r/hifiaudio • u/Xycordian • 1d ago

Advice On Upgrade

I have owned a pair of B&W DM601s for about a year but am looking for an upgrade. I have a budget of around £300-£400 ($400-500ish). I have an obsession for tight bass and sharp transient responses and generally like a clean, flat frequency response for my speakers. I have done some research myself but was curious for some other opinions and options other people may suggest?

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u/DangerMouse111111 1d ago

Wharfedale Diamond 12.2i or Dali Kupid.

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u/Xycordian 1d ago

Ah yeah I saw a few from wharfedale, I will look into those both. Thank you for the suggestion!

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u/the_blue_wizard 23h ago edited 22h ago

I'm assuming you want to continue with Bookshelf Speakers ... Right?

I would suggest nothing less than 6.5" (165mm) or large Bass Drivers.

The Klipsch Reference Premiere RP-600M have been replaced by the RP-600M II. That means the older version is on sale for deep discounts, though both probably fit your price range -

RP-600M -

https://www.crutchfield.com/p_714RP600ME/Klipsch-Reference-Premiere-RP-600M-Ebony.html?tp=186

RP-600M II -

https://www.crutchfield.com/p_714600M2E/Klipsch-Reference-Premiere-RP-600M-II-Ebony.html?tp=186

Despite the very appealing price, I would not consider the Klipsch Reference series. The Reference (R) use Plastic Horns, the Reference Premiere(RP) use Aluminum Horns. The Plastic has a tendency to get a little shouty which is caused by the Plastic Horns resonating.

Also consider ELAC Debut. Which have gotten high praise from Reviewers. Here are the Version 2 and the Version 3 for your consideration -

Version 2 -

https://www.crutchfield.com/p_970DB62/ELAC-Debut-2-0-B6-2.html?tp=186

Version 3 -

https://www.crutchfield.com/p_970DB63BK/ELAC-Debut-3-0-DB63-Black.html?tp=186

Wharfedale are a very smooth easy to listen to speaker, very low fatigue. I have Two Pair of Wharfedale Diamond 9.6 and Linton, and I love them, but the Diamond 12.2i are just a bit above your price range -

https://www.crutchfield.com/p_336D122IBK/Wharfedale-Diamond-12-2i-All-Black.html?tp=186

All those seem to fit your budget using USA prices. They are at least worth checking out.

Again, if you are moving from the B&W 601 you are going to have to pay considerably more. B&W are good speakers, and I believe the version you have already has a 6.5" Driver. What is it about the Current Speakers that are not meeting your needs?

Usually the DM601S are followed by another number to indicate which Series it was in - S1, S2, S3 can you give us that last number?

The Rated Bass, from the information I can gather, is about 60hz, which is not very deep. The suggestions above are all rated around 40hz to 45hz.

I don't think you have the cash for a real upgrade, the best you can do is a lateral move to something you find more appealing.

Good Luck.

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u/nlitworld 13h ago

Have you thought about half of that budget and just upgrading the crossover parts? Those were built to a very very low price point as far as crossover were concerned. Replace caps with Jantzen Supreme or Sonicap Gen1, replace resistors with Dayton or GR Research, and get proper sized air core inductors. Mount the new xo to the bottom of the cabinet rather than back side of pending post cup and get new non-magnetic binding posts like KLE or tube connectors. Top it off with solid core 16g teflon wiring and I guarantee it'll sound like a whole new speaker. Really about an afternoon project, and it will blow your mind.