Beautiful sound, beautiful cabinetry, good price

Haven't found any yet

I honestly don't understand what the reviewers below are talking about. I've never owned a pair of speakers this nice, and my girlfriend and I are ecstatic about them. They sound "accurate" to me. How can you tell if they're not accurate? I guess "you just know." Right, okay.

Well anyway, these are the speakers I settled on after auditioning the Paradigm Monitor and Reference series, and the B&W Nautilus 805 speakers. I couldn't hear any difference between the CDM 1SE and the Nautilus 805; both made me want to just spend hours in front of them listening to music.

I don't know what it was, but the Paradigms produced a harsh sound in the high frequencies that made me wince. Listening to B.B. King's guitar on a live recording felt like fingernails on a chalkboard.

The rest of the system is NAD components: 317 integrated amp and 515 CD changer.

I reviewed the speakers with Buena Vista Social Club, Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra, Diana Krall, and Santana "Supernatural."

I guess I'm deaf.

Similar Products Used:

None

Nice look. Sound gives people illusion of hearing something good but not real life.

Everything related to sound

I believe I left out a few important facts in my first review:

1) The pair I auditioned was brand new and has been properly broken in.

2) The equipment used are top of the line stuff including the cables.

3) As far as accuracy. I based my opinion mostly on the technical aspects (frequency response, phase error, etc), but what "accurate" really means is that it sounds closer to _real life_. This model has enough flaws to make it audibly distinguishable from accurate speakers. Engineers and audiophiles who strive for accuracy would agree. No, as far as hearing I don't "just know". I have a grand piano to compare and a family of musicians (typical Asian family).

4) It is a known fact that the more popular brand/model is, the faster it is for the owners (or dealers) to flame or specifically put down the conflicting reviewer. Their responses are generally "you're not qualified to say anything". Perhaps these people should reconsider them being the right ones... as their "Similar Products Used" responses would indicate. Oh yeah, try auditioning using different source materials. Ever wonder why they always use Diana Krall and jazz for audition? We should also question those who put "none" for weaknesses since all speakers exhibit some kind of flaw. Too much bias I guess...

Similar Products Used:

Look below

Good Looking and over hyped by the media

Tweeter and driver coloration. Bright and forward. Did I mention BRIGHT

"Good god these things sound awful" was my first and final impression of these speakers. I really can't understand how these things got a positive review. I guess palms are still greased in the back rooms of CES.

Went and heard these at my typical mid-hi fi store and I was very disapointed. Lack of accurate representation, bright forward highs, and nice boomy Mid bass response. Heard them on two different systems, one decent, one better and just lame. Anyone who suggests these as a reference speaker should have their hearing tested.

The DM series actually sounded better. Good luck on selling these things if people listen to other products. They did image but my god it almost made my ears bleed. I actually think I have heard better Klipsch Speakers than these. Enough... 1 Star Value, 1 Star Rating

Similar Products Used:

JM Labs, Dynaudio, Sonus Faber, PSB Stratus

Good sound, quality build

Can be a bit sharp in upper midrange

SOUND:

These speakers has a good front image and has a very detailed top and midrange. The bass is very nice and natural, but it might not go so deep as some other speakers.

If you are looking for stumbling bass this is not the speaker for you, but if you like the fine, controlled and natural sound they are indeed!

Me and a friend tested them with his pair of B&W 601, and I must say these speakers sound *so* much better! First of all it gives "more" of everything. Every instrument seem to grow and sound more real. Voices are beautiful and more present. Also the bass is more controlled in comparison to the 601's and it gives more "body" to instruments as piano for instance.

But the speakers of course has some disadvantages as well:

They can sound a bit "sharp" at some times in the upper midrange. Especially with brass instruments or high vocals. So be careful if your equipment and acoustics tends to sound "harsh" already!

Also you must experiment with the positioning of the speakers in your listening room. I did, and I gained a lot. I managed to get the bass more deep, and also a more "clear" sound.

They also sounds much better after a couple of days of playing. So make shure that you are listening to a couple that has been "burnt in" properly!

If you want to extend the low frequencies as much as possible you should take off the "speaker grills" (protective textile in front of the membranes). I don't understand why B&W have the textile covering the bass port!? In my humble opinion you should NOT have anything in front of the port! It must be able to vent properly! It would be nice if the textile just was in front of the speakers and not the port! Then you could choose to still have the textile because of the sometimes "harsh" sound and still get extended low frequencies!

