I've auditioned many different B&W bookshelf speakers, the 805, 705, 600, 601, 602, 303, CM, and FPM series. Out of all of them, the only ones that I really liked were the 700 series. Compared to Ascends CBM-170, they were good, but not well over $1000 better IMO. I'm a realtively new Ascend customer, and what I've found is, for what sounds good to my ears, the only speaker brand that gives Ascend a run for your money is NHT. But that might not even be true anymore now that the SuperAudio line is dead and replaced with the substantially more expensive Classic line.
Living Room: L/R CBM-170's; CMT-340C; HTM-200 rears; SVS PB-10isd; Yamaha RX-V757; Sony VLP-HS20 w/an 84" screen
Bedroom: L/C/R/LR/RR HTM-200's; HSU STF-1; NAD L73; Sony Bravia 32" LCD
Stereo:L/R NHT SB2's; HSU STF-1, NAD C320BEE Integrated Amp, NAD C521BEE CD player, NAD C422 Stereo Tuner