Bowers & Wilkins 603 S2 Anniversary Edition Floorstanding Speaker - $2,000/pair
The 603 S2 Anniversary Edition is the floorstanding speaker in the new 600 Series.
While $2,000 is not a small amount of money, we think the new 603 betters all of the speakers B&W has made in the past in the previous CM and older 700 Series, some of them costing $4,000 a pair. The new materials used in this series really shines in the 603 Anniversary.
The Continuum driver is used in the midrange just as it is in the top of the line 800 Series. With it not having to produce any bass, the jump up in sound quality is substantial. The top end is handled with the same tweeter used in the other two models. B&W adds two dual 6 ½” woofers for outstanding deep bass.
We love the plinth included with the 603. This is a large base you attach to the bottom of the speaker that greatly increases its stability. On the plinth, they stand about 41 ½” tall, but are about the same width and depth as the 606 Anniversary, which gives them a nice, slender look.
At Audio Advice, we love to test things to the limit, so we tried these out with a McIntosh MA5300 integrated amp. Yes, at $5K for the amp, it is overkill, but this amp showed us how good these speakers could sound. It made them stand up and pay attention! They are capable of revealing everything about the incoming signal and will get better and better as you improve the front end. However, you can run them very well on a modest home theater receiver as they are fairly efficient at 88.5db.
When you sit down and listen to the 603s on a good set up, they will totally disappear and present a big, full sound that simply draws you in. The midrange on these is by far the best of the 600 Series with an effortless sound that reminds us of the $17K B&W 802 D3’s.