll post updates.

    Loving them. :tiphat:

    [​IMG]
     
  14. wgriel

    wgriel Forum Resident

    Location:
    bc, canada
    I finally had a chance to listen to one of the speakers in this series. A local hi-fi shop had the 703s set up and they sounded amazing! Granted, they were properly set up in a treated room and were being driven by some high quality electronics (Simaudio gear) but I was seriously impressed.

    A friend of mine (who owns B&W 802D3’s) heard this setup and told me I had to go and listen. He was right!

    I’ve got the original 703s and I thought the new ones were better in most respects and even seemed to equal the bass output which was surprising given how much larger the old 703s are. Of course, that was listening in a different room with different electronics so I can’t quite trust my judgement. Even so, I found them very, very impressive.

    In any case, I may spring for the smaller 704 or one of the bookshelves in the new year. I’m renovating a room in my basement and getting closer to completion. The room is probably a bit small for the 703s (certainly too small for the 702s) but I think the 704s would be a gorgeous addition when it’s done.

    The good thing is that I don’t have to guess: this dealer will let me borrow a pair for an in home audition, so I can try them out.
     
  15. AKV22

    AKV22 Active Member

    Location:
    Sydney Australia
    Hello All,

    The white speakers look great with that dark room and wall, and the subtle lighting.

    I have the B&W 703 S2 and they sound great in every way with Rotel RB-1552mkII amp. The 700 series is the best looking B&W speakers. I havn't compared their sound with much, they replaced Whatmough Classic 31.

    When I asked for the B&W 703 S2 I was offered ex-dem CM10 S2 for same price. Correct choice?
     
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  16. AKV22

    AKV22 Active Member

    Location:
    Sydney Australia
    ... they remind me of daleks from Dr Who
     
  17. hobbes4444

    hobbes4444 Forum Addict

    Location:
    Massachusetts
    If you're loving your 703s, then you made the right choice. CM10s have people split. I love mine. Some find them too harsh in the high end. I do 50/50 music and movies. They are a 10 for movies and a 9.5 for music. I docked .5 because they are unforgiving and don't cover up bad mastering:cool:
     
  18. I fund the more revealing speakers never really cover up bad mastering. The higher up the ladder you go with speakers the worse bad Records frequently sound.

    A better cart and stage however will somewhat improve some of those badly mastered records
     
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  19. hobbes4444

    hobbes4444 Forum Addict

    Location:
    Massachusetts
    I'm fine with accuracy and good speakers revealing the good and bad in recordings. Makes listening and exploring more fun!! But also more costly... Pretty happy with the SimAudio Moon Neo 310LP and Rega RP3 + Hana EH. A new cart is probably the next step up, although if I wait another year or so may just upgrade the table as well
     
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  20. wgriel

    wgriel Forum Resident

    Location:
    bc, canada
    Very nice review of the B&W 702 S2 on Stereophile: Bowers & Wilkins 702 S2 loudspeaker

    What I find mostly interesting is the direct comparison to the 804 - While not quite as good, the 702 certainly doesn’t embarrass itself against a speaker costing twice as much!
     
  21. Not embarrassing at all over here. Really enjoying them ..... and now with a new MC cart and phono stage.

    [​IMG]
     
  22. Tim 2

    Tim 2 MORE MUSIC PLEASE

    Location:
    Alberta Canada
    Probably sound good even with the Rotel.
     
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  23. Yes even with the Rotel :tiphat:
     
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