Yeah, my 704s are very smooth, musical and balanced. The bass is clean and well controlled, the midrange is detailed and engaging and the top end is smooth with lots of detail but not shrill or overly bright. I think it has a lot to do with the room and associated equipment and break in time! I've read a couple of ho-hum reviews and I wonder if the review speakers were not adequately broken in, as the complaints are similar to some of the issues I noticed prior to getting enough hours on the speakers. Anyway, the only opinion that matters to me is mine, and I'm happy And actually, in the small space I've got them in I wouldn't choose the 702s (or even the 703s) over them. I know those are both superior speakers, the 702 especially, but they'd be too big for this space. I had considered the 705s, but I like the balance of the 704 better. Probably in the B&W lineup the only speaker I'd choose over them for this space would be the 805 D3s, but those cost some serious coin!
I have read it becomes less bright and more natural sounding. I bought a return from Crutchfield so I have no idea how many hours were on it. I do not recall it changing much in sound but I liked the sound of it from the start. I think their marketing slogan of "natural sound" is an accurate description of the Yamaha sound I have heard. I like it a lot. Just needed more juice for my main system.
I would love to compare the 704 s2's to my old CDM 7se's. I'd love to hear what 20 years has done to the sound. To see which I would like better. To me a good sounding speaker sounds good regardless of age and era. I have never heard a speaker wear out. My 46 year old Advents probably need some new caps in the cross-over, but I still like their sound.
My 20 years old CDM-1 lacks detail and highs compared to the 704 s2. Someone in this forum told me the tweeters ferrofluid can dry up and wear out (ex: http://www.diyaudio.com/forums/multi-way/288054-cdm1-tweeter-repair-swap.htm). Seems like an easy fix but I didn't attempt to yet. Surprisingly, it doesn't lack bass in comparison, but the bass is relatively undefined and messier. The 704 is much more refined making the CDM-1 sound blurry when both speakers are compared side by side. However, being so refined, they lack some life and color in comparison. I felt like if I was suddenly taken out of a dirty mud puddle I was in for a long time under the sun, taken a fast bath and put in a aseptic surgery room with fluorescent light. Moreover, to my ears, the prominent higher mids and highs of the 704 become fatiguing very easily. For these reasons, even being more refined without any question, I couldn't replace the old CDM-1 with the new 704. I couldn't enjoy them.
Some speculation: maybe I didn't like the 704 because my analog chain has lots of gain: a 5mV cartridge loading a 48dB phono stage. Some people describe too much gain as delivering a harsh and less dynamic sound. Perhaps with less gain the 704 would sound fine. If that's the case, then my experience was not the speakers' fault but actually system mismatch.
Well for double the price you would hope the 702's would be a big step up. But perhaps those speakers just work better with the rest of your chain and your room. You have an outstanding system in my opinion.
Just wanted to follow up on this, since I feel my speakers are continuing to get better with more use. A B&W rep swore that would be the case and he sure was right. I noticed this week that my bass response continues to get cleaner and tighter and was curious if yours is doing the same. My midrange remains great, nice and full and realistic. Spooky realistic at times. Treble is incredible. So forgiving of bright recordings that sometimes I find something is off, but can't tell what it is at first. Then I figure out that the recording is bright, but not in that super harsh way I am used to, but in a much more subtle way. I almost never use my tone controls anymore. Yeah, the 704 is more than enough for my room too. I still wish they were a bit taller, but using spikes to create an upward tilt
You know, it’s hard for me to tell whether or not things have continued to improve, but I do know that I’ve been blown away lately by the overall balance and realism I’m hearing. Yesterday I was listening to some live jazz, and it was one of those spooky experiences where it sounded so much like I was at the performance! Mostly I’m simply getting lost in the music and not really listening analytically at all (which is a good thing!) One thing I’ve defininitely noticed is that I’m very happy turning the volume up: when the speakers were newer I found them harsh at higher volumes. Not so now, they are clean and distortion free and seem to manage being incredibly detailed without being harsh or overly bright in the least. And now that you mention it, the bass really is balanced now. That was one of my issues early on, but it’s tight, controlled and impactful without sounding bloated or overwhelming. All I know is I’m very happy with these speakers!
Glad I found this thread, I'm considering the 704 S2 for our soon-to-be-completed retirement home, which will require me to downsize a little bit. These seem to offer a lot of sound for their trim size. I'm also thinking about the Rega RX3, which is even smaller & lighter. Anyway I had a pair of bookshelf B&Ws that kept me happy for years, so it would be like comin' home.
It's been awhile, so I wanted to check in and see how your speakers are doing. I got some bass improvement yesterday after tightening up the plinth and spikes, all of which had become loose. The plinth was surprisingly loose, almost a full turn on each allen bolt. I am also curious if you (and others) are using the plinth, and/or the spikes or rubber feet that came with the speakers.
I’m using the plinth with the rubber feet as I don’t have a suitable floor for spikes. I haven’t checked the plinth or feet for tightness but I will now that you’ve mentioned it. But I’m loving the speakers! I can’t say that I’ve noticed any more break in or improvement for quite some time, but they disappear readily and resolve detail wonderfully. They sound much bigger than they are and really match the room they are in well. I have absolutely no regrets about getting them or the Rotel amp that powers them. I could add a better DAC at some point, but the one in the Rotel is very good so I’m not really in a hurry to do that.
In the 702 I use the plinth and rubber feet to make the speakers more stable and reduce the risk of accidents (I have a 3 years old son). When he was out of town last December, I tried the speakers without the plinth, with the rubber feet, and though the soundstage became a bit better. Maybe it had something to do with the position of the drivers without the plinth. Anyway, when he came back I put the plinth back, better a safe environment for my son than a better soundstage at this point.
I had mine for over a year before checking, plus I recall that I didn't really tighten them as much as I could have the first time. I think I will check them every 3-4 months. Yeah, I'm very happy with mine as well, now that the bass has been tightened up by getting the plinth and spikes tight. I had been thinking I was going to need to look into bass traps, since over the last 9 months or so I had loose/muddy bass on a number of recordings.
I read in a review that they sound better without the plinth, but they are too darn short to use that way in my setup. I wanted the tweeter at ear level so I use the plinth and the spikes, with a bit of upward angle and now the soundstage is right in front of me instead of "down there."
Wow, those are some nice lookers. I'd like to bi wire my 703s, but those little plastic plugs don't want to come out of the upper terminals. Have you had any problem with this? I don't want to force them out with a knife or something.
Mine are bi wired. No issues. Have had bi wired speakers since 2002 have no idea if it betters the sound.
