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What else competes with CM10 S2's 4k range

15K views 69 replies 22 participants last post by  AcuDefTechGuy 
#1 ·
Hello All,

I wanted to get some suggestions on what else I should look at before buying CM10 S2. I am very close to getting the CM10 but wanted your opinion on other I should consider also. I thought it will be a helpful interesting discussion for all in the same boat.

Thanks
 
#2 ·
Asking a question like that your going to have a bunch of guys throwing spitballs all over the map.. Dude,you should really look at Salk song towers,you will have to wait 3 months to get them and you can't demo them but they are totally worth it! Or its always how Ascend Acoustics blows everything out of the water. The CM10's are a great speak,unless you have listened to the Martin Logan 60 XTs and liked them more,I'd just get the CM10's. And this is coming from a guy with Martin Logan ESL's. Unless you want to start shipping speakers back and forth just to try them out,I'd just go with the CM10's. The Kef R series looks awesome,but if you can't demo them it does no good.
 
#5 ·
CM10s

That's easy. nothing. Buy the CM10s :). I am biased though as I own them and I am very happy with them. Unfortunately I could not audition many speakers as many of the higher end store have closed. I still want to listen to some Kefs and Revels as they get great reviews. Would be interested in what you end up with.
 
#6 ·
That's easy. nothing. Buy the CM10s :). I am biased though as I own them and I am very happy with them. Unfortunately I could not audition many speakers as many of the higher end store have closed. I still want to listen to some Kefs and Revels as they get great reviews. Would be interested in what you end up with.
I have a Marantz7009, i will be biamping the cm10 so thats 125 w each speaker 250w combined. Do you thinking that will be enough or i will feelike wanting an amp.
 
#7 ·
FWIW, the CM10 S2 only has minor improvements over the S1 compared to the rest of the upgraded CM line. Still, it's a great speaker. As already mentioned, I would go with a speaker that you like and had the chance to audition. Get out and audition everything that you can before making a decision.
 
#16 ·
I just went through a similar search. Only wanted to buy what I could listen to though and had the chance to hear, Martin Login 40XT and ESLs. B&W CM 9 and 10 both S2. Monitor Audio Silver 8s and Gold GX200 and the Focal Aria 926 and 936s. All were really good. Just depends what you like. I ended up choosing the Focal 926 (the 936s were a little to boomy for me). One dealer had both the Focals and the B&Ws so I could listen to them side by side. At the end of the day just liked the Focals better and the fact that they were about $700 less than the B&Ws was an added bonus.

Good luck with whatever you choose.
 
#19 ·
Hi Smoothmhz

May I suggest you look at the Usher Audio Mini Dancer 1 or 2. I've been looking at speakers in the cm10 price range for many many months and the Dancers completely blow away anything from the likes of B&W, Monitor Audio, PMC and Focal at this price.
 
#20 ·
#22 ·
Hi Guys,
Another +1 for the Martin Logan 60XT's. I had a good listen to the CM10's but thought the mid range on the 60XT's was more open and the sound crisper. I ended up buying the 60XT's and matching 50XT centre channel.

Regards,
Stephen
 
#23 ·
Try the Revel F208's (they can had for under $4000) or the Focal 926/936s. Both wonderful!
 
#25 ·
i'd like to know that too. maybe on the used market, but new?
 
#26 · (Edited)
It may be easier in a larger market. I'm in CA, there is a dealer in the Bay area that will go below $4000. In So Cal, i found 4 "installers" that would sell for $3700 new and one "brick and mortar" for $3800. All new!

Go on the Revel site, get the list of authorized dealers and start calling with the $3700 price. You would need to pay check, not credit card most likely.

I really liked the CM10's till I heard the Revel's and Focal's. The bass is phenomenal on the 208's.
 
#27 · (Edited)
Though I fear opening Pandora's Box, let's see if this help explain Bi-Amping.

