Solid Build quality, Good Support

Midrange color, way too dark.
The louder they played the more the speaker became muddy.

Not worth the money unless you listen at low volume. Turn them up and the problems start.


Played with ML 383 and Sony SACD 777ES

Similar Products Used:

ALL

Superb imaging, soundstage.Excellent tonal quality.A classy product that looks as good as it sounds !!

Flimsy spikes totally out of character with a $2000+ speaker.

Having spent nearly 6 months debating the pros and cons of the CDM 9NT vs. 804N,as replacements for my existing B&W 603 S2, in a music only setup,I finally plunged for the 9NTs.I am absolutely delighted with the CDN 9NTs,notwithstanding the comments of some audio pundits on this site.The other components are:
ARCAM FMJ CD 23
ARCAM FMJ A 22 Integrated amp.
ARCAM FMJ P 25 Power amp.
Cables :monster,chord,silverline
As expected there is a quantum leap in performance from the 603s.The sheer breadth and depth of these speakers has taken my breath away.I am yet to complete the mandatory 15 hr. break in.I have somewhat eclectic tastes ranging from pink floyd,patricia barber,greg brown to Indian classical instrumental.I am beginning to hear sounds and passages I was not aware of eg.there is a brief laughter sequence in pink floyd's wish you were here.
The B&W 804N is undoubtedly a better speaker,with a richer, fuller sound than the 9NT even though they have virtually identical components except the voice coil on the nautilus tweeter. I reckon the difference in sound is no more than 5% as against a price differential of $1000+.Given the constraints of my existing hardware it perhaps makes more sense to add a good pre-amp and possibly a sub though I am more than happy with the bass.
A word of caution.The 9NT will reveal recording flaws without mercy.As a consequence bad recordings sound awful eg.Bruce Springsteen's greatest hits has several shrill treble passages in some of the opening tracks which would be inaudible in a $100 Aiwa type soundbox.I anticipate the tweeter will stabilise with time.This,however, is the peril of high end audio.While you achieve sonic nirvana a lot of your favorite music begins to sound like rubbish.
All in all this is a classy product with solid build quality.For my money the best speaker under $3000.

Similar Products Used:

B&W 603 S2

Balance of sound throughout the ranges, build quality, attention to detail.

Flimsy spikes, biwire terminals are a bit too close together to allow use of heavier gauge cable.

I decided to upgrade my speakers and did alot of research on the web for a pair of speakers at less than 3500$. All reviews really pointed to the oustanding quality and sound of the 9nt. I did test them out at my local hi-fi store and was very impressed with the detail, clarity and space of the sound. When the speakers arrived, i put Joni Mitchell's "Don Juan's Reckless Daughter" and boy did the speakers sound fantastic right from the get go, obviously the more you break them in the better but it is a testament to quality when a speaker can perform right from the get go. I also must mention the importance of bi-wiring the 9nt, there is quite a difference, do the test yourself. I also found that the speakers were quite easy to position as well, i did not have to spend hours finding the right placement.
I suggest that you do the same and check out all the reviews here (some excellent ones) as well as doing a general search to find many from hi-fi magazines that get in depth. It is CRUCIAL to have high quality (not necessarily high-priced) gear to accomadate these speakers, they will reveal flaws. And lastly go try them out yourself and see. Overall i'm estactic with my purchase!!!

My system:

YBA 3a pre-amp
YBA 3a amp
YBA cd integre
Marantz 6300 turntable
Rotel RT 9508x tuner
Denon DRR 730 tape deck
Better Cables Silver Serpent Digital Coax interconnects
Better Cables Bi-Wire Premium Speaker Cables w/Vampire bananas.

Superior midrange, detailed treble and tight, yet powerful, bass. Very all-round.

None that stand out for my taste(see below). If you like to be smacked around with Cerwin Vega equipment the bass in these units may be considered too light.

