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Reference Series vs B&W 600 series..


Johnny TN

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They used to carry both brands in the same showroom here years ago when I purchased my legends. If the same is true now as it was then, both very good yet very different speakers. Definitely one of those calls where you have to audition yourself before purchasing. My choice, I've got a pair of rb75 on my christmas list.

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Klipsch R VS B&W 600 series,Klipsch no doubt.I dont see what is so special about the 600 series.If you asked Nautilus 800 series VS Klipsch R series,ha B&W easy.

And even then,some will prefer the easy to drive Klipsch RF7's mainly because the RF7's can be used with cheapo BS phony amps and the 800 series must be mated with high power separates(Bryston,Krell,ML to really move you).

If you want to hear the smooth at its best dump the B&W 600 and listen to Dynaudio Audience speakers,beat the B&W 600 easy.

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I'm with the ear, the 800 series are incredible but will force you to upgrade your entire system. A pair of 802s is something to the tune of $8000 and bryton and krell amps aren't cheap either. I have an entire reference home theater driven by high quality separates for the price of 2 speakers.

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Maybe a question of personal taste, but have had similar experiences as several others here as the 600 series I heard in a store's listening room didn't impress me. Laid back is an understatement. I wasn't familiar with the equipment nor the room acoustics, but the floor standing paradigms in the same room sounded better ?!

The 800 series I heard in someone's home were a totally different story and were much more of what I expected... beautiful and involving... and I doubt his room acoustics were better than the stores. I wouldn't mind giving some of these a better listen at some point...

Rob

PS: None of these were bookshelf units though... that may be a different story.

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I disagree with the ears post on the b&w 800 compared to klipsch. I have heard this speaker being powered by over 50 grand of electronics and it failed to impress me. The sound was about as dynamic and possibly not as dynamic as my RF-3's are in my room with my 800 dollar yamaha, but the 800 was way drier, laid back and lacked any life or emotion. I do not like this speaker one bit and its b&w's 20 grand flagship speaker.

Joe

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I think I have to side with Joe on this one.

I find it ironic that one feels B&W needs to have state of the art electronics thrown at them to get the best out of them -- but feels that Klipsch should be able to do much better with much less. Horns are unforgiving, and will reveal every downstream defficiency. Actually, it is the HORNS that require the upgrades to get the best out of them. The only reason B&W needs bigger and better amperage is because they are so damn hard to drive. In the end however, the straight up dynamic radiators of B&W will be much more forgiving, and will do a much better job of masking low level distortion artifacts.

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I love the yellow Kevlar cones, solid internal bracing and smooth curves of the B&W 800 series, but their wild impedance curves require massive concrete block amplifiers. The do have some of the best mid-bass I have heard, but the price of the 800 series and the required amplification is out of my league. I would rather have big ole horns.2.gif

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