Sounds natural.

Lack of bass.

I've had these speakers for almost a year now. Actually, I have two pairs of the CDM 1SE's and a CDM center channel in a home theater setup. I must admit I'm still impressed with the sound of these speakers. I have a nice audiophile Audio Research and Thiel setup in my main listening room, but I definitely don't feel like I'm lowering my standards when I head to the den and listen to music with the CDM 1SE's in stereo mode. Granted the bass could extend a bit lower, but these are small monitors!!! - so that's what a subwoofer is for. I listened to a lot of small monitors when I was buying my second system and these were definitely the best sound for the money in this price range. Ninety-five percent of the sound of speakers twice the price - and that says it all. Very natural, nice detail.

Very smooth mid range, forward sound stage

None

I bought my pair after listening to Paradyme, Kef, Dynaudio,
Monitor audio speakers in same price range and the B&W blew away the competition. Vocals are so much more natural in sound and the soundstage seems to come from the middle of my living room rather than from the speakers. I had to play with the toe-in to get the optimum sound. I bi-wired them with MIT4 series 2000 and use Audioquest Coral interconnects off of my CD player. I also bought the matching CDM CSE center channel speaker and also bi-wired it. The sound blends perfectly across the front. Now I just need to upgrade my receiver and get a better sub.

Current system is:
Yamaha RXV 2090 receiver...yuck
Sony CDP-500 DVD
Audioquest Coral interconnects

construction, musically pleasing, price for performance

can be "bright" or "too hot" on the high end with poorly matched equipment

I shopped for six years listening to many monitors and floor
standing models (Thiel, Paradigm, Mission, Klipsch, Magnapan, Martin Logan, NHT, etc.) I finally decided on the CDM1SE speakers because nothing else I had heard for $1500 or less could best them. The System Audio 905s ($450/pr) were very similar in many ways (smooth natural vocals, even mid-range) but the CDS1SEs beat them on bass extension. (By the way, the 905s are no longer available, or I would own a pair myself.) Some speakers that I did not hear but may
have been contenders were Energy, Platinum Audio, and Paradigm Studio 20.

During my audition journey, I managed to get some time with some top-notch speakers (Wilson Watt/Puppy 5.1, Theil 7, B&W 802 Nautilus, Wilson Grand Slam, Cello Grand Masters, etc.) The CDMs were the closest that I could find in my price range that could begin to deliver the same quality of sound that can come from these much more expensive systems. Of course the CDMs cannot compete with these reference speakers, but they can deliver excellent music with many of the same qualities as the more expensive speakers.

If the individuals that rated the CDM1SEs with one or two stars would agree that the reference speakers that I listed above are "flat" or "bright" or have "deliberate alteration of the frequencies to induce impressive effects on audiophiles", then I can understand their opinion of the B&W CDMs. Otherwise I completely disagree with their assesments. These speakers are simply awesome, aesthetically and musically.

By the way, I also auditioned the B&W LM1, 302, 601, 602, and CDM2SE speakers. Each pair was progressively better than the previous set. The CDM1SEs were the best. I purchased a pair of the 302s for surrond speakers.

Similar Products Used:

B&W 302, Definitive Technologies DR7

Clean, Transparent, Dynamic sound.

Bass could go deeper

These are good speakers. I enjoy their anaylitical, fast, dynamic mid and high range. The sit right on top of any music you throw at them with attack and control. They may be too full on for some people. I wish the bass would go a bit deeper as they have fairly large, strong cabinets.

The CDM1SE's really need at least 50watts minimum to achieve what they can do and sound best with clean amps.

These speakers can really highlight what the rest of your system can do.

Highly recommended.

System :

Musical Fidelity X-RAY CD player
Musical Fidelity XP-100 Pre-amp
Musical Fidelity XA-100 Dual Mono Power Amp
Kimber Kabling throughout

Neutrality, looks, musical.

Not ideal for home theater slam , but more than acceptable.

I replaced my Magnepan MG-12s with this. Those of you familiar with the unique sound of the Magnepans will recognize that it is a tough speaker to replace. Its sound on guitar strings is simply amazing.

What drove me to replace them was looks. The Magnepans are big and scream WE ARE HERE, while the CDM1se's relative compactnes on 24" stands is refreshing.

The BWs are on Lovan Ballet stands filled with about 50# of leadshot each. Center channel duty is via CDM1-cse, side and rear channels are DM302s. Sub is a Paradigm Servo 15 series 2. Pre is DC-1 ver 4.0. Power is Anthem MCA-5 and BK ST-140.

The sound initially was dry, somewhat unexciting. Got much better after break-in. These speakers are very sensitive to source - bad material will sound worse, good material will sound great.

It has been almost a year and I no longer frequent the audio stores as often. These speakers are just good, and goood-looking. I do not get any complaints from my spouse in the aesthetics area. I sometimes miss the 'air' and string-detail of the Magnepans, but these are simply better all-around performers. Mid-bass slam is not the best - I have not played a lot with the foam plugs. I have the x-over set at 40 hz - works great. I will be evaluating the new version of these speakkers soon and will report on those then.

Similar Products Used:

Paradigm Studio 20s (V1), NHT SuperZero, Paradigm MiniMonitors, Paradigm LCR350s.

It made the sound quality of a garbage reciever sound like a million bucks. I have switched all my lesser speakers in my house to B&Ws. Side by side tests say it all.

these are the best speakers i have ever heard, but i have one complaint. the offset tweeter hurts the imaging some, i will tell you why.my speakers are 4 foot away from the walls, which makes them image more, so the tweeter exactly 4 foot away sounds better, but with the woofer 4 foot away it sounds better. so there is a tradeoff in sound because the drivers are uneven. to make a long story short, the drivers should be straight up and down from each other. also the guy with the cdm7 who put insulation between the woofers knows his stuff. some of you guys tell me where and how to get the tweeter upgrade.

Smooth, detailed sound

Mellow in the upper treble

I really have no complaints regarding the CDM1SE's. It's been well over a year and they still give me goose bumps depending on the recording. I'm currently looking for a sub to fill in the lower bass but for now they're acceptable. I have yet to experience any hot treble but perhaps it's the associated componants. After hearing the CDM1NT's I thought maybe I would do an upgrade trade but I auditioned the NT's with the same componants I have and it didn't impress me as much. I understand the NT's are a little harder to drive than the SE's. I was never in any hurry to get rid of my SE's but I was curious about the new model. I would recommend the CD1SE's if you use Bryston electronics and have a high quality CD player or turntable.
Associated Equipment:
Rega Planet CD Player
Kimber Kable Silver Streak interconnects
Bryston B-60 Integrated Amp
Kimber Kable 8TC (Double Run)
Rega P25 Turntable w/ Shure Vx15xMR cartridge

Similar Products Used:

Paradigm Atoms, Edge Audio 502DLR