Flexibility, size and tweeter

size. Don't ask this speaker to exceed it's size limitations and you'll be happy.

The LM1's sound great if used in the right context. In a secondary system they should work fine.
Tweeters sound open and airy, there imaging is nice. of course you lose some of that if you move out of the "sweet spot" of seating area.
They won't knock you out with bass, but midrange is warm. They don't stick out at all, nuetral sounding.

The benefit of these speakers are the ergonomics that b&w thought of. Different colors and the positioning of the brackets.

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We auditioned Pardigm atoms, boston acoustics cr7, mirage frx3, and klipsch (I don't remember the exact models from BA and klipsch

Very good imaging

Weak bass

I am using a pair of white LM1s in my surround setup (B&W P4 up front, and B&W c600 center). I think the sound is very good when watching movies, great when listening to music; but could be better (bass). I am still flip-flopping on whether or not to put dipoles in the back channels versus direct, but I use the system for 80% music, and 20% video, and am told the direct speakers are the best way to go. If I stay with direct, then I'll take one last look at replacing the LM1s with 601s for better bass reponse. I do NOT agree with the comments about lack of imaging. I hooked them up to the front channels (in place of the P4s), shut off the rears, and although the bass isn't there, the imaging is astounding to say the least. I powered them with both my Marantz SR19 and my Macintosh 2-channel setup (got better bass out of the Mac equip). I've listened to a lot of other speakers in this range, and would have seriously considered the KEFs, but sticking with one manufacturer is best. I don't have a woof in the system yet, so complaining about lack of bass is partly my fault, although the P4s are very good, and tight. I'll give them a 4 star for overall use, slightly higher if used for music onbly with a sub.

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None

Brilliant Highs, Smooth Midrange. Very accurate reproduction of any musical source. 4 to 8 ohm switch for flexibility. Unique solid aluminum enclosure provides delicious sound. Kevlar driver. Neat styling.

Very few... other than very low bass reproduction and overload circuitry at high volume.

These are the original LM1s! The newest LM1s do not appear to live up to the tradition of these fantastic little monitors. I purchased these speakers back in 1981, and have used them until now. The listening experience is simply joyful. The original LM1 is one of those rare products which makes/made the buyer satisfied that his purchase was well worth the money spent.

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Canton

Designer look with cool colors.
Swivel Base that doubles as a wall bracket
Great image for such a small package

The main grille.
a little expensive.
bass response.

I've got these hooked up in my secondary system, and use these mainly for TV/Movie watching, with occasional music. I bought them because they are small, they look great, and they sound darn good for what they are. As expected, they don't provide alot of bass. Use of a subwoofer is practically required if your using these for fronts. Of the 4 I have, 2 have flakey grilles that have fallen off a few times, and there a pain to get back in right.

The good stuff is in the highs and mids. The kevlar really makes a difference. They sound startlingly clear, with a good image. These make great rear speakers. Sound isn't too bright, nor too muddy, nor is it "tinny" like some other bookshelves I've heard. I wouldn't say it's just perfect, but it's pretty darn good. They hook to the wall easily with a flip of the wrist and a few screws. even the little allen wrench is covered by a peice of rubber if you want to make sure you don't lose it.

Since this will be a secondary system of mine, I'll probably stick with these. They do there job very well.

My "Small" system:
Marantz SR19 Reciever
B&W LM1 Fronts
B&W LM1 Rears
B&W CC3 Center channel
Definitive Technologies ProSub 100TL
4 NHT SuperOne Ci in-wall speakers for multiroom setup
Niles Audio 4 way speaker switch
Adcom GFA 5002 AMP for multi room
JVC 32" TV
Sony DVP-550D Single Disc DVD Player
Sony DVP-CX850D 200 Disc DVD changer (with all my cd's)
Sony B55 DirecTV reciever
Wired with Liberty Cable and generic 12 Gauge cable.
Belloggetti AV 2103 Rack
2 Belloggetti AV 2100 Racks

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Yamaha bookshelf speakers. NHT SuperOnes.

Designer look with cool colors.
Swivel Base that doubles as a wall bracket
Great image for such a small package

The main grille.
a little expensive.
bass response.

I've got these hooked up in my secondary system, and use these mainly for TV/Movie watching, with occasional music. I bought them because they are small, they look great, and they sound darn good for what they are. As expected, they don't provide alot of bass. Use of a subwoofer is practically required if your using these for fronts. Of the 4 I have, 2 have flakey grilles that have fallen off a few times, and there a pain to get back in right.

The good stuff is in the highs and mids. The kevlar really makes a difference. They sound startlingly clear, with a good image. These make great rear speakers. Sound isn't too bright, nor too muddy, nor is it "tinny" like some other bookshelves I've heard. I wouldn't say it's just perfect, but it's pretty darn good. They hook to the wall easily with a flip of the wrist and a few screws. even the little allen wrench is covered by a peice of rubber if you want to make sure you don't lose it.

Since this will be a secondary system of mine, I'll probably stick with these. They do there job very well.

My "Small" system:
Marantz SR19 Reciever
B&W LM1 Fronts
B&W LM1 Rears
B&W CC3 Center channel
Definitive Technologies ProSub 100TL
4 NHT SuperOne Ci in-wall speakers for multiroom setup
Niles Audio 4 way speaker switch
Adcom GFA 5002 AMP for multi room
JVC 32" TV
Sony DVP-550D Single Disc DVD Player
Sony DVP-CX850D 200 Disc DVD changer (with all my cd's)
Sony B55 DirecTV reciever
Wired with Liberty Cable and generic 12 Guague cable.
Belloggetti AV 2103 Rack
2 Belloggetti AV 2100 Racks

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Yamaha bookshelf speakers. NHT SuperOnes.

