Bowers & Wilkins 607 S2 £449
How much more performance could B&W really eke out of the already class-leading 600 series? Plenty, it seems, as the B&W 607 S2 Anniversary Edition are a huge step forward and still the best standmount speakers we’ve heard at this price.
You won’t find many clues as to what has been changed from the 607s simply at a glance – the 30cm-tall speakers remain dominated by the 13cm silver Continuum drive units, while above is the same 25mm decoupled dome tweeter. The change lies in the improved bypass capacitors, specially treated by experts Mundorf, that can also be found on B&W’S premium 700 Series Signature range. Even so, we doubt you’d assume they would make the difference they evidently do.
There is no great difference in character; the 607 S2s take little time to show their enthusiasm, dealing out a performance with a confidence echoed by a frequency response happy to reach high and low into treble and bass. They aren’t shy to exhibit their rich tone throughout the register, nor are they worried about stretching too far
– the 607 S2’s bass response, though not deeper, is more agile than before.
There is more detail across the rest of the frequency range too, but also greater clarity and deeper, better-defined textures.
It’s a tightening that has affected every aspect of these speakers’ performance, including timing and dynamic expression. There is a more live quality to the way the new 607s place emphasis on leading notes and pick rhythms from any percussion.
Certainly these are no less snappy than the previously class-leading speakers they replace. This is a cleaner, more insightful and overall more engaging performance from a pair of speakers that were already among the best you could buy for their outlay. Fair to say the originals have been knocked off the top by these S2s.