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Model: | CDM 1NT |
Category: | Speakers |
Suggested Retail Price: | $1200 |
Description: | 2-way vented-box design, free-mounted 1-in alloy-dome Nautilus tweeter; 6.5-in Kevlar cone midbass; 60Hz - 25KHz +/-3dB, 88 dB spl, 8 ohms nom, 50W-120W; 15.5x8.7x11.4 (HWD), 9.5 kg net each |
Manufacturer URL: | B&W |
Model Picture: | View |
Review by Arnel on October 14, 2001 at 00:54:53 IP Address: 202.106.98.136 |
Add Your Review for the CDM 1NT |
The first time I saw this speaker, I was surprised that B&W has trickled down into it almost all of the technologies employed in the Nautilus 805, their current flagship standmount. Although not exactly the same as in the N805, the CDM 1NT sports a Nautilus tapered-tube tweeter, Kevlar midbass with fixed bullet-shaped dispersion plug, Flowport, and separated crossover circuit boards.What do all these trickled-down technologies make of the CDM 1NT's sound? Well, to me this speaker can be best described as a monitor that excels in resolving details in the recording. This is especially true of its treble which, although exhibits some irritating peakiness with some bad recordings, bares all the details with good sense of the slight cues of the ambience, which is often missed out by lesser designs.
Although I don't think it's treble is perfect, for its price and size I can't ask for more from its midrange and bass. Its midrange is one of the purer and sweet midranges I've heard in its price class. Its bass is articulate and tuneful, with well-judged balance that has very low tendency to boom. It's quite obvious that, with this model, B&W did not highly prioritize bass extension, especially when it would compromise other design parameters. Some monitors of this size would extend much deeper than the rated 60Hz at -3dB.
I was surprised at how this speaker sounded much bigger than its size would suggest. I don't find that it employs the same trick as the slight upper bass boost in the N805, at least not as obvious. It can go really loud up to the excursion limit of its small midwoofer, but it also sounds lively at low volumes.
And what do I say about the negative comments about CDM 1NT being too bright? They better check their electronics and room first, and even their recordings. With all the right source materials, room and associated components, my ears never complain about too much brightness in the CDM 1NT... and I'm very intolerant of bright treble!
I recently set aside the CDM 1NT in my living room in favor of a pair of Sonus Faber Concertino Home. Given that I have a lot of CDs that have great music but so-so recording quality, I found that I enjoy less of my music with the CDM 1NT, finding that its detail resolution is overkill to my situation. With the Concertino Home, OTOH, I get a dose of audio truth plus a musicality that I think is unique to that marque. I keep the CDM 1NT as my reference monitor, though.
Do I think the Concertino Home beats the CDM 1NT? Not really. They were designed with different sets of priorities in mind. If all of my CDs were perfect, I'd stick with the B&W.
Do I think the CDM 1NT is as good as the N805? Not really. Trickled down technology can only assure that the quality of the 1NT comes close to the N805, but it won't be on the same class. For one, the treble of the N805 is much more refined, its bass is more powerful, and overall dynamics is better.
Product Weakness: | peakiness of treble response with bad recordings can be very irritating; bass extension is a bit lacking for its size. |
Product Strengths: | superb resolution of details; large-scale sound that belies its size; sweet midrange with no obvious coloration; tuneful and articulate bass; sounds good even at low volumes. |
Associated Equipment for this Review: | |
Amplifier: | Denon PMA 2000R3. In showroom: Musical Fidelity A3, Mark Levinson integrated, Classe integrated |
Preamplifier (or None if Integrated): | None |
Sources (CDP/Turntable): | Denon DVD-1000 with and without Musical Fidelity X-10D. In showroom: Musical Fidelity A3CD |
Speakers: | Sonus Faber Concertino Home. In showroom: B&W Nautilus 800 series and all Sonus Faber models |
Cables/Interconnects: | MIT Terminator 2, Van den Hul Clearwater, |
Music Used (Genre/Selections): | all |
Type of Audition/Review: | Product Owner |
Follow Ups:
The CDM1NT's performance can be improved with a few benign tweaks. Firstly, I would tame the treble performance by using felting around the dome. Specifically, there is an edge beneath the tweeter that leads to audible diffraction effects, that treble roughening (visible on a graph) that tends to irritate the ear. Covering that edge (and adjacent edges) with an absorptive (in this case felt applied with rubber cement) greatly smoothes treble response. I would cover that bottom edge (and the B&W logo right below the tweeter-another cause of roughening) with a wide piece of felt, as well as placing felt strips along the entire left and right edges of the baffle (keeping in mind that the baffle is 3-dimensional in this model). After felting, the treble sounds much cleaner, and sweeter and has much less of a tendency to irritate.Furthermore, I have noticed that treble response is greatest, directly on axis with this model. Coincidentally the upper mid-band peak characteristic of the stiff kevlar woofer is also greatest directly on axis. What this means is that these speakers sound much calmer and more relaxed (laid-back) with less toe-in, so try experimenting with toe-in until you achieve the right blend of detail and smoothness.
