Buy B&W CM1 speakers or better Amp?

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Hi all, Im new to this forum, so I hope Im posting at the right place. I am currently studying in Indonesia and couldnt bring my Hifi system with me So its time to buy something new, small, and not too pricy. At home I've got this stuff: Speakers:

B&W CM5

Amp: Rotel Ra 1520

CDP: Sony X777ES

And some very nice HMS cables.

Now I am looking for some small speakers which are not too pricy and easy to bring with. As I very like B&W and it might be that I upgrade my home system to 5.1 I'd like to stick to B&W. So the speakers of my choice would either be the 686 or CM1. Furthermore I will have to buy a new Amp. I got a great offer be a local dealer, who unfortunatly doesnt sell B&W stuff (the next one is like 500km away ), for a Cambridge Audio Azur 550A. So that would be the Amp of my choice. Now to the problem I have. My budget Its limited, so I have to consider wether the difference between the 686 and CM1 is worth the price? Did anyone hear them in comparism?(I only know the difference between the 686, my first speakers, and the CM5's and its huge, especially at the high and low end)

My budget is about 800 to 850 Euro. I could get the Azur 550A for about 380 Euro, the 686 for about 400 Euro and the CM1 for about 650 Euro. So I cant afford all of that stuff. I have to choose between the B&W 686 + Azur 550A or the CM1 + some cheaper amp ( or a multichannel receiver, cause it might be that I will upgrade my home system to 5.1 later on).

So, ist the CM1 worth the price?

If so, will it sound better, even if the amp is cheaper, or a cheap multichannel amp (dunno if thats any good for stereo at first???)

What would you consider to be the better choice for me?

Greetings from sunny Bali

Daniel

 

[WishTree]

Hi Daniel - Welcome to the forum!

I will give the response with out any sugar coating - I am a big B&W fan and I had 686 before. It is something B&W should have never done. The sound at best is muddled and loosing out a lot of high frequency and bass is very boomy. CM1 on the other hand is very nice but I would not go for it they are the only speakers in your system. They still lack the base a little bit. The other alternative I would suggest is a 602S3. Though they are the older generation they are the perfect standalone book shelf speakers which can easily be the only speakers in the system. You really don't need a sub for music listening with 602S3.

Happy shopping!

 

[Anonymous]

have to say i disagree about the CM1's, I was quite taken with the warm sound and oodles of bass from such a tiny speaker. The cabinet volume is actually quite decent as they make it quite deep. If anything, I found the plentiful bass lacking in any detail.

Don't know about the CA stuff - but careful with the pairing.

 

[matthewpiano]

The 686 are excellent speakers BUT they need lots of space and very solid stands to give their best. They also need partnering carefully with an amp that can grip them - Rotel works as well as anything until you move up to Arcam territory. I bought mine having understood this from dealer demonstrations and knowing that I have the space that they need. With the A18, the 686s are clear, dynamic and full sounding and there is no problem at the bass end.

 

[ear]

So you have them already matthewpiano? they are a little less bassy than the 685 arent they? they seem to have the same spec has the CM1 wich I like a lot.

 

[jaxwired]

Are the CM1s worth the money? Yes, definately. They're great speakers, no doubt about it. The entire CM line is underrated IMO.

However, I'd also consider some other small stand mounts such as PMC DB1i, Dynaudio Focus 110 or Excite X12 (another gem that doesn't get much press), and totem rainmaker.

 

[Anonymous]

Hi, thank you everyone for your answers

I am a big B&W fan too and did really like to stick to B&W, just for practical reasons. As you see, I've got the CM5 speakers at home and I am planing to advance my system to 5.1 surround some day. So I guess it would be better not to mix the speaker brands.

As I read your answers I get the feeling you all would clearly choose the CM1 over the 686, even though the 686 is not a bad speaker. To be honest, I really like my CM5's for how they sound. Of course I liked my first 686's too, but the CM5's are just in an other world. Unfortunatly I could/can not audition the CM1's, but if they have just a little of the CM5's, they are awesome

The sticky part of my question is I guess not the speaker choice, as I would cleary go for the CM1, but about the combination of speakers and the amp. I could pair the 686 with a really good amp, the CM1's just with a cheap one (maybe AVR) and I am afraid to ruin the advantages of the CM1 by pairing it with a rubbish amp, cause in that case, it might be that even the 686, in combination with a good amp (Cambridge Audio Azur 550A, which should get grip of them), sounds better. Thats what my question is mainly about.