I initially listened to these speakers on the Marantz PM-8000, comparing them with the CDM 7NT ($1750) and Dali Evidence 870 ($1600) speakers. The Dalis were clearly very good and had a lot of power with their twin 8-inch bass units, but the CDM 7NTs showed a great deal more detail and openness. However, the 7NTs single 6.5 inch bass (although frighteningly impressive) didn’t quite give me the punch I like in rock/heavy metal music. Thus, the CMD 9NT was the natural choice to check out as they have twin 6.5-inch bass units, (equivalent to a large 9-inch bass unit) and the 9NT also has a 6.5-inch FST Kevlar midrange membrane (FST = Fixed Suspension Transducer, meaning there is no soft rubber rim holding the membrane). Upon hearing them the 9NTs totally blew me away, and this no doubt was due to better midrange and treble – the thing is that rock music benefits a LOT from the better midrange and to some degree treble. The guy at the store told me that the 9NTs definitely needed something dark/warm like the Marantz PM-80000, because the speaker is very detailed and bright.

A couple of weeks passed and I decided it was time to be fair and test the Dalis again, but this time using a brighter amp than the Marantz. The choice fell upon a separate NAD C160 preamp and C270 power amp. “Wow!” was the response! The Dalis came to life and didn’t come off as dark and closed as with the Marantz, and after hooking them up to the Marantz once again I found it to be totally boring: no punch and too laid back. So I went against the advice of the first guy at the store (listen to your ears, not to the salesperson!), and out came the CDM9NTs that got connected to the NAD. Now, this was NOT supposed to work as everyone kept droning “Match bright speakers to dark amps”. But the result was, again, totally amazing. The NAD was quite neutral, sufficiently detailed and very agile at handling all kinds of music, yet have the aggressive punch and sweeping sound I prefer. I couldn’t afford a separate setup, so the NAD C370 replaced the more expensive NAD equipment.

First test: Manowar, "The Triumph of Steel", third index of the 28-minute "Achilles, Agony and Ecstasy in Eight Parts" (it’s about 5 minutes into the track). Now, why would we go and do something like that to a nice pair of speakers? Well, that particular track is instrumental with heavy metal guitars, and they ALWAYS grate on my nerves. Very, very annoying track :). Those guitars are thick in the midrange and a bit on the treble, and I had almost begun to believe that the recording might be bad, as it was bad on the old Denon receiver DRA-735R and JBL LX-500 ($400) speakers, as well as on the Dali/NAD setup at the store. At this point I was floored, and I sat with open mouth, almost sliding down from the chair. The annoying, grating guitars were gone, and instead a crispy, crusty guitar filled the air. The salesperson smiled, knowingly. My wallet wept.

Second test: Tori Amos, "Boys for Pele", second track "Blood Roses". First thing I noticed was the crisp, wonderfully flowing cembalo (harpsichord). It was so beautiful and effortless. Also, Tori’s voice was natural and without sibilants (there were no sharp hissing on "s" and "z" soundssssss), and the part where she raises her voice, almost screaming, the voice just came across LOUD, but in no way strained or distorted.

I have also tested classical arias ("Mozart Arias" performed by René Fleming), Type O Negative and Metallica on the 9NTs. The two former were good tests for clearness, vibrancy and tight bass. However, for some strange reason Metallica’s "Enter Sandman" and "One" does not seem to bring out the extraordinary qualities in these speakers. One album you definitely should try is Dire Straits’ "Brothers in Arms". It is well recorded and brings out the best in these speakers.

The CDM9NTs have a crisp sound, like the crust on the best Italian bread, where you break it and you just know it’s going to taste real good. A violin or acoustic guitar sounds natural (good timbre) and you imagine you can see the strings vibrate before your eyes. They are precise, revealing and detailed with good 3D. But contrary to the conventional wisdom I’ve heard bandied around, it is NOT necessary to pair these speakers with dark-sounding equipment – unless of course you happen to love that kind of laid-back Marantz sound :) I also find that the rumors of hard or shrill treble are exaggerated. I’d match them to something relatively neutral any day.

I like almost all kinds of music, and my choice of the CDM9NTs is because of: 1) adequate bass for rock music and symphony orchestra level bass, 2) superior, physically large, midrange unit, that handles both the demands of heavy rock, as well as reproducing voices loyally, it clearly beats the 4.5-inch midrange units on many speakers out there 3) good, detailed treble.

