I've spent the last few months chopping and changing speakers and now I am finally happy after going back to B&W from owning a pair of Monitor Audio GR20s.
I never truly got on with the GR20s, I found them extremely difficult to cope with my wide musical tastes, and they'd always disappoint.
Shortly after selling the GR20s I bought a pair of the 685s - the new standmount that replaces the DM601 S3. Slighty more expensive, but wow.. totally worth it. I was seriously blown away by the 685. I have never heard something so good at this price.
So, why did I sell them just 4 weeks after? To be honest, as much as I hated the GR20s towards the end, I missed the low end grunt on offer. So I turned my attention to the 683 - because I really did love the 685s.
Wow. These speakers MUST be auditioned if you are looking for floor standers between $1000 - $2000 - I honestly don't think they can be beaten. The bass is PROPER bass - low, tuneful and controlled. The midrange is mind blowing, due to the fact that B&W have managed to incorporate an FST midrange driver in a 600 series speaker. Loosely based on the 804, this speaker out performs anything I have heard at this price for sure!
My music listening is done entirely from my Mac MIni. My CDs have been imported and stored away and I couldn't be happier. If anyone wants to discuss computer based servers please get in touch, as I am extremely pleased with the results.
My listening room is quite small, 12 x 9 which would make you think that the B&Ws are way too big for a room of this size - not the case. They perform exceedingly well in my room.
My pride and joy - the older (and pricier) model that is now the Bladelius Thor. So refined, warm, detailed and refreshing. It is perfect.
B&W 683
Top of the new 600 series is the 683. Twin bass drivers supply this floor stander with earth shaking bass. More importantly, for the first time ever in a 600 series, B&W raises the bar and adds an FST midrange. I am absolutely blown away by the quality on offer at this price. Truly shocking. This is due to B&W moving a factory to China to build the speakers (with official B&W employees from the UK). Nothing at this price comes close.
Apple Mac Mini
Hated by some, loved by others. I couldn't live without mine. I have roughly 40,000 mp3s on a 500gb external drive that I have been importing since 1997. I have slowed down a lot quite recently. Mac Mini is controller either from Front Row with remote, or better still, Remote Desktop from my Macbook, controlling the computer directly!
With the right files, the Mac Mini sounds PHENOMENAL. I did countless A/B comparisons with several CD players around about the $1/1.5k mark and pretty much nothing out performed the Mac.
Couldn't recommend it enough!
Freecom 500GB External HDD
External drive - couldn't live without it. Currently packed with 41,000 tracks.
Samsung 40 N/A
Fantastic screen for the price - HD looks amazing, and it's a great screen for use with the Mac Mini.
Always been a fan of Samsung, and figured since Apple Cinema Displays are actually Samsung panels, I figured it'd be a perfect match
Chord Odyssey Bi-Wire
2 x 2.5 4 into 2 Chord cables, work a treat with the Advantage and B&Ws
Love the look of your system. Simple, modern, elegant, those are the adjectives most appealing to me and they fit your system perfectly. One of these days I'm going to go the computer based route. I'll need to get one of my kids to teach me. What concerns me is degraded sonics with mp3s. You say that's not the case?