If you have a single 125w/ch Stereo amp with each channel driving a 2-way speaker, then at 4khz, the single 125w amp is driving the Tweeter. At 400hz a single 125w amp is driving the woofer.

Now if we put one 125w amp on the Tweeter and another 125w amp on the woofer. At 4khz, a SINGLE 125w amp is STILL driving the tweeter, and at 400hz a SINGLE 125w is STILL driving the woofer. They just happen to be different 125w amps.

Power to the tweeter in all cases - 125w.

Power to the woofer in all cases - 125w.

There is some argument to be made for Bi-Amping speakers using passive crossovers, but any potential gains are going to be small and subtle.

I will add that while other will will discourage you from Bi-Amp, I say give it a try, especially if you can do it with little to no outlay of money. Experience is always the best teacher.

Steve/bluewizard
 
#29 · (Edited)
There are other speakers of similar price - Monitor Audio, Dali, Focal, Sonus Faber, Martin Logan Motion - few can deny that the B&W CM9 and CM10 sound very good and are well worth their money.

Both the Monitor Audio Silver 6 and the Monitor Audio Silver 8 have recently gotten very good reviews. The Monitor Audio SILVER 6 are about $750 each. The Monitor Audio Silver 8 are about $1000 each.

The Monitor Audio Gold GX300 are about $4600/pr -

http://www.designeraudiovideo.com/monitor-audio-gx-300.html?gclid=CPqfge7DocMCFQYJaQodAQwAxA

I was at Best Buy Magnolia listening to the full CM line from Bookshelf to the largest Floorstanding. In all honestly, I like the CM better than the B&W 800 series. Every audition of the 800 series that I've had, but bass was too overblown.

They happened to have some Martin Logan Motion 40 speakers there and I gave them a listen immediately after hearing the CM series.

The Martin Logan Motion 40 were pretty impressive, near flawless in the mid/high and with very good bass for a somewhat small floorstanding.

Given how good they sounded, I would expect the Martin Logan Motion 60XL XT to be stunning speakers for the money.

The Martin Logan Motion 40 with a 5" midrange and two 6.5" bass drivers are about $2000/pr. They hold up very well along side the $4000/pr CM9. Though a quick check of Google indicates the price on the CM9-S2 has dropped to $1599 each, or about $3200/pr.

http://www.crutchfield.com/shopsearch/Martin_logan_Motion_40.html

http://www.crutchfield.com/p_839M60XTGB/MartinLogan-Motion-60XT-Gloss-Black.html

However, the Martin Logan Motions 60XT are $1499 each or roughly $3000/pr and have a 6.5" Mid with two 8" low bass drivers response down to a rated 35hz at -3db, which means certainly at least 30hz at -6db.

For the record, the CM9 are rated at 46hz at -3db, but they roll off slow and are also rated at 30hz at -6db.

So, there are certainly other speakers out there, all well worth considering. But when it comes down to the actual decision, you have to look specifically at your circumstance - the room size, they type of listening you will do, and many other factors that are unique to your. then try to find the speakers that fill those needs.

That said, the CM9 are pretty sweet speakers. I don't think anyone would deny that.

Steve/bluewizard
 
#38 ·
I wish there was Audio mega store where you can listen to every speaker and make the best decision. But one thing I really like about B&W and wish more speaker manufactures do, is detail the technologies in their speaker so you know what you are paying for and why they make the sound that they do. with B&W there is so much more information (video's, animations, blueprints, interviews) on their technologies that its is easy to understand what you paying for, if you like the sound they make.
 
#39 ·
That's just marketing, and you are paying for all of the marketing too. :D

Just because they have better marketing or illustration or animation doesn't mean you are actually getting your money's worth.

Now if they fit your needs the best, then you are getting your money's worth, not all those fancy videos and interviews.
 
#42 ·
If you're RBH or any company and you're engineering drivers....do you want that info out there? All the t/s specs, diagrams, etc. Response graphs, etc then okay, but anything else...maybe not. Think about it that way.

