Bowers and Wilkins DM23

[Rybeam]

:thmbsp: Anyone ever owned a pair of Bowers and Wilkins DM 23's. 3 way, 8 inch, 2 inch mid, one inch dome tweeter. Ported 19.5 X 10 X 9 inch deep. Real walnut veneer. Only ported B&W's I have ever seen. 1985 +/- ? Very smooth, killer imaging, a joy to listen to. Any one know seen 'em or owned 'em ? Info... :thmbsp:

 

[Bynem]

Old thread... 2005!

I have two pairs of 'em. Had one set recapped a few years ago (had to get the cabinets worked on, as well; they'd obviously been dropped). These 30 year old speakers are just as you describe. Also, their bass goes lower than you'd expect, maybe down to 50 Hz before the rolloff. It is hard to do much better for bookshelf models than these, in my humble opinion, without going somewhat esoteric (Harbeth, ProAc and such).

 

[Nadir_M]

Hi Bynem.
I bought a pair of these to cannibalize the TW26SL tweeters for my B&W DM2 series II, however they were in such great shape I didn't have the heart. When I hooked them up to my Yamaha CR600 I was pleasantly surprised how good they sounded and decide not to pull the tweeters. I'll have to find TW26 elsewhere.
I'm curious to know if the recap made a significant difference. I read several reviews about how great the bass was on these speakers but I find them lacking. Did the bass benefit from a recap?
Thanks

 

[Bynem]

Hi Bynem.
I bought a pair of these to cannibalize the TW26SL tweeters for my B&W DM2 series II, however they were in such great shape I didn't have the heart. When I hooked them up to my Yamaha CR600 I was pleasantly surprised how good they sounded and decide not to pull the tweeters. I'll have to find TW26 elsewhere.
I'm curious to know if the recap made a significant difference. I read several reviews about how great the bass was on these speakers but I find them lacking. Did the bass benefit from a recap?
Thanks

Nadir,

Better late than never with a reply. Sorry for the lengthy delay.
The bass improved slightly. Not a huge difference, but considering the cost of replacing five capacitors (I didn't look into replacing the rest of the crossover), likely worth it.
The DM23s sound great, with good amplification.

 

[Rybeam]

The bass is greatly improved by placing these speakers on a wall or inside of a book case. The difference is large enough I suspect they were designed with that in mind.

I traded the DM 23s away some years ago. I have a pair of the little DM 301 and 601 now. Both really nice speakers. The little 301 had a very favorable write up in High Fidelity magazine the 601 sound much the same. I do not own a subwoofer but either of these could be my last system with a sub when the kids make me down grade !!!! lol