B&W 686

The 686 is the baby of the 600 Series bunch, but doesn’t lack for the technologies and features to deliver outrageously good sound in smaller room settings. Mount a pair on a wall or stand, or simply sit them on a shelf or table for a compact stereo system or as surround speakers in a home theatre set-up.

The 130mm diameter Kevlar® cone bass/midrange is based on a tried-and-trusted B&W 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.

Visually, a refreshed, contemporary design language and a widened choice of wood finishes allows the 686 to fit in effortlessly with any interior.

Woven Kevlar	Yes
Crossover Tuning	Yes
Nautilus Tapering Tube	Yes
Flowport	Yes
Mushrooms
FST
Tweeter on Top
Matrix
Rohacell
Diamond Tweeters
Sphere / Tube Enclosure
De-Coupling
Nautilus
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 ø130mm (5 in) woven Kevlar® cone bass / midrange
Frequency range	-6dB at 45Hz and 50kHz
Frequency response	55Hz - 22kHz ±3dB on reference axis
Dispersion	Within 2dB of reference response
	Horizontal: over 60º arc
	Vertical: over 10º arc
Sensitivity	84dB spl (2.83V, 1m)
Harmonic distortion	2nd and 3rd harmonics (90dB, 1m)
	<1% 110Hz - 22kHz
	<0.5% 150Hz - 20kHz
Nominal impedance	8Ω (minimum 5.1Ω)
Crossover frequency	4 kHz
Crossover Filters	1st Order – tweeter
	1st Order – bass/midrange
Recommended amplifier power	25W - 100W into 8Ω on unclipped programme
Max. recommended cable impedance	0.1Ω
Dimensions	Height: 265mm (10.5 in)
	Width: 170mm (6.7 in)
	Depth: 284mm (11.2 in)
Net weight	4.9kg (10.8 lb)
Finishes	Black Ash Vinyl
	Light Oak Vinyl
	Red Cherry Vinyl
	Wengé Vinyl