B&W Owner's Thread - Page 367

Originally Posted by rsmt2000

With not much of a choice we had a DS3s mounted on rear wall. The SR speaker is fine but the SL speaker is too close to the side wall ( almost touching it). I am able to hear the SR speaker but not much from the SL speaker. Both the speakers are in dipole mode. I tried mono pole which is a bit better but still not yet there.

The option that I want to try is to increase the channel volume on this speaker and match it the SR but just wondering if this is good to do? My Audessey multixt keeps marking this left speaker at lesser volume all the time.

Is there anything I can do to improve the situation other than buying a pair or CM1/CM5 and keeping them on stands - which we thought many times over and ended up getting DS3s.. My fronts are CM9/CMC2.


Regarding the amp, I pretty much decided to go with either xpa3 or xpa5 and started saving.

Originally Posted by mohaukachi

Just had my first crushed tweeter on my cm7 and cm center. Thankfully the kid's dad is a great guy and bought replacements right away. Fun to tinker inside the speakers a bit! Anyways, cringe at the horror pictured here!

Edit: iPhone spelling errors.

Originally Posted by ap1

NEVER remove grilles in the presense of small kids. They are attracted to bright spots like tweeter in B&W speakers. So they should not know about it until they understand how much it cost to their parents.

Originally Posted by jeahrens

I don't think you'll get a better match than the CM5's for your rear speakers. I demo'd them vs. the CM1's to see if I could save some money for the rears. Even level matched it wasn't much of a contest. The CM5's could simply blend into one large sound field with the CM9's. The CM1's as good as they were couldn't. And I couldn't imagine a speaker from another manufacturer integrating as well either. I may consider the CM1's for the extra surrounds if I move to 7.1 at some point. But for the main surround duty the CM5's are a clear winner.

As far as the Klipsch RF-7 II's, I had Klipsch speakers in my home theater about 17 years. Mine were a mix of the Epic/Legend lines from the mid 90's (the front 3 had the same horn tweeter and woofer configuration). The imaging was excellent and the horns had a very natural sound. I started looking for their replacements about a year ago. I listened to Polk, Klipsch, NHT, Magnepan and B&W (basically everything I could demo in my area). I was expecting to like what I was used to. The Klipsch's I auditioned were not the RF7 II's, but were the RF82 II's. So not quite in the same league as the RF7's. What I found is that while the new Klipsch's imaged well, the horns sounded sterile compared to what I was used to. They lacked the warmth of the older Klipsch speakers. I had the same complaints with the older Refence line that I've listened to as well. The 7's may be better in this regard, I don't know. There's a large price differential, so I would imagine it would be worth doing a comparison.

As far as the receiver goes have you thought about an inexpensive processor (I had the UMC-1 in here until I did a little research, not a good choice) with an XPA5? Seems like an excellent budget separates route. Otherwise you're looking at research and auditioning. If at all possible try auditioning receivers with the speakers you intend to buy.

Originally Posted by travisamc

I've heard the same style sound from the RF-82's. My wife feel in love with the CM9's listening to Nora Jones/Ray Charles on 2 Channel. I completely agree with her that they look and more importantly sound better than the Klipsch's. However that was an unfair comparison between them, that's why I wanted to give the RF-7's a listen as they are very close in price.

Originally Posted by jeahrens


I'll be interested to hear what you think. One other consideration is to make sure you are able to audition the proper center with the RF-7's. The RF-7's may knock your socks off, but if the center isn't up to the task the sound just won't be satisfactory in a 5.1 setup. The former Klipsch center I had was quite large and matched the driver setup of the L/R exactly. Upgrading to it was the best move I made with those speakers. It truly made the front soundstage seamless. When I auditioned speakers and finally started to narrow my choices, the CM9's pairing with the CMC2 was one of the factors that made me focus on the B&W's. I didn't feel like I was settling for a center and it blended perfectly.

Again, I'll be interested in your findings.

Originally Posted by Calvin534

I am new here and could use your sage advice.

Long Story short- I am moving and have to reconfigure my surround system and TV. I currently have the following:

HTM-61
685's
Infinity Sterling series 10" sub and satellite rears

I am looking at selling this combo and going with either the CCM 7.5, 7.4 or 7.3. My first thought is that I would install the 7.3 as the center, 7.4 as the front L&R and the 7.3 as the rears. What do you think? Should I go with the 7.4 or 7.5 all around? My local dealer does not have these in stock, so I am looking for your advice.

What should I expect from sound? Would the CCM give me comparable sound quality to what I currently have?

BTW I am looking to upgrade the sub as well.

Thanks in advance for taking the time to respond.

Originally Posted by Calvin534

Thanks, I was originally going to add the 686 to the rear, but because of space (pushing the TV even higher over the fireplace) I h=need to go with in ceiling speakers.

