B&W Owner's Thread - Page 55

anyone?

If you doesnt have anything against buying new i can imagine you would find some 600 series 2 or series 3 where you can add on to that HT with. As for the center. Get it as large as possible and the ideal speaker would really be a third 604s2. As for surrounds it depends. If you like Dipol they have the new DS3's.

thanks!!

I'm using a pair of B&W M1's for my rear surrounds and they work quite well with my 685 fronts. I was actually surprised how good they sound. I have size and room constraints, otherwise I probably would have gone with a 686 (and 683 for front for that matter), but not at all disappointed with the M1 in the back.

Right now I have an M1 in the center, again due to furniture design and placement issues. I toyed with the phantom center vs. a smaller center and have done a ton of A/B switching. I decided I like the M1 vs. Phantom center for movies, but I would PREFER a larger center. I'm still deciding if I swap that 1 M1 for a HTM62 to go better with the 685's. I know it will sound better. But them I'm building or buying a new stand for our TV (which was custom made to begin with!). Besides, my setup is like 80% music anyway.... I don't watch many movies. But I couldn't just leave 3 channels without speakers on them on my Rotel receiver!

So for your rears, I think the M1 would surprise you if you're looking for something small. For the center, try to match your fronts or the center made to go with them for the best quality.

so yesterday i decided to go to some local high end dealer. well they had every B&W speaker available to demo. the only problem was they didnt have a full 600 series or cm series. they had the towers but no full 5.1 setup. to my surprise they has the much higher end speakers fully setup but unfortunetly i couldnt get into that room long enough because some business man had the room reserved. man the speakers in that room where huge. i at least got the chance to demo a mix 5.1 setup of the cm and 600 line. i came away realizing the extra cost of the cm line just wouldnt be what i was looking for. i was happy with the sound produced from the 600 line and decided that i would pick up the larger 600 setup. right now i have them on order and the sales guy said i would have them by the end of the week.

so now my living room looks like,

pioneer 5010fd 1080p
yamaha rx-v3800
B&W 683 setup

That is the speaker set up I finally decided on, though i am doing mine piecemeal - currently only the center is on order (my wife would prefer furniture).

Nice! If you end up needing a center channel, the HTM61 is a good match

Nice I am down to deciding between a pair of 683s (picking up the demos to bring home later today) and a pair of MA RS6s - already demoing at home. I think I prefer the MAs but the final test is the side by side comparison at home. One thing for HT (mine is for 2 channel only) - I think the 685/686 are a very nice timbre match to the 683 and would work very nicely for rears.

sorry guys i should have been more clear. i picked up the whole 683 setup which consists of,

pair of 683's
HTM61
pair of 685's w/ stands

i'm waiting on a sub because the wife flipped once i told her the price i paid (but i did get 10% off). i guess she is still upset i bought all the listed stuff below within the last year,

50xbr1
ps3
def. tech speakers, 7004's, c/l/r2002, bpvx2's
denon 4308ci
yamaha rx-v3800
vizio 32" lcd
$2k worth of wall rated cables and wall plates
pioneer 5010FD plasma
B&W 683's, HTM61, 685's w/stands
and the big one a brand new Benz (c-class)

JN99

I am curious to hear your thoughts on the speakers, as I said earlier I was debating the two but I went for the B&W's. Just seemed to have a little more detail, but also a bit brighter.

Mike

Well, I guess my search for a new speaker is over, at least for now. I just won a pair of mint CM1s on eBay for $600. Maybe one day I'll get the CM7s and relegate the little guys to rear duties for HT. They (CM1s) should be fine in my small room with my sub though. I'm excited!

Go wenge finish.

edit: I found the measurements in SoundStage!'s CM1 review interesting. There's a definite mid-bass hump and a recess around 2KHz. I didn't notice any obvious coloration when I listened to them though. Maybe their in-room response is flatter? In any case, they sounded great to me so I suppose that doesn't matter too much.

Very nice article on the new bookshelf speakers in the new Absolute Sound Magazine.

Yup, the CM measurements do indeed look a bit uneven, but despite that, they sound great. I do notice the midbass hump when listening, but I tamed it by inserting the port plugs. I suggest you do the same unless you have them in a very big room.

I was considering buying the CM7's but after living with the CM1s for a while, I realized how happy I was with the CM1 crossed over at 80Hz to my sub, so I scrapped that plan (saving me money) and bought a set of CM1's for the rear so I have them all around (it's nice to have the same speakers all around)

The hump in the bass is common for bookshelf speakers. As long as it is not overdone, it will give the illusion that the small speaker is capable of "deeper" bass response than it actually has. The dip centered at 2kHz will make the speaker sound more polite and a potentially more "balanced" with recordings that are bright or agressive sounding on a speaker with flat response. If you listen to a lot of pop and rock, this is not a bad thing.

Yeah, I know I'll love them, as I've demoed them and was consistently impressed. Mostly with their shockingly holographic and 3D imaging, but also their scale and sense of balance. I do listen to a good bit of rock and other somewhat aggressive and sometimes less than amazingly recorded stuff, so the dip may actually be beneficial as you said. I think that's in the "kkkkkonsonantzzzz" territory, which can bug me if it's too forward.

I was just about ready to get the new 685s too, but I saw this and couldn't pass it up. CM1 for 685 price? Hell yeah.