Neutral-sounding with Crisp, Airy, Highs; Magnetically shielded

Bass-shy (expected); slight-boxy sounding at times

I owned LM1 for 2 months now - very happy overall. My equipment - guess what - is a merely 15 watt/channel bookshelf system!!! I use them to replace trashy speakers that came with my minisystem. They look sharp on my desk. It completely transform the system - confirm my belief that speakers are THE most important part of a system. It is somewhat difficult to judge the LM1 - because of its many weakness and strength I will break down into catagories

1) Sound Quality - most important aspect of speaker. Given their small size, they are obviously not suitable for big open rooms therefore placement is crucial.

Strength - Crisp, open, airy, highs w/o being shrilly. Neutral sounding overall - although not quite as good as KEF Q15. Vocals came out fine. Excellent stereo imaging and details when you sit in the sweet spot.

Weakness - Bass shy given its small enclosure - however bass is NEUTRAL and because of that it can easily mate with subwoofer (that's what I did) - result of pairing is a full-sounding system. In addition compared to KEF Q15 (which is at least 30% larger in volume) occasionally the LM1 can be boxy-sounding at times.
Overall - Very good - If I factor in the size they are 8/10
(w/o size-factor 7/10)

2) Design & Ergonomics - Overall excellent. Solidly built - B&W quality. Give it or take it - I like the futuristic look of it; they look sharp on my desk especially with their top-mount tweeter. They are SMALL and magnetically shilded (very important to me) can be easily placed anywhere. Only quibble - how come these speakers have screw-on speaker connector to accept heavy-gauge wires (12 gauge for example) but no banana plug?
Overall - 9/10

Additional comment: Power handling - it is unbelievable how little power one need to drive these speakers - 15 watt per channel produce LOUD music that fills a moderate size bedroom. Finally, these speakers are best when play in low-mid volume level; not designed to be cranked up.

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KEF Q15

Good imaging, classic B&W highs, sounds great with my Paradigm PS1000 sub in my bedroom.

Definitely need a sub if these are your main speakers.
Permanent grill turned out to not be so permanent. :)

I bought these along with a Yamaha RX-V395 last christmas and they are a great combo. Got them as main speakers for a while until I can get some larger B&W's for the front and a nice center channel and then I'll switch the LM1's to the rear speakers. They sound great as main speakers since I have the PS1000 sub, but they lack a lot of bass if I turn it off, even in a bedroom.

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Bose 301's (ack) and some cheap-o Yamaha's a while back.

Versatile positioning. Cool looks. Quite punchy sound. Good for surround sound or second system.

Can sound harsh. Lack smoothness. Not really 'hi-fi'.

I was looking for some speakers to put into our new kitchen and wanted something with easy positioning and perhaps wall mountable, whilst maintaining sound quality. Listened to the LM1s and initial impressions were that they were quite punchy and reasonably dynamic given their constraints. However, critical listening showed up some serious diffencies (my wife thought so as well) - such as lack of warmth and depth and general loss of ambience. After more extended listening, we both realised that we liked the looks and the flexibility, but the sound was not up to critical listening (fine for background stuff or perhaps surround sound) - they just sounded a bit too harsh. B&W's 601 showed a clean pair of heels when sound quality was concerned, but we settled on the Kef Cresta 1 in the end - which had similar traits to the 601 but was smaller and less expensive. The emotion to the music returned (which was lacking with the LM1s). However, the Kefs are much more difficult to accommodate, requiring free space around them - but that's life. So in terms of ratings, I think it's what you use the LM1s for - good value as 'fit and forget' speakers which will blend in with surroundings well, but not so good for 'serious' concentrate-on-the- music type of listening.

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B&W 601, Kef Cresta 1.

clear sound, complements a strong sub. The speakers have Preforms above my expectations. Good choice for your mids and uppers!

None in my opioion.

These speakers should be paired with a strong sub and receiver, keep that in mind and you will not be disapointed.
If you are planing on using lower end equipment you will not be happy.I purchesed a 300 watt Valodyne sub to handle the lowes and together it sounds great. The cost for the speakers are around 300 a pair and the same for the center channel (not including the sub). If you shop around you may be able to find them for less. I have one purchase left and my home theater system will be complete, a receiver upgrade -- the Denon AVR-4800.

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Started with the bose, this blows them away.

Perfect size, Very versatile, wall mount bracket incorporated into frame of the speaker, tremendous clarity, great value for the money invested, true B&W engineering

Needs help on bass, not very good at reproducing bass below 50 hz, but that is to be expected of mini-monitor speakers

The LM-1's are mispriced on this website. They are not $550, they are $350 per pair. And for the money you pay, you cannot expect to get better sound than what you get from these speakers. They can sit on a shelf, or be placed on a wall or on the ceiling with the versatile bracket that is incorporated into the chassis. They lack midbass punch and bass punch, so if you plan on having your system with no subwoofer, you will not get full sound, but otherwise these speakers are very suitable to home theater. Based on the fact that they are what they are (a $350 pair of speakers), I cannot give them a 5 in performance. They just are not an audiophile speaker. But as far as value goes, they are a true 5.

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Bose Cubes