I don't understand all the hype on these speakers.I listened to them with a B&K amp and Cal Labs CD player and they sounded very forward, 2 dimensional and limited in dynamics. They look very gimmicky with the tweeter on top and weigh next to nothing for a speaker in its price class.
B&W speakers have been living off their name for some time now. They stopped making real speakers with the death of their fabulous matrix 800 series. Everything else they have since than made has fallen short.
At this price point and cheaper, speakers from:
1) Monitor Audio
2) Hales
3) Sound Dynamics
4) NHT
etc
destroy these speakers in every aspect.

You are far better off with other speakers or at least bookshelf versions of these the CDM 1SE. The 7SE's bass response is very boomy and boxy sounding. Cheap cabinets !!!

I do not own a pair.
I have listened to them, assuming they are the £1000 ones, and they are extremely fine 'speakers. They were not altogether to my taste, I prefer the P6, which I thought were superb, shame they stopped doing them, as my dealer said...its left them without a reference range.

I use Linn Keilidhs, because they have different qualities, the CDM7 SE may be a better speaker, although a little more expensive, but you can go active with the Keilidhs.....I won't because I have rewired them and changed the crossover components to those of a higher quality, now they sound more like a £1800 speaker.

You might be able to do this for your speakers, nag your dealer....he should know about these things.

Just one thing about Monitor Audios.........there best used on the end of cheap midis.......pulling your leg but I'm not over fond of them.

've owned them for a month and couldn't be happier with their musicality. The midrange is extemely detailed yet somehow relaxed at the same time. You'll burn through your entire collection of acoustic jazz recordings and then come back for more. Vocals are a treat too, but beware of matching these with the typical bargain cd player or you be stuck in sibilance hell fovever. Perhaps the midrange is a little forward, but hey I like it that way.
I like the highs ever more. Again, maybe a little forward, but in a good way with lots of space, air and detail at all volumes. I've never owned a set of speakers that sound so pure at low levels (about 70dB) and also realistically convey more dynamic recordings at levels approaching 100dB.

Bass response? In a word, inadequate. They just don't go that low, and given the bass driver's 6.5" diameter there should be no surprise here. Specs say -3dB
at 40Hz and this seems about right. For true full range reproduction you will need to add a subwoofer, and a nice tight musical one at that. I'm currently using a Velo HGS10 to great effect and recommend the combination wholeheartedly.

A few random thoughts....they don't soundstage as well as my dipoles but their accuracy is more than worth the tradeoff here...not placement critical but I get best results at 7 feet apart, at least 2 feet from back and side wall, and 9 feet from listening position...cabinet craftsmanship is of the highest order....are extremely "tipsy" - mine are secured by spikes and resting on matching cherry bases...provide seamless HT enjoyment when matched with CDM CSE center....
need at least 100wpc of clean power to play loudly...need at least 50 hours to properly break-in...

As sure as the sun will rise tomorrow, someday I will part with my 7SE's. I just can't imagine that day happening any time soon. Their midrange clarity alone will probably ensure a considerable lifespan in my listening room.

Associated Equipment:

Acurus ACT3 Preamp/Processor
Adcom GFA 7500 amplifier
Rega Planet (demo)/Acurus cd11(demo)/ Marantz 67SE(incumbent) - am leaning towards the Rega, but haven't yet decided if the Acurus is "smooth" or
"rolled off"
Toshiba 2109 DVD
B&W CDM 7SE mains
B&W CDM CSE center
Polk Audio 10B Monitor surrounds
Velodyne HGS 10 Subwoofer
Transparent, Tributaries, Monster interconnects
MIT Terminator 4 Biwire (mains)

For my musical tastes I have yet to hear any speaker even close to this price point that offers the sonic accuracy of these beauties...highly recommended....

After months of researching speakers to replace my (hmmph, sorry) Bose acoustimass series speakers, I finally purchased these speakers. For Bose apologists, bose certainly does not stack up against speakers of this caliber, or even for speakers in its own price range. When I first started playing on the new speakers, I heard things from my cds I hadn't heard before, and the sound was full and easily filled my 19 x 23 foot room (with cathedral ceilings). These speakers image quite well and the midrange (particularly on female vocals - e.g., Diana Krall, Kate Bush, etc) is great, despite being straight out of the box. Other speakers I listened to were Martin-Logan Aerius i, Vandersteen 2CE, Dynaudio Contour 1.3, Paradigm 100 v.2, and Vienna Acoustics Bach and Mozart. The Aerius, though it images spectacularly (the sound literally hangs in the air between and around the speakers) sounded somewhat harsh in the midrange, and it had an almost metalic sound to it. The aerius would also not have worked in my room due to its size and a lack of possibile placement positions. The Vandersteens have a nice wide soundstage (wider than the CDM 7SE), but it sounded colored and lacked the transparency and neutrality of sound I like in speakers. The Vandersteens are also ugly (in my opinion) and would have been an eyesore in my room. The B & W's are beautiful speakers. As for the other speakers, they did not have the detail and imaging that the B & W's have. My conclusion was thus that for the 1800-2000 dollar range, the CDM 7SE is hard to beat. You'd have to spend 5 grand or more to get noticeable improvement over these speakers. All reasons to give these speakers a 5ive speaker rating.

Another follow-up! I removed the drivers to get the values of the caps and resistors on the crossovers so I can upgrade them, which I still plan on doing. What I found was no foam or polyfil on the inside top of the cabinet where the tweeter is mounted. I put about 3/4" of 80% cotton/20% poly material up there, and held in place with insulated romex wire.

Next, I removed the stock polyfil roll separating the bass driver from the mid and tweeter, unrolled it, flattened it into a sheet about 3" thick, and reinstalled in a horizontal position as opposed to the angled position it is in from the factory. In the angled position, there are gaps at the corners, allowing the drivers to influence each other. Flattening it out and mounting horizontally makes two distinct cavities inside the cabinet, one for the bass, the other for the mid/bass and tweeter. These two CHEAP tweaks improved the bass, and eased the harshness of the highs. the sound is more balanced, and less fatiguing. GIVE IT A SHOT!! I thought my subwoofer was on when I played Bob Marley, but it was in fact turned all the way down.

I am again giving 3 stars so as to not influence the average rating. These are not bad speakers when used with good equipment, and tweaked a little.

system:
Marantz CC4000 cdp
Muse Model 2 DAC
Music Reference tube preamp
Marantz MA700 ss monoblock amps
various mid-high end cables/ic's

amazing light and clear top end, very smooth and accurate mid-bass, beautiful finish

bass weak on home theater, plaement important

I bought these speakers over a month ago, what an amazing sound. I auditioned quite a few others, finding most of them good but boring. When I heard the CDM 7SE, the music was suddenly clear and alive. I love them, vocals are stunning, the soundstage is large and full of depth. They are just great when played loud for long periods, very listenable. I added the CDM CSE center speaker and can not say enough good things about it, great on home theater and smooth on music.
Plan on adding CDM 1SE for music surrounds and leave the Infinity for home theater. Subwoofer is okay, I might replace it with something faster.

In another review somebody mentioned he had replaced his CDM 7s with Nautilus 804s, but he failed to mention that the CDM 7SE retail for $ 1800.00 and the 804s are $ 3,500.00, twice as much. I sure would hope they sound better.

Denon AVR-3300
Sony CA80ES
Sony MDS-JB920
Sony SLV-R1000
Toshiba SD-9000
Luxman PD272
B&W CDM 7SE
B&W CDM CSE
Paradigm PS1000
Infinity QPS-1
Mitsubishi CS35503
Tara, Audioquest, Monster Referance interconects
Tara speaker cable

Similar Products Used:

Paradigm Studio , Energy, Mission, Monitor Audio, Dynaudio, B & W S series, M&K, Totem

I am a longtime B&W Fan-having bought the small 220's years ago and also a full 2000 series home theatre. Recently, I set out to buy speakers for a high quality audio only system (Bryston Amps/Denon CD).Naturally, I was intending to buy either Canadian made or B&W. Fortunately, I found a Dealer-who not only had B&W, but, two top Canadian made speakers-Paradigm and PSB. However, a 'dark-horse' emerged the Linn Keilidh's. In head to head comparisons they blew away the latter speakers especially the CDM7SE's which I was really disappointed in. Their bass was suspect and the music set too far in background as if muffled!

I am listening to these babies over and over again, and they sound absolutelyastounding. I’ve listened to a lot of speakers before buying these, and there is nothing
That compares to them (not counting Nautilus 800’s series)
Anybody who can spare some money on these speakers, will have a life time
Of enjoyments. Paired with a good sub, they will reproduce any sound in the world.
Buy them and enjoy them.

I think that the B&WCDM7se are the greatest sounding speakers in the 1,500 to 2,000 dollar price range.Having listened to kef, meadowlark,definitive tech,.B&W blew them all away,the bass is natural, highs are smooth and effective.These speakers came highly recomended from many AUDIOPHILES that know about music. If jazz and blues ,rock n roll is your kind of music.B&W cdm7se will not let you down.

Has anyone compared these speakers to paradigm studio 80' or 100' ? I heard them both at different stores and I cant make up my mind. Both deserve a 5 in my opinion.