B&W DM2/series II, curb alert score, opinions

[yamaha53]

On craigslist the other day was a free curb pickup add for boxes but the picture for it was a pair of blurry tall
speakers. Not sure what they were so I emailed the owner and they said B&W. Jumped in my truck and sprinted over there and there they were beside the street along with some old clothes and cardboard boxes. Grabbed them up and away I went. They turned out to be the DM2 series ii. I had never seen or heard of this model. I read later they were mid seventies to early 80s vintage. They have little issues like missing 3 of the voice coil dust covers and a bad bang on one of the upper corners of the cabinets. Also the surround is cut loose from the woofer on one speaker. Hooked them up to my Yamaha CR2020 and crossed my fingers. As I had hoped they worked. Sounded pretty nice though I was careful not to abuse the one driver with the loose surround. I currently have been running AR2ax's so I was use to them in my room. The B&W's sounded nice but less lively you might say in my room. The tweeter was detailed and the midrange was smooth. My wife called the sound (Bursty) haha. It was probably the reggae I was playing. Anyways I am ordering the missing dust caps and some adhesive from PE this week. This is my first british speaker so what should I expect? And what are some opinions on these speakers.

 

[darkblue94]

Can't go wrong for the price.

 

[MannyE]

Awesome! They will probably have that bright clean B&W sound once they are all buttoned up. Cleaned up and restored they are a pretty good looking, if boxy, speaker with some nice wood on the front baffle.

 

[yamaha53]

That is them. Kinda remind me of ET with the little feet on them. The woofers look pretty much custom with the crazy mounting base. I hope to never have to look for one as a replacement. Think I read somewhere that it is a BM 221 woofer?
Thanks for the replies. Hopefully someone with a set will chime in and tell me what I can expect when I get them all squared away.

 

[MannyE]

The ones in the picture look like the finish has faded but there's a hint of the original deep red color on the base and that little strip right above the reflex port. That deep rich finish would look really nice. And if the 1995 B&W speakers I heard are any hint, you will really like these.

And by the way, I see prices of up to $400 for these online.. so that's a score even broken.

I would call B&W to see if they still have any replacement parts or can steer you to where to get some. You'd be surprised how often companies hold on to NOS or know where it is.

 

[yamaha53]

Good advice, thanks.

 

[Ohighway]

Nice find !! Good move on rescuing them !

 

[yamaha53]

Thanks everyone for the kind words and will keep you posted with the progress

 

[Daviac9]

Just purchased a mint pair of DM2's. I really enjoy them!

 

[jobrewer1983]

On craigslist the other day was a free curb pickup add for boxes but the picture for it was a pair of blurry tall
speakers. Not sure what they were so I emailed the owner and they said B&W. Jumped in my truck and sprinted over there and there they were beside the street along with some old clothes and cardboard boxes. Grabbed them up and away I went. They turned out to be the DM2 series ii. I had never seen or heard of this model. I read later they were mid seventies to early 80s vintage. They have little issues like missing 3 of the voice coil dust covers and a bad bang on one of the upper corners of the cabinets. Also the surround is cut loose from the woofer on one speaker. Hooked them up to my Yamaha CR2020 and crossed my fingers. As I had hoped they worked. Sounded pretty nice though I was careful not to abuse the one driver with the loose surround. I currently have been running AR2ax's so I was use to them in my room. The B&W's sounded nice but less lively you might say in my room. The tweeter was detailed and the midrange was smooth. My wife called the sound (Bursty) haha. It was probably the reggae I was playing. Anyways I am ordering the missing dust caps and some adhesive from PE this week. This is my first british speaker so what should I expect? And what are some opinions on these speakers.

Ohhh man, great read!! I know the feeling of rushing to snag a set of CL speakers from the curb.

I love B&W, DM2s are great.

With some care, they can really be impressive. Depending in Thebes's cond. of the drivers, you may want to track down some replacements. Or you may never able to reform them, hopefully the coils are good.

Love BWs mid range on some of Thur speakers, just makes volcals so so nice.

Great find man!

Would love to se some pix!

Kind Regards,
John

 

[jobrewer1983]

Sorry, using my phone, killed that last one lol!

Should have read "depending on the cond."

They need to make a phone for full figured men.... haha

 

[mjw21a]

Those are some stunning speakers. If they sound as good as they look they're special indeed.

I've a pair of minty DM16's (1981 model) which sound fantastic. Going to mod them adding some AMT tweeters as super tweeters.

 

[KenP]

Same woofer as the 802 series 80, same tweeter as the dm12/14 not sure about the mid. Pretty good components must sound good too.

 

[yamaha53]

Here are some pics to finally update this tread. The speakers sounded great, nice bass with really mellow highs. Maybe a recap is in order? I must say I really like them.
Now to just clean up the veneers and enjoy. All for that magic price. FREE.

 

[MannyE]

Nice CR -2020 (looks like the one I have) as well.

 

[mjw21a]

Looking more closely, you've a really beautiful looking system there.

 

[onwardjames]

Pretty as a peach system. Gotta love curb finds.

 

[mjw21a]

Never found anything by the curb that was worth picking up

People try sell absolute junk here in Australia, yet it's nearly impossible to get a decent price for quality gear. Have to pretty much give it away.

 

[Farmhand]

Am I mistaken, or do the speakers in the first pic have cone mids while the OP's have domes?

 

[yamaha53]

When I found them they where missing the center caps form the woofers and mids. The only ones I could find were a little larger than originals. But I really like the way they look. That might be the reason they look like domes in that one picture.