B&W Vs Vandersteen

[marano]

I'm contemplating a music only listening area. My budget for this is about $1,500 for everything. So far I'm thinking a NAD 521BEE CD Player powered by a NAD 320BEE Stereo Integrated Amplifier and either Vandersteen 1C's or B&W CM1's for the speakers. How do the B&W's compare to the Vandersteen's? Also is anyone using the NAD products I mentioned if so what do you think of them?

[RH Customs]

I have found that the B&W's have a more neutral sound, no added coloration. That being said I would say go B&W.

[GregLett]

humm at that price point, I'm not so sur B&W wins out. You would have to listen. Vandersteen's don't get alot of play here, but their nothing to sneeze at.

[lvhung]

Why not just Vandensteen
BW is just good if you go up at least 700 series

[RH Customs]

That, might be true, but since I own B&W's, well ya.

[marano]

For music the 700 series and up is really where it's at (although my 602' don't do a bad job). I've listened to the Vandersteen 1C's and they are pretty impressive for their price point, I haven't had the chance to listen to the CM1 so I'm not sure how they compare.

[WI Rotel]

You're asking a pretty biased group here. If your total outlay is 1500 bucks your BW choices are a little short. The CM1 should sound pretty good (I haven't heard them but the hardware is good) but I behoove you to listen to a variety of speaker brands in that price range since you may find something better for the price. No one around here will deny that BW's are not inexpensive by any measure. In cheaper models you are paying a premium for the BW sticker! Another small monitor to consider is the XT2 but that may break your bank. Revel, Boston Acoustics, Yamaha and others might offer a better "value" priced speaker. You can definitely scratch Bose, JBL Klipsch, Infinity and Cerwin Vega from you list, however, they are all junk.

[GregLett]

Paradigm makes some nice speakers in the price range also. The Studio 60 woud be a great buy at that price.

[RH Customs]

I have the 300 series and I love them, and yes I know there are the lower end, but I love them.

RH

[miner]

Although I am a B&W owner for your price point I suggest listening to the Polk Audio LSi series speakers.

http://www.polkaudio.com/homeaudio/products/individual/

[Pookie007]

NAD gear

Responding to the second part of your question:

I’ve found nothing in the same price point as the NAD stuff you listed that comes close to the NAD performance. I use NAD for my basement system, exercise room, and patio. The gear is simple without a lot of bells and whistles, but if you are looking purely at performance that are definitely worth consideration.

[marano]

You're asking a pretty biased group here. If your total outlay is 1500 bucks your BW choices are a little short. The CM1 should sound pretty good (I haven't heard them but the hardware is good) but I behoove you to listen to a variety of speaker brands in that price range since you may find something better for the price. No one around here will deny that BW's are not inexpensive by any measure. In cheaper models you are paying a premium for the BW sticker! Another small monitor to consider is the XT2 but that may break your bank. Revel, Boston Acoustics, Yamaha and others might offer a better "value" priced speaker. You can definitely scratch Bose, JBL Klipsch, Infinity and Cerwin Vega from you list, however, they are all junk.

I know but I'm already a B&W owner so I'm biased myself. I heard that the CM1 uses the same crossover as the 805's, is this true? This would be a separate listening area from my Home Theater used strictly for music but as of late I have been thinking that I may just be better off purchasing a better two channel amp like the Rotel RB-1070 or RB-1080 for my existing DM602 S3's in my home theater for now and then just upgrade the whole system to the 700 or 800 series in 5 years or so, I just got the 600 series which was going to be used 100% for movies but I like them so much I'm listening to music on them more and more.

[WI Rotel]

I know but I'm already a B&W owner so I'm biased myself. I heard that the CM1 uses the same crossover as the 805's, is this true? This would be a separate listening area from my Home Theater used strictly for music but as of late I have been thinking that I may just be better off purchasing a better two channel amp like the Rotel RB-1070 or RB-1080 for my existing DM602 S3's in my home theater for now and then just upgrade the whole system to the 700 or 800 series in 5 years or so, I just got the 600 series which was going to be used 100% for movies but I like them so much I'm listening to music on them more and more.

