Well finally I went to Sound by Design to meet up with some old buddies and guess what, playing in the demo room was some fantastic music with authority and synergy between the components which I heard after a long time. Nowadays in keeping with the times and with convenience taking a major part in the lives the source was through streaming , well let me not nit-pick, it was all high resolution – Tidal which was being controlled through the Roon (I really liked the Roon concept) which literally put the cover art and many useful info into the app which feels that one is holding a sleeve in ones hands. The DAC which used was the ifi DSD which in turn fed the signal into the integrated amplifier - Sonneteer Alabaster rated 55 watts per channel which in turn was feeding the B&W 704 S2s.
Now the appearance of the B&W 704 S2 were in a word, sleek and breath-taking. These pair of speakers are very unlike what I have perceived in B&W with boxy cabinets and Kevlar drivers. It seems that speakers look wonderful and can blend easily with any décor and still have the oomph factor of being B&W.
The performance of the speakers were fantastic indeed with total control and playing across the frequency spectrum with amazing quality bass and the highs which I suspect being produced by their newer carbon dome tweeters and the continuum cone bass drivers. The music held centre stage and did not allow us to indulge in chit chat, it was like someone with authority was delivering a talk and you were drawn towards it. One of the most captivating speakers I heard in the recent times. The amp was also a great piece of equipment having great reserves and delivering power with great authority (though I would have liked to listen to these speakers with higher powered amps) but at no point did I feel that power was lacking.
As this was more of a social visit than a detailed review I missed listening to several trademark tracks across genres which I would do on the next visit, time permitting. Some of the tracks which we listened during the session are :
Apocalypse - Cigarettes after Sex
Moonjogger - Fourplay
All time Love - Jeff Bradshaw
Redbone - Childish Gambino
Say you wont let go - James Arthur
Dont stop the Dance - Martin Brodin
Versace on the Floor - Bruno Mars
Now the appearance of the B&W 704 S2 were in a word, sleek and breath-taking. These pair of speakers are very unlike what I have perceived in B&W with boxy cabinets and Kevlar drivers. It seems that speakers look wonderful and can blend easily with any décor and still have the oomph factor of being B&W.
The performance of the speakers were fantastic indeed with total control and playing across the frequency spectrum with amazing quality bass and the highs which I suspect being produced by their newer carbon dome tweeters and the continuum cone bass drivers. The music held centre stage and did not allow us to indulge in chit chat, it was like someone with authority was delivering a talk and you were drawn towards it. One of the most captivating speakers I heard in the recent times. The amp was also a great piece of equipment having great reserves and delivering power with great authority (though I would have liked to listen to these speakers with higher powered amps) but at no point did I feel that power was lacking.
As this was more of a social visit than a detailed review I missed listening to several trademark tracks across genres which I would do on the next visit, time permitting. Some of the tracks which we listened during the session are :
Apocalypse - Cigarettes after Sex
Moonjogger - Fourplay
All time Love - Jeff Bradshaw
Redbone - Childish Gambino
Say you wont let go - James Arthur
Dont stop the Dance - Martin Brodin
Versace on the Floor - Bruno Mars
