It was very interesting to read all the reviews and opinions by the actual and could/would be owners. We could all be philosophical about the sound quality, performance, etc. but after a few years of playing with various components, I found it boils down to what YOU like and how much YOU are prepared to spend for better sound. Few years ago, I was stunned when friend of mine spent $400 (Canadian) on integrated Rotel and here I am today with couple of thousand $ worth of equipment. Nuff said.
As I bought CDM-1 second hand (OBM), they seem to have very high value for me. I wouldn`t spend $1250+15%tax (best deal I found) for the new pair, since there is a ton of good stuff for a lot less money. But for $700 no tax, I decided to try them. I haven`t regreted it since then. I`ve been enjoying them every day (part of my daily diet) and I agree with most of opinions about their good sides. But as an audiphiles we are never content, right? First I played them with REGA PLANET, AUDIOLAB 8000S and I was very happy for about one month. Then I decided to put CONRAD JOHNSON PV-7 preamp in (certainly not the greatest sounding tube preamp by today`s standards) and it changed sound dramaticly as the tubes should have. Speakers work the best with very good audiophile recording, with 100x overdubbed and overmixed stuff they sound as any boombox. I audition all the equipment with ANDREAS VOLLENWEIDER`S - BOOK OF ROSES, lots of dynamics and natural instruments.

I forgot about the equipment for a few months and enjoyed music for hours. Sure there are better sounding speakers, but at what price? Then I aquired old BRYSTON 4B (early eighties) 200W+/ch. It`s not something these speakers require, as we all know it, but it gave them a new life. It seems that all that reserve in the amp is well worth it. Bass is so much more extended and defined and at higher listening levels, I didn`t need a subwoofer (only ADVENT GRANITE). I would suggest to anybody if you have the chance/means, to try it with the larger amps.

I agree, TOTEM makes a far superior speakers for imaging and detail, but I wouldn`t spend $2000+ for them. But guess what were they paired with at the dealer? Monster CLASSE amp and other stuff worth over $10000. So big amps might be way to go with the bookshelves, but only if you find the cheap enough.

If wou are the person who likes the music and not the equipment, once they are set up, you could live with them forever. I`m on the other hand building DYNAUDIO bookshelf kit (with help from my audiphile/technician/audio designer buddy) which is suppouse to blow away both B&W and TOTEM for half the price. I`ll keep you posted.

I`ll also try the upgrade that Mr.Karachalios suggest. Happy listening.

I heard these at a friend's house, and I agree that they are superb. I am now in the process of buying one, and I have a question for those out there who may have conducted similar research. I can buy these from a retail store near me for the list price, but I have found a fabulous price (25-30% off list) from a mail order place -- Uncle's Stereo in NY. I've heard that if you buy these from a mail-order reseller, you must go through the reseller if you have problems and want to fix them under the warranty. Is this true? If this is true, should I go through the reseller anyway? (Have any of you who own these speakers had any warranty-related problems?) I'd love some advice from the more knowledgeable people out there ---

Be carefull with the B&W CDM1 speaker. It is a true monitor that reveals allthe nasties of your system chain. One day it sounds dynamic and natural the next
day it sounds dull and a day after can sound overbright sibilant and edgy in the treble. have you asked yourselves why ?
Because we have spend a lot of money and we expect an equal ammount of satisfaction. But money can not always bring you the enjoyment of music.

The source of the Hi-Fi problems are the recordings companies (CDs ,LPs ..)

Most of the recordings today are optimised to sound well with cheap car radios
because the market knows well that the majority of people spend many hours of listening in the car . If a tune sounds good in the car they sell more records. Simple as that. Do you think that they care about your Hi-Fi at home ?

Feed any speaker and indeed the CDM1 with a good uncompressed and unequalised recording and they sound natural and dynamic.
If you are unable to buy a good recording , record your mother-in-law at home for free. The test is simple . If her voice sounds pleasant to you then sell your CDM1s and the rest of your equipment.

