B&W's latest 600 Series speakers start at $900 a pair

Bowers & Wilkins (B&W) has announced the eighth generation of its most affordable speaker family, the B&W 600 Series S3. The collection of speakers includes three sizes, plus a center channel model for home theaters. Each model comes in three colors globally (oak, white, or black), plus a cherry finish that is exclusive to Asia-Pacific countries.

Prices start at $900 per pair for the bookshelf model and all four speakers are available starting August 23 at bowerswilkins.com and select retailers.

B&W says the 600 Series S3 models contain several improvements to their design and audio quality, some of which have been inherited from the company’s 700 and 800 Series. At the heart of the S3 is a redesigned titanium dome tweeter. It uses a two-part construction, with a very thin and light, but rigid 25-micron main dome, braced by a second 30-micron titanium ring. It’s housed in an elongated tube-loading system, following the system used in the 700 Series S3. B&W claims this reduces the resonant frequency behind the dome and leads to a more open sound that is less impacted by the cabinet that houses it.

The tweeter also uses a 700 Series S3-sized diaphragm mounting plate. B&W says that will deliver better, more open dispersion, which is helped by a more open tweeter grille design taken directly from 800 Series Signature.

The 600 Series S3 speakers keep the company’s Continuum Cones for its midrange and midrange/bass drivers, but now use more powerful, lower-distortion 700 Series S3 motor assemblies. These are also used on the paper cone bass drivers. Another 700 Series S3 feature that has been borrowed is the crossover unit, which has been updated with better bypass capacitors.

B&W says the 600 Series S3 cabinets have received extensive improvements, with tweeter and main drive units now mounted closer together, with intersecting trim rings to improve integration and stereo imaging. There’s also a new terminal tray and bass port — once again taken from the 700 Series S3 — which should improve performance by creating a stiffer cabinet. The internal bracing now uses a higher standard of wood, and the bottom of the 606 S3 and 607 S3 now include metal threaded inserts so that the speakers can be more securely fixed to the top plate of the new FS-600 S3 stands.

Here’s the full 600 Series S3 family: