I had a listen to these speakers over the weekend. I had been planning on going with the Paradigm 80's, but after listening to these beauties...well lets just say my speaker search is over. For $1800 there is nothing out there in that range that even comes close to the quality I heard from the CDM7 SE's. Of course you can't fully judge a speaker by what you hear in a showroom, but I have a feeling I'll be even more impressed when I get these home. Which, unfortunatly, won't be for another month. I'll give my full review then.

Extraordinary sound, gorgeous red ash finish (nicer than the dark cherry on my PSB Stratus Mini's), but I would rather have the PSB Stratus Goldi's for a little more $. My friend is getting a pair of CDM1SE's which I would like to compare with my Minis.

I picked up a pair of CDM 7SE's in the cherry wood finish yesterday. Obviously they are not yet broken in, but WOW, what a sound. These are a move up from a pair of Snell E.5's, which I thought were pretty good speakers, but the CDM's beat them in every conceivable way: better bass, far greater mid-range clarity and a sweet top end. The CDM's seem to hold their composure with any type of music and at any reasonable listening level. I am very pleased with this purchase.

I've auditioned CDM7SE at a local dealer. It was fantastic to me. But because of my money, I am looking for mail order.
Front: CDM7SE
Rear: DM601
Center: CC6

Please send me e-mail if you know any mail order for B&W speaker. Thanks.

I heard these speakers at Stereoexchange in NY and I must say that they are the BEST speakers yet to be heard in this price range or even more expencive speakers. I have not yet heard any speaker that came close to the BMW in Clarity, Dynamics, Open sounding, Soundstage, Acurate, Airyness, Tight ass bass. I only wish they had larger woofers because I listen to music which high BASS demands ( House, Techno, etc..)I am not sure if they can handle my demands but I listened to them at a very loud level with dance music and they seem to handle the music with ease for there small size woofers compared to other 10',12' inch woofers. Midrange was everything anyone could wish for with the Kevlar cones that BMW makes so well. I am only waiting to see if I can get them at a bargain price, I listened to so many speakers this month costing allot more ( Hales revelation 3, KEF referance speakers , Energy, Defenate technology, maggs., ) you name it, and with larger bass woofers but nothing came close to the BMW. With a good Sub this speaker is untouchable. This is one speaker I would buy without thinking twice.

An truely excellent speaker.
Associated Equipment:
Sonic Frontiers Line 1 Pre-
Pass Labs Aleph 5 Amp
Denon CD-player
DH Labs speaker cables and interconnects

I've heard a lot of speakers over the last year while I was auditioning, and
have constantly come back to this one. Purchased a short while ago. I have
heard it with YBA, Arcam and Rotel amplification and it sounded great in all
these systems. With the Pass Lab Aleph 5, it sounds truely amazing.

I've auditioned these speakers three times on three different systems, once in my home and all along I really wanted to like them. Look at the posts, everyone loves them. I like them. They have a controlled Mid and tweeter which produce a very clear sound. Soundstage, imaging, dynamic range are all fine. The problem is the bass. On two different surfaces I get boom. Spikes might have helped. Also when I cranked them up at home I didn't like the sound. My amp should have handled it (70 watt Arcam 9). I didn't crank it that loud. I was in the end comparing them to the Paradigm Reference Studio 80s. They are a bit more forward which is fine with me and maintain that wonderful clarity in the highs and mids. Also I got a tight contolled bass that was missing in the CDM7s. They aren't as pretty as the B&Ws but I'm into the sound not the looks. The CDM7s come in second in this contest.

I just listened to the CDM7SEs this weekend. Prompted by many good reviews, I went in packing a bunch of my favorite CDs and expecting a true musical treat. The speakers were connected to Yamaha separates (tone defeat on) and placed well away from walls or other speakers, in an ideal listening setup.
I'm sad to say I was not as impressed as I wanted to be. The first thing I noticed was a dominantly thick midrange -- if I had an equalizer I would have tried to tone it down. While this midrange may have been helpful in bringing out certain vocals, it gave a similar sound on three different acoustic guitar pieces -- Larry Carlton, Acoustic Alchemy, and a Windam Hill Sampler. Now, I play guitars and basses, and listened to many more, and one thing is certain -- high-end acoustic guitars do not all sound alike. The differences in warmth, bass, and overall timbre be amazing. But these speakers imparted that same noticeable midrange fatness to all three. Bummer. Also, some vocals don't need midrange help -- like John Fogerty on Blue Moon Swamp. Or James Taylor's last few releases. But they got it anyway.

As many reviewers have stated, bass is a little lacking. But it does reach down if you listen carefully, and it doesn't try to compensate by being boomy as you climb up the Hz scale.

Highs were nice. Nothing exaggerated. Soundstage was OK -- but no goosebumps. All-in-all, I think I have to give these 3 stars. I wish I could say more, but for $1800 retail, I expect more and I'll find it. My next demo is going to be the Paradigm Studio 100s, also $1800.

I have had the CDM7SE in my system for two weeks now and am very happy with the big full rich sound, they sounded great at the dealer hooked to a Naim integrated and even better in my system.( McCormack DNA5, ParasoundPld 2000 pre, Adcaom GCD 700 CD, Adcom GDA700DAC with Cardas Cross interconnects and Cross bi-wire speaker cablles.. Digital cable is Audiodyne.) I have played them with jazz, big band, and vocals. I traded my P5s and have no regrets. A very fine speaker.

I spend several months auditioning speakers from Von Schwiekert, Definitive Tech, Klipsch, Paradigm, Linn, Sonus Faber and even the B&W 600 series. The speakers that grabbed my attention the most were always out of my budget until I heard the CDM7SE.
What struck me the most was the clarity of the midrange and top end - their openness and soundstage was amazing for the price ($1500/pr) but is just shy of the capabilities in the B&W Nautilus 805. The bass wasn't too bad either and knowing that it did not reach down to the lowest registers it didn't bother me much. The bass it did have was noticeable, a great achievement in a speaker with a 6.5" woofer. One of my staple auditioning discs was Sara K.'s "Play on Words" in which the opening track "Horse I used to Ride" has some pretty low bass fundamentals throughout the song. The Von Schwiekert VR3 did a commendable job in reproducing this, and a commendable job in being beyond my budget. The CDM7SE got some of this bass information correct, although it was lacking in sheer impact. Overall, the smoothness of the entire speaker is what sold me on it.

The CDM7SE does take quite a bit of break in time but it is worth the wait. I would caution against using the CDM7SE in a very "live" room that has hardwood floors and few wall coverings. In their current setup, I find them to be boomy at times in my 16x22 room and lacking in bass definition, but I'm attributing this to the newness of the speaker and their current placement. Some more fiddling around is definitely in order but as they break in more the low end has been smoothing out. The imaging has remained top notch since the day I pulled them out of the box.

The cherry finish is a very nice compliment to the room decor and the speakers aren't massive behemoths that demand attention when you walk into the room.

The CDM7SEs are currently being driven by a B&K ST3030 amp with Sound Link speaker cable in a bi-wire configuration. A great speaker for the price, and an immensely listenable one at that.