TECHNO ITEM: B&W 683 Theatre High-tech, high-performance… and high-quality movie sound

We think Bowers & Wilkins’ brand-new 600-series speakers are great. It was love at first sight with the stunning 685 S2 standmounters, and we waxed lyrical about the 683 S2 floorstanders. Will it be the same with the inevitable 5.1 speaker package? This B&W 683 Theatre combo is, as its name suggests, built around the superb 683 S2 floorstanders. At £1,59,000 a pair, they’re the unequivocal leaders of their class – and they do the grunt-work of moving air around your room in this set-up. The rest of the system uses speakers from the new range, too: the HTM61 S2 centre speaker (£75,000), 686 S2 rear standmounters (£51,000) and ASW610XP subwoofer (£1,25,000) complete the line-up.

New technology
The new 600 series is so special because B&W has cherry-picked technology from its high-end CM range to give an incredible boost in sound quality. The biggest change is the use of the CM series’ ring-reinforced decoupled tweeters. It’s a clever design. The thin 25mm aluminium dome tweeter is reinforced by a thicker outer metal ring (seen on the flagship CM10 loudspeaker), which ensures better damping. The assembly is further suspended (decoupled) in a gel ring to minimise resonances from the mid- and bass-drivers. And then there’s the Nautilus tube-loading arrangement, handed down from the iconic PM1 speakers… It all aims to deliver more precision in the upper reaches of the frequency range – and it hits that target square-on. The bass drivers in the 683 S2 floorstanders have also been reinforced with rings of aluminium too (the stiffer construction reduces distortion), while B&W’s distinctive bright yellow Kevlarwoven FST drivers handle the midrange frequencies on all speakers. And we have to take our hats off to B&W for finally putting a protective grille around that delicate soft-dome tweeter, which can be so easily damaged by prodding fingers. It helps with sound dispersion, too.

Inside the ASW610XP
The subwoofer’s compact size means that B&W has had to endow it with a lot of power – a whopping 500W – to squeeze out as much bass as possible. There are speaker and line level inputs and their corresponding volume levels on the back panel. EQ presets are also available, so you can tell the ASW610XP whether it’s been placed in a corner, or given space from the wall. As much as we’d enjoy not having a massive black cube looming in our living room, we think a larger driver would’ve given it the thundering low-end oomph it needs to match a package of this calibre.

The 683 Theatre is available in black ash and white finishes. Gone are the days of wooden veneers, as the monochrome colours have reportedly been more popular. The sub has a velvety, matte-vinyl wrap around it that feels nice to touch, although we found a slight tear in the material around the edges in our sample. We like the clean, uncluttered look of the speakers, offset by the pop of yellow Kevlar.

The cabinets are nicely built, with neat, square edges – but we can’t help feeling they look a little plain for this price, even though B&W has purposely opted for a simple, modest finish.

A plethora of drivers
The ASW610XP subwoofer is a small but powerful beast, with 500W of amplification driving the 25cm cone. Line and speaker inputs, as well as multiple EQ settings, are present on the back panel. The speakers are all bi-wirable, and the 686 S2s include wall-mounting brackets on the back. It’s worth mentioning that the speakers in this system are a mix of two- and three-way driver configurations, with cones of different sizes. While the 25mm tweeter remains consistent, the midrange Kevlar drivers and bass cones differ from speaker to speaker. Some speakers – the 683 and 686 S2s – also feature a front-facing port that uses B&W’s Flowport technology for cleaner bass performance. The mix of speakers might make practical sense, but we wonder if the differences will affect the package’s integration too much. Anyway, that’s enough of that. Let’s listen. Fire up Thor: The Dark World and the 683 Theatre powers through the DTS-HD Master Audio soundtrack.

It packs a good deal of punch, with crashes and explosions supplying a satisfying range of thumps and wallops. There’s a pleasing sense of scale too, and we can credit the impressive 683 S2s for adding height to the wide soundfield.

Clarity and precision
Detail? There’s bags of it – and it cuts through clearly thanks to the revamped tweeters. High frequencies have bite and sparkle, but stop short of coarseness. The speakers confidently portray the shifts in atmosphere, too. We know the B&W speakers go loud, and they get the chance to really show off their dynamic ability when Thor’s hammer gets smashy. But we can’t help feeling like there’s something missing. It takes us a while to realise that, while we’re having fun, the package hasn’t blown us away. We thought it would. There’s a sense that the sound should be grander – more powerful – and that effects-steering should be smoother.

Heftier sub-woofing, please
We want more depth and rumble to the bass, too. While ASW610XP is a talented sub on its own, but it can’t quite keep up with the sheer muscle of the 683 S2s. The same goes for the centre speaker. Voices are richer, more nuanced and full of personality when they’re delivered from the 683s, but when the on-screen dialogue is happening bang in the middle, the centre channel isn’t quite as insightful or layered as we’d like. While the centre speaker and subwoofer are designed to work with the 683 S2s, the differences in driver size and configuration do affect integration across all the speakers in the package. The sound just isn’t quite as unified as it travels around the room. The KEF R100 5.1 package is the B&W’s direct rival. Instead of using different driver configurations, it uses identical speakers that use identical Uni-Q single drivers – and it comes out on top with a stunningly seamless and precise surround-sound performance. The KEF’s subwoofer digs deeper and is more muscular too, giving greater authority and scale.

The bottom line
The B&W speaker package relies heavily on the merits of the 683 S2s – and rightly so, as they’re easily the most talented aspect of this 5.1 package. But they cast a shadow over the rest of the system, which is a shame as the 683 Theatre is a few tweaks away from being stunning. It’s not quite the class-leading package that we were hoping for, but it’s still definitely worth an audition.

TECH SPECS
Speakers Dimensions (hwd) Centre: 22 x 59 x 30cm; Front: 99 x 19 x 36cm;
Surround: 31.5 x 16 x 23cm
Rated power 450W
Bi-wirable Yes
Finishes 2 Subwoofer Rated power 500W
Driver 25cm, closed, forward-firing
Dimensions (hwd) 32.5 x 32.5 x 37.5cm
Weight 15.5kg

The new tweeter

1. This tweeter grille serves two purposes: it protects the fragile metal dome, of course, but it also helps sound dispersion to make the 683s a little less fussy about positioning.

2. This compliant ring isolates the tweeter assembly from the vibrations caused by the mid/bass drivers. The result? Clearer, more detailed treble.

3. The metal dome and reinforcing ring add rigidity while improving damping. It’s tech taken from B&W’s upmarket CM range – and it really works.

4. B&W’s traditional tapered tube is mounted behind the tweeter diaphragm. It absorbs the rearward-firing sound and aids sonic purity.

FOR Detailed, agile and clear; plenty of power; open soundfield; decent surround steering AGAINST Rivals offer better integration and immersive sound; bass needs more authority VERDICT Talented and entertaining, but not quite the captivating experience we expected

REVIEWER’S NOTES: GETTING TO KNOW THE B&W 683 THEATRE

1. Dear Lord, that centre speaker is large. It takes two of us to get it out of the box. Also, be aware that you’ll need a sizeable kit-rack to place it on.

2. We’re surprised by how small the sub is. It’s talented, but does seem rather petite in this heavyweight package. It needs more low-end wallop, too.

3. The small rear units need to be placed on stands or wall-mounted. It might be more practical to peruse B&W’s in-wall speaker range…

4. We’re endlessly pleased that B&W has finally put a protective grille over the fragile tweeter. Now our children and cats can roam free.

5. We’re having a great time with this punchy, spacious and detailed set-up, but it’s not quite the fully rounded surround sound we were expecting.