About The Bowers & Wilkins 603 S3 Speakers
This isn't just another loudspeaker range. The Bowers & Wilkins 600 Series 3 is designed for every music lover; it's the attainable and affordable way to experience the joys of True Sound. These four new loudspeaker models feature technologies used in Bowers & Wilkins's revered, reference-standard 800 Series Diamond range found in Abbey Road Studios and provide anyone and everyone who loves music more from their listening. 600 Series: for the love of music.
Inspired by Engineering Excellence: 600 Series uses a wealth of state-of-the-art technologies derived from Bowers & Wilkins's award-winning 800 Series Diamond range to provide a best-in-class audio experience.
Built From Heritage: The new 600 Series is the latest iteration of one of Bowers & Wilkins's longest-running, most highly regarded and most successful loudspeaker ranges.
For The Love Of Music: 600 Series is bought by music lovers, film fans, dedicated audiophiles, youthful vinyl devotees and even older buyers on a budget. In short, anyone and everyone who loves music.
A Speaker To Solve Every Need: Available in a compact bookshelf, powerful stand-mount, room-filling floorstander and a crystal-clear centre channel. The 600 Series has a model to cater to every customer need for both stereo and home theatre use.
The 603 S3 is the largest loudspeaker in the 600 Series and is ideal for larger rooms and home theatres. It combines Bowers & Wilkins's new Titanium Dome™ tweeter with the accuracy and transparency of the acclaimed Continuum™ cone FST™ midrange driver. Room-filling scale and authority come courtesy of two bass drivers, while improved terminals and enhanced drive unit positioning make 603 S3 the most sophisticated affordable floorstanding loudspeaker Bowers & Wilkins have ever made.
Titanium Dome™ Tweeter: The 600 Series 3 introduces an all-new tweeter dome technology, the Titanium Dome. This replaces the Aluminium Double-Dome design used in preceding generations. The new tweeter benefits from a larger, 700 S3-sized diaphragm mounting plate for greater dispersion – improving imaging and soundstage.
It also features Bowers & Wilkins's new tweeter grille mesh design taken from the recently introduced 800 Series Signature. This is more open than before, also enhancing imaging. The tweeter features a significantly elongated tube-loading system, reducing the resonant frequency behind the dome and leading to a freer and more open sound that is less 'cabinet-bound'.
Continuum™ Cone: Thanks to its composite construction, the Continuum™ cone avoids the abrupt transitions in behaviour that can impair the performance of a conventional drive unit. For the 600 S3 range, the continuum midrange & bass/midrange drive units throughout the range feature superior 700 S3 motor systems. The result is a more open, neutral performance that delivers voices and instruments with precision and transparency.
Serious Bass: Serious and accurate bass performance is equally vital to such a room-filling speaker. That's why the 603 S3 features paper bass cone drive units which are closely related to the bass drivers in the Bowers & Wilkins 700 series. This is an effectively damped cone with a high break-up frequency for a richer, distortion-free bass response. For the 603 S3 the paper bass cones feature superior 700 S3 motor systems. These impressive paper bass cones combine effortless power and endless low-end with the precision and low-distortion accuracy you'd expect from Bowers & Wilkins.
Better Cabinet & New Driver Fixing Design: An updated cabinet design features improved drive unit location, with the tweeter and midrange and mid/bass drive units moved closer together for better time alignment and more seamless integration. The cabinet itself also has stiffer internal bracing for increased rigidity.
Upgraded Speaker Terminals: Derived from those recently introduced in the 700 Series range, the speaker terminals on the 600 Series feature an improved layout and a cleaner signal path between your amplifier and your loudspeakers.
Improved Crossover: 600 S3 models introduce new updated bypass capacitors derived from those recently introduced on 700 S3, helping with low-level detail and information retrieval.
Our Take On The Bowers & Wilkins 603 S3 Speakers
What a difference 3 years and a titanium tweeter make. Ever heard the Bowers & Wilkins 600 series speakers and thought they sounded great but that they could get a little edgy if you didn't partner them with exactly the right amplifier in a room without too much glass? We have very good news - you don't have to worry about that any more. The 603 S3 take everything that was good about the 603 S2 Anniversary Edition and give you wonderful liquid highs that just get out of the way and let you hear the music with a hear-through clarity that rivals the best we've heard in this class of speaker.
Naturally Bowers & Wilkins haven't sat on their laurels when it comes to the rest of the speaker either. Trickle down is a wonderful concept and Bowers & Wilkins are masters of the art with 700 S3 technology featuring everywhere you look.
The overall result is an extremely well rounded speaker that can play whatever type of sounds you enjoy and is very tolerant of systems and environmental placement. Buy with confidence and enjoy for years to come.
Main Features & Specifications
- Design: 3-Way, 4-Driver Bass Reflex Floorstanding Speaker with Flowport Technology
- Drive Units
- 1 x 25mm (1") Decoupled Double Dome Titanium high-frequency tweeter
- 1 x 150mm (6") Continuum Cone FST midrange
- 2 x 165mm (6.5") Paper Cone bass
- 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); <1% 100Hz - 22kHz; <0.5% 350Hz - 12kHz
- Nominal Impedance: 8 Ohms (minimum 3 Ohms)
- Recommended amplifier power: 30 Watts - 200 Watts into 8 Ohms on unclipped programme
- Bi-Wire Terminals derived from 700 S3
- Included Accessories: Magnetic Grilles, Foam Port Plugs, Screw-On Rubber Feet, Adjustable Floor Spikes, Colour Coded Plinths (for added stability), Allen Key, 45mm Screws, Plain Washers, Shakeproof Washers
- Available Finishes
- Black Cabinet with Black Grille
- White Cabinet with Grey Grille
- Oak/White Cabinet with Grey Grille
- Red Cherry/Black Cabinet with Black Grille
- Dimensions (WxHxD): 190 x 985 x 340mm without plinth (260 x 1,020 x 402mm with plinth)
- Weight: 27.5 kg each
- Manufacturer's Warranty: 5 Years (Covers faulty workmanship and materials, but not abuse).
Note: Features & Specifications Subject To Change Without Notice. E&OE.