B&W 600 Series

How can B&W speakers be made to sound so transparent, so natural - in effect, to "disappear",leaving only the actual music to be enjoyed? B&W research and development foundthat certain cabinet designs, driver design and materials were essential to create transparent speakers. They engineered internal cabinet brace and sound flow configurations, coupled with driver materials like Kevlar and carbon Fiber, for unrivalled clarity.

The 600 Series is a bit of a star. Every edition since it first appeared has swept up rave reviews and product of the year awards, and trumped expectations of performance and design from speakers in the affordable price range. This, the fourth generation of the 600 Series, features improved drive units, minimalist crossovers and a whole new design.

B&W 683

The imposing 683 is the genuine three-way speaker of the 600 Series, with a line-up of technologies and a level of performance that defies its entry-level place in the market. A pair 683s make a formidable partnership, either for stereo hi-fi or front left & right channels in a home theatre installation.

Deep, dynamic, bottom-end power is delivered by a pair of aluminium/paper/Kevlar composite cone bass drive units. The 150mm Kevlar midrange handles middle frequencies with its characteristic clarity and tunefulness, but, for the first time in a 600 Series speaker, includes FST cone surround technology for extra detail and resolution.
The Nautilus tube-loaded, aluminium dome tweeter, featuring a new surround material to improve spaciousness and imaging, adds needle-sharp top end all the way to 50kHz and beyond.

B&W 684

The extended bass response and output capacity of the two and half way 684 floorstander make it a great choice for hi-fi or home cinema in medium-sized to large rooms.

The parts of a speaker doing the hard, mechanical work, the drivers, act on the signals distributed to them by the electrical processing part: the crossover. The thing to look for is its simplicity. Some speakers demand complex crossovers to compensate for the shortcomings in their drive units. The better the mechanical design, the simpler the electronic design can be. The use of components that are fewer in number but higher in quality-hand-picked in exhaustive listening tests-reduces the degradation of the signal significantly.

So, whether you're enjoying hi-fi or home cinema, what you hear is that much closer to what was recorded.

B&W 685

For hi-fi or home cinema in small to medium-sized rooms, you need a loudspeaker that doesn't take up floor area, but whose sound can still command the space. You'll find the 685, which can sit on a shelf, table, stand or wall-mount, an inspired choice.

Its 165mm diameter Kevlar cone bass/midrange is based on a tried-and-trusted B&W design, but its new fixed centre bullet helps to smooth the response in upper frequencies. Also, by setting the bass/midrange closer to the tweeter than in equivalent earlier speakers, we have improved the integration and vertical dispersion of sound from the two units. The Nautilus tube-loaded, aluminium dome tweeter, featuring a new surround material to improve spaciousness and imaging, adds needle-sharp top end all the way to 50kHz and beyond.

Visually, a refreshed, contemporary design language and a widened choice of wood finishes allows the 685 to fit in effortlessly with any interior.

B&W 686

The 686 is the baby of the 600 Series bunch, but doesn't lack for the technologies and features to deliver outrageously good sound in smaller room settings.

Mount a pair on a wall or stand, or simply sit them on a shelf or table for a compact stereo system or as surround speakers in a home theatre set-up. The 130mm diameter Kevlar cone bass/midrange is based on a tried-and-trusted B&W design, but its new fixed centre bullet helps to smooth the response in upper frequencies. Also, by setting the bass/midrange closer to the tweeter than in equivalent earlier speakers, we have improved the integration and vertical dispersion of sound from the two units. The Nautilus tube-loaded, aluminium dome tweeter, featuring a new surround material to improve spaciousness and imaging, adds needle-sharp top end all the way to 50kHz and beyond.

Visually, a refreshed, contemporary design language and a widened choice of wood finishes allows the 686 to fit in effortlessly with any interior.

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