I have been shopping around for a pair of small size speakers for my golden tube SE-40 and auditioned Thiel 1.5 upto 2.3, Hales Revelation 1, B&W DM602, Epos 12, Martin Logan Aerius, etc. I loved Thiel 2.3 most until I listened to B&W CDM1SE. CDM1SE is only one third the price of Thiel 2.3, but I liked it more! It was the very first time that instruments and voices sounded real. I go to a fair number of concerts now and then, and so when I played Yo-yo Ma's Bach, I was speechless. I actually heard the cello sing through these little babies from B&W. Eric Clapton was just as good, with surprisingly deep and controlled bass and excellent imaging. Individual instruments and voices were locked into focus. Fischer-Dieskau's An die Musik sounded so beautiful. Choral pieces were just as revealing as the rest. I'm just a music lover and B&W CDM1SE just delivered what I love the most; I immediately placed an order for a pair of red ash CDM1SE.

Having listened to the CDM-1 and to B&W 60x series, I find it outperforms the latter because of its price ($450 a piece) and its subtleness, perfectly placeable, gentle but strong sound and also at low volumes it's really a tremendous speaker.
Listing to a pair with a decent Denon amp and cd makes you realise how some CD's were recorded; it offers a truely natural sound and regulates its power wisely.

A great speaker!

This is my second review of the CDM1. Some of you may remember the tweaks that I have proposed some time ago. Since then I have received a lot of queries from all over the world. Some of them have already tried to replace the crossover components with great success. Some of them are still asking questions about exact component values , brand names e.tc.
After some more experimentation with many capacitors I have found that the Solen caps from Canada give the best sound . The sound is polite to the ear and much more detailed . Expensive MITs for example sound a little more laid back for my taste. The Solen MKP caps is the best solution.
Now the capacitor values should not exactly match the values of the original electrolytic ones. To avoid some overbrightness at the treble reduce the value of the first cap in series with the signal.

The original ones are 5.3 microFarad and 10 microfarad.
There is also a cheap 1 Ohm BENNIC resistor in series with the signal.

The 5.3 electrolytic cap should be replaced by a 4.7 in parrallel with a 220n bypass cap. The 10 microfarad cap can be replaced with a 10 microarad . You can bypass all caps with more expensive FKP (Foil caps) but I don't think that any mortal can hear the difference.
Also replace the BENNIC wirewound resistor with a high quality non-inductive resistor. The value of the resistor is 1 Ohm.

B&W has already replaced the caps for the SE model with BENNIC MKP caps.
Those of you with the CDM1 SE model don't feel better now. The original CDM1 sounds much better than the SE model .And you know why ?

Ans. In order to simplify production and cost the bass Kevlar unit does not any more use a first Order filter in the crossover . It now uses a second order .
Every Audiophile knows that first order gives the best phase versus frequency response . In order to use 1st Order Filter the speaker should have a uniform natural roll-off at high frequencies. This in practice is difficult to achieve through an automated production line. The production cost is also higher.

The phase plug of the SE model does lelp a little for dispersion but also makes the sound more forward and fatiguing after long listening periods.
Therefore the original CDM1 has a greater value . It is a true 1st order for the low-mid frequencies that contain 90% of the music information.

Never sell an original CDM1 speaker.
Those of you with the SEs never mind. Your speakers are more prefered by girls. They are more sexy and unforgiving in the treble. Girls do like clicks and grainy sounds.
For the modified CDM1 I give 5 stars.
For the unmodified , I give 4 stars , and for the CDM1 SE I only give say 3 just because of my good relation with his parent.

Newer does not necessarily means better as in our case.

I just bought the CDM 1SEs, and am looking for a good quality stand for them. Any recommendations? Anyone know what stand is in the picture at the top of this page? Thanks in advance.

I bought B&W CDM1 last year. I did not have any plan to buy the speakers when I came to the shop with my friends because they were so expensive. Then the person who served me always asked me to listen to the music. I became so interested with them and just took them home...........
I never feel disappointed although I spent a lot of money for them because SOUND QUALITY CANNOT BE MEASURED IN TERM OF MONEY

When I first got the original CDM-1s (demo, $450), they sounded like a very good speaker inside a cardboard box covered by a blanket -- in other words, doodoo. Don't judge these by what you hear in the dealer's showroom. They took a long time to break in, during which time the midrange cleared up and the highs became less brittle. This is a good speaker, though it might not be good enough to spend $1,200 on. Biwire them with good cable -- they benefit from front-end equipment many times the price of the speaker. The bass is wimpy, as one would expect for a minispeaker, but my tiny apartment adds some bass because of its size. This speaker may be best for a small room -- I can't see any reason to spend $1000 on the speaker and $500+ on stands for a larger room. Just get the CDM7s, or something else.
Still, at a good price, you will be a happy customer if you patiently wait for them to break in.

I listened to these speakers at length at two different dealers when I was hunting for a new pair. I had read some favorable reviews that lead me to seek these out, but I did not enjoy the sound. The setup may not have been perfect, but the associated equipment was quite good. I could not get past a hooded quality in the midrange. For comparison, I thought the matrix 805's sounded vastly superior and I thought the 602's sounded significantly better in the midrange and better overall. Maybe the SE version is better, but these just don't fill the order.

If I have to be honest I have to admit that bought these speakers for their looks, but now I also begin to appreciate their soundqualities: the sound is OOOOOOPEN and CLEAR. I find the a bass a bit on light site and the highs a little too edgy for pop and rock, but I think that I have to blame my Onkyo A-801 Amplifier for this. I enjoy them most with folk and classical music and they really sing with well recorded female voices. I suggest you biwire the CDM 1’s for best results: the sound opens up and the high tones sound more fluid, the bass has more impact and sounds deeper. I used the dampers in the bass-port to tame the somethimes boomy bass. Loudspeaker placement is verry critical, I suggest that you leave enough room between your loudspeakers for best results. I think that they are verry critical to electrical interference because they sound considerably better late at night. In spite of their name ( Compact Digital Monitors ) they sound even beter with good analog sources. So if you got the placement and recordings right these spreakers are among the best you can buy.
PRO:
-open and clear sound
-can really sing with well recorded female voices
-are beautiful to look at
-good impact if driven hard
CON:
-MUST be biwired
-placement is critical
-need good quality recordings

excellent speakers.

Sound sound sound !!!

I have been using the CDM 1 for over 3 years now, and I swear this is the best compact speaker under $2500 !!! Unbelievable 3D imaging, pressure and well-temperatured sound and staging - incredible! I don´t want to miss her any single day! Thank you B&W !