For the money they sound very good but for me, they do not get close to the 706 S2 for subtlety. The LS50, they are overall warmer from top to bottom but also have a metallic edge I remembered from long ago at the top end. But now that I have the L2i SE that can seemingly power any speaker to it’s full performance potential I borrowed a set of LS50’s to compare to these B&W 700 series speakers.Ĭompared to this 706S2 the KEF sounds more forward with more dryness to the midrange. I then tried out the powered versions and like them better. I owned them years ago and was not a huge fan as my amp at the time could not power them well. The ever popular and well loved KEF LS50 can be found for $1100-$1299 and is regarded as one of the best selling and loved mini monitor style speakers. Some will like this sound, others may not. With all of the 700 series, the midrange is a tad bit recessed compared to most other speakers of this caliber. Does the 705 offer $1000 worth of improvement in sound? No, not for my ears. I have only been listening for a few days and I keep going back and forth as to wether I prefer the 705 or 706! Both are speakers I could live with but the 706 saves $1000 to those who make the jump. Again, not harsh but very detailed and lively. Running these with my Vinnie Rossie L2i SE along with a Roon Nucleus as my streamer using Tidal and Qobuz the sound is just as I had it with the 705’s but a tad more crisp, with a more pronounced treble. In fact, this whole line has a beautiful transparent midrange that also has some depth behind it. They offer more sparkle than the 705’s and yet they keep the bass performance of the 705 as well as the midrange, which is so silky smooth and present at the same time. As for me, I loved the 707 and 705’s but the 706 may be just the ticket. It’s big between the 707s2 and 706s2 and very small from the 706s2 to the 705s2. No matter which bookshelf model in the 700 series you are looking at, do know that they all share the same sound signature but as you move up the line there is more refinement and smoothness. You could buy another set of speakers for $499 (I highly recommend these for the money) that would bring you a different sound presentation, and you could have both, for when the mood hits and $500 left over to boot. That could be used for other things in your life or even an audio improvement to your system. It’s just that tweeter placement and the iconic B&W look that will cost you an extra grand, or if you go for the new bad ass looking signature versions of the 705 S2 and extra $2000. The 706S2 looks just about exactly like the 705, and uses the same drivers and cabinet. The 707 S2 are also nice but borderline too small for my room unless I am doing super near field listening. Others may like a tad more sparkle up top, and that is the only difference I can hear between the 706 and the 705 S2 speakers. Some will enjoy the smoothness, as it’s such a refined sound. The 705’s were much smoother sounding over the 707’s in the high end of the sound spectrum. Even so, I kind of liked the bite of the small fry 707’s as it offered an extended high end without being bright or analytical. Yep, that decoupling of the tweeter on the 705 does make a small difference as there is less bite on the 705’s than I hear on the 706 and it has a slightly fuller midrange. In fact, for me they are so close to the 705 S2 it seems silly to pay more for those unless you want a touch more smoothness in your treble and a slightly warmer, and I mean SLIGHTLY warmer plumper midrange. Seeing that I just talked about the 707 and 705, these 706’s sounded very familiar to me when I hooked them up. I will tell you what that 5% difference is below but being $1000 less than the 705, and $500 more than the much smaller 707, this 706 S2 offers the best bang for your buck, without question, in the bookshelf B&W 700 series lineup. This 706 S2 shares almost everything with the 705 S2 besides the tweeter housing and placement. Since I just did a huge review on the B&W 705 S2, and a mini review of the 707 S2 within that 705 review, this one will be shorter than normal for me ) That’s good for me and for you both, so if you missed the 705 S2 review see it here as the sound descriptions in that review will be pretty close to what they are with this speaker. The B&W 706 S2 Speaker Review vs KEF LS50 and Falcon LS3/5a
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