So which combo would you prefer?

And could you give me a recommendation for an cheap amp or avr to pair with the CM1's?

Thank you very much again

Greetings Daniel

@Wishtree: thank you for your honest words and the recommendation of the 602 S3. The only problem I have is, I guess I wont be able to get any used speakers, cause the Hifi market in Indonesia is just very small. So I am happy that I can get some B&W's and a great Cambridge Audio amp at all If I could get used speakers I would take used CM1's without any doubt. As I said, theres a dealer for Hifi like every 500km (300 Miles) And well, since I have a girlfriend, its about the design too, as you can guess

 

[WishTree]

daniel1111:
And could you give me a recommendation for an cheap amp or avr to pair with the CM1's?

I can understand the conflict. There is a huge wave of people who has experienced a better music performance from a modestly priced Integrated amplifiers but personally, I have not seen much difference till I cross the 1000 pound price barrier. Since you have tight budget for time being, may I suggest you to go for an AVR which offers a very good price to performance and would be your standby movie kit. Once you have enough money, you can think of a very good hifi kit (a good integrated amplifier).

With such a thought, I have tried the Denon AVR 1910 which was the best value purchase till date. I have spent more money on expensive kit (and sadly will continue to do so..) but this Denon got everything right in movies or music and I am very sure that you will love this with CM series.

Please bear in mind that CM series has an illusion of brightness when compared to the lower 6XX series due to the fact that mids and high come out more clearly. As I said, it is an illusion but in reality it is this clarity that draws you towards the CM series. It also means that yo will reap better benefits with a warmer sounding amp / AVR

Hope it helps

 

[Anonymous]

Hi Wishtree,

yes that helped me a lot I think I will do it that way then. I think it will be the better investment, as I can use both the CM1's and the AVR later on, when combining it with my system at home

As I am not really into the topic of AVRs I will have to read a little bit about those. How much did you spend for your Denon?

I searched in some forums and found the Yamaha RX-V 365/367 to be recommended quiet often as entry AVR, as well as the Onkyo 308.

I dont know about their sound characteristics, but previous Yamaha Amps I heared were often a little bright at the top end, does this also go for these Receivers?

So, well, the new question is, which is a good entry level AVR with preferably warm sound?

Thank you very much

Greetings, Daniel

 

[Anonymous]

i found the CM series promoted bass quite a lot - so would be cautious over the amount of bass you want.

 

[WishTree]

Daniel.. Woollyjoe has the experience of a good amount bass with CM1 where as I found them to be good in bass but they perform too good in clarity in mid and high freq range. This is the beauty of this hobby. Not every has the same experience and It is not just one solution applies to every one. Also, you need to consider the performance in your own room. Generally, if you like the sound of the CM1 buy a pair but try to get the demo of the amps at home, if possible. This is the best solution.

Yamaha range is good too. I used to own a Yamaha receiver long time back. I like their DSP modes especially the night mode is very effective where as the Denon in night mode still needs to tweaked down not to wake the neighbors. But I felt the sonic performance of Denon AVR 1910 really is a good bargain at the price. I paid 400 Euros and I sold it off at 350 Euros after an year. Now with 1911 getting sold at 400 Euros here, you would possibly get a deep discount on 1910.

 

[Anonymous]

Hi, well, for me the CM series sounds just as u decribed it. Especially the high frequency performence is superb. So detalied and clear, while the midrange is very natural, not to compare with the 600 series. But its hard to say THE CM series, as I recognized a slight tonal difference between the CM9 (and also CM5, which sound very similar) and the CM7 ( which sounds a bit more layed back).

Anyway, thank you very very much for your help. So what I will donow is, probably order the CM1's and a cheap Yamaha AVR (367) and try it I guess it will take some time until the stuff arives, but then I will test it and post a short review here.

If you have any more suggestions on the AVR just post it here, im always open to hear new suggestions

Thank you again

Sunny greetings

Daniel

 

[Anonymous]

Hi daniel for B&W used speaker go to:

www.kaskus.us/showthread.php?t=3636485

 

[Anonymous]

Hi, thank you very much for that website Wow, didnt find it before I will search for some speakers there hehe, even though the 602 S3 seem to be a little expensive. I could get new 685's for that price. Still hoping to find my used CM1's there

Greetings, Daniel