B&W CM1 other speakers worth a demo? Advice on stands

[dukeden]

I'm going to demo some B&W CM1's, any other speakers worth getting a demo? They must be in the same price group and they don't have to be stand speakers. The speakers will probably be powered by a Yamaha RX-A1020, will be used as my main music source. Plus be part of a 5.1 system as and when I get the middle and rear speakers. Was thinking on B&W M1's should I go for the CM1's.

If I should decide on the CM1's, what stands would you recommend? The B&W stands cost a massive £250, are they really worth it?

Thanks for reading

 

[alchemist 1]

I'm going to demo some B&W CM1's, any other speakers worth getting a demo? They must be in the same price group and they don't have to be stand speakers. The speakers will probably be powered by a Yamaha RX-A1020, will be used as my main music source. Plus be part of a 5.1 system as and when I get the middle and rear speakers. Was thinking on B&W M1's should I go for the CM1's.

If I should decide on the CM1's, what stands would you recommend? The B&W stands cost a massive £250, are they really worth it?

Thanks for reading

The B&W CM1'S are very good speakers, also the stands do make them sing sweetly. 🙂

 

[audioaddict]

hi duke the cm1s are a high quality small speaker that sounds huge ... maybe not the last word in.detail although theres plenty there but tbey offer a smooth deep very high quality sound (go for gloss black if you can) as for stands i manged to get a pair of atacama nexus 6 thrown in but as.already.been suggested im sure the matchin stands wld be better but if not the nexus six are still good and you.l be saving yourself a few quid.... also when i auditioned and bought my cm1s i compared them to much larger and expensive floorstanders and thes little babies stood up to em for quality...you cld.do a.lot worse

 

[dukeden]

Thanks for your advise, looking forward to the demo. I'll let you know how it goes. As for the speaker stands, perhaps the extra money for the B&W is worth it.

 

[BigH]

Heard the CM1s the other day, they were OK better than the Rega RS1s which seemed very veiled the CM1s were a bit more open but they were a bit bassy, so don't use them close to walls, also they needed some driving to get them going, I would try some Kef R100s as well. Stands look overpriced to me. I would look at Fisual Dynami Speaker Stands or Atacama for around £50-£60.

 

[dukeden]

Stands very expensive, just the going rate for the B&W stands.

 

[Rick1979]

As mentioned Cm1 need loads of space around them. I heard them in Sevenoaks against some 685 and rx1. The b&w's were miles behind the MA which although closer lost out to the cm1. Amp used was arcam a19. Anyway I bought the cm1, got them home and it went badly wrong as I didn't have as much space around the speakers as the demo room so they had to go back. If your struggling on placement, I have rega rs1 on wall wall brackets and they sound wonderful at times but they're are occasions when I miss the slam of my MA RS6. The rega's were bought as a stop gap, just waiting for something 2nd hand to pop up.

 

[audioaddict]

sorry to hear.about.your.cm1 experience. i dont have that much room around mine and im using mine with the marantz cr603 which isnt what you wld call a hugely powerful system and they sound superb so please try not discount them til youve heard them against others

 

[BigH]

I heard the RS1s and then the Cm1s, the RS1s seemed very closed in, veiled and the CM1s were more open, more detailed but needed more power and a bit boomy/bassy near to walls. Both were heard with Rega cd and amp with DAC.

 

[BigH]

You may want to try the Acoustic Energy 301s which have just been reviewed by WHF, if you can.