Slant83

Overall Rating
 5 of 5

Value Rating
 5 of 5

Used product for
Less than 1 month

Visitors rate this review
3.00 of 5, 3.00 votes

Price Paid:  $1850.00 from Private seller

Summary:
I just purchased these babies to replace my Thiel CS1.5s. They are a little brighter than the Thiels but sharp and crisp. Sharp probably should be replaced by ACCURATE. Every note is crystal clear. More pronounced bass and a quicker and tighter response. The baby Thiels were no slouch but a little weak in the bass. (Also a respectable speaker in its own right and highly recommend for smaller rooms but need good power)

Setup: (my 15 yr old Adcom stuff...still cookin!!)

Adcom GFA 555 amp 200wpc
Adcom GTP 500 II tuner/preamp
Adcom GCD 700 cd
Oppo dv-981HD DVD/SACD
Canare 4S11 cables and interconnects

Rotel equipment may warm it up some but still kicks butt.

Strengths:
top flight furniture construction..stunning
tight bass/mids and ability to "put you in the music" with the nautilus tweeter
sounds just like the new 703s I previewed at $3000

Weaknesses:
Not the prettiest of speakers (compared to Thiel)
Need good space and are heavy and bulky

Similar Products Used:
Thiel CS1.5
Dahlquist DQ-12 (rebuilt and still rock my gameroom !)
Vandersteen 2ce

Price Paid:  $2200.00 from Classic Stereo

Summary:
Much has been said about these speakers already and I'll just add that they are great for the money. I'm in love with them. They are great with both music and action DVDs.

I will say I first bought them and came home, hooked them up to my old Yamaha reciever with cheap speaker wire, cheap interconnects and cables, and no power conditoner, and was very dissapointed with the difference in sound between the audio store and my home. Upgrading the rest of my gear became a mission. My current setup below:

Arcam DiVA ARV200 - AV Reciever
Arcam DIVA P85 - 2nd Power Amp.
NAD T571- DVD/CD
Furman PM8- Power Conditioner
B&W CDM 9NT - Main Speakers
B&W CDM CNT - Center Channel
B&W ASW 675 - Subwoofer
B&W DM 602 S3 - Back Channels

All speakers Bi Amped with Audioquest Type 2 on top, and Type 4 on bottom of speakers.
CinemaQuest VSD2 Digital Cable
AudioQuest Viper Analog Cables out from ARV200 to my P85 Amp.
Monster Bass 400 Subwoofer Cable and Interconnects

WIth this setup the sound is beyond breathtaking. Although all my equipement wasn't cheap it results in fantastic sound and vision for the money.

My advice, power matters! Bi-Wiring and Bi-Amping the front 2 CDM 9NTs and also my CDM CNT (center channel) lower freqency plugs with the Arcam P85 and driving the upper freq plugs with the ARV200 Reciever really extended their bass and over all performance. Good speaker wire and interconnects matter too.

I believe setting up my system this way really helped integrate the sound with my ASW 675 Subwoofer too. It took some tweeking to set it up right so that it sounded both good with music and action DVDs. Giving the lower drivers of the 9NTs that extra power keeps it sounding balanced with the sub.

Strengths:
Crisp, clean, and percise sound. If that guitar player in the studio droped a pic during the recording you'll hear it! With the proper power and setup its nearly impossible to beat for the price point. Beautiful to boot (I have the cherrywood).

Weaknesses:
None.

mona979

Overall Rating
 5 of 5

Value Rating
 5 of 5

Used product for
3 Months to 1 year

Visitors rate this review
2.71 of 5, 7.00 votes

Price Paid:  $2300.00 from ebay

Summary:
I can tell you that the difference is what you are driving these speakers with. I have a Hafler Xl-280 amp, and had a yamaha cx-600 preamp, and I liked the sound but knew I was not getting the full affect. Sold the yamaha and got a Hafler Pre 945. It made the speakers the best I have ever heard. You can not imagine the high's, low's and mid's are outstanding. You loose the speakers in the music, there is no extra backround garbage.

Strengths:
They have all the full range to produce beautiful music, but you need the right stuff to drive. Trust Me...

Weaknesses:
none, they even sound great at high volumes.

bonesetter2004

Overall Rating
 2 of 5

Value Rating
 3 of 5

Used product for
3 Months to 1 year

Visitors rate this review
1.89 of 5, 18.00 votes

Price Paid:  $1000.00 from eBay

Summary:
i had to sell these speakers due their brash, hard and uncomfortable sound. i tried changing other components to see i could take some of it away, going to the length of buying o 300 watt krell, but they fundamentally stayed the same. there was alot i liked about them - presence, detail, soudstage focus to name a few, but they were not easy on the ear, especially at higher volumes. i used a CDM-7Nt for a while, which was a much more balanced sound.

Strengths:
soundstage, presence

Weaknesses:
brash, hard ear splitting top. big and boxy, not too atractive visually, a waste of time

Similar Products Used:
CDM-1NT Signature 805 CDM-7NT

Price Paid:  $2400.00 from Clark Music

Summary:
I have had these speakers now for 6 months, being driven by a 200watt/channel amp. My room is 24' X 24' with 8' ceilings. These speakers are used for music and home theater mains, they are connected to a SVS subwoofer. How do they sound? For classical music, they sound fabulous. For easy listening and light rock music, they needed a little tweaking, (changing the crossover to 80db so the sub could handle more of the bass). Once levels were trimmed and crossovers set, (using RS meter); I was ready to test the speakers. Wow! Enough said. For instance, listening to "Skimbleshanks the Railway Cat" from CATS, the seperation in the voices is superb; you can close your eyes and feel like you are actually at the broadway production. Robin Spielberg's piano sounds like a Steinway, (maybe because it actually is). The North Star Jazz Ensemble sound just like you are in a club, you can even smell the stale smoke. I could go on but what would be the point? I love the way these speakers sound with music, but what about home theater? Well, they still impress me. I've heard details in movies that I didn't know was there before, and convincingly realistic, (every time my wife and I watch the same dvd that has a door closing on the left, we still think it is our basement door closing). I know what some of you are thinking, it's the subwoofer that is making the difference. Well you may be right, but this is the perfect combination. The 9NT's have enough bass control to flawlessly match up with my sub, not too shabby. For the money, I believe these are an excellent buy! Room acoustics have a lot to do with speakers, mine must be just right for these spekers, (plus I have an amp that can drive them easily).

Strengths:
Well constructed Controlled high and mid range Wide dispersion pattern Tweeter set at proper height Non-metalic sound from a metal tweeter Incredible seperation Flawless crossover from tweeter to mid Bi-amp capable

Weaknesses:
Heavy Tall, (center of gravity concern possible) Needs a good subwoofer for bass heavy music and for moves.

Similar Products Used:
Totem Hawks Legacy, (bad decision) B&W 7NT