B&Ws 686s

snig300

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looking to get a pair of B&Ws 685s on friday,the price seems to be £370 in most of the shops I've looked at,anyone know if I could get a bit knock of that price?or is the price set, BUT


got the 686s at the front at the min and would be putting the 685s at the front(dont have a sub yet or centre)but have a little dout at the back of my mind if the 685s are going to be that much of an upgrade from the 686s,I find tv viewing with the 686s not that amazing but its DVDS where they come into their own,I can notice the differance when doing a switch from tv speaker to the B&Ws on tv viewing but only slightly,so am hoping that the 685s will also be an improvement on tv and dvds(tv mainly as the 686s kick ass on films so an sure the 685s will be amazing with films)
hope someone understands whAt am trying to say and can take that bit of dout away cheers.


forgot to say running a denon 2309
 
Last edited:
looking to get a pair of B&Ws 685s on friday,the price seems to be £370 in most of the shops I've looked at,anyone know if I could get a bit knock of that price?or is the price set, BUT


got the 686s at the front at the min and would be putting the 685s at the front(dont have a sub yet or centre)but have a little dout at the back of my mind if the 685s are going to be that much of an upgrade from the 686s,I find tv viewing with the 686s not that amazing but its DVDS where they come into their own,I can notice the differance when doing a switch from tv speaker to the B&Ws on tv viewing but only slightly,so am hoping that the 685s will also be an improvement on tv and dvds(tv mainly as the 686s kick ass on films so an sure the 685s will be amazing with films)
hope someone understands whAt am trying to say and can take that bit of dout away cheers.


forgot to say running a denon 2309
Hi there.
I am using B&W 685's and had the pleasure of listening to the full 5.0 600 series set up (2x 685's 2x 686's and the HTM62 ) and i found it awesome for both TV and DVD's I think if you really want the best for tv and dvd's try and get hold of the center as it makes a huge difference. I also think the 685's are quite the step up from the 686's (although the only reason I have the 685's is I did not want the port at the back due to placement...)
As for price I am sorry but cannot help you as I picked mine up after buying on ebay and got them in as new condition with boxes and everything else for £225 which was a steal although i would think there is some leeway in price.
 
Cheers for that chrishamer, the setup you have is what I'm working towards.

Currently have the 686's for the front and have been struggling with low volume speech from the yamaha, hard to balance the sound.

Just ordered the B&W 62 centre, couple of weeks before i get it, looking forward to it, to balance out the sound across the front, then its the 685's next, in few months!:D

Good to hear that the 685's should be a noticeable upgrade from the 686's i was a little worried that it may not be the jump i was hoping for.
 
Was gonna post that if you want the 600 series you'd better get your order in!

I've been waiting for almost 5 weeks for my 685, 686 and HTM62 and still no sign:(
 
I've compared the 686s with the 685s. Listened to the 685s for a while with music, then put the sixes on the stands. First thing I noticed is that the 686s have a lot lower sensitivity, so I had to crank the volume control up to get them to the same level. Once they're being driven though they sounded pretty good. I felt they needed a powerful amp to get them working properly (they were brand new mind you). Compared to their bigger brothers they lack some bass, as you would expect. The 685s provide more low down grunt than their size would suggest. Also the 685s give a fuller sound, the 686s sound just a little thin/flat in comparison. These speakers make a great 5.0 system with the HTM62 (though I do think the 686s are a bit overspecified for surrounds), and as said the 685s are front ported which helps with placement. I am a big fan of the 685s, I think they're great speakers :smashin:
 
I loved the 685's and thought they were a whole lot better than the 686's.

For the extra £100 or so, I would have had 4 x 685's in my setup if I could have justified the space :(
 
I got my 685 from PNR Vision on Tottenham Court Road, haggled them down from 370 to 320, if that is any help.
 

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