B&W 3-Way Floorstanding Speakers B&W 603 S3 Oak 200W

BOWERS & WILKINS 603 S3 - ELEGANT ADVANCED FLOORSTANDING SPEAKER FOR DISCERNING MUSIC LOVERS AND LARGE HOME THEATERS

A celebration of sound. Two room-filling bass drivers deliver depth and authority, while improved connectors and improved drive unit positioning make the 603 S3 the most sophisticated budget floorstander we've ever made.

• Excellent sound and dynamics, even in large rooms
• Continuum FST midrange driver
• Great all-round sound for music and movies
• Relatively slim design

Solid, elegant cabinet

The Bowers & Wilkins 603 S3 is the pinnacle of the 600 S3 Series. This big, heavy, 3-way floorstander delivers even the most demanding soundscapes with mastery, delivering just the right amount of physical power to the pit of your stomach.

The two 6.5" woofers, the unique Continuum FST beadless midrange and the unique Nautilus titanium double dome tweeter ensure maximum detail every time. This is true whether you're listening to thunderous volume or listening to quiet jazz with a glass of red wine at the end of the day.

With the 603 S3 and a suitable amplifier, you never have to worry about a lack of fullness and dynamics, regardless of the sound pressure. If you have a very large room, use the speaker in a surround system or simply can't get too much of a good thing, you can add a separate subwoofer, such as one of B&W's ASW models.

The finish of the 603 S3 is high-quality and fits naturally into an elegant environment. The lid is secured with invisible magnets, so you don't have to look at ugly mounting holes if you want to use the speaker open with a view of the drivers.

The Bowers & Wilkins 603 S3 is available in a wide range of colours.

BOWERS & WILKINS 600 SERIES S3 - HIGH FIDELITY FOR EVERYONE

The Bowers & Wilkins 600 Series has been a huge success since the first models were launched in 1995. Since then, more than a million pairs of 600 Series speakers have been delivered to music lovers around the world. Today, the third generation of S3 still offers the same great value for money as previous generations.

The 600 Series S3 comprises a floorstanding model, two compact speakers, a centre speaker and two subwoofers, all unchanged. This allows you to build a system to suit your needs. Whether you want to savour the finest musical details in stereo or be blown away in your home theatre, these speakers deliver top-notch sound.

SOLID AND ELEGANT DESIGN WITH GREAT DETAILS

The design of the 600 Series S3 is elegant and refined. The cabinets are cleverly constructed, with smooth backs and fronts elegantly finished in black or silk white. In a new, refined detail, the rings around the tweeter and woofer/midrange driver have an overlap that brings the units even closer together, audibly improving the accuracy and depth of the stereo image. The bass ports are discreetly positioned on the rear of all models. Beneath the surface of each is a super-solid structure that helps the units perform at their best.

As with the exclusive 700 Series, the sensitive tweeter cones are well protected behind a discreet metal grille, originally developed for the 800 Series Signature, allowing sound to pass through them without any distortion. Meanwhile, the fronts have no visible mounting screws and the fabric covers are magnetically attached. This highlights the large units and makes your 600 S3 speaker an elegant piece of furniture in your living room, with or without a fabric front.

NAUTILUS DOUBLE DOME DECOUPLED - A TWEETER WITHOUT DISSONANCE

The Bowers & Wilkins patented Nautilus tweeter has been featured in almost all of the company's speakers for many years, in various versions. The Nautilus principle is based on a tube mounted on the back of the unit that acts like an inverted horn. This tube effectively absorbs all the sound the unit produces backwards, so that the forward sound is unaffected. And you can hear it.

The new titanium tweeter diaphragm is an advanced sandwich construction that adds an extra layer to the rear of the diaphragm that doubles the main diaphragm by cutting out the center hole. This brings the unit closer to the "perfect piston" than the aluminum cone of the previous generation and is a major reason for the incredibly open and musical reproduction of the S3 Series. Another part of the explanation lies in the significantly lengthened Nautilus tube, which now does an even better job of eliminating resonances from the rear of the unit.

FST - A UNIQUE MIDRANGE WITH UNIQUE QUALITIES 

The B&W 603 S3 floorstander is a true 3-way model, featuring B&W's unique "beadless" Continuum FST midrange driver. Unlike conventional units, the FST unit is designed without a conventional surround. The result is an extremely high and neutral reproduction of vocals and instruments.

The Continuum cone of an FST midrange driver is twisted in a special way, which ensures that unwanted resonances on the surface of the unit are "squashed" and removed from the sound signal. In combination with a borderless FST surround, the diaphragm reproduces different frequencies in different areas of the surface. The driver is deflected from the transmitted sound signal and moved like a postage stamp, so that all frequencies across the entire working range are equally well dispersed. You therefore do not need to sit in a particular position to fully enjoy the music.

LESS IS MORE

The crossover of the 600 Series S3 has been updated with new exclusive capacitors. This is the secret to the significantly improved sound quality compared to the previous generation 600 Series.

The crossover is very important to the sound quality of the speaker. As with the more expensive models, Bowers & Wilkins has optimised the interaction between the 600 Series S3 units, reducing the crossover to just a few components. However, these are of excellent quality and have been selected through extensive sound testing. Fewer components means a more direct signal path, which in turn improves the sound.

Robust screw terminals on the rear ensure trouble-free operation throughout the life of the speaker. The new horizontal layout makes connections clearer, especially when using cable lugs. The speakers can also be bi-wired, so you get the very best from your system.

The bass reflex port is B&W's unique Flowport, which features small dimples in the opening. This surface resembles a golf ball and reduces air resistance, allowing the air to pass through more easily. The result is cleaner, deeper bass with less distortion.

Technical specifications B&W 603 S3:

• 3-way bass reflex system
• 1x ø25mm (1 in) titanium high-frequency dome
• 1x ø150mm (6 in) FST Continuum cone midrange
• 2x ø165mm (6.5 in) paper
• Frequency range -6dB at 29Hz and 33kHz
• Frequency response 46Hz - 28kHz ±3dB
• Sensitivity 90dB spl (2.83V, 1m)
• Harmonic distortion 2nd and 3rd harmonics (90dB, 1m)
• Nominal impedance 8Ω (minimum 3.0Ω)
• Recommended amplifier power 30W - 200W on 8Ω
• Dimensions Height: 985 mm
• Width: 190 mm
• Depth: 340 mm
• Net weight 27.5kg