Originally Posted by oliverweagle

hi there - I was not sure which forum to put this in, so please bear with me. My wife purchased for us a used pair of 804S speakers. A friend has offered his Yamaha RX-Z1 amplifier as he upgraded his amp earlier in the year and has no use for it. Do you suppose that the Yamaha will provide sufficient power? I'd certainlt hate to turn down the amp if it will sufficce!

Thanks

Ollie

Originally Posted by sofast1

Depends on the size of the room and how loud you want to play them. Under normal circumstances,it should sound o.k.,perhaps even good but you will not be hearing the speakers at their best. B&W speakers,especially the 800 series,love high current amplifiers and respond by singing their beautiful hearts out! Adding a high current amp to an AVR (or a pre/pro)makes all the difference in the world. If you're going to run the RX-Z1 in 2 channel mode,it should be fine(specs out around 130 watts per ch.) but be aware that as a HT control center it is really outdated and underpowered for your speakers in the 5 channel mode. On the other hand,if your wife got a good price on the 804s and the Yamaha is free....that's one hell of a nice bargain 2 ch. system.

Originally Posted by sofast1

Depends on the size of the room and how loud you want to play them. Under normal circumstances,it should sound o.k.,perhaps even good but you will not be hearing the speakers at their best. B&W speakers,especially the 800 series,love high current amplifiers and respond by singing their beautiful hearts out! Adding a high current amp to an AVR (or a pre/pro)makes all the difference in the world. If you're going to run the RX-Z1 in 2 channel mode,it should be fine(specs out around 130 watts per ch.) but be aware that as a HT control center it is really outdated and underpowered for your speakers in the 5 channel mode. On the other hand,if your wife got a good price on the 804s and the Yamaha is free....that's one hell of a nice bargain 2 ch. system.

Originally Posted by oliverweagle

Sorry - I should have been more clear! The room is 13' wide, 19' long and has 9' ceilings. This is a bit of a mix and match I'm afraid as the room will be set up as a home theater with left, right and rear surrounds (yet to be purchased - make and model unknown). Probably 60% movies, 40% music. The front left and right will be the 804s - and the center we will shop for - but B&W for sure! If there would be merit to powering the 804s and center seperately - or in tandem with the Yamaha RX-Z1 (which I know is an older model but probably not ready for pasture yet) I'd love to learn what recommendations you have! As you can tell, I am very much a newbie, so I sincerely appreciate your help!

Originally Posted by petgabor

Dear Experts,

I'd like to protect the tweeter domes of my B&W 604 S3, but I can't seem to find any such covers on their site bwgroup-support.com There are covers for other speakers but I have no idea which one is compatible with the 604. Please any kind soul who has some idea please post here. Thanks...

Originally Posted by sofast1

For use in a HT set-up,I would consider the RX-Z1 only as a temporary measure. As previously mentioned,it doesn't have hdmi connectivity,it lacks current processors(no DTS Master,Dolby True etc.) for Blurays and in 5 channel mode it's power output is only around 65 watts per channel which will not do your 804s justice. The $3k list price is impressive,but that was 10 years ago and you could buy a comparable(actually better) new receiver now for $500(or less)! While the RX-Z1 will play your 804s o.k.,you will be far away from those speaker's potential sound quality. Use it until you can get a new AVR or pre/pro and a separate power amp(s),then get ready to be amazed!

Originally Posted by tmaschm

. Does anyone know what gauge wire these will accept? Should I order monoprice in wall rated 2-conductor 12-gauge?.

Originally Posted by tmaschm

I'm wanting to use an old pair of M1s I found on EBay for my rear surrounds. Does anyone know what gauge wire these will accept? Should I order monoprice in wall rated 2-conductor 12-gauge?

Also if I mount them on the ceiling do the ceiling/wall mounts need a stud or joist? These are pretty small speakers but they are heavy and I don't want them to fall and get dented.

Originally Posted by goneten

Hi guys,

Any owners here of 805d?s In fact a system with 805's, with matching center and rears? Did you ever compare to the Paradigm Studio 20's, or Sig S2's before making your purchase?

Any pics from owners would be most appreciated.

Originally Posted by Martycool007

I have a buddy with a setup that consist of 805d's and a htm2d up front, not sure what he is using as his rears. It sounds pretty darn good, much better than the Paradigm studio 20's. But that really isn't an apples to apples comparison as the 805d's cost like 5k.

Originally Posted by adanbrown

I am glad to have found a B&W group on this forum. I am looking for advice as I am looking to properly install my B&W speakers for my home system. I have the following:

2 CM9
2 CM1
2 Side Speakers
1 Sub ASW12CM
Two Outdoor Speakers
Denon 3 Zone AV-Reciever

What I am really looking is to see if you guys can help me decide on good bi-wire cable (about 200 feet of it). Also, do you know if there are any special banana plugs for bi-wire?

Thanks in advance!