I haven't heard the RBH sx-8300/r, but if they can do what they've done with the r55ti towers for 8x cheaper than the OP's budget I'd likely be amazed at what they can do when they put in reference midranges, Scan d2904 tweeter, possible actively driven trio of 8's, etc. Goodness! Yes please!! :cool:
 
#51 ·
Yep, the SX-8300's are that good and why I recommended them in post 20. I do also like the Martin Logan 60XT. I use a similar tweeter to the 60XT in my speakers. I have been using RBH speakers in my own home for 15 + years. :)
 
#43 ·
I seen your name on the list for the NoVA GTG. Have you heard the JTR 212's yet? I think you will be surprised how they sound. I would hold off till you hear them. As mentioned above, Salk is a great speaker. The HT2-TL is a fantastic speaker, not to mention the craftsmanship.
 
#44 ·
Just so we have a frame of reference -

RBH SX-8300 Signature Series -
(suggested Retail $5000 EACH) -


https://rbhsound.com/sx8300.php

http://www.newaudiovideo.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=35_30_43&products_id=10222

RBH SX-8300/R Reference Series -
(suggested Retail $6000 EACH) -

https://rbhsound.com/sx8300r.php

http://www.newaudiovideo.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=10223

That seems a bit out of the price range of the speakers being discussed here, which are $4000/pr speakers.

There are lots of speakers I would prefer to have ... problem is they are massively beyond my budget.

Steve/bluewizard
 
#48 ·
Just so we have a frame of reference -

RBH SX-8300 Signature Series - (suggested Retail $5000 EACH) -

https://rbhsound.com/sx8300.php

http://www.newaudiovideo.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=35_30_43&products_id=10222

RBH SX-8300/R Reference Series - (suggested Retail $6000 EACH) -

https://rbhsound.com/sx8300r.php

http://www.newaudiovideo.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=10223

That seems a bit out of the price range of the speakers being discussed here, which are $4000/pr speakers.

There are lots of speakers I would prefer to have ... problem is they are massively beyond my budget.

Steve/bluewizard
First, the SX-8300 has an MSRP of $2,500 EACH or $5,000 per PAIR.
The SX-8300/R has an MSRP of $2,950 EACH or $5,900 per PAIR.

But that's MSRP.

You can get big discounts on all big B&M companies, unlike ID brands where you actually pay MSRP. People have gotten 20-30% off MSRP on B&M speakers (Revel, KEF, B&W, RBH, PSB, Paradigm, Focal, Dynaudio).

So a $5K/pair MSRP B&M speaker may be more like $3500-4000/pair final price. A $5,900/pair B&M speaker may be more like $4,100/pair final price. Just an example for all Brick & Mortar companies.

Now for the RBH SX-8300s, if you want to upgrade to Beryllium Midrange drivers (4 midrange drivers per pair), it would cost a little more.
 
#63 ·
Suggested retail or MSRP is much different than what you can actually get them for

agreed
I bought a pair of CM10s..CM2 center...a pair of CM5's...and CM10 powered sub all for less than the MSRP of just a pair of CM10's...and that was including the sales tax I paid on the transaction


clearance S1 models




Warren
 
#47 · (Edited)
I am looking at speaker in the $3k-$5k range as well with the CM10 as my leading candidate as I currently have B&W 603S3s and love them but want more. I also intend to listen to the Revel F208 but I was wondering how the Goldenear Triton 1 and Triton 2 fit in with the CM10 and the others in this thread. I listened to the Triton 3 at a dealer and they were quite impressive but I did not have a lot of time that day to compare to the B&W or others. Really I would just say the CM10 S2, F208 and Triton 1/2 are on my list and just seeing why the tritons haven't been mentioned. The dealer I went to also had Aerial Acoustics but I again didn't get a chance to listen to them, is the Aerial 6 on this range?
 
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