Hey guys, I'm pretty dissatisfied with my setup, and it seems as though my B&W DM602 S3s are really not being driven as they should. When I was choosing speakers I first went with the B&Ws over the axioms, because I found some gently used for a great price. I have a marantz 5002 AVR (90 watt/channel), and I've even tried an external rotel rb-850 amp. Although the speakers sound better with the rotel, they still don't sound as full as I'd hoped. I've tried different room placements, different rooms, settings on the AVR, different cd sources, and even different wires.

Even still, the bass and some midrange seem to really be lacking big-time. It's there, but just really far back, so that it's really not satisfying. Also what I've noticed is that the bass drivers of the speakers hardly move. Would this suggest they're being underpowered, or what?

I'd really appreciate any tips you guys have.

Hi dmbartender,

I have never listened to the the 602's and not sure what their "sound signature" is like but what you describe as sounding "far back" could be because they simply have a recessed midrange which can often be perceived as muffled/dull/distant sounding. Often this is referred to as a laid back speaker and is one quality I particularly do not like.

Barkeep, of course it may be that the 602s weren't quite as "gently used" as you thought. Although it would be unusual for the woofer rather than the tweeter voice coils to be damaged, if they were subjected to some extreme low bass load it's possible. The 602s should have good mid-range and bass down to at least 50Hz. The amplifier power has nothing to do with this.

Since they have two sets of terminals, connect your speaker wire to the lower ones and remove the connecting strips so that only the mid-woofers are powered. Play test tones in the lower ranges to see if one or both mid-woofers are either very low in level or completely silent.

Hey thanks, that's quite a good idea. I will try that on the 602s, and I have 603s on which I'll try that test too. It simply seems though, that the speakers in general sound good on the high range, but lacking on the low range. I really can't imagine that all 4 speakers were abused (the 603s I got from a different person), and so that's why I thought the amp or AVR might be the culprit. Of course the best test would be to get some speakers from a different manufacturer, but I don't really have the luxury to borrow any speakers here out in the boonies.

Does anyone know the signature of axiom M50s in comparison to B&W speakers? Do they have a good amount of low end?

you don't mention if your using a sub, so I assume your running the 602's full range? I will say that I found the B&W 703's very similar to my m60's and m80's. Personally, I did not like the 600 series much, can't recall why...

I highly doubt the 602s are even able to produce enough bass for most people in these days of over blown bass. A small bookshelf is just not capable of reproducing good low bass compared to a floorstander or subwoofer.

I can get adequate bass out of my M22s but if the music is not very bass heavy the M22s will sound to be lacking bass to some people, when it is just the way the music is recorded.

You can always bump up the bass level on the receiver a few db to enhance the bass, no harm in doing this.