I would also recommend covering the back and side-walls adjacent to the speakers with cotton, either plain cotton batting or a decorative wall hanging. You want something that is at least 1-cm thick and that completely covers the wall surface. This tweak results in a sweeter sound as well. The CDM 1NTs are wide-dispersion monitors, which means that you hear a lot of first reflections from the back and side-walls at the same time (or mili-seconds after) as you hear the speaker's direct radiation. These reflections can cause the sound, especially in the upper mid-range (800 Hz - 5 kHz) to take on a "hard" quality. Treating the area around the speakers removes this effect.
Lower mid-range and bass frequencies pass straight through the felting and if the speakers are within half a meter from the wall, help to boost these frequencies (as does toe-in, the more toe-in, the more bass boost). Measuring strictly on a (+ or -) 2 dB scale the CDM1 NTs do reach down to about 60 Hz, but the bass roll-off is very slow, almost like a sealed-box speaker (indicating a "dry" or well-damped bass response) and since B&W have not resorted to artificially boosting the upper bass with a high-Q port resonance, these speakers can greatly benefit from proximity to a wall (especially if the upper mid-range reflections have been dealt with as outlined above).
Also keep in mind that this speaker's bass potential is maximized by harnessing the physics of boundary effects. Measure carefully the distance between the center of two speaker's woofers divided by two. Call this value measurement n. Then compare n to the distance from the center of the woofer(s) to the back-wall, side-walls, and floor. The trick is to make sure that none of these values are the same or multiples of each other (which would result in an ever-deepening floor bounce suckout). Positioned advantageously, the CDM1NTs (and any speakers) can maximize their bass potential.
Thanks for that detailed info, layman.In contrast to what some people are saying, I'm quite sure the tweeter in 1NT is NOT the same as that in N805. I've heard the N805 many times now with the same electronics that I used with 1NT. The treble is much smoother. I'm glad that the superb extension in the highs exists in both models, though.
My experience agrees with layman's statement that the CDM 1NT is best NOT fully toed-in. Full toe-in aggravates the treble peak on bad recordings, without much improvement in detail resolution. Btw, speaking of the "treble peak" again, I want to clarify once again that I only find the peakiness annoying on BAD recordings, which unfortunately I got a lot of.
I also agree with layman that the 1NT's bass can benefit from wall proximity, as I find that it doesn't require much effort to keep the 1NT from booming in most rooms, even small ones. However, I must point out that I found the N805, which apparently has upper bass boost, is much demanding of careful placement to avoid booming.
Something I missed to point out in my owner's review is that I find the imaging capability of the 1NT to be one of the best in its price class ($1000-$2000). However, I find that owners must make an inevitable compromise between bass and soundstage depth. Just when you got optimal bass extension, you would have to give up some of that to get back some of the soundstage depth lost when you moved the speakers closer to the wall... I feel this is where the advantage of a better, more expensive design such as N805, which is best away from walls, comes into play.
I switched from the 1NT to the Merlin TSM Millenium. I found the speakers blew away the 1NT with noticeably less distortion and much, much better midrange definition. Soundstaging on the 1NT was pretty good, - but the Merlins were much better again. I also think that the Merlins are a lot better than the 805 as well, - but not as noticeable as the 1NT. The 805s are nice and smooth and more rounded with better bass and mids than the 1NTs, but don't really achieve the clarity and distortion free sound of the Merlins, - IMO.
Here's a couple more tweaks that worked on my 602's and should help the 1NT's as well.Don't bi-wire. It seems to screw up some of the smoothness and intergration.
Remove one of the coupling plates from the rear terminals and replace it with a Radio Shack 1 ohm, 10 watt wirewound resistor (yes, I know it's inductive, that's part of the trick) which will very subtly attenuate and smnooth the highs and the crosover region. For this to work you MUST hook the wires from your amp to the lower input terminals.
Tilt the speakers back on their stands just a little. I found 4 degrees was just right for my room with 24.5" stands under my 602's. The CDM 1 NT's being shorter need taller stands, of course. Helps the sound staging and smoothes the sound just a tad.
