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.
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.