DM602 s2 Time to upgrade?

lowrider007

Established Member
Joined
Mar 14, 2007
Messages
163
Reaction score
12
Points
60
I've owned my DM602s2 speakers for 15 odd years now, (still in mint condition!), and I'm genuinely still enjoying them, very musical, love the sweet highs, vocals sound amazing on them, they are not analytical which I like, sometimes I just want that hi-fi sound with a sprinkle of analogue thrown in and I feel the 602's offer that in today's world of small boxed bookshelf/stand-mount speakers.

That being said I still feel a compulsion to upgrade, I guess partly because of how long I've owned them, and partly because I feel I might be missing out on new speaker tech?, maybe the next modern equivalent to the 602 that I can enjoy for a further 10 plus years?

I also own a pair of Kef Q100's that I use as near-fields for my PC setup, I have spent the last couple of months regularly swapping my 602's for my Q100's in my lounge setup, it's been an interesting experiment, and even though I believe the Q100's are technically a better speaker, I prefer the musicality of the 602's still, the voices in particular sound a lot more natural.

I found this track very interesting in comparing the two speakers,




On the q100's I found the rain in the background (which adds so much ambience to the track) much harder to hear compared to the 602's, and it made me think if I can't hear the rain that well on the Q100's what am I missing out on in other tracks?

Is there an obvious winner between this 2 speakers considering the age and price?, I suppose I'm assuming some people might be thinking "The Q100's are miles better that those old speakers!".


If I'm looking to audition a few new stand mount speakers that provide a discernible upgrade in sound quality, preferably with metal dome tweeters, what would you recommend? I want musically, but still a good top end, and natural tone to voices.

Thanks.
 
If you are still enjoying the 602s is there really any need to upgrade, especially if that upgrade is going to be more of a sideways move than a substantial step forward. The Q100s are OK speakers are perhaps comparable to the 602s in many areas, but they are not a speaker I would class as very musical.

It's a different story with the KEF R100s. They are much superior to the Q100s and possibly the 602s and you may very well hear a difference, especially at the top end with the metal domed UniQ drivers. At almost half their original price of £600 they are something of a steal. I've used them as fronts and found them quite musical and given the right amplification they really do punch well above their weight.

 
What amp are you using?
 
Thanks the heads up on the R100's, I considered them in the past but didn't know that they dropped in price so much, I think I'll grab myself a pair and have a play around, I can always sell them on at that price.

What amp are you using?

I'm afraid to say in the Stereo Speaker section, but I'm using an AV-Receiver, the Yamaha RX-V685, I bought it recently knowing that it has front L&R pre-outs in case they we're needed, it powers the B&W lovely, but with the Q100's I have to ramp the volume up more, they feel a lot harder to drive.

I have Denon PMA-520AE powering my Q100's in my computer room, that amp is only 45w I think but it has no trouble powering them.
 
Bear in mind the big cabinet of the 602s as well. They have impressively deep bass for a standmounter. Even a big one. Not all standmounts can match the easy bass of the BWs.

You could always try a more stereo friendly amp... I used a Musical Fidelity X-A200 with mine. Lots of current there, certainly better than the Yamaha.

A used MF of similar standard would certainly be worth a try.
 
Alternatively Rotel do some mighty fine current swingers,


This one for instance will get a better grip on the 602s than the Yamaha.
 
-- As an eBay Associate, AVForums earns from qualifying purchases --

The latest video from AVForums

TV Buying Guide - Which TV Is Best For You?
Subscribe to our YouTube channel
Back
Top Bottom