veiws of a few speakers after 2hours at my dealer

[smuggs]

i went in looking at speakers around the £400 mark.

the tracks i went for were coldplay- rush of blood to the head always gets the better of my speaker libertines-times for heroes again alot going on and needs some sorting out which i found again my speakers are not the best at then a fun track vampire weekend a-punk.

the amp was a arcam A28 and Arcam cd17 at volume 60

the first were the B&W 685's they really have impressive bass but the top end was well over the top it seemed to lose control and when the quite bits came you were glad to catch your breath. there was detail but i found they tried to hard and would get to me after an hour.

next was the MA rx1's they seemed alot better of sorting everything out but lacked the bite of the 685's but i could listen to them again and found them slighty warmer with a better tweeter(+ more controled treble) than the 685's just a same they became a touch boomy at parts.

Then i played a pair of br5's just to see were i stand and to be honest they really did nothing for me. like the previous 2 they did not have any areas that i though wow but on the plus side they did not to much wrong. I think they are a safe speaker that really could be paired with anything and you would get a 7/10 result but im after a 8.5/10 now.

then i spotted a pair of B&W cm1's in white with grey covers looked awful but hey lets a listen. First off they are very tiny but quite deep. straight away they seemed warmer and made me take note. then came the deep bottom end of the coldplay track and for the first time ever the vocals keep together and everything seemed in order and more important the first 3 really made want to turn the volume down were these were still very good and the bass enough for me easy being tight and pacey. My friend who is a drummer said the first time he could hear the detail of the drummer he had not noticed before. They were with out question the class act and you could leave on for hours as a loud listen or as background music they could be said that why at the same volume on the amp did they not need turning down i guess they may be a hungry speaker that needs atleast 70w per channel.

before i left i got him to put the pretty looking kef iq50 floorstanders on and again same tracks same placement and same 60 volume and the bass was very deep fast and made you think very good aloy bigger sound than the 685's or br5's but the mid range did not tie up very well and you were searching for the vocels alot with no great control maybe dance or simple music would be well presented.

a quick return to the cm1's boosted my thoughts they were a very easy listen good sound stage and they were the only speaker that if you blindfolded me i would of found it hard to pin point the speaker placement.

at the end of my findings i guess if you want to feel the bass and want an in your face sound then the 685's could be the winners

but a detailed listen and for a long all night listenthe cm1's are a class above and the rx1's imo came second just have to find a way of tightening the bass up but they shown times of good balance and control.

next to demo are the dali ikon1's and the rega rs1's which the latter i im very keen to get a listen.

 

[matthewpiano]

Have you thought about trying a different amp?

My guess is that the A28 just isn't controlling the 685s or the RX1s properly. I've heard the 685s lots of times with different amps and they've never sounded bright at the top end to me. The A28 isn't the best amp at its price point...

 

[smuggs]

it maybe my lack of understanding the sounds it could be that the 685 were very detailed rather than over the top but even so the you could hear the top end and bottom end as 2 differant things were the cm1's there was no gaps in the midrange.

the amp is at £700, £200 more than i will pay for my next amp so it may not be the best in its price point but still they were not a smooth controlled listen like the cm1's or less so the rx1's

 

[matthewpiano]

I think you would be better hearing these speakers with something like the sort of amp you plan to eventually buy or even with your current Alpha 9 if you are planning to use that for a while.

 

[d_a_n1979]

Hmmmm I'm in agreement with MP

The Alpha 9 is still a superb amp and IMO better than the FMJ A28.

The B&W 685's are great speakers as you've already heard; demo them with your Alpha 9 amp and you'll see the difference! If the hifi shop is worth their weight in salt they should allow this!

The M/A RX1's are great speakers but again not good on the end of the A28! Put them with a decent Rotel (RA1520), The NAD C355BEE or the Audiolab 8000S for instasnce and theyll really sing!

If youre budget can allow it the M/A RX2's need to be demo'd as well. Absolutely BRILLIANT speakers! IMO better than the BR5's and the Kef IQ50's as well!

The Dali's I'm not sure you'll get on with (theyre very much a love/hate sound) and the Rega RS1's are great but a little thin whereas the RS3's are superb (but obviously cost more)

If you can demo the Dali Lektor 2's (they are lovely speakers)

 

[tenergy]

Hi! The CM1's do have their strengths, and I keep them for my bedroom system purposes. They work pretty well with the type of music I listen to, jazz, vocals, some chamber and the occasional Hed Kandi release. My previous experience was finding the bass to be a bit "boomy" so I ended up tweaking speaker position and switching out the Rega Quattro cables for Kimber 4tc's. This tamed the booming issue quite a bit.

As far as the timing issue is concerned, I will have to validate that for myself as I don't seem to have that problem. Will make a mental note to put on some Cure or U2 tonight, and get back to you on that.

 

[bay24]

I would add the avi neutron v to your list. My first demo of them was with an arcam set up (can't remember what model though) and they were the beast I heard at the price point by a fair way. Mustbe said that they are quite small speakers so if very big bass is your thing they may not be for you but in all other respects I love them.

 

[the record spot]

I'd definitely look at keeping the Alpha 9, or at least trying out with the speakers at a demo. thereafter, if that appeals, then think about adding a power amp (the 9 & 9P combo was pretty impressive if memory serves) to give added control to the speakers. You wouldn't, incidentally, be the first person to think the 685s are apparently a bit keen out of the starting blocks. As a lot of other kit on the market has that characteristic at the moment, then it makes for a sharp listen.

 

[AEJim]

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