outstanding imaging, gobs of detail, mostly balanced sound

not magnetically shielded plus see below

These speakers, when set up properly, are absolutely amazing. The only way to descibe the imaging is holographic. The performers just sit there in front of you like you can touch them. Put them on filled stands and away from the walls and it's so palpable, you will sit there mouth agape in amazement.

The sound is very detailed, every nuance and detail is revealed. The overall balance may be just slightly bright, and bass tightness and extension is above average for a stand mount.

So what problem did I have with them? I couldn't duplicate the showroom experience at home. The only place in my home was in proximity to the walls and a TV (these are not magnetically shielded, a major negative charateristic of most B&W speakers). No mind-blowing soundstage, though it was acceptable.

What was unacceptable was, perhaps because of sub-optimum equipment matching, the loss of musicality. My CDs seemed lifeless and listening was not particularly enjoyable or involving. When I home demoed the Sonus Faber Concertinos (review to be posted shortly), I realized that the B&Ws were not right for my system. They just didn't stir my love of music.

I believe that well-matched equipment and proper setup would have been much more musically satisfying. Those just weren't prctical options for me.

Last but not least, I received outstanding in-store service from John Rutan and Sam at Audio Connection. John is extremely knowledgable and will stop at nothing to make sure you are a happy customer, he even offered to come out to my home. Mary provided incredible service over the phone.

That said, you may need to do follow-up with your purchase. They devote so much time and attention to customers in the store, things can slip through the cracks (which happened to my order and refund, but they eventually came through).

System:
NAD T750 receiver
Velodyne VA1012 II subwoofer
Panasonic DVD-A310 (doubles as CD player)
Analysis Plus Oval 12 speaker cable
DH Labs BL1 Series II interconnects

Other speaker auditioned in-store (I felt the B&Ws, all models, were the cream of the crop, except for the above mentioned Sonus Faber Concertinos):

B&W 601 S2
B&W 602 S2
B&W 603 S2
Energy e:XL26
Infinity IL40
KEF Q35.2
Magnepan 1.5
Mirage OM-14
Monitor Audio Silver 5
NHT SuperTwos
Paradigm Monitor 7
Polk Audio RT2000i
PSB Image 4T
Vandersteen 1C

Similar Products Used:

NHT SuperZero
Sonus Faber Concertino

Amazing imaging and clarity. Very revealing.

None.

These bookshelf speakers are phenomenal. Paired with the right amp, pre-amp, CD player, and topped off with accurate cables, and you could just swim in the music - it is so smooth and sweet. These speakers will bring out every nuance in your system, so choose the rest of your components carefully. I had a Denon POA-2800 200 watt per cannel amplifier driving these and the sound was a bit harsh. I swapped the Denon amp for an ADCOM GFA-555 and WOW!!! The music just opened up! No harshness at all, crisp high ens, pin-point vocals, smooth, accurate bass. This is a great and inexpensive amp to use with these speakers. I also have in this bedroom system a Denon PRA-S10 stereo pre-amp (sweet), NAD CD player (OK, but soon to be replaced), Monster Cable HTS-2500 line conditioner ( a must for ANY system), Signet audio cables (low resistance, awesome sound), Monster Cable MCX-S1 speaker cable (nice), and all this is complimented by a Boston Acoustics 12" 200 watt powered subwoofer. Again, your source components WILL play a big role in how these speakers will perform. "trash in, trash out". These speakers are capable of raising the hair on your arms and neck, yet they are also smooth and silky enough to ease you into a night's sleep with low volume music. The music that's played with these speakers ranges from Dream Theater, Liquid Tension Experiment, RUSH, TOOL, Pink Floyd, Sarah McLachlan, Sarah Brightman, Yanni, BACH, Classical guitar, etc. The whole gammut. Anytime my freinds come over and listen to these speakers, they are totally amazed. These speakers really are awesome, considering their relatively modest price. Don't look at them as "too expensive for a bookshelf speaker", but instead as an investment that takes you that much closer to perfection. Just don't forget to match the rest of your system too. AWESOME!!!!

