The CM 4 is the stylish floor-standing speaker of the series. Tube loading the tweeter ensures far
The CM 4 is the stylish floor-standing speaker of the series. Tube loading the tweeter ensures far greater absorption of unwanted radiation from the rear of the diaphragm. The resulting effect is to create a more focused and natural high frequency sound. The bass unit is made from aluminium, which was selected for its excellent stiffness and ability to function as a piston. Twin Flowports at the rear of the cabinet have surfaces dimpled like a golf ball to smooth the airflow and reduce turbulence. The lower Flowport is integrally moulded with the terminal tray.
Summary: Definitely the blacksheap of the B&w family. Different because the cm4 is the most forgiving and yet most musical speaker yet to come from this giant of a company. It's got strong bass for it's size with a slightly recessed midband (very smooth)and a not too sharp yet detailed treble. Needs a dynamic amplifier to be at it's best; It works very good with my Naim 5 series kit where I'm often asking myself "what more do I need/want"
I tried the belching farting 600 series and no comparo; I've listened to the 800's and still prefer the cm4's - not because they're better, but more in tune with my listening bias's; I tend to look for speaks that'll play all sorts of music styles and NOT dictate what I should listen to. What can I say? I like my pop music.
Anylitical speakers? -you can keep em' I'll take my cm4's and enjoy the tunes while the powergeeks nitpic thier tweekery...
Strengths: fullrange, weighty midband, goodlooks
Weaknesses: cost ??
Similar Products Used: Meadowlark shearwaters, paradigms, psb's,
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Summary: A wonderful speaker even at the original price point ($1500/pair) from perhaps the premier speaker manufacturer in the world. This line has been discontinued; if you can find a pair snap it up! I purchased the last pair (the floor model) at Hi-Def for $1000.
I originally went intending to audition some speakers with a price point of around $1000, so I had in mind the B&W 603's. I spent several hours in the listening room, comparing the 603's to the 705's (a $1500/pair large bookshelf) and then the CM4's, as well as some much more expensive models in the 800 range.
First, the 603's could offer no competition whatsovever to the more expensive models. Conditions in a listening room at a good audio store are pretty ideal for comparing speakers - you have identical electronics driving them, nearly identical placement and listening position, can add a sub or not, quickly switch back and forth, etc. In such head-to-head competition the 603's frankly sounded miserable, exhibiting muffled treble and mushy bass. David Bowie singing China Girl sounded as though he were being smothered with a pillow, and normally clear and bright treble accents on Gene Harris' wonderfully well-recorded Tribute to Count Basie (piano jazz/big band) were muted and dull.
At this point I started to worry for my wallet, as $1000 was really my cutoff. The same Gene Harris recording, played through the 705s, sounded completely different. The incredible clarity of those speakers at high frequencies made the music come alive with detail - I had that cliched sense of "listening for the first time" to a very familiar recording. On the other hand, the 705's had trouble playing more bass and mid-range rich music. On Radiohead's Creep, the visceral "couging" guitar peddle which kicks in partway through sounded thin and a bit clinical, without the warmth and punch it should have. Adding a sub improved matters somewhat, but still seemd to leave a hole in the mid.
Feeling despondent, I was rescued by the salesman who suggested I try the CM4's, hinting I could have them at a considerable discount off the $1500 sticker price. I was blown away - while not quite as clear in the tweeter as the 705's, they were enormously more full, with tight bass and a just warm enough midrange. The Harris didn't quite sparkle as it had on the 705's, but on nearly everything else I tried, from Pavarotti singing Nessun Dorma (a nearly orgasmic experience to hear) to My Bloody Valentine, the CM4's benefited from their size and outshone the 705's.
Compared to the 800 series... well, given the much greater price and worried for my financial solvency, I didn't do extensive comparisons, but my general impression was that (at least for B&W) the audio quality per dollar ratio levels off sharply above $1500 - you do get better sound, but you pay through the nose. In the end I went home happy, and remain unequivocally so after a few months - so I highly recommend the CM4's - grab a pair while you can!
Strengths: Good treble, tight bass and very satisfactory mid, overall clear and a touch warm.
Weaknesses: Compared to the newer B&W 705's the treble is not quite as clear, but for most music that's more than made up for by superior mid and bass.
