B&W DM604 S1 Kevlar Tower Speakers – Made in England

B&W DM604 S1 Kevlar Tower Speakers – Made in England

A landmark 3-way floorstanding loudspeaker from Bowers & Wilkins’ celebrated DM600 Series — the DM604 is Made in England at B&W’s Worthing factory, bringing the full suite of B&W’s proprietary driver technologies to a speaker that AudioVideo Revolution called capable of “the kind of imaging you would expect from a high-end loudspeaker costing many thousands of dollars.”

B&W’s reputation for technical innovation is well earned, and the DM604 is a showcase of it. B&W pioneered the use of woven Kevlar as a loudspeaker cone material — the same material used in bulletproof vests — for its exceptional stiffness-to-mass ratio and ability to suppress the standing waves that cause colouration and smearing in conventional paper or plastic cones. The 180mm Kevlar midrange driver is housed in its own sealed sub-enclosure within the main cabinet, completely isolating it from the bass drivers’ back pressure — a design refinement that dramatically reduces intermodulation distortion and keeps the midrange exceptionally clean and focused. This is the same principle B&W applies in their flagship Nautilus and 800 Series speakers, implemented here in a more accessible package.

Bass is handled by two 180mm Cobex cone drivers working in tandem — doubling the cone area compared to a conventional single-woofer design, which dramatically improves both power handling and efficiency, extending bass to a measured 34 Hz at -6 dB. AudioVideo Revolution noted that on demanding bass material the 604s sounded “almost as if there was a sub in the system — yet there never was.” The front-firing tuned port plug is a thoughtful practical feature, allowing the bass tuning to be adjusted for room placement, making the 604 genuinely forgiving in real-world setups — testers found them non-boomy even when pushed closer to a corner than ideal. A 25mm metal dome tweeter completes the driver complement, offering extended, detailed high frequencies with the controlled directivity that metal dome designs excel at.

At 90 dB sensitivity, the DM604 is efficient enough to sing with a quality 50-watt integrated amplifier while being rated to handle up to 200W for those who want to explore their full dynamic potential. They partner particularly well with Rotel, NAD, Cambridge Audio, and Arcam amplification. This pair presents in very good cosmetic condition — a personal favourite of ours at Radique, and a speaker we have enthusiastically recommended to friends and family over the years.

Radique’s Take:

These are some of our very favourite speakers at this form factor and price point. We like them so much, in fact, that several of our closest friends are now happily living with DM604s — or their smaller siblings the DM603s. If you are looking for a speaker that does everything well and punches far above its weight in imaging, dynamics, and bass extension, look no further.

Specifications:

Type: 3-way, bass reflex floorstanding loudspeaker

Tweeter: 25mm metal dome

Midrange: 180mm (7-inch) Kevlar cone (isolated sub-enclosure)

Bass drivers: 2 x 180mm (7-inch) Cobex cone

Frequency response: 44 Hz–20 kHz ±3 dB on reference axis; 34 Hz at -6 dB

Sensitivity: 90 dB (2.83V/1m)

Nominal impedance: 8 ohms (minimum 3.3 ohms)

Power handling: 25–200 W (unclipped programme into 8 ohms)

Country of manufacture: England

Dimensions: (W x H x D) 9.3 x 39.2 x 16.2 inches / 236 x 996 x 411 mm

Weight: 64 lbs / 29.2 kg per pair

A genuine piece of British loudspeaker engineering — the B&W DM604 delivers world-class imaging, authoritative bass, and the natural, articulate midrange that Kevlar cone technology is celebrated for, in a speaker that would cost many times more to replicate today.

Backed by Radique Audio’s Bumper to Bumper Warranty and perpetual trade-back policy, this is a rare opportunity to own a classic piece of British loudspeaker engineering — at a fraction of what comparable Made-in-England speakers would cost you today; asking $1295.