Similar Products Used:

Boston Acoustics, Paradigm.

Absolutely beautiful, Superb Highs, Silky smooth mids, Great Imaging and soundstage

None to me

I have been searching for speakers for months and narrowed it down to the B&W 602S2. Then I made the mistake of listening to these babies. Once I heard them I knew they were going to be mine. I thought the 602's sounded great, but the CDM 1NT made the 602's sound muddy in the midrange and weak in the highs. Of course, it is not a fair comparison as they cost twice as much as the 602's but in my mind the sound and build quality more than makes up for the price difference. The bass on these speakers is a little light, but as mentioned in other reviews they are bookshelf speakers, so as long as you have a sub you are golden. One thing I must say is that I haven't had mid-fi equipment in the past and this is my first foray into the genre. My old speakers were JBL's and they sounded atrocious, and my current receiver is just a $500 Yamaha RX-V620. So I was cautious about purchasing the 1NT's until I had my store play the 1NT's and 602's through the RX-V620. Even with my admittedly humble receiver these speakers sounded amazing, especially compared to the 602's. So my message is to all those out there looking at this review page and comparing their low-mid-fi receivers to the seperates that everyone else on this page has, and feeling as if you shouldn't buy these speakers because your equipment isn't up to it. These speakers sound amazing through my receiver and will sound great through any decent receiver. However, one warning, these are not the most sensitive speakers so if you like to play your music loud and don't have at least 100W per channel you might want to audition to make sure the sound quality at the louder levels is up to par. My system sounds great, and I feel as if my equipment will grow with and around these speakers for years to come.

Equipment:
B&W CDM 1NT's
Yamaha RX-V620
Philips DVD Player
Connections by Monster Cable and tributaries.
To be upgraded soon equipment:
JBL G Center
JBL psw 1000 sub

Similar Products Used:

B&W 602S2

three-dimensional soundstage, accurate reproduction

A little expensive

Unlike some, I waited until the speakers were broken in before submitting a review. They definitely sound better six months later. The speakers produce a very detailed and three-dimensional sound. I initially felt that the midrange was slightly too forward, but once I changed from a Kenwood to a Rotel RDD-/RDP-980 CD player, this improved dramatically. This just goes to show you how important components are in the sound of a speaker (obviously). In other words, audition speakers with your own equipment if possible.

Most seem to feel that the bass is a bit lacking. In my one-bedroom apartment, the bass that it produces is more than adequate. I'm sure a sub would improve the sound, but my neighbors would hate me anyway. I love the sound of these speakers without a sub. Overall, I would make the same decision to buy this speaker if I had it to do over again. They are a little expensive, but given their sound/looks/construction, I think that they are worth it.

Similar Products Used:

Polk Audio

small size, nice looking

bright, harsh, and over priced for its sound quality

Very bright speakers and kinda a bit harsh, and also very little or weak low frequency. Beware of ear fatique!!!
For the less amount of money, there are a lot better speakers. I've auditioned several speakers in the same price range, and the best as in detail, transparancy, smoothness in high freq is jmlab and proac.

The system that I used :
Arcam FMJ a22
Cambridge Audio CD6
MIT Oracle v4
MSB Dac LinkII

b&w cdm 1nt ========== bright, harsh
jmlab tantal ========= better bass than proac #2
thiel 1.5 ============ same if not better than proac & tantal but twice the cost
nht 1.5 ============== not better than tantal; same price
proac tablette ======= best one but pricey
martin logan aerius == big dimension; abit laid back

Similar Products Used:

thiel 2.3; 1.5, nht 2.5;1.5, proac 2.5 & tablettle, jmlabs tantal & cobalt; nautilus; martin logan

beautiful music , awesome HT

A little flat with fast music i.e techno, heavy metal

Using it with a Marantz 8000 and Velodyne HGS-12. (beautiful
sub)..
Ok one thing is for sure everybody is amazed at how beautiful these speakers look with the silver stands from BW. Very handsome and well built.

