I'm planning to audition a demo pair of B&W 602 s3 speakers tomorrow against the used PSB Image B25s I bought.
A third contender has entered the ring: A pair of MB Quart One bookshelf speakers, used, for $100, from one who claims to have been in hifi for 50 years and says they are in excellent condition. Those vs. the PSBs for $300 or the B&Ws for $500. He also has a pair of Jamo D830s for $900, but they're out of my price range.
Getting the MB speakers would allow me to re-appropriate funds for a better receiver or integrated amp than the Denon I bought. Are they good enough to drive 3 hours round trip in the wrong direction before heading to Boston to try the B&Ws?
by "laid back" do you mean not very crisp (i.e. understated highs) and more of a warm sound?
marc: of course. that goes without saying. But the world in imperfect. The question was really whether it might be worth it to drive to Burlington, VT to listen to these speakers. i could bring the PSBs with me for comparison.
"by "laid back" do you mean not very crisp (i.e. understated highs) and more of a warm sound?"
Yeah, sure. They are "laid back" in presentation and frequency balance. They are balanced in their overall presentation which is important. Where the B&W's are balanced toward a sound that has plenty of high frequency content with a generous helping of midbass the Quarts are less emphatic in the highs and therefore the overall balance is tilted toward a midrange correctness with highs and lows that play to that strength. They stage to the rear of the speaker plane rather than the more upfront style of the B&W's. The Quarts are a more classic European sound rather than a sound that sells bunches of speakers in the US. They are what B&W once was and is no longer. I don't know the specific speaker you are considering but that's the general nature of MB Quart. Very smooth with enough detail and precision to please a music lover rather than a hifi lover.