LOOKS:

Faboulus!

VALUE:

I bought these speakers for half the price, so for me the value is 100%! Otherwise I'm not shure, so I will rate the value after the original price.

If I would rate the value after the price I paid, it would of course be five stars!

That's all

Mikael

Similar Products Used:

B&W 601, KEF Coda 7

Very good analyse, accurate, precision, definition

Very tiring,too exciting in middle and treble, FLAT, where is dynamics ?

In the fist time, i was very happy because TECHNIQUE is Amazing (KEVLAR...)and with my DENON 1700 and Marantz CD players there was a lot of bags of details.

While i was unable to stay 2 hours in listening.
Bass was confused, middle top too in front of you, ill defined, extreme treble shine too.The b&w CDM 1 (not SE)was one of the best , not the SE.

BRITISH'speakers are the most liked in the world but here, it was an deception.
Fortunatly, i discover TANNOY'Production like THE reference.
Innovation is very important but finally one speaker made with simple and approved component is an better solution.
A speaker ought to tested and LISTENED.

It certainly a good speaker with high end component (TUBES).
Music is a all, not a part.

Similar Products Used:

LINN TUKAN, TANNOY M2.5, MISSION 731PRO

Crystal Clear, Construction, Excellent Resolution, Beatiful looks!

Come on people 1 to 2 star ratings, you must be crazy! I've had these speakers over a year now and can say without a doubt they sound wonderful! I would have put the bass as a weakness, but you must remember these babies are bookshelf sized. I recently bi-wired the speakers and the depth of sound that comes out of these speakers is top notch. I currently have CDM 1SE, CDM CSE, and ASW2000 sub connected to a Sony STR-50ES reciever and ES CD player. I went with all B & W products after I purchased the CDM 1SE because of the quality of sound and excellent construction. Everyone is entitled to their opinion, but if you are looking for speakers that reproduce clean precise sound and image look no further than these babies, they sound excellent. I would also recommond bi-wiring the speakers - you won't be disappointed. Happy listening!

Spectacular imaging, pinpoint accuraccy, very revealing of details in a recording

tendancy to be shrill and very power-hungry little critters-they demand a high-current amplifier

These speakers can take an abnormal amount of volume for their size. In my small home, they have no trouble filling up the space even at low volumes, so don't let their size fool you-these things are powerhouses! Best when paired with a warm-sounding amplifier, though-they can fatigue if they are paired with a harsh processor or power source. Not the most incredible speaks in the world, but for the price, I've never had a complaint after two years of use. An incredible value.

Similar Products Used:

infinity, definitive, polk, paradigm

the cdm1se is the best speaker i have ever heard.i do not know why all you guys are saying this speaker plays strong in the mids. this is what you should want, it playing loud. doyou not want your speaker playing loud. everyone says it has no bass. the size of the box is the only thing that constitutes how much bass. i am saying all speakers this size has the same amount of bass. if there is a speaker this size that has more bass please let all of us know.

I purchased these speakers a couple of weeks ago. They produce a natural, clear, and warm sound. Musical midranges and highs are expecially excellent, with fine imaging and detail. While they are a bit lacking in bass, I was unable to find another pair of speakers in the same price range that provided the same depth and quality of sound. (I listened to speakers made by Vandersteen, Energy, Mirage, Boston, Monitor, Klipsch, and Paradigm, including floor standing models.)
I highly recommend these speakers. Teamed with my NAD C740 receiver and a Denon CD player, I was able to create a highly listenable sound system on a very limited budget.

Imaging, mid band, good match for solid satate amps, acceptable good bass.

The mid band can sound prominent with some electronics.

If I compare the sound of the B&W speakers to my Totem M-1, I have to say that the former are more musical, more sweet, more musical satifying sounding speakers, but less transparent, with a little less pinnipointing imaging, less annalitical, less airy than the M-1. I preffer the B&W sound.
I try these speakers with my Counterpoint NPS-100 and Bryston 3B-ST. The best results was with the Bryston, with very good bass control, good highs, and good midband. With the Counterpoint, the mid band was prominent, the highs were attenuated and the bass was very good. I the future I will try it with my Pass Aleph 3 amp, I think this combination will sound softer and mellower than the other combinations.
I find this speakers work and sound very well with Kimber speaker cables (Monocle XL). And not so good with Audioquest (Forest and Indigo) that make sound the speakers to soft.

Similar Products Used:

Totem M-1
Celestion 300