Similar Products Used: B&W 603, 705, 800 series
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Summary: The CM4's reproduce sound that gets you addicted by listening to it everyday. WOW!! It sounds excellent. It never fails to deliver the music you expect, great recordings sound great, bad recordings sound bad. These speakers do not color your music except give you an accurate sound on how it was recorded.I never listen to Madona but on her CD "Something to Remember" I was rewarded with sound that I never knew existed on that CD, lots of bass with the exception of my VTF-3 MK 2 by HSU, it really made it wonderfull to listen to. I had a cd that was just collecting dust probably heard it a few times (Toni Childs-Union) for about 12 years when I tested it, the recording was just amazing and the CM4's just delivered. I've had the 604 S3 and it never sounded like this, very realistic. You could test these on good recordings and you will be rewarded plenty. I'm just buying cd's now wether it's Mozart, Pachelbel, Lizt, Chopin, just to hear that I have miss much from listeng to Metallica, ACDC, Iron Maidens, you could not go wrong with these. They are affordable B&Ws that does not cost more than a high end mass market speakers that does not even come close to the sound of the CM4's.I'm running these on Rotels and somehow they sound great, I tried to use NAD and Denon but really just opt for the Rotels since they brought out everything that the other products were lacking. And besides Rotel & B&W has the same distributor in the US so it's pretty much one place.Test these before dipping your money on Monitor Audio,Ruark, Dynadio, Energy's, Vienna Accoustics, they will not dissapoint you. Highly recommended!!!!
Strengths: everything
Weaknesses: Bass, but lets get realistic here 6'5 inches would not dip real low, even on most higher end speakers, that's why the sub is needed,but the CM4 has enough bass that you would hear on normal to extreme conditions.
Similar Products Used: Sumiko, Revel,Ruark,Lexicon
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Summary: Reading reviews from the Brits tried to put this product down, which made me decide to purchase this.After 2 months of casual listening,these babies proved the Brits wrong!! They sound absolutely marvelous, it makes you keep listening over and over again and see if there's anything that the Brits saw that was not up to par, I ran these with Conrad-Johson-PV14L Series2(pre-amp) and Conrad-Johnson-MF2250A(amp)in which I saw nothing to degrade about, It just handled it perfect, whether imaging and transparency, pro reviews on these babies are considered incomplete since they use more expensive equiptment, but hey it works well with the Conrad-Johnsons which I find very competitive with Krell and the Mark Levinson or any high end gear with the price that you have to take out a 2nd mortgage to your house. B&W should sell these twice their price. I've listen Dynaudio, Monitor Audio, Paradigm, Ruark and these just came out the winner with Dynaudio just up there with the CM4, but truly for the price you can't go wrong with these, you could opt for a more expensive speakers but if you're hardware is not up to par then you're just fooling yourself.I could never part with these, they're a fixture to our house and everyone who enters just notice these and starts asking where I got em.My wife likes these(rosenut color) and ussualy women would rather think about clothes or make-up, but for these she even wipes em.hehehehehehe.So I completed the setup for HT, might as well, I bought the CMC and CM2 but opt for another sub HSu VTF2 came to mind since I still needed to get a great A/V receiver, my dealer suggested the Rotel RSX-1067 which I got to use for 15 days to audition, and eventually bought it from them since the Rotel sounds great with the CM4's for some reason, but not as real as the Conrad- Johnson's, otherwise it's a great buy, If you're gonna be owning these, please leave the mass produced electronics alone and do yourself a favor for not upgrading in a little while. You will like these!!!
Strengths: Fluid sound,price, quality, perfect for the critic who thinks he can do better.It will devour anything in it's price range and up.
Weaknesses: I love looking at it, I don't know if that's a weakness.
Similar Products Used: Dynaudio,LINN,Energy,Denon DVD-2900,Audioquest Cheetas Interconnects, Tara Labs RSC.
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Summary: after using the b&w 604 s2 for 3 years and love the graet sound and bass i sold my speekers and buget the cm-4 model in very nice rosewood color!! (looks disign) small compair to the 604 but more politlly and sharp sound.
Weaknesses: must have a good sub woofer
don't remove the covers of the speekers to meny time!
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