Reagarding sound, I have to say it brings out the
problems of the recording and if it is recorded well..
your music will sound beautiful. Vocals sound clear
and crisp..Jazz, ambient music, vocals, acoustic sounds
wonderful...Of course some credit goes to the fast responding sub. Fast music sounds a little flat..which is
the nature of a bookshelf speaker...and also could be caused
by my Marantz receiver cutting off the BW at 80 khz.

Either way..I am very satisfied with their performance in my
NYC one bedroom..as I nearly considered the Gallo spheres.

Enjoy your own..

arman

Similar Products Used:

none

Crisp detailed highs, open soundstage, great midrange, stylish looks.

Bass is a bit lacking, but is pretty good considering it's a bookshelf.

Great speakers. I can't imagine spending the extra $800 to jump to B&W Nautilus 805's when these sound nearly identical (with the exception being in the bass department). Definately the most open, spacious, and detailed bookshelfs I've heard in this price range. Highly recommended!

Side note: I can't believe what m just said below. Not only is 1 star far too low for this product, but the NT's sound far and above the SE's. This is not just an "upgrade" speaker or "gimmick" speaker. This thing sounds amazing, and well worth the $1200 list price.

Build quality, vocals, mid-range, imaging, aesthetics, soundstage. Vocals being their strongest suit, imho.

Absolutely none! You cannot say bass, it is a bookshelf speaker, you cannot knock it for lack of bass.

I had posted a review of these wonderful speakers a few weeks back, but it has mysteriously disappeared.

Let me first start by saying that I used to own Definitive's and I really enjoyed them. Music became more a priority, and as good as the Definitive's were in this aspect, I just wanted a more crisp sounding, accurate speaker.

I had a short list consisiting of PSB, Paradigm and B&W DM series. I listened to the Monitor 7, and Studio 60. I liked both. Very crisp and sharp sounding. Vocals were a little lacking, they seemed to take a back seat. Other than that I liked them alot. PSB, a little more laid back, but still very accurate. A more mellow sounding than the Paradigm's, just depends on your preferance. Both excellent speakers nonetheless.

Finally on my list B&W DM603s2. This was my first audition of B&W and I had high hopes for the 603. Demo cd's were: Rush Moving Pictures to test crankability, loudness, speed and bass. Yes "The Yes Album" cd to test accuracy, detail, separation, mid-range, soundstage. This is an excellent demo cd, and will really bring out the best, or worst, in electronics. My wife also brought a Cher cd (gotta get em involved). Anyway on to the 603, my first impression was that it was very laid back, very neutral and natural sounding. I've heard some say the B&W's are bright, I in fact, find just the opposite. I didn't care for the 603 at first with the Rush cd, but popping in the Yes cd and listening some more, revealed a sound that kind of grew on me. My salesman could see I wasn't overly enthused, and suggested we go to a different room.

He hands me a CDM1NT and asks me to put it on 1 of the stands. I almost dropped it, very heavy, and VERY solid! This is a well-built speaker I thought. I also was very impressed with its looks. Very serious, and classy looking I thought. My wife even liked it. I couldn't wait to hear it.....

