Am currently looking at the M60 and the B&W 603S3.
If I can get both at the same price, which speaker is better? I can test the B&W however I have no way of testing the M60 as I live overseas.
I haven't heard either speaker personally, but I've read a few posts on this board by people who have. They have said that you need to move up to the 700 series of B&W speakers before there is a real comparison with the M60s.
In short, the M60s are better. However, speakers are hightly subjective beasts so you never know until you've heard them both.
I've demoed the 603 and 604 and the 705s(bookshelf) in store. And while they all sounded OK I found them to be very uninvolving as though the dynamics were compressed and over all they sounded distant (vieled) and over-refined. I much prefer my Axiom M22s and Magnepan MG12s for thier wonderful dynamics and balance over the 6 and 7 series B&Ws (have not heard the CM and 300 series).
It wasn't until I heard the 803s as mains and the SCM1 as surrounds and the HTM2 as center (combined with all McIntosh components) that I really liked the B&Ws. The latter was, of course, a HT setup with a B&W sub in the "special" room at the Home Theater Store and I didn't get a chance to listen to any 2ch music on this system but man the DVD demo had me drooling. But alas, the upper end B&Ws were way out of my price range.
I agree with what was previously stated... I believe that neither the 600 nor the 700 series can best any of Axiom's models in their respective categories. Many compare the 700 series to Axiom speakers, but I disagree. No one really compares the 600s though, as they are in a lower class in my opinion.
My ears in (multiple) auditions between the 2 showed me the M60s faced off comparably against the B&W 703s. My friend's 600s came up a bit short. I think the 703s are about 3x the M60 price.
Yep...if you can demo the B&W's, then try and listen to the 703 floorstanders. That'll give you a much better idea what the M60's sound like. The 600 series really can't hold a candle to the M60ti's.
At www.dvdfile.com's forums, this guy (http://forums.dvdfile.com/interactive/forum/showthread.php?p=540590), who has B&W 602's, says that he has been unimpressed with the musicality of SVS subs. I wonder what he thinks of the musicality of his B&W's?