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Congrats Kirium
Welcome to the B&W club.

One of my speaker rigs consists of B&W DM601S3 Marantz CD6000OSE and Cambridge Audio A300v2 amp. Very good combo to say the least (and will be even better after getting something like Primare I20 or Audio Analogue Puccini for an amp). You don't get the amount of detail compared to HD600 driven by a decent amp but the music holds greatly together and is very enjoyable.

 

[Kirium]

the CD6000OSE seems to be a very popular source on this board. i've got one also, but i've been checking out the CD7300. i'm sure i'll stick with the OSE tho....

and B&W's are sweet-ass-sweet aren't they??

 

[mcbiff]

I've recently started listening to speakers as well. And I must say that I prefer speaker listening to headphones, at least quality speaker listening. Hopefully in the future I will have more room for my speaker kit and it will sound even better, but for now I'm happy. Although I am considering a source upgrade... Sigh, it never ends.

My current rig:
Source: Marantz CD6000OSE
Amp: Primare I20 integrated
Speakers: Avance Signature 3 MkII
Interconnects: Tara Labs Air 3
Speaker cables: Audioquest Gibraltar

Sounds nice to me.

 

[Kirium]

sounds like a nice setup mcbiff

mine is as follows
Source: Marantz CD6000OSE Ltd Edn
Interconnect: Monster Digital Co-ax
Amp: Marantz SR6300 (thru B channel stereo)
Cable: Monster XPHP
Speakers: B&W DM602 S3

i'm using my home theatre amp at the moment for space-saving measures. playing music thru the b channel. i'll buy a dedicated stereo amp one day soon. as soon as i figure out somewhere to put it...

 

[Orpheus]

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I was able to pick of a very nice pair of B&W Matrix 804's for just under $1K. You'll have a tough time finding any headphone that can beat that speaker.

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I've recently started listening to speakers as well. And I must say that I prefer speaker listening to headphones, at least quality speaker listening.

i think that people often mistake the differences between headphones and speakers.... so here is what i say:

It is not about whether the headphones or speakers are better--it is about whether you like the sound of room reverberation & enforcement (loudspeakers), or you like your sound straight (heaphones).

when you listen to headphones, you do not hear any room influences. you get the sound exactly as it was recorded. some people like that, some people don't. now, if you use loudspeakers, the walls will cause amplify/attenuate certain frequencies... some frequencies may even resonate quite well. you will also get a certain amount of reverberation. plus of course you'll feel the music a lot more. some people like that pseudo-surround-sound effect.

you can get your speakers to sound like headphones too.... you can turn your room in to an anacheoic chamber by spending lots of money on treatments. then you'll effectively have headphone sound, but at a distance.

anyway, just something to know.

but yes, speakers are inheritely less accurate than headphones, only because of room influences. evidence?--everytime i listen on speakers and i go, "What was that?", i put on some phones, and everything becomes clear. for instance... try picking out all that distortion on Norah Jone's CD. it's really hard to hear on speakers. which is probably why the engineers either let it slide, or never heard it in the first place. however, the distortion is clearly heard by us head-fi'ers. but almost all people prefer the extra room influences. not i. headphones allow me to hear things that are impossible to hear with loudspeakers. the only reason i listen to my speakers more is just cause it's uncomfortable to wear headphones to some extent, and i like to walk around a lot.

 

[kuma]

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Originally posted by Orpheus however, the distortion is clearly heard by us head-fi'ers. but almost all people prefer the extra room influences. not i. headphones allow me to hear things that are impossible to hear with loudspeakers. the only reason i listen to my speakers more is just cause it's uncomfortable to wear headphones to some extent, and i like to walk around a lot.

And you like listening to distortion???
I mean I admire transducers with power of analysis, but they all need to have an ability to move and involve a listner. At least thats' my criteria for selecting components. Don't get me wrong, I love finding out subtle neuances and sound bites that I haven't noticed before. But, I dont get off hearing someone belching at 16th row back there. I just found that not too many systems give you all that and still remain highly enjoyable. Some speaker systems or 'fones, even when they lack in resolution, they can possess that special quality that can involve a listner sometimes.
Sure, I'd like more resolution, but, not at the expence of picking the music apart.

It is not impossible to control room nodes and reflections with speakers. Altho, they are harder to set up right than 'fones.
I don't have the padded dedicated room for speakers yet, the end result is the same for me. i.e. I enjoy both speakers and 'fones listening equally.

 

[Orpheus]

i understand what you mean.... but i think we look for different things when we listen....

personally, i don't see any point in picking components that hide the truth from me. if the distortion exists on norah jones' CD, i want to hear it, not cause i enjoy listening to it, but simply for the sake of truth. and yes, i don't even listen to that CD anymore cause it was recorded so badly. you might say that was a tragedy... but what if you found a recording that sounded distorted even on your loudspeakers... would you go out and buy even ****tier speakers so you can enjoy the music more? didn't think so. it might hide more of the distortion... but i think you can see how fruitless that action would be.

it's the same deal with headphones in respect to hearing all those fine details.

...there is a logical reason why people still prefer loudspeakers though, and may even claim that they are more "revealing/accurate"... though that really isn't true. but in a live situation, or in any real acoustic situation, sound comes to you from everywhere. everything reverberates... whether a wall you are standing right next to, or the mountain a mile away. so, people say headphones have no "soundstage" or whatever. that's really a fallacy, cause such a description is out of context--headphones give you exactly what is in the recording... loudspeakers do not. however, headphones will never sound like a real experience for that reason too.......... you cannot hear all the sound surrounding you. you cannot feel the floor shaking. stuff like that. in that way, headphones cannot give you that "live experience." still, if you are just talking about true accurate reproduction of sound, headphones cannot be beat, by ANY loudspeaker, in a real acoustic situation.

anyway, i am glad you guys found the B&W's to be enjoyable. there's nothing like listening to high quality speakers in a nice room, and being able to sit down without cables dangling all about your head. but don't forget about your headphones.... they are the best for what they do.

 

[kuma]

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Originally posted by Orpheus i understand what you mean.... but i think we look for different things when we listen.... personally, i don't see any point in picking components that hide the truth from me. if the distortion exists on norah jones' CD, i want to hear it, not cause i enjoy listening to it, but simply for the sake of truth.

Cool. I respect that as far as difference in our listening habits.

What I wanted to say was that you can have a cake and eat it, too. I don't know how, but, some systems can let you hear everything on the reocrds and still enjoy your music. Does this mean they are hiding the *truth*? you still hear stuff just the same as System A, yet, on System B it, somehow, deliver the flaw/recording distortion differently and perhaps not so destracting from the contents.

Letting the information through is important at the end of signal chain. I'm just objecting to some of the systems/gear out there just do it terribly. Now, which is the truth?

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...there is a logical reason why people still prefer loudspeakers though, and may even claim that they are more "revealing/accurate"... though that really isn't true.

Agreed.

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so, people say headphones have no "soundstage" or whatever. that's really a fallacy, cause such a description is out of context--headphones give you exactly what is in the recording... loudspeakers do not.

The soundstaging thing is a manufactured stuff by printed media ( esp. US rags ) to most extent. I see why many people dig it but soundstaging alone does not make a convincing playback. This is why I don't like most hi-end gear. Focus has been this and mellow treble extension that rob the life out of music. Many hi-end systems I have heard and, admittedly had, they assassinate the music. I sure do not want *eunuch* music.

I guess it is a mindset thing. I don't need floor shaking or having the *true* 30 hz extension ( oh boy, but, that would be cool hehe ) to enjoy lifelike music.
One thing, the fone does well is to get that clean bass extension. That, I don't get that from my standmounts. Somewhat ironic to get the deep bass from the 'fones rather than speakers. But, for me, i'd rather have cleaner presentation down there than sloppy bass shaking my room and scaring small domestic animals.

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if you are just talking about true accurate reproduction of sound, headphones cannot be beat, by ANY loudspeaker, in a real acoustic situation.

dunno if you can make the general statement like that. All headphones are also not free of coloration and distortion. Just like speakers, there aren't the perfect phones. That's why I pick the ones I can live with and work with it to get the most of it.

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anyway, i am glad you guys found the B&W's to be enjoyable. there's nothing like listening to high quality speakers in a nice room, and being able to sit down without cables dangling all about your head. but don't forget about your headphones.... they are the best for what they do.

I wasn't singling out B&W speaker per se. Just talking about speaker and 'fone listening in general.

 

[Orpheus]

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dunno if you can make the general statement like that. All headphones are also not free of coloration and distortion. Just like speakers, there aren't the perfect phones.

you're right.... there probably are some pretty damn bad headphones out there, and i shouldn't have said "any." but i guess what i mean is that the room you listen in will dictate the experience you hear with loudspeakers, and that's all too often not addressed. even modest phones allow you to hear details that all but the best rooms/loudspeaker combos will miss.

 

[Mr.PD]

I got listen to a pair of B&W speakers once in Boise.
I was blown away. I don't remember what model they were. They were kind of squaty looking with the tweeter in a ball on top.

I don't about soundstage, but the demo cd they used has sounds that were supposed to come from behind you and to your right and left. It was supposed to be like sitting on a back porch, hearing your wife change tv channels in the house, birds in the trees, and a neighbors dog. I had to double check to see if there were some hidden speakers behind me. The sounds were coming from all over just out of those two speakers!
Then he played some music, I understood then how Jude could tell one piano from another. The detail was so good that if I knew anything about pianos I could have told you what kind it was that was playing.
This store has a trade up policy. If I were to buy what I could afford now, I can get the full amount I paid in credit if I trade up to a pair at least one third more epensive. I thought that was a good plan. I may do that one of these days.