B & W CDMs

[installer09]

Im about too upgrade my speakers , anyone here use the CDMs? havnt heard them yet but they look great. Getting a demo this weekend any comments would be helpful.

 

[NeilH]

Had a demo of these last weekend (CDM 9NT, CMD Centre and SNT surrounds).

Sound quality was very good but the system seemed to be lacking in bass.

Not sure that the dealer had them set up and positioned properly.

Am going back for another listen tomorrow so would be interested in your views after you have had a demo.

Neil.

 

[lespaton]

I have CDM 1NT's which I use as a stereo pair for music and also as the fronts for cinema. Mounted on the B&W stands.
The sound is the best I have heard from any speaker set in that price range. I am still delighted with my choice after 4 months of use.

 

[installer09]

Thaknks for the reply, just bought a second hand pair of cdm 1nt in cherry for £450 from Audio T , they are mint , only 3 months old , will add the centre and surounds soon. Lespaton what are the B&W stands like I understand the speakers bolt on and you can fill them with sand/lead , the guy in the shop said dynaudio stands are better but I doubt that.

 

[mick23]

stands are nice looking ,the speakers do bolt on, but bit pricy at £200, there is a picture of stands on b&w website,

 

[Jonesthegas]

LP,

How far away from the wall are your CDM's placed?
I've read that they need to be away from the wall for best results. What is your experience?

Martin

 

[NeilH]

Installer - DON'T DO IT!!

Compared Sonus Faber system with complete CMD NT range yesterday. It's like night and day. Sonus Faber's have more bass control, better, more open midrange and are far, far better with music as well.

Only decision left is whether to go for 2 pairs of rears!!

Neil.

 

[installer09]

Have to disagree , I auditioned the sonus fabers and dynaudio's , to me the b&w were better , they look better too imo .

 

[NeilH]

Which models were you auditioning?

Can't believe we are comparing like for like.

Neil.

 

[dts_boy]

NeilH, where did you hear the cdm package that it made it saound bad? what amps were they using, i have heard they need a LOT of power to get going properly for home cinema applications.
installer09, its worth listening to the monitor audio gold reference range as they are also competitive at that level!

 

[NeilH]

Listened to them at 2 separate dealers, both were using a Denon AVC-A1SE amp. No problems driving them, but the 9NT floorstanders were just not in the same league as the Grand Piano's from Souns Faber.

Neil.

 

[lespaton]

I'm catching up with this thread again after a few days away.....
my CDM1NT's stand in the recess of a large bay window, so although they are close to the wall they have plenty of space behind them. I listened to them in the supplying dealers in a similar layout and have not heard them in any other position so cannot comment on best positioning. Sufficient to say they sound great as they are.
The B&W stands look great and are extremely robust and well made. They bolt direct to the underside of the speakers and can be filled with sand or leadshot if required ( I have not bothered).

 

[NeilH]

Guys,

we are not comparing like-for-like.

I didn't audition the 1NT's for fronts, I auditioned the 9NT's and compared them against the Sonus Faber Grand Pianos.

Neil.

 

[dunkyboy]

I've heard the 9NT's don't live up to the rest of the range (and that the 1NT's are probably the best-sounding model of the lot). I can't confirm as I've only heard the 1NT's.

I can, however, confirm that the 1NT's require serious amplification. I auditioned them twice, at two different dealers. The first time was with my own system at the time - a Marantz CD6000 KI-Sig CD player and a NAD C370 amp. This was a very decent mid-level hifi, and the NAD at a conservatively rated 120wpc was not wanting for power. All the same, the system sounded good but not great - treble was sweet and detailed and lovely to listen to (the B&W tweeters are excellent) but bass was very lacking in control and precision.

The second time I heard them was at a different dealer with a *very* different league of electronics: Linn Ikemi CD player (£2000!) and a huge high-end American power amp (can't remember the brand or model) costing several thousand pounds. In this case the B&W's really came alive - they produced a gloriously detailed and realistic sound with fantastic bass (and the same sweet treble).

I have listened to Sonus Faber Concertinos (smallish standmounts at £600, + £300 for matching iron/walnut stands!) on serveral occasions, and I also find them to be excellent speakers. They sounded great when hooked up to more modest electronics (comparable to the first system I listened to the B&W's with), and I'm told they do justice to much higher-end kit.

I never had the chance to audition the two speakers side-by-side. I would have to say the B&W's sounded a lot more realistic and a lot more listenable - but only when paired up with very high end electronics (which isn't exactly a fair comparison...)

Cheers,

Dunc

 

[mick23]

i have cdm1nts, but have never demoed against simular priced speakers, so i dont know how they fare as regards other brands, only heard them after hearing mission m51/kefq1/602s3 which are far cheaper, using with 3802 (which i had prior to speaker upgrade) ive since demoed with integrated amps up to £900 arcam a85/densen/roksan caspian, but did not think (myself) for the cost it was a good enough improvement over 3802 to warrent the cost, no doubt as per previous reply a £1500+ amp /source etc would do justice to cdm1nts but budget considerations come into play.

 

[mjn]

Originally posted by dts_boy
i have heard they need a LOT of power to get going properly for home cinema applications.

To get the best out of them, you need decent amplification......and it doesn't really matter what wattage the powering them is!! It's the 'grunt' that counts!