To avoid voiding the warranty I would suggest trying those tweaks and treatments that do not involve removing the crossover first. I think that you will find that felting and wall-treatments will give you the "smoothing of reponse" that you desire.
I think you misread my posting. Nowhere do I suggest opening the speaker and doing anything to the crossover. The 1 ohm resistors I mention are installed externally on the binding posts instead of the plates supplied by B&W to tie the tweeter and bass together if you're not bi-wiring.By the way, I tried your sound absorbant baffle treatment on my 602's. They suffer badly from the "edgies" from reflections from the grill frame and the woofer rim. I used low density polyurethane foam strips for this attached with double sided carpet tape. Made a HUGE improvement. Even more of an improvement than just removing the grill. Now they sound the same grill on or off.
Yes. I misunderstood. I thought that you were suggesting connecting the resistor between the crossover and the terminal block.Glad to hear that you like the effect of damping treble diffraction with an absorptive. It is such a simple and effective tweak that I am constantly surprised the more people do not try it.
It is my personal opinion that the treble response of the CDM1NT is not significantly different to that of the N805 (an opinion shared by What Hifi of Britain who recently awarded the CDM1NT the best loudspeaker in its price class). I think that the curved lip of the N805 model however produces less audible diffraction effects than the straight edge below the tweeter in the CDM1NT. I don’t like the way B&W have stuck a raised logo right below the tweeter either. It’s a good thing that the resulting ripples in treble response can be tamed so easily with felting.
I agree that the Merlin speaker’s Scanspeak tweeter is a more refined sounding model than the B&W metal dome. Yet the Scanspeaks begin rolling off at 10 kHz, so they do not provide the flat to 20 kHz response of B&W’s metal domes. I guess choosing between them comes down to personal taste, the refinement of the Scanspeak fabric domes or the revelation of B&Ws metal domes. I prefer revelation, especially when the response of the metal domes is so easy to smooth with proper damping.
... and I don't like refinement if it means rolling off the highs as with many "refined" speakers out there!Rolled off highs, IMO, is plain boring.
Looking more closely at the Merlin tweeter, I think it is actually a Dynaudio fabric dome. Behaves similarly to the Scanspeaks though, in that it peaks and begins rolling off at around 10 kHz. Perhaps this accounts for it's feathery, light, refined, restrained quality.
Hi Layman,
Interesting thoughts....So you are saying that you think that the tweeter of the B&W reveals more highs than the smoother Merlin tweeter? Most interesting. I would be very interested to hear what the 1NT sounds like with the tweeter dampened with foam. I would also like to see it. How do you attach the foam?
I regard the Merlin as a much more revealing speaker than the 1NT, - having owned both. I hear/heard much more detail and a much less distorted sound in the mids especially. This is especially evident when putting your ear very close to the speakers. I also thought that the Merlin had better midrange response than the 805.
You seem to know a lot about the Merlins, how do you think that they compare to the 805s?
Thanks for your thoughts.
"How do you attach the foam?"I don't use foam. I use felt. I attach it to the baffle with rubber cement.
"I regard the Merlin as a much more revealing speaker than the 1NT, - having owned both. I hear/heard much more detail and a much less distorted sound in the mids especially. This is especially evident when putting your ear very close to the speakers. I also thought that the Merlin had better midrange response than the 805."
The Merlins use more much more expensive drivers and crossover components and retail for 2 to 4x the price of the B&W CDM1NTs, so their ultra-refined performance is really no mystery.
I just spent an afternoon comparing the B&W CDM1NTs with various Jmlab models. Taken on their own the CDM1NTs sound clean, composed, and concise. Compared to the Jmlabs models however, starting with the entry level Chorus design, the CDM1NT came across as flat and sterile. The CDM1NT seems to lack any trace of a soul. As much as I like their technical precision, they seem to miss the music by a mile. Technically perfect, but totally unbelievable. Mechanical. Artificial. A-musical. Something has gone horribly wrong with this model, with all of B&W's recent offerings in fact.While I am not damning the CDM1NT's music making (it can certainly be improved as outline above and there will be many who prefer its ultra-cool attitude), I do believe that the speaker was embarrassed today. None of the Jmlabs models was perfect (Chorus, Cobalt), but all of them displayed a consistent approach to voicing, an approach which went straight to the heart of the music in a believable way. Instruments and voices sounded authentic. These models can be criticized for their flamboyance, but they always have the musical message squarely in their sights.
The CDM1NTs, sadly, seem to be going it all alone, ignoring the music entirely, making it up as they go. These speakers are silky tongued tricksters, but they really cannot be trusted. All the effort spent smoothing out their treble response won't correct their lack of musical insight. Right now you can buy a lot better for less.
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