Previously having owned a pair of Tannoy M2's, Maurdant Short MS 30, MS 20i Pearl Edition - I have to say that I enjoy these the most. The bass is there when it's needed, the clarity always, they're great with classical music and you can still hear the details at a low volume.
I'm problably not getting the full potential out of these beauties yet. I have yet to biwire which is said to make quite a difference.

I have a Nakamichi Amp, Preamp, Dennon CD Player (for now), MIT Interconnects. (soon to be Transparents *smile*)

Clarity, Good bass for bookshelf. Attractive Real wood.

None for what they are. Maybe a little pricy.

I own or have owned all of the speakers above as well as the CDM-2 (Not the SE) version. In spite of what you have read earlier from other reviewers, the 601s and 602s and other speakers in that price range do not sound better than these speakers. (I think the 601 and 602 are excellent for the price).

The 601s and 602s are not better they are brighter. Please take the time to go to live concert at a concert hall or a club sometime. Live music does not sound as bright as what comes out of most speakers. And also the deep bass that a lot of people are after, also does not exist in real life except a rock concerts with over amplified sound.

The CDM-2s need to be bi-wired to bring out there best qualities. This is not a difficult thing to do even if it means twisting together a pair of ordinary bare wire cables at the amplifier end.
These speakers also need to be raised to ear level.

They are not suited for a large room, but in a small room using decent equipment, they produce a very natural and refined sound.
There are lots of great speakers in the $700-$800 range, but if you love that B&W sound, give them a go.

Similar Products Used:

600i, 601, 602, P5, Matrix 804

build, midrange, treble, looks

bass (quality of it, not quantity), imaging, rhythm&timing, dynamics

These speakers should play better than they do. They are technically very good, so when I bought them, expectations were high. I also took seriously the advice posted in magazines that these speakers need long run-in period, very good cables in bi-wiring configuration, good stands and powerful amplifier. While this is undoubtedly true it remains the fact that even when all this is provided (run-in period was in this case more than 1 year and on some occasions I even left my amplification powered on for weeks!) these speakers fail to impress. So what is wrong? Here are my major observations.

Deep bass is lacking but that is expected and in small-medium listening environment can be strenght not weakness. The real problem here is quality of midbass, not quantity, because it is not defined enough. By this I mean that for instance drums are just not tight and focused enough. The consequence of this is that music lacks rhythm&timing.
Dynamics are in my opinion the biggest weakness of these speakers. Macrodynamics in itself are not a problem, because speakers of this size (minimonitors) are not expected to play at extremely loud (party) levels. Only microdynamics are a problem. Music is without energy, life, lacking in involvement.
Imaging is problematic too. I can nothing but agree with some previous reviewers about small and boxy sound. And it seems to me that it lacks some reverb too (compared to , say, Dynaudio Audience 40, which are not champs in that department).

Music from these speakers is on most occasions not attention grabbing, it just goes by. Let me ilustrate this. For instance, when I am not directly listening to the music, music played through some other gear catches my attention and I cannot help but start listening. Very rarely so with these speakers. Or on other occasions I listen to the music concentrated on rhythm, intonation, dynamics, timbre and other things, but music drags my mind and emotions away and finally I forget about rhythm, intonation, etc(I consider this a good thing). This too very rarely happens when listening to these speakers. I understand that we are all different, so maybe I could recommend these speakers to those who want to stay outside of the music and analyze it from a distance.

But for me these speakers prove that sound is not music. When listening to these speakers I find myself (on most occasions) bored.

Build: 5
Looks: 5
Music: 2
( And music is what matters most.)

Of course, not everything about these speakers is bad. Timbre, detail, transparency are all very good, and midrange and treble are indeed hard to beat at the price.

Similar Products Used:

Eltax Liberty 3+, B&W DM 602, Dynaudio Audience 40, listened to almost every minimonitor available on market here in Slovenia: from Dynaudio, JM Lab, Sonus Faber, Epos,...)

Articulate, clear and smooth treble and midrange. Nice upper bass punch. Beautiful cabinetry.

Imaging. The sound of a small, rather boxy speaker. Bass becomes a bit flabby to soon.

I bought these speakers for a bedroom system, mated to an NAD C740 receiver and Rotel RCD971 CD player, with Monster M850i interconnects and internal biwire speakers cables (house brand cables of Goodwins Audio in Boston). I owned them for 28 days before returning them for a trade in.

I liked these speakers overall. The highs and mids I found to be both clear and smooth at the same time, and not at all overly bright (of course I like the Klipsch horn sound, so bear that in mind as one of my points of reference). The cabinetry is simple and quite elegant too. And the upper bass is tight and articulate.

The problem I have with these speakers, though, is that for the price they just sound a bit too small. The sound seemed pretty much confined to the boxes and the bass just wasn't rich and full enough for my tastes. The $800 price point (retail) may be a bit awkward for B&W, because for less money you can get the 601s or 602s which sound quite good (though I agree with those who say that the 601s do not sound as good as the CDM2s; I found the 601s and 602s to sound fatter and less articulate). And for a little more ($300 more retail -- less if discounted), you can do what I did and upgrade to the CDM1SE.

At the dealer's I had a hard time distinguishing the two speakers. Other than a little more openess and deeper bass, the two seemed virtually identical tonally. In fact, I almost decided to stick with the CDM2s after comparing the two at the dealer, but decided that even though subtle, the difference justified the increased cost for a pair of speakers I plan to own for a while.

I am glad I made that decisions, because at home in my bedroom the difference is quite noticeable! The bass goes much deeper (though it still gets a little flabby as it trails off) and the imaging and soundstange are tighter and bigger. I will write a review of the CDM1s after they are broken in and I've listened to them more, but so far I am very happy with them. Unlike the 2s, the 1s sound bigger than they are.

Bear in mind that everyone's reaction will differ based on their expectations, the electronics they use and the room they listen in. In my room, with the NAD receiver and Rotel CD player, the CDM2SEs were just way too lacking in dynamics and bass extension to justify $680 for the pair (my price).

Similar Products Used:

B&W CDM1SE, Klipsch SB3, Klipsch KLF 20, Cambridge Soundworks Model 6, KLH 150 (1981, three way design -- when KLH made decent stuff), various Boston Accoustic speakers, Thiel (friend's system).