Any way , here are some tweeks to make your CDM1 sound even more controlable in the bass and mid-bass (a well known problem in this region) and also to improve high frequency detail.


1) Replace the iron cored inductor in the Low frequency section with an air cored inductor. The improvement is unbelievable.

2) Replace the cheap electrolytic capacitors in the crossover with polypropelene
types .There are two caps in each crossover (tweeter section ,5.3 uF and 10.1 uF )
For the 5.3 uF connect in parallel a 5uF and a 330 nF capacitors.

3) remove the crossovers from the resonating box and place them in a non magnetic (plastic) box , with as large separation as possible between the inductors. Place the box near your amplifier and do biwiring at all points.
I use Audioquest type 4+ speaker cables for both speaker drivers.

4) replace the internal speaker wiring with the same AQ type 4 cable.


This is the most inexpensive upgrade of your Hi-Fi life. Believe me.
The CDM1 sounds more musical than the B&W Signature wich is a little bit sibilant and metalic.

Do not try to find very expensive MKP capacitors and oxygen free copper inductors. Leave this to the exotic component freaks.

Enjoy music and dont make HI-FI companies rich.

Sometime back Iwent down to a local dealer to audition the"cdm1" the much touted european speaker of the year,Iwas some what dissapointed,nope it wasnt congested but sounded like an expensive"mini-compo",now and still 'm wondering why wasnt it entered the "CES"ah....it might be slaughtered by the likes of JOSEPH R.M.7 Anyway I've own a few brits&aussy made speakers the best still is and will be the ITALIAN(hey I'm worried the mafiosi might come after me)and the french(hey they might test their neuclear here).joke aside theirs are musical like mariah carey yaks!not on your life!hm...ok. like the ever beautiful,sweet,LAURA FYGI. HEY ONE STAR OK THERE'S NO ZERO.

When used with right equipment, very tight, extended and
dynamic, neutral.

Bass too stiff for my liking and lacking in quantity (not depth). Need very stable & high-current amp.

Oh well.. I'll make this as short and as clear as possible.
I didn't like these.

MY system: Musical Fidelity A2, Marantz CD-67SE, van den
Hul cs122/d102mkIII. Home made 28" stands - wood/marble.

I had a pair of Sonus Faber Concertinos for 2 years before
purchasing these hoping to get a similiar sound but
more extended in the bass. This was definately a big mistake. I "blame" my partnering equipment for a poor
sound.

First thing's first, these need a stand not higher
then 24" (mine are 28") or you'll be mising a lot
of bass, wherever you sit!

Secondly, you neeeed! a muscle amp. These won't work
with tubes or low powered class A SS amps! Don't
let the highish impendance fool you, these go from
2-24 ohms, all over the range.

The sound was blury,
foged, and very dry in the highs, unlike what
you'd expect from a B&W tweeter. Mids are detailed
but nasal to the point where you just can't stand it!

And oh, the bass. This was a lot of laughs. Yeah, sure
these go low, I'd say linear to some 50Hz in room but
it's almost like all the bass range is down by 3dB when
compared to mids/highs whereever the speakers are
in the room (so it's not due to positioning).

The only thing that these did well in my system was shaking
the window panes.

I suspected it was due to my amp so I tried a yamaha
RXV-596 at friends house on 20" stands. The overall sound
was a lot better, bass finaly having both depth and definition, mids were not nasal but very clear/clean as were
the highs.

Conclusion!
The best these can do is a highly detailed detailed,
neutrall sound that many will like. These will never
sound warm or soft, go get some sonus fabers!
What you get is power, dynamics and overall dry sound.
Built like a tank too!

P.S. I got a pair of Celestion 3mkII's for a fraction
of the cdm's price & like 'em much much better.