Okay first up The Yes Album track 2 "The Clap". A little acoustic guitar riff. It's kind of an in-studio type live performance. The first thing I noticed was the sense of airyness these speakers reproduce. I could hear people talking and coughing very faintly in the background, it was amazing! I knew these speakers were not going to miss a thing. Guitar string plucks were quite sharp, not overly done like I'd heard before on other speakers, but just very natural sounding. Nothing was added here that shouldn't have been. Imaging was dead on. I hate to say it because its been said so many times before, but I could honestly close my eyes and see Steve Howe sitting on a little stool right in front of me. No other way to describe it. At certain points in the song, it gets mellow and very soft, then Steve Howe kicks it up a notch and really hammers away. The way these speakers were able to go back and forth between soft and then just dynamically kick it up a notch, was nothing short of breathtaking. They didn't miss a beat. Very fast and powerful, yet soft and sweet as well. Next was track 5 "A Venture" (my favorite): the song starts out with some faint keyboards and continues while guitar, bass and drums are added in. I couldn't help but notice how I could hear the original keyboard sounds in the beginning of the tune, just as lifelike and clear as in the beginning even as the song became more complex, and other instruments are added. The original sounds stayed in their exact place and never became muddled or drowned out. I could hear every piece of the band in their exact place on stage in front of me. The vocals then kick in. The band is pretty much singing in unison throughout the tune. As soon as they started singing I was FLOORED. I could hear Jon Anderson, and Chris Squire front and center, like they were in the room. Both my wife and I looked at each other and were just speechless. It was remarkable. As good as these speakers were up to this point, the best had yet to come. During the middle of the song the music stops, and it's just the band singing again in unison. I could separte each voice and focus on that 1 voice like it was a solo. The separation of vocals was incredible. I've listened to this cd and this song in particular literally thousands of times over the years, and hearing it on the 1NT's was like hearing it for the first time. I never knew there was that much more to this cd. I just closed my eyes and drifted off into the music.........

I just can't get over the way these speakers hit on everything, and bring out every little nuance of the band. Nothing is ever muddied or hidden.

Lastly the Rush cd was popped in. My salesman was a huge Rush fan, as am I, and cleared the room from other salesman, customers, etc. He proceeds to play Camera Eye. The louder he cranked the volume, the more these speakers opened up and just flat out blossomed. Thes speakers love volume. That was 1 of my concerns was could they fill a room, this question was answered immediately. These speakers never distorted, and just let it all hang out! They brought out the best of this cd. Although they are a bookshelf and will not throttle you with bass, the bass they do have is very fast, tight and accurate. No sub was used either during the demos. Geddy Lee's voice was as piercing as it is in real life, but also very subdued sounding on tracks like Tom Sawyer.

My wife also wanted to hear some Cher. In it went. I really don't care much for Cher, but I think she does have a great voice, so I was interested in hearing it as well. Well same results. Her voice just belted out so powerfully, and dynamically, like it does in real life. The wife was totally sold. I knew this would help, that's why I say to get em involved.

I have now owned these speakers for about 4 months and they actually sound better in my room. For use with ht, these speakers are excellent, again bringing out every little detail, yet are able to handle the loud bangs and crashes with ease. Going from bipolar Definitive's was a concern as I do use my system for dvd viewing, but the B&W's came through with flying colors. I really feel I have not made any concessions with the B&W's in this aspect.



Here is my complete list of equipment:

Denon AVR4800 - used as pre/pro
Rotel RMB-1095 - 5 channel amp
Onkyo Integra DPS-5 - dvd player
Pioneer PD-F908 101 disc cd player (my weak link)
Panasonic 51 inch rptv
B&W CDM 1NT - fronts
B&W CDM CNT - center
B&W DM601s2 - rears
2 Definitive Technology PF15TL+ - subs
Monster HTS2000 - power center
Transparent Music Link interconnects between the Denon and the Rotel
Transparent MusicWave speaker cable for CDM 1NT's, and CDM CNT
Esoteric in-wall speaker cable used for DM601S2's

These speakers are the best I've heard and with some good cabling and electronics will give you as good a sound as there is, next best thing to being there. Sorry this review was so long. I am by no means an audiophile, but hopefully this will help those looking at these wonderful speakers. Please feel free to email with any questions.

Have a great day!

Similar Products Used:

Many, varios offerings from Definitive Technology, PSB Image and Stratus, Paradigm Monitor and Studio, various NHT models.

i like the cdm1se better than the cdm1nt.the best sub you can use is the rel strata 2

Incredible life-like quality. Completely engaging sound.

None whatsoever.

With fine electronics (I am using Linn) these speakers sound absolutely beautiful. One is drawn into the music more deeply than with their competitors. If used with badly recorded material or in a less than top-notch system, those weaknesses will be revealed. Highly recommended in a worthy system.