B&W vs polk

[lancer]

I have never had a chance to audition B&W speakers. I have Polk RT7's as my main speakers now. How do some of the B&W models compare to my polks and the newer model Polks?

[organ]

Haven't heard the legendary RT7, but all the members here who own a pair LOVE them. I believe Russman is the only member to have both B&W and RT7 in the same room. Let's wait for him to chime in. Troy owns a pair of LSi9 and B&W. Maybe he can answer your question.

IMO, if you're comparing B&W to Polk LSi series, the final choice will be a matter of taste. Both are great speakers with the "Euro sound".

Maurice

[shack]

I have really wanted to like B&W speakers (based on many possitive recomemndations) and have demoed the 3 series, the 6 series and the CM series as speakers that I could afford. (The Nautilus are a different class IMO). I have yet to find a speaker that I felt I could live with long term. Too forward is the best description I have. I left the demos feeling that they would make a great HT system. I found them to be very detailed but when listening to music they became tiring after a period of time...similar to the way horns sound to me. Maybe they were set up on the wrong equipment, wrong room, not "broken in" or whatever...I've just never left a demo of mid-priced B&W with a possitive impression...maybe I'll keep trying. For now I prefer the Polks.

[lancer]

Thanks for the reply, I didn't realize that the RT7's had such a good reputation.

[lancer]

Very helpful reply

[organ]

Many people consider the RT7 as the best speaker in the RT line and best RT bookshelf speakers. There's a member here, I think his name is Gary Robertson. Anyways, he owns a pair of Martin Logan electrostats and he still loves his RT7 as much as the ML's.

I've heard two different B&W speakers. One pair were towers and the other bookshelf. The towers were powered by a multi-channel Adcom amp, Lexicon pre and a top-of-the-line Pioneer Elite DVD/LD player at my friend's house. Just like Shack, I did find them bright. Not in a bad way. Sounded like there was a spike somewhere in the mids and highs that made some frequencies stand out more. I really liked the tweeter. Very crisp and airy. It was located on top of the cabinet. The mid-range drivers were also above the mainn cabinet.

The bookshelfs didn't sound anything like the towers. They were conected to a Denon CD player, Bryston pre and Bryston amp. They were very warm sounding and laid back. The sound was similar to the LSi9.

Maurice

[F1nut]

Doro and I demoed a few B&W's including the TOTL, all I can say is NO thanks!

If you can, check out Sonus Faber, nice sound.

[dorokusai]

I will concur, for the money, we could not justify them at all.

The demo F1 and I had was the B&W 802, on Sunfire, and we weren't impressed. It could have been many factors, but first impressions are everything, so there you go.

I had a chance to hear them at another location, better room, "better" gear(McIntosh) and while it sounded much better, it still did not floor me.

B&W has a great reputation, but more listening is needed I imagine. I think any speaker that comes with its own wheels, is pretty freaking cool.