Bowers & Wilkins 606 S3

These grown-up standmounters represent a bold step forward

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Bowers & Wilkins 606 S3 is the top standmounter in its 600 Series 3 range, and the bigger sibling to the five-star (and very charming) B&W 607 S3 speakers. Like their smaller 607 S3 siblings, the 606 S3s look almost unchanged from their predecessors, the 606 S2 Anniversary Edition, at least on the outside.

The build quality is of a good standard for this level, with crisp edges, minimal fascia and a smooth finish that make the speakers look smart overall. You can get them in three colourways: white, black or oak.

The biggest difference between the two new models is, of course, size. The 606 S3 has a larger footprint at 34 x 19 x 30cm (and is considerably deeper than the 607 S3's 21cm depth) and uses a larger 16.5cm mid/bass driver (the 607 S3 uses a 13cm unit).

The 606 S3 remains a two-way vented design, with a 25mm dome tweeter and the 16.5cm cone. While the mid/bass driver continues to use B&W's proprietary Continuum material, for the tweeter the brand has decided to use titanium for the first time in its own-branded stereo speakers. The new material should improve resolution and refinement in the high frequencies, says B&W, while the grille mesh covering the new tweeter arrangement (inspired by the top-of-the-range 800 Signature Series) aims to deliver a more open sound.

Elsewhere, plenty of design concepts and technologies derived from the step-up 700 S3 series have been incorporated into the 606 S3 speakers. These include an improved, more powerful motor assembly for the mid/bass driver, an updated crossover with higher-quality bypass capacitors, a neater speaker-terminal layout and reflex port design at the back of the speaker, and a longer tube-loading system to further reduce the amount of unwanted radiation from the back of the tweeter affecting the sound. All of this is to deliver a cleaner, more open sound with minimal distortion throughout.