Having brought the speakers home it is time to face budget restraints (and stupid reality) again. My only CD player at this time is an 8-year-old Denon DCD1290 ($375 back then). I’ve listened to the speakers on both the equally old Denon DRA735R receiver (80W) and the (brand new) NAD C370. The Denon receiver definitely didn’t bring out the best in the B&Ws, but it was just about tolerable, but I’m just afraid that the Denon was too grainy and forward for the speakers. The NAD, however, brought that sweet sound back to the speakers, and after just a few days of burn-in I feel so very happy about the sweet sound the NAD/CDM 9NT gives me. Some of my Tori Amos albums do have a slightly shrill treble and minor sibilants, but in all fairness, my setup isn’t all too impressive when it comes to the CD player and cabling (OK ... it really sucks), and burn-in for both the amp and speakers is far from completed. I use some cheapo Hitachi interconnects ($35) and the flat Rega speaker cables ($3.75/meter). It would not be excessive at all to cable the set with interconnects like Kimber PBJ ($78)/Hero ($140), or a Tara Labs Axiom ($200) even. And some Kimber 4TC speaker cables ($25/meter) would be adequate I think. Oh yeah, and they’re not even bi-wired yet, so there’s yet another possibility of improvement.

Similar Products Used:

CDM 7NT, NAD C370, Denon DRA-735R, Denon DCD1290, Marantz PM-8000, Dali Evidence 870.

Beautiful speaker, smooth high and mid. With the speaker grill removed, very natural and spacious mid range

not enough bass for my room, a little too expensive

This speaker sounded really bad right out of the box. It was very bright and edgy with no dynamic. After 2 months, the speaker became warmer and easier on my ears. After 3 months, the speaker sounds really good to me. The image is very good, and with good recordings, the singer appears to be right in the middle, especially with the speaker grill out of the way. Overall, I am very satisfy with the purchase. The only thing I am happy is the bass performance with this speaker. My room is only 20ft x 20ft, so it is not a big room, but I cannot get any bass response under 60hz. What this mean is I have to spend more money for a sub. For $2,200, I would expect more bass from this. Because of the bass, I am give 4 stars


For the two stars review down below, it is amazing to have people give 1 or 2 star when they don’t even own the speaker!!

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B&W cmd 7nt, B&W602s, AR DIYs, roger soundlab, Bose, JBL, etc.

Open and dynamic,full sound! Great Imaging and depth

none for the price

I was very impressed with the detail yet smooth sound of this speaker. I heard an older version of the cdm7 before they used the nautalus tweeter and they were a little bright. I had to laugh at the review Tom wrote about them being brite. How can you even review a speaker when you owned them less than 1 month? They are not even broken in until you get a good 150 to 200 hours on the tweeter, and then they really began to SING. Out of the box they were a little harsh as any new speaker would be. Give them a listen and you won't be disapointed.
B&K amp and pre
wireworld cables
music fidelity CD

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energy, sonus faber, aerial.

simply wonderful sound, great high's and mid-range, super for music

the spikes are a bit short, the binding post are a bit close together.

After a 6 month search I came across these speakers. I bought 4 of them together with a Velodyne HGS 12 sub and a Denon AVR 5800 receiver.

What can I say. I upgraded from a Yamaha Dsp-A1 and a Bose Speaker system (AM-15).

The soundstage now is amazing and I love the 5 channel stereo for music. I can crank up the system and the speakers keep pace. No distortion, very clear high's.

I don't think I ever I have to buy new speakers again.

Great build quality and great looks.

I would recommend them to anyone who wants a great looking speaker in a living room environment when listening to music and then some hometheater movie watching.

For movie's only I would have probably gone for a dipole system like the M&K THX series.

Cheers

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None

Detail and large deep sound stage

To much information. Really lacked smoothness, edgy, bright.

I really tryed to like these speakers when I was upgrading my system. Initially they sound impressive (heaps of detail especially in the high frequencies), but they sounded bright and lacked a fullness and richness of sound.

