Audio and Electrical Engineering
Upgrading Bowers & Wilkins 606 Anniversary Edition Speakers With GR-Research Crossover
I go down the path of 'Do Parts Matter?'
Let Us Get Started
First off the Bowers & Wilkins 606 Anniversary is not an inexpensive speaker. However, it's far from the performance level of the upper B&W models despite having the same Continuum™ cone material in the main driver and the aluminum dome tweeter using the same pod shaped backloading technology. So they cut corners and performance somewhere. And guess what, it's like most do, on the inside where you can't see it.
Despite liking my new desktop monitors, I wasn't thrilled with them like I thought I should be. It was somewhere after that I came upon this YouTube video: Bowers & Wilkins 606 S2 | Dissecting the HYPE! I agreed with most of what was covered in the video and decided to give it a shot as a DIY solution. After all, I could always go back if I wanted the stock setup. So I ordered the crossover parts and some No Rez high-quality acoustic foam sheeting.
What this upgrade aims to do:
- Replace the single-order, cheaply made crossover, with a high-order crossover made with the highest quality parts
- Replace internal wiring and slip on connectors with solder joints and aerospace grade/audiophile quality wiring
- Replace a set of the cheap speaker binding posts with high quality copper Tube Connectors
- Remove all acoustic poly fill, polyester cotton essentially, and replace with high quality acoustic foam
First, strip everything from the cabinets. Despite what the video says, the tweeter is removeable. Carefully pry up the silver anniversary ring and there are 4 bolts/T-nuts holding the tweeter in the cabinet. Remove one of the binding post sets and drill out and install the Tube Connectors. If drilled properly, they fit quite tightly, I added glue anyway.
Remove all the existing wiring, especially the push on connectors. Remove all acoustic foam and cut the No Rez acoustic foam sheets to fit the cabinet. They are adhesive backed, I still used some 3M contact cement spray too.
Layout your crossover parts, keeping inductors as far away and at 90 degree angles from each other. I used some metal grill instead of wood for the backing plate. I used heavy duty cable ties and some silicon to hold in place. The original crossovers were much smaller and mounted on the plastic terminal and port piece. The new crossovers had to go in the bottom of the cabinets. Cut all wire to length required, and solder directly to the tweeter and woofer terminals. No push on connectors.
Mounting the crossover in the cabinets. The metal grill works great here. Then wire up the drivers to the crossovers and insulate all connections and tie down with cable ties and more silicon so there is absolutely no movement or rattling inside the speaker cabinets.
The cheaply made B&W crossover is in the pic below. One Sonicap capcitor costs more than both of these crossovers together. Does it make a difference? Oh yes. Drastic. I was very pleased with the outcome. Much smoother playback. Humps in the woofer and tweeter response are removed or far less noticable. Much easier to listen to for extended time and the improved parts really opened up the details you can hear across the board. Was it worth it? Yes, but it makes these a pretty expensive speaker. If you have them, it's a great upgrade.
On the Tube Connectors, as they are a hot Internet topic, I found them a vast improvement over the spades and factory binding posts. I believe they work and work well. Visit GR-Research.com.