Similar Products Used:

B&W DM601 & DM302, Sonus Faber Concertino

I am not going to pretend that I know more than I do. I am new to "audiophilism" and these speakers are my first foray in to the "high-end world". I am however a musician and a music fanatic. I can tell you this: for anyone else considering getting into this hobby, you can't go wrong with CDM1's if you have a relatively small listening area. I have found a new joy in listening to music that I have not had in years. The last thing I do before going to bed is sit down and listen to about half an hour of music and the last thing I do before going to work is sit down and listen to music. I have had these speakers two monts, they are not yet "burned in" and I am still rediscovering my cd collection. Oh what joy! I am looking forward to many more years with these beauties!

A few months ago, I had the pleasure of auditioning the CMD-1s. This is a veryattractive little speaker. Audiophiles with space constraints and an eye for
contemporary art should put these speakers on their short list.

The CMD-1s pack quite a punch for their modest size...about 50Hz in room! Their treble, in my opinion were detailed and sweet, their midrange could be a
wee-bit cleaner, and as mentioned earlier, their BASS was an overacheivement in
my opinion! At $1100 US, this speaker falls right in the center of good high
quality mini monitors.

I auditioned the pair with a HSU HRSW-12V sub nailling down the really deep bass. This combination in my room (12' x 18' x 8.5') proved that one does not have to spend a fortune to get a glimpse of audio heaven.

The only mini monitor that I've auditioned that beat the CDM-1 hands down was
the Totem Model 1. At $1600 US stands not included, these speakers are a little pricey. You make the decision.

I purchased the B&W CDM 1's about three weeks ago and continue to be impressed by their performance. Proper set-up is the key to getting the most out of these (and any) loudspeaker. Too close to the rear wall and the bass loses clarity, too far away and it loses impact. Once you find the ideal location, their performance is quite special. For the money, I don't think you will find a better speaker. (Ancillary equipment includes: Naim CD 3 cd player, Reference Line Preeminence 1 preamp and a Pass Aleph 0s amplifier)

Wehn I heard this speaker I was initially impressed with the accurate presentation of the Saxaphone(s) on the Steve Coleman (Steve coleman and Five Elements CD). Then when I played Stan Getz track #1 on the Apasionato CD, the speaker showed its problems inspite of the easily resolved recording. The drums sounded boxy and dynamics were compresed and Bass was also problematic.
Vocals were good on the Holy cole latest CD, however, I feel that for this kind of money ($1500 Canadian) there are many other choices and this speaker is not nearly worth its price.

I had the good fortune to use CDM-1s loaners for about 6 weeks while awaiting the arrival of the CDM-7s in Japan. This was fortunate in two respects. I had ample time to audition one of B&W premium bookshelf speakers and, more importantly, it gave me the chance to cancel my order for CDM-7s, before actually taking delivery of these dreadful speakers.
Relative to the CDM-1s, I am ambivalent. On one hand, the red ash units were beautifully constructed with excellent mid range and highs. Perhaps the upper range was just too good as they were rather tedious with extended listening. It was my opinion and the consensus my sons that these speakers lacked bass. This was confirmed when we paired the B&Ws with an inexpensive Kenwood powered subwoofer and noted the vast improvement. The added dimension of bass seemed to take the shrill edge off the CDM-1s and they produced a much fuller sound. Indeed the addition of a subwoofer (and some decent speaker stands) would significantly improve the performance of these speakers. However, after purchasing a subwoofer and stands, this B&W speaker system is neither compact nor cheap. Assuming that the discounted price of a pair of CDM-1s is $800 (they sell for about $550 here in Tokyo) and one adds $200 for stands and, say, $400 for a subwoofer, the entire setup then totals $1,400. In this price range the CDM-1s compete with much better products (such as the NHT 2.5i). On a positive note however, the CDM-1s with subwoofer are still better performers (and value) than CDM-7s.

As witnessed by its popularity among audiophile, B&W must produce some wonderful products, but auditioning the CDM-1s and CDM-7s has not impressed me. Given their great style and excellent construction, I really wanted to like them, but their performance didn’t justify the cost.