I think some port plugs will help tame the emphasized bass (I have a sub so it's not necessary), epsecially with my room as small as it is. Thing is, the guy I won the CM1s from cannot find the plugs soooo... is there anyway I can order replacements? Are there any places to buy decent generic plugs? Can I make my own?

Yep, "kkkkkonsonantzzzz" definitely fall into that frequency range, and it also happens to be the range that the human ear is the most sensitve, also called the "presence region". The downside to a dip in the presence region is that it can make dialog hard to understand, making it a much better move for music speakers than HT.

I thought that partsexpress.com carried port plugs, but I just checked and couldn;t find them. Google didn't help either. Check with your local B&W dealer. They can order some for you.

My local B&W gave me some port plugs when I couldn't find them for a pair of 600's some time ago.

Mind you, I had bought the speakers (and plenty of other stuff) there, so they may have been more generous than if I had just walked in off the street.

Yeah, they might not be feeling so generous if I walk in and go, "So I know I've been in here numerous times and just said I was ready to finally make a purchase when you got those other finishes of the 600 series in but... I just bought some CM1s, which I know you carry, online for a good deal less than retail... got any port plugs I can use?"

Of course, I still need stands and was planning on getting those nice, simple black B&W ones for $100. Maybe they'll forgive me then.

You know, it's strange that there isn't such an issue with the CM at all in terms of dialog intelligibility. I actually came from larger speakers that measured a lot better (and a lot flatter around the midrange), and I'm pretty sure I've had less "What the hell did he say" moments with the B&W's. Strange how measurements and what you hear don't seem to correlate perfectly. Based on that, I place less emphasis on looking at charts than I used to (except for subs)

Good to hear warpdrive. I'm pumped.

I have listened to both a fair amount and prefer the 600 series to the CM series and specifically the 686 to the CM1 and to the 685. Price notwithstanding I simply think the 600 series are the better sounding line. This includes the towers too where I prefer the 683 over the CM7.

But I was watchin' those CM1s on ebay just in case!

To me, the imaging on the CM line is just more real and dimensional than the 600 series, and overall more transparent. I was duly impressed with the 685 though, but the CM1 just had some kind of magic when I listened to it.

To each his own though, which is the great thing about audio.

Has anyone here done or ever thought of upgrading the tweeter on the Nautilus series speaker to the new diamond tweeter? Just curious.....

You can do that?

Well, anything is possible, I am sure the crossover would have to be modified, but I am sure it could be done, just didn't know if anyone has tried it yet?

I completely agree that charts and graphs will never replace the actual act of listening, but they can often give a general idea of the character of the speaker. But as you said, it is far from perfect. I didn't mean to imply that a dip in the presence region would always affect dialog intelligibility, only if it is severe enough. I used to own some Vienna Acoustics speakers, which also have a dip in the presence region, but it is a rather deep one. The dialog intelligibility of those speakers was definitely affected and as much as I loved those speakers for music, I had to return them because they were not a good fit for HT.

I'm glad to hear that B&W did'nt over do it.

Well I am in a real quandary, those are my thoughts I have spent the past 3 hours this evening going back and forth listening to the RS6s and the 683s. They ae both excellent speakers to my ear but very different. I would say my experience is quite the opposite to yours but I think I understand why you feel this way about the 683.

To me, the RS6 is the more neutral of the two and I would describe it as sharp and crisp. The 683 seems to resolve just a slight bit more detail in the midrange but overall I would call it warm and mellow. Of the two, given those characteristics I find myself now leaning the other way and favoring the 683s when I had pretty much decided on the RS6. I just seemed, when I settled into listening as opposed to a/b demoing, to find the 683 more engaging and enjoyable - like I could listen to anything on them for hours where some music sounded a bit harsh on the RS6. To be fair, the RS6 had it's moments where it really shined and on certain recodings was the superior speaker hands down. But across the board all things considered I think I am finding the 683 to be the more pleasing of the two for extended listening.

I can only keep the 683 demos for the evening, which is a real shame because I would love to extend the comparison for another few days. It's a coin toss right now and I suspect a sleepless night awaits as I toss and turn considering which to purchase.

I would say the 683 is a more updated product (in design) than the RS6.

I went back-and-forth contemplating getting either B&W CM-Series or Monitor Audio GS-Series. Could'nt seem to find both products under same roof, so could'nt compare. So I just broke down and ordered Monotor Audio GS-Series (GS-60 fronts, GS-LCR center). Although I wish the GS-LCR was a full three-way design

Holy moly. You should avoid buying any more audio equipment because at this rate, you will have a heart attack.

I think the best thing about hifi is the anticipation of getting new equipment but it seems like you aren't enjoying it as much as I do.

When you listened to the speakers, which speaker just got you tapping your feet? It comes down to the basic emotional response. Did any of the speakers make you feel like you could forget about the speakers? When I listen to my CM's, that's what happens. They just disappear. My previous speakers were far more neutral, and probably more accurate, but I didn't enjoy listening to them. So does that mean that the B&W's are coloring the sound in a manner that makes them more enjoyable? Maybe. The CM just conveyed the "musicality" better for some reason. I can follow the basic rythmn, and inner detail better. I just feel more "of the performance"