The British loudspeaker manufacturer Bowers & Wilkins upgrade the 7 year old 600 series. 600-S2 goes on sale in March 2014.

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Speaker Series in general, and perhaps B&W's series in particular has a long circulation rate compared to most other components of Hi-fi and home cinema. While new models of Blu-ray players and receivers are an annual ritual you may set the calendar for, 600 series to Bowers & Wilkins has been on the market for seven years, before releasing an upgrade intto the Series 2. See also our presentation and review of the now outgoing 600 series , published in September 2007. Now, it's probably well be that other producers would choose to set this amplification series as a whole new series, it is somewhat extensive changes were made ​​in 600-S.

If we start looking, there are a few general features that have changed. While the outgoing series was originally available in black ash and wenge, there is now black ash and white finish offered. This is probarly finishes that reflect market demands. Also the characteristic asymmetrical placed aluminum plate with the logo is now replaced by a more discreet logo above the tweeters.

Treble elements are otherwise completely new to the series. B&W has taken the sandwich structure of CM-10, which will provide significantly improved treble response.

Two-way speakers have the same type of element as before, although some models have been resized. It involves membranes consisting of woven Kevlar. There is still a new dust cap in the center of the elements, changed from a projectile shaped hood to the B & W refers to as dust plug. And they have done to create a smoother transition to the tweeter, which B & W believes are important to the "minimalist-crossovers" they use.

In the three-way models it is  still used TDS elements, taken from high-end speakers in the 800 series. However, bass elements are renewed. They still have an aluminum cone, but has two major news compared to the outgoing models. The smallest change is that the dust cap is less. More significantly according to the B & W that damping is enhanced by an aluminum ring is glued to the inside of the cone, to provide better damping of resonances in the higher frequencies. This change is only visible if you make a trip inside the current 3-way speakers.

The new range consists of all six speaker models and a subwoofer. Of these six, there are two different center speakers. With the new series there has been a moderate price increases compared to the outgoing models, but on the other hand it seems that the outgoing series  had had few or no price rise during the seven years they've been on the Norwegian market.

We take a tour of the new series, where DM-term is being dropped.

686-S2 is one of the speakers who have the most obvious visual change from its predecessor. It has now like 685 received bass port on the front, making it easier to place in confined spaces. The proportions of the 686-S2 has changed significantly from its predecessors, so it has had a far more exceeding handed touch.

The price of 686-S2 is set to 3.996, - pr. pair.

685-S2 has received far less conspicuous changes - 5mm reduced width and 5mm height increased witch along with other cosmetic measures still provides an easy updated look.

The price of 685-S2 is set to 5.496, - pr. pair.

684-S2 is one of the speakers with the biggest changes compared to its predecessor. 2 x 6.5-inches is changed to 2 x 5-inches, which allows for a much slimmer body. Despite the reduces drives, B&W claims sound has improved. And this is a pure two-way construction opposit to the 2 ½-way construksjon on the old model. With a width of 16cm 684-S2 begins to be on speaking terms with System Audio when it comes to location-friendly floor standing speakers, while the base plate with larger ground plan ensures sufficient stability. It is tempting to guess that the 684-S2 in white becomes a womanizer in the home.

The price of 684-S2 is set to 8.996, - pr. pair.

683-S2 is the top model in this series, and here we are over in a 3-way construction. This means that it benefits from the upgraded woofer we talked about earlier.

The price of 683-S2 is set to 12.496, - pr. pair.

HTM62-S2 is the smallest center speaker for multi-channel setups in this series, and is a mere 2-way design with the same 5-inch midrange/bass elements sitting in 684-S2. The height is reduced, while the width is increased compared to its predecessor.

The price of HTM62-S2 is set to 3.798, - pr. pair.

HTM61-S2 is the top model of the center speaker, and has been changed from 2-way to 3-way in the newcomer. The speaker has a 4-inch mid-range driver that is placed centric just below the tweeter, flanked by aluminum elements of the bass on each side. This should theoretically provide a far more favorable structure elements than in a typical two-way construction, since eliminating the negative phase differences in the midrange as a construction with two mid-range on the wings have for listeners who are not centric. Bass area is notoriously less sensitive to this type of phase differences than the higher frequency ranges.

Hi-fi Klubben in Oslo organize press launch of the new 600 series shortly. But with our location on the west coast are unfortunately a bit inconvenient to prioritize it this time. We still expect that there will be ample opportunities for closer acquaintance with the 600 series later, something our readers of course will have the opportunity to read about.

More on the new 600 series of Hi-fi Klubben.