The 686 is a bit of a star. Every edition since it first appeared has swept up rave reviews and product of the year awards, and trumped expectations of performance and design from speakers in the affordable price range. This, the fourth generation of the 600 Series, features improved drive units, minimalist crossovers and a whole new design.

The 686 is the baby of the 600 Series bunch, but yet delivers outrageously good sound in smaller room settings as part of a compact stereo system or as surround speakers in a home theatre set-up

In the 686, 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.

Technical features:

• Nautilus tube loaded aluminium dome tweeter
• Kevlar® brand fibre cone bass / midrange
• Flowport
• Description: 2-way vented-box system
• Frequency range: -6dB at 45Hz and 50kHz
• Frequency response: 55Hz - 22kHz ±3dB on reference axis
• Recommended amplifier power: 25W - 100W into 8ohms on unclipped programme
• Dimensions:
• Height: 265mm (10.5 in)
• Width: 170mm (6.7 in)
• Depth: 284mm (11.2 in)
• Net weight: 4.9kg (10.8 lb)