B&W 685 Bookshelf Loudspeakers (Pair)
B&W 685 Bookshelf Loudspeakers (Pair)  Ref: BW-685
For hi-fi or home cinema in small to medium-sized rooms, you need a loudspeaker that doesn’t take up floor area, but whose sound can still command the space. You’ll find the 685, which can sit on a shelf, table, stand or wall-mount, an inspired choice.

Its 165mm diameter Kevlar® cone bass/midrange is based on a tried-and-trusted Bowers & Wilkins design, but its new fixed centre bullet helps to smooth the response in upper frequencies. Also, by setting the bass/midrange closer to the tweeter than in equivalent earlier speakers, we have improved the integration and vertical dispersion of sound from the two units. The Nautilus™ tube-loaded, aluminium dome tweeter, featuring a new surround material to improve spaciousness and imaging, adds needle-sharp top end all the way to 50kHz and beyond.

The improvements to the drive units in the new 600 Series make it possible, for the first time, to introduce a minimalist crossover to the range. The use of components that are fewer in number but higher in quality – hand-picked in exhaustive listening tests – reduces the degradation of the signal significantly. So, whether you’re enjoying hi-fi or home cinema, what you hear is that much closer to what was recorded.

Specifications

Woven Kevlar Yes
Crossover Tuning Yes
Nautilus Tapering Tube Yes
Flowport Yes
Technical features Nautilus™ tube loaded aluminium dome tweeter
Kevlar® brand fibre cone bass/midrange
Flowport™
Description 2-way vented-box system
Drive units 1x ø25mm (1 in) aluminium dome high-frequency
1x ø165mm (6.5 in) woven Kevlar® cone bass/midrange
Frequency range -6dB at 42Hz and 50kHz
Frequency response 49Hz - 22kHz ±3dB on reference axis
Dispersion Within 2dB of reference response
Horizontal: over 60º arc
Vertical: over 10º arc
Sensitivity 88dB spl (2.83V, 1m)
Harmonic distortion 2nd and 3rd harmonics (90dB, 1m)
<1% 100Hz - 22kHz
<0.5% 150Hz - 20kHz
Nominal impedance 8 ohms (minimum 3.7 ohms)
Crossover frequencies 4kHz
Crossover Filters 1st Order – tweeter
Recommended amplifier power 25W - 100W into 8ohms on unclipped programme
Max. recommended cable impedance 0.1 ohm
Dimensions Height: 340mm (13.4 in)
Width: 198mm (7.8 in)
Depth: 331mm (12.3 in)
Net weight 7.0kg (15.4 lb)
Finishes Black Ash
Red Cherry