The 600 are very nice speakers indeed, if you are thinking of separates and HT why not simply go with an RMB 1075. It's a beautiful solution for 5.1 and and stereo and at its price its simply a steal. Soundwise, it's as musical as amps costing a ton more plus its plenty powerful to drive the 6's as loud as you'll ever want. It will also drive 700's very well thus keeping you from buying additional amps for surround later on.

[beehive]

Why not just Vandensteen
BW is just good if you go up at least 700 series

ouch! made me think i should have not bought my 602., 8O
and i wonder how the 300s would be rated in a way...
god i do hope if i buy the 700, i wont read that B&W are best if you go
up to 800s only and so on and so forth...
guess i should stop reading forums teheee....

[GregLett]

ouch! made me think i should have not bought my 602., 8O
and i wonder how the 300s would be rated in a way...
god i do hope if i buy the 700, i wont read that B&W are best if you go
up to 800s only and so on and so forth...
guess i should stop reading forums teheee....

Nope just listen The 600 series is nice. From there I think you need
to go right to the XT4 or 804 or better.

[JerryB]

I am using a pair of B&W CM-1s’ driven by a Rotel RSX1056 in my bedroom system. I think they sound great to me. The sound is very clear and there is enough bass that I don’t need a separate sub. I was using a pair of B&W 705’s in the same system but the bass was lacking a little. The music and vocals was very clear and precise. To me the 705’s was slightly better than the CM-1 but not enough to justify almost double the price. In the past I also used B&W 602’s in this same system. The sound wasn’t bad. The clarity was lacking a bit but the bass was good.
These are just my experiences with the B&W speakers. As always, you should do your own auditions of the speakers you are interested in.

[JudyLou]

Before you start buying orther speakers (any brand) - what cables are you using for interconnectors + speakers?
A lot of people make the mistake of thinking they have to buy "better" amps, cd & dvd players & speakers to improve their sound.
They cheapest must effective way to upgrade your sound quality is a upgrade in cables.
Try it - you will be amazed - if they are availible in your area - try Audio Quest or even Ecosse.

[marano]

The 600 are very nice speakers indeed, if you are thinking of separates and HT why not simply go with an RMB 1075. It's a beautiful solution for 5.1 and and stereo and at its price its simply a steal. Soundwise, it's as musical as amps costing a ton more plus its plenty powerful to drive the 6's as loud as you'll ever want. It will also drive 700's very well thus keeping you from buying additional amps for surround later on.

I'm definitely considering the RMB-1075

[marano]

I am using a pair of B&W CM-1s’ driven by a Rotel RSX1056 in my bedroom system. I think they sound great to me. The sound is very clear and there is enough bass that I don’t need a separate sub. I was using a pair of B&W 705’s in the same system but the bass was lacking a little. The music and vocals was very clear and precise. To me the 705’s was slightly better than the CM-1 but not enough to justify almost double the price. In the past I also used B&W 602’s in this same system. The sound wasn’t bad. The clarity was lacking a bit but the bass was good.
These are just my experiences with the B&W speakers. As always, you should do your own auditions of the speakers you are interested in.

I listened to the 705's and really liked them but I couldn't justify price difference between the 600 series and 700 series plus the added equipment needed to drive the 700 series for a system that was going to be used mostly for movies.

[marano]

Before you start buying orther speakers (any brand) - what cables are you using for interconnectors + speakers?
A lot of people make the mistake of thinking they have to buy "better" amps, cd & dvd players & speakers to improve their sound.
They cheapest must effective way to upgrade your sound quality is a upgrade in cables.
Try it - you will be amazed - if they are availible in your area - try Audio Quest or even Ecosse.

I'm using some AR cables for the analog outputs from my HD-DVD player to my Rotel (which I'll eventually upgrade) and some nice 10AWG Belden for the speakers

[deke]

I