Tonally speaking, these speakers are colored with what I later found out to be the "B&W sound" which you either like or don't like. A major failing of these speakers was there lack of smoothness. Have a listen to the Nautilus 804, hear the difference?. More coherent, less noise and very smooth with just as much if not more detail than the 9NT. Despite my liking of the 804, it still had that aneamic lean sound and at $7500 (Aus) I was ready to look elswhere.

Overall, the 9NTwas not my cup of tea.

Similar Products Used:

7NT

All of them, they sound good, they look good, (haven't tasted yet)

none found

I FOUND MYSELF A HIFI SYSTEM!!!

After a couple of happy years with a SONY STR-DE315 receiver and a pair of KEFQ35 speakers, I allowed myself to spend some money to overcome my growing frustration of an amplifier without dolby digital, and a pair of speakers with absolutely poor bass performance.

My choice was soon narrowed to Jamo and B&W .(Reasons for this: not all brands available in China, not every dealer has a decent listening room,...). Major decision point was the flexibility of the 9NT's. I tested them with the Concerto for Violing from Saint-Saens, some massive attack to test te bass, Red hot Chilli peppers to see how they react on distorted guitars, and a bit of Dire straits. The 9NT's had a more complet sound than their cheaper brothers, but the 7NT's are definitely good value for their price. The Jamo concert11 is promoted as THE speaker for acoustic music, and it definitely deserves that repution. They really made me hold my breath, as I was afraid to bring the violist out of concentration, so close he was to me. Unfortunately, They messed up with the Peppers and massive attack.
The CDM9NT's could handle it all, which was the major decision point for me.
I bought them together with a DENON 3801 receiver, and was very dissapointed when I came home. I heard a lot about the time my speakers need to break in, and indeed, it took them 2-3 months, but they sounded better and better. However I still couldn't reproduce the music like I heard it in the listening room in the shop.
A couple of days ago, I added a ROTEL RMB1095 amplifier to my system, using the DENON as preamp, and yes!! There it was. It is just perfect. Combined with a great system, these speakers are absolutely wonderful!

My system:
DENON 3801 receiver, used as preamp
ROTEL RMB1095 power amp
B&W CDM9NT front speakers
KEF Q35 surrounds (my old main speakers)
SONY CD player
A 'cheaper than cheap' centre speaker (next component to be replaced.

Similar Products Used:

Only products that deserve the word 'similar: 'Heard Jamo D870 (Concert 11), B&W CDM7NT, and

Crisp, clear highs and mids. Very well built. Pleasing looks for a sub-$5000 speaker. Good bass for a speaker with no built-in powered sub. Very tight soundstage.

none so far.

I recently wanted to get a good start on a home theater and started looking at my local audio dealers. While looking around at a local dealer awing at the Martin Logan, Thiel and Wilson Audio speakers, my sales rep pointed my towards something a bit more in my price range, B&W. I listened to these off a Rotel RCD-971 powered by a Denon AVR-3802 then a Rotel RB-1050 and was completely blown away at what these speakers could do for the money.

Being the good shopper I am, I went around to a couple of other local shops to compare products. I listened to Klipsch, Definative Technologies and Phase Technology, etc., but couldn't find a better speaker anywhere in the sub $3000 market. These speakers are absolutely incredible!

I listened to jazz, classical, metal, techno and opera to test the dynamics of each speaker. The top mounted tweeter gives a pure, clean sound. It's powerful enough that the highs don't get drowned out by the mids, but doesn't over-do it. The mids on these speakers are absolutely stunning and smooth. The bass is good for a speaker with no powered sub, but if you're a big sub person you'll want to crank the bass on your reciever/pre-amp to give it a good kick.

Most of the speakers I tested got really harsh or noticably couldn't handle complex sounds, especially at higher volumes. The B&W CDM 9NT's laughed at everything I threw at them, no matter what volume I set it at.

I'm currently running these off a Denon AVR-3802, which is nice, but hopefully I'll get a Rotel amp to really use the full potential of these speakers in the future. The Rotel's really make these speakers shine, I just couldn't afford them...

Similar Products Used:

Phase Tech 7.5, Klipsch RF3, Infinity RS-5