I haven't bought any B&W speakers yet, new or used. I currently have Infinity iL 40 from 2001, which still sound very good for the $1000 price I paid for new ones. Can anyone out there tell me how a 8 to 12 year old B&W will stack up against my Infinity's? And any particular model of B& W speaker in mind? I want to buy an older B&W just not sure which one. Thx, Dave T

Still top and excellent value for money, I have no intention to replace them thus far! I fear the day they won't work anymore ;) Smooth, excellent vocal reproduction and true threedimensional sound even if you listen in another room. Bought this set in 1999. Started in combination with HK 6350 RA amplifier and solid Linn speaker cables. Last year, a Cambridge Audio Azur 650A replaced the old HK. This sounded even better than before, especially the bass benefited which sounded more punchy and the dynamic qualities also improved. An upgrade with a sturdy power cable of Polish manufacturer Audionova improved it even more. Many rivals which are in some cases more expensive from e.g. Monitor Audio, Dynaudio, KEF, Blumenhofer and other more recent B & W models can't beat the sound, although this is personal taste of course. Best regards, Vincent Netherlands

I bought my CDM7 SEs new in December 1998 for EUR 1.290,- at the time. Nowadays, I would be lucjy to find speakers of that quality for EUR 2,500.-! Yes; these speakers definitely sound much bigger than the prcie I paid for them. When the NT generation came out, it was sounding so pale next to its predecesors that one of the shopkeepers where I bought them asked me twice if I did not want to sell them back to him...

I first coupled them with a Yamaha AX470 amp and Sony cheap cd player - they were improving a lot on the KEF UniQ they replaced wired with cheap Monster cables.

Then I upgraded to an Arcam Alpha 9 amp, Marantz cd 63MKII KI signature, Marantz ST-17 tuner, Rega P3 turntable and wired them with Qed Silver Anniversary bi-wire. Needless to say that this configuration dramatically improved the sound quality, musicality, bass depth, mid range accuracy and treble crystal clear clarity - my favourite cd was Passion from Peter Gabriel delivering incredible sounds as if you were seeing Jesus Christ in person! Not only did I re-discover my cds library, but also vinyls such as Yello, "1980-1985" delivering cavernal earthquake-like bass on "Lost Again", Pink Floyd's simply taking you away with their eternally ticking "Time" or Roxy Music's romantic "Don't stop the dance"...

In 2008, I upgraded my system again by switching to a Naim Nait 5i integrated amp with Naim's proprietary cables, with a single wire configuration - BUT at the same time, I moved to a new house and it took me a whole year to fine tune the speakers with their surroundings - I had too much echo and reverberation due to the hard surfaces and huge windows. I also thought for a while that my new amp was not up to the task, or that the speakers had come to an end of life ?!?

After eventually correctly positioning the CDM 7 SE floorstanders, adding a huge rug on the floor close to the listening area as well as investing in heavy sound absorbing curtains, my cherished B&Ws delivered their magic again, this time like never before, in a tremendously musical way with the Naim subtle powerhouse!

The next upgrade I am thinking about would be a combination of Naim bigger amp/cd/tuner and then, perhaps move to B&W 804 or 803... BUT, I will always keep the CDM7 SEs!

I've owned many B&W speakers, the cheapy old ones till the Nautilus 802.

One of my favourit B&W is the Nautlilus 805 SIGNATURE from 2003, not the original Nautilus 805.

The last 5 years I've played with Dynaudio S1.4 fabulous speaker, N805 Signature and the Monitor Audio Studio 2SE. These three speakers are
my favorits.

I've just bought the CDM7 SE second hand from Internet. Wow I was very surprised of the sound quality. I've a read a lot of articles about the CDM7 (SE and NT).

The tonal balance is brillant. Dynamical, subtile and quick respons from the lower octaves till the high frequencies. Tight and quick bass and a smooth treble.
This speaker involved you to the music.

I can’t believe that people say the CDM 7 SE has no soundstage or missing the low frequencies. or whatever.

The quality of your front end of these speakers let them sing.

Once again I’m very surprise of the CDM 7 SE.

Definitely five stars.

soundstaging, musicality, emotion

uncontrolled bass

wow....what a speaker!

i have used this speaker for nine years and it keeps improving after each upgrade....and there has been many!
Started using it with an audiolab 8000 integrated amp and 8000cd player...moved to arcam 9 amps(bi amped)...changed to audiolab 8000 mx monos....now currently using mark levinson 390s cd processer and a mark levinson 336 power amp with nordost valhalla mains, nordost valkrja xlr and nordost tyr bi wire cable(3 times more than the speakers themselves!).
It might seem like overkill to have these electronics and cabling driving the cdm's but they just sound fabulous and any concerns i had about the loose bass has been totally eradicated! They portray a cavernous soundstage(helped by the 336 no-end) and are detailed without being sterile. Female vocalists like diana krall sound like she is actually in the room with you!
I love these speakers and i will only upgrade them to b&w 802d's which i will hopefully purchase this year......but i will keep my 7's just because i love em!!
If you own these speakers try and get to hear them on the end of some really high quality electronics and cabling and hear what these beauties are really capable off!!!

I've had these speakers for about 10 years (the CDM 7SEs). They Rock! Even ten years later they're still awesome. Luckily at the time I was able to compare them to the B&W 804s, and I still think they compare on a small level with the proper amplifier (I may be a bit behind the times on model numbers). Of course, they will never approach the 800 series of B&W, but on my salary I tried.

Mid's, appearance, can be bi-wired.

none

Have owned the CDM7SE's for aprx. 6 yrs. now and have not even considered replacing them with anything else. With the right components, (I have a Mcintosh 4280 receiver, and Adcom CD player and DAC. Cabled with Monser Z2 bu-wire, monster M1000i digital and cardas Quadlink 5 i/cs) they sound very smooth and laid back. Not bass monsters but very adequate for my listening tastes, (vocals, mainstream jazz, big band)
the midrange problem that occured in the original CDM7 was overcome in the SE model the SE's still sound great.

Customer Service

No problems, just excellent responses to a couple of general inquiries.

Similar Products Used:

Lg. Advent, Klipsch forte, B@W P5,

Superb imaging.
Suprising bass response.
Well balanced and precise mids.
Not that it's totally important but the workmanship quality and materials is second to none in the (used) price range.

No plinths for added stability in earthquake country.
Delicate finish requires pampering to maintain that Denmark craftsmanship quality.

Highly under rated.
Exceptional bass considering size.
Drive 'em with single wire pairs (independant bi-wire) for the most impressive performance.
Most mid-line AV amps will do but classic low impedance drive separates (i.e. Sony ES) will really open these up.
Solid build.
Excellent value.
No rivals in their (used) price range.
Higly recommended.

Similar Products Used:

KEF Q70 (circa 1994)
KEF Reference (mid nineties)

Clarity, design

Bass

I have been using these speakers for approximately 4 years. They are a bit of power hogs and the bass is a little weak. I set them near walls to try to compensate for that. They took about 6 months to break in but now truly yearn to be turned up and sound better as they get louder.

Similar Products Used:

Boston Acoustics, Kef,

Beautiful cherry cabinet great sound accurate reproduction crisp mids and highs

Not big bass. Not a big issue with me as I have a 300W sub

I have been very pleased with the CDM7SE speakers. Vocals sound incredible. Sound reproduction is very accurate as I often hear noise from the recording that is definately not induced from the system.