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| Model: | CDM7SE |
| Category: | Speakers |
| Suggested Retail Price: | $2500 Cdn. |
| Description: | Floorstanding speaker |
| Manufacturer URL: | B&W |
| Model Picture: | View |
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Review by GDS on June 04, 1999 at 09:09:46 IP Address: 135.90.253.90 |
Add Your Review for the CDM7SE |
Decent sounding speakers and nice build quality. However, the lack of soundstage and presence is unwarranted in a speaker of this price range. The voices sound very boxed in and one dimensional. I would look at speakers from NHT in this price range personally.
| Product Weakness: | lack of soundstage and presence |
| Product Strengths: | clarity throughout frequency range, tight bass response |
| Associated Equipment for this Review: | |
| Amplifier: | Yamaha DSP A1 |
| Preamplifier (or None if Integrated): | none |
| Sources (CDP/Turntable): | CD |
| Speakers: | B&W CDM7SE |
| Cables/Interconnects: | apaturee |
| Music Used (Genre/Selections): | jazz |
| Type of Audition/Review: | Dealer Demo |
I was considering of buying a pair of B&W CDM7SE Speakers, so I went to a store and asked for a demo. I also had the chance of listen a pair of Sonus Faber Conerto in the same session and my idea of buying the B&W dissapeared. The Sonus Faber sounds better, (really better) and are cheapper.
Sorry I did not ellaborate. I wrote this review while at work and try not to spend to much time on the internet while I am here.Test Equipment:
Yamaha DSP A1
Sony CDP CA 8ES CD player bypassing dac's using Yamaha DAC's from DSP A1
12 AWG wireMusic: Sade, Toto, Pat Metheny
I was sitting in a room about 17' by 15' with all wooden floors. The speakers were about 6' apart and I was about 10 feet away from them seated in center postion.
I put on Sade Greatest hits. The CDM 7SE's sounded very boxed in with too much midrange emphasis for my tastes. They did not throw off the presence or soundstage that my Pinnacle Classic Gold Aerogels do. I listened to this cd hundreds of time on the same electronics so I know what it should sound like.
While the speakers sounded very clear and free from midrange bloatiness that the 600 series suffer from, they just didn't sound involving.
I realize that room acoustics and set up play an important role, but when I switched to the NHT 2.5i I noticed an immediate improvment in sound quality to my ears. The NHT's sounded more like my Pinnacles. More presence, more character, more depth. I also like the Nautlis 805's but they lacked bass and require a sub to mate with. However, I dont like mating subs with small speakers. I can easily localize the sub when this type of setup is implimented. I feel a speaker should have decent bass capability to properly mate with a sub otherwise something is lost.
please email me if you want to talk further.
I don't beleive the dealer's demo room was set up to acheive the best sound with these speakers when the reviewer heard them. When I first heard these at my local audio specialist,they sounded pretty good. When I got them home,they sounded even better. After a month of fussing with speaker placement and finding the right places for room treatment,they sounded better than a lot of speakers costing three times as much that I have since gone back and listened to since making my purchace. In other words,in many cases,a demo in a dealer's showroom won't tell you jack about how good a speaker can sound in a room that has been tweaked around it. BTW,I am running my CDM 7SE's with a Bryston B60 and a Rega Planet. I have them set up for nearfeild listening in a small 8 1/2 X 11 X 12 1/2 room. I visited my dealer last week,and listened to a pair of Audio Physic Virgos driven with a Jeff Roland integrated that they had just set up. While this system cost more than four times as much as my modest setup,I thought mine sounded better because of all the hours I spent getting the room and the speakers working together. The point is that the room in combonation with the speakers will determine the overall sound much more than the electronics driving them IMHO.
A proper review includes detailed information, both objective and subjective, about build quality, sound quality, frequency response, dynamics, etc. Perhaps the individual contributing this "review" could post a follow-up after reading some other reviews posted on this site (my reviews included). Four sentences can not possibly constitute a quality review, especially on a speaker system or any other component for that matter.
Some suggestions:
Include more detailed information about your room and the speaker placement as well as the other components in the system.
Provide more information with regard to the sound quality of the speaker with regard to overall balance, quality of frequency response (bright vs. warm), dynamics, etc.
What material was the speaker tested on?
I'm not trying to criticize as much as I am trying to educate the writer to allow him/her to provide the detailed information we audiophiles so much enjoy. My comments are much more out of curiosity than anything else. Audiophiles are a critically curious group! At any rate, happy listening!
No soundstage/presence? Come on. I have owed these speakers for 3 months now and the sounstage and presence is great in my opinion. How did the dealer have these set up? What type of equipment was he using?MiKe
...a review of the amp and other ancillary components than a review of the speakers. I haven't heard the CDM7SE, but I have heard the CDM1SE (with VAC 70/70, BAT VK5i, Spectral digital separates and Transparent Reference interconnects and speaker cables) and it does not sound at all like what you describe. It seems likely to me that the dealer setup was inadequate. I strongly suspect that the speakers would have sounded much better with better ancillaries (you did not mention the CD player make/model or the cables and interconnects).
This poses a serious problem in any review of speakers; what was the
associated equipment? what kind of setup? what type of room? Speakers
sounding not so hot with one set of equipment might sound decent with
another set. Seems best policy is to obtain speakers on a trial basis
and test them at home.
Well said, Rich.
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