B&W CM7 or CM8 V. Dynaudio Excite Series, what amp to pick?

[admin_exported]

Hello guys,

I am a total newbie to the hi-fi world. Currently I am looking at setting up my first ever home cinema system. I've auditioned a few brands/models including Dynaudio, Dali, B&W and Focal, now I've narrowed down to Dynaudio Excite 32 and B&W CM8, which both in the price range I can afford.

Anyone listened to these two speakers, is it possible to share your opinions on these speakers? Now I slightly lean towards B&W, as to my ears they reproduce the music a little more precisely whilst the music is perfected through the Dynaudio speakers. The sound from Dynaudio is quite nice, but not as 'real' as B&W CM8 (forgive my English, it's not my native language, the word 'real' is what I can come up with). I have not tried out the home cinema, so next time I will get the guy at audio shop to set up the 5.1 channels to test a Blue-ray video. I will use the system approximately half on watching movies and live concert videos, and half on listening to music, which are pop, R&B, British rock(James Blunt type of music), a little bit Jazz and pure music like piano.

How well can these speakers perform if I pair them with an AV amp (I am looking at Denon AVR-2312)? Any suggestions on amp?

BTW, I live in Taiwan, so the availability of brands and models may be limited in my city. Thanks for all the help.

Richard

 

[Anonymous]

i would not be able to help you with amp selection but i do know that if you can the CM9's are far better than CM7's or CM8's

 

[DandyCobalt]

The CM8s are great speakers. I have an approx 3.5m x 4.5m room.

If you have a larger room, then the CM9s could be a better option (more bass, bigger cabinets) .

When I bought my CM8s, I also auditioned Montior Audio RX8s - they were excellent too. (paired with Pioneer LX53 a/v)

 

[Anonymous]

Thanks guys. My room is 8MX5.4M, so given the size, I probably should consider the CM9 which is supposed to have better sound than CM7 and CM8.

I will audition the CM9 next time I go to the shop. BTW, the sales at the shop said CM7 has very similar performance as CM8, in fact he said the frequency of CM7 is wider than CM8, so the CM7 is a little more bassy. But price wise, CM9 is way more expenisve, whilst CM7 is a little cheaper than CM8, so all in all, CM7 seems to be the most cost effective choice.