# B&W 683



## gamedog44 (Mar 12, 2008)

I have a chance to buy a nice pair of 683's locally on CL just wanted to know from some B&W owners what is a good price for a used pair of these towers.They are in great condition. A friend of mine bought a pair of the 603 S4's on CL in great condition for 375.00 about 3 months back and I have listened to them I think they sound really good.These speakers look very similar but I know the 683's were manufactured about 10 years later.
I am trying to get them for 500.00-600.00.


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## chashint (Jan 12, 2011)

Best Buy sells the 684 for $1100/pr so if the 683's are in good condition the price you stated for the pair seems reasonable enough to me.
I would listen to them carefully at low and high volume to make sure there are no crackles, buzzes, or clanks... if they sound good you are good to go.


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## DrFunk (Jan 28, 2011)

I bought mine from BestBuy and the total was, with tax, $1600. They were $750 for 1 floorstander. Since I bought mine brand new, yes, something around $1100 or less would be a good deal. But, I have never seen these go for $1100 a pair NEW. Brand new, they are $1600. You'll have to shop hard to get them at the price you're looking for, I haven't seen many used pairs lately.

I do hope you find them though. They are without a doubt one of the finest speakers I've ever heard, and are more than worth the price brand new. You should also start thinking about getting a dedicated amp for them, as they like to draw on 200w for each speaker. The emotiva XPA-2 is what I'll be getting.


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## Jungle Jack (Jul 28, 2009)

Hello,
That certainly is a very good price for the 683's. Provided they are in good condition, it would be tough to pass up.
Cheers,
JJ


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## tesseract (Aug 9, 2010)

gamedog44 said:


> I have a chance to buy a nice pair of 683's locally on CL just wanted to know from some B&W owners what is a good price for a used pair of these towers.They are in great condition. A friend of mine bought a pair of the 603 S4's on CL in great condition for 375.00 about 3 months back and I have listened to them I think they sound really good.These speakers look very similar but I know the 683's were manufactured about 10 years later.
> I am trying to get them for 500.00-600.00.


That would be a great price on an FST mid B&W speaker. There is no 603 S4, BTW, it is probably an S2 or S3.


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## gamedog44 (Mar 12, 2008)

Went back and forth with the owner and finally settled on 650.00.I think I made out alright considering where they started at:bigsmile:I got home late and hooked them up and they sound awesome with my set-up.I played Lady Kim's Autumn Leaves tracks 1 and 2 (jazz vocal)on SACD/DSD 2 channel pure audio through my Onkyo TX-NR5007 with the 683's as the front mains driven through Emotiva XPA2 and it really blew me away.Very tight lows with lots of punch.exellent highs and mids and great imaging.I could not play anything else because my tennant who lives upstairs was home and it is a work night.:nono:
Will play some differant music through them when I have the chance and also do a side by side comparison with my JBL L890'S which I had been using as the front mains.Will keep you guy's posted.By the way thanks for the reply's.Gonna go watch Eagles/Falcons now.:T


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## magic (May 23, 2011)

Give us a review of them compared to the jbl's when you get a chance. We like to here about that kind of stuff


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## tesseract (Aug 9, 2010)

gamedog44 said:


> Went back and forth with the owner and finally settled on 650.00.I think I made out alright considering where they started at:bigsmile:I got home late and hooked them up and they sound awesome with my set-up.I played Lady Kim's Autumn Leaves tracks 1 and 2 (jazz vocal)on SACD/DSD 2 channel pure audio through my Onkyo TX-NR5007 with the 683's as the front mains driven through Emotiva XPA2 and it really blew me away.Very tight lows with lots of punch.exellent highs and mids and great imaging.


I envy you, those are great speakers. Bang for the buck, those FST 600 series.



> I could not play anything else because my tennant who lives upstairs was home and it is a work night.:nono:


Oh, they sound really swell at low levels, too. :devil:


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## chashint (Jan 12, 2011)

A pair of 683's for $650 is a very nice deal, you did well.
I would like to read a detailed comparo between the B&W's and the JBL's too.


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## gamedog44 (Mar 12, 2008)

tesseract said:


> That would be a great price on an FST mid B&W speaker. There is no 603 S4, BTW, it is probably an S2 or S3.


I'm sorry about that it is the DM 604's he has and I believe they are the first models from 1996-99.What are the differances if any between the DM 604,DM 604 S2,and DM 604 S3 ?..Anyway like I said he bought his for 375.00 locally on CL and thats a steal for a B&W 3 way with 3 large drivers and they do sound great I am trying to get him To bring over his DM's for the side by side comparison with the 683's and my JBL L890'S


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## tesseract (Aug 9, 2010)

gamedog44 said:


> I'm sorry about that it is the DM 604's he has and I believe they are the first models from 1996-99.What are the differances if any between the DM 604,DM 604 S2,and DM 604 S3 ?..Anyway like I said he bought his for 375.00 locally on CL and thats a steal for a B&W 3 way with 3 large drivers and they do sound great I am trying to get him To bring over his DM's for the side by side comparison with the 683's and my JBL L890'S


Yes, the DM is the first of the 600 series. There is no DM S2 or S3. The progression is as follows: First generation DM, second gen S2, third gen S3, and the fourth gen 68x series.

The main differences have been progressions like upgraded XOs, drivers, and in small part, the Flowport. The original DM series is still awesome, although getting to the age where the electrolytic caps may need replaced.

I just sold a pair of DM601s and a pair of 602S3s. I had the 601s for over 12 years, a lot of good times. I do miss them both, especially the 602s, but I needed to fund my latest and future speaker/sub purchases.


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## gamedog44 (Mar 12, 2008)

Sorry to keep you all waiting but wanted to listen and re-listen with the same music going through the same gear at the same volumes numerous times before I made a hasty conclusion.My test recordings are as follows:
1.Chad Smiths Bombastic Meatbats,Meet the Meatbats track 1. 
2.Kenny Garrett, Sketches of MD live at the Iridium NYC, track's 1,2 and 4
3.Pink Floyd, Wish You Were Here, track 1(remaster)
4.King Crimson,In the court of the crimson king, track's 1 and 5 (remaster)
5.Jimi Hendrix,Electric Ladyland track's 4,and 16(remaster)
JBL L890'S sound better on all tests but just slightly(more in your face presence)although they could be very bright at times in the HF's and the B&W's never had that problem.Overall I would say JBL's better LF and B&W better midrange(although very slight).Both speakers in the exact same price range new so i guess thats why so close in sound.If I had to choose I would pick the JBL's but not by a large margin.


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## chashint (Jan 12, 2011)

Thanks for the update.


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## magic (May 23, 2011)

Yes, thanks for the comparison.


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