Not with the 704s - I suppose I could if I get some more floor protectors, but I don't want spikes damaging the lino on the floor and I'm happy with the sound. I will say that with my 703s I preferred the spikes & floor protectors over the rubber feet, but that might simply be due to the fact that the former elevates the tweeter a bit more than the latter.
As someone who's owned a number of B&Ws over the years, I can say that the build quality, fit and finish and sound quality of the 704 S2's easily matches or exceeds the English made B&W's I've owned. There's been no compromise in quality that I can detect.
Reviving this as I am now in the market for floorstanders. Currently I have Bowers CM6 S2 on Bowers stands and two REL T/9i subs, so bass obviously isn't an issue. Wondering if these might be a good fit - I have a McIntosh C2500 tube pre and a McIntosh MC402 amp (400wpc+). Power won't be an issue. Just wondering if the 704 S2s are going to be a big upgrade from what I have and if the REL subs will become superfluous or still be a valuable part of my speaker setup. Thanks! I could also get the 703 S2s - not a huge increase in price, but not nominal either obviously
Mine are bi-wired as well, and I agree, not sure if there's any benefit. Bi-amping on the other hand...
In my opinion the 704s do represent a significant upgrade over your existing speakers. Though I'd probably keep the subs and try to integrate them with the new speakers. The 704s do have good bass response, but they won't come close to what you get from your subs. That said, I run mine without a subwoofer and I'm very happy with them. But I've got them in a small room with a low ceiling and they fill that space nicely.
Thanks! One issue is that I have a 9x25 size room. Not very audiophile conducive, but it is what it is. I was also considering a pair of Sonus Faber Venere Signatures - much bigger speaker though. I've heard great things but it's out of state and no way to demo them. And they're also $1000 cheaper than the Bowers 704s as they are now discontinued and 3 years old - but look to be in perfect shape...
Have you comsidered used 800 series? Used 804 D2 etc. must be one of the the best sound for value equation out there.
I would but too pricey for me. Need to stay around the $3000/pair mark if possible. 700 series. But I'm not sure that even the 703 or 702 is much of an upgrade from my CM6 S2s with two REL subs. I get fantastic bass now obviously. So now I'm second guessing myself on floorstanders I think. Wish I knew someone that has done this same "uprade" but then again, it's the size of the room that's also a factor.
probably but wondering which ones are better for my room size. and i guess no one can answer that but me but that will only be after I bought them...crap I hate buying used speakers, unless they're local but not much around me.
Thanks! I was just about to pull the trigger on some Sonus Faber Venere Signatures - $1800! phenomenal deal but started thinking that they may be way too much speaker for the room. Mine is 9x25 and probably 7.5' ceilings. lots of windows too in the room. not exactly set up for audiophile listening. 704s seem to be a good size.
Have you considered using Crutchfield? They have 60 day returns and they carry B&W speakers. And they have them in stock, too. Bowers & Wilkins 704 S2 (Rosenut) Floor-standing speaker at Crutchfield
I could but even Best Buy has 30 days and it's closer, then again, I have to pay tax BUT, because I'm cheap, I can get 24 months financing on them, Crutchfield is 6 months. big difference. Abt electronics, a local place, will give me $200-$400 off but they charge a restocking fee...so nope. First I'm going to go listen to them at Abt.
I thought I'd post an update here as I've made a change to my system that I never thought I would do! I did all of this over a month ago (before the current state of affairs) but finally got around to posting about it. I've added a subwoofer to my 704s. It's not that I felt much like they were lacking bass, but as it happens a friend had a B&W DB4S on loan from our local hi-fi shop and he wanted to bring it over for me to try in my system. I wasn't even all that interested in trying it. I've heard plenty of 2 channel + sub systems and I most often didn't like them. But it cost me nothing, so he brought it over. The sub is a beast! 1000 watt amplifier, only down 3 dB at 10 Hz and has some pretty slick room correction DSP. You set it up using an app on a smartphone, it uses the phone's microphone to calibrate from the listening position. The sub also will properly set crossover and other settings for specific B&W speakers, so I told it I hand 704 S2s, ran the calibration and that was that. Upon listening, I was completely blown away - you don't actually know there's a sub in the system. Quite simply, it's like the 704s are flat down through the whole audio band. I've never heard a sub integrated so well into a system as this! Absolutely remarkable, and it makes a difference even with music that doesn't contain much deep bass. The sound is fuller, the sound stage is bigger, and the sub never draws attention to itself. I had the loaner for a few days so I listened to a huge range of music, loved everything I heard and went and bought one for myself. One oddity with the sub is that it's designed to be hooked up via pre-outs, not speaker outs. You can hook it to an LFE out if your amp/receiver has that, but then you forgo the B&Ws DSP and have to rely on your amp for bass management, something I suspect will generally be trickier to get right than running the sub software. Anyway, this sub is a remarkable addition to my system!
I tried to like them as I was upgrading from Bowers CM6 S2...and the 704s sounded great until I listened to the Sonus Faber Sonetto Vs...and yes, the SF were more expensive but my dealer was going to stop carrying SF so they offered me 30% off! sold! The problem I found with the Bowers is that they sounded much brighter than the Sonus Fabers... And what's nice is they don't "need" subs but I am running them with two REL T/9i subs and it does make a little difference in low end bass.
Thos jumpers & cables look sweet, which Nordost cables are those? Is that the White Lightning? Thanks.
Thanks! The speaker cables are the 4 flat: Leifstyle | 4 Flat Speaker Cable The jumpers are Norse 2: Norse 2 | Bi-Wire Jumpers
hmmm, i m planning to upgrade my speaker cables to Nordost Super Flatline for my &702 s2. Heard about Nordost cables being bright so dunno if it will gel well with the 702 s2. Cheers.
New review of the 700 S2 series. The reviewer reports that if you have a smaller room (like I have) the 704 S2 is the "best bang for the buck in the entire 700 series." He adds not to scrimp on the amplifier, though, and points out that the 704s are a little harder to drive than the bigger floorstanders, the 703 and the 702. Checking B&Ws site, the 704 has the lowest sensitivity of the three speakers. 704 = 88dB, 703=89dB and 702 90dB. Bowers & Wilkins 700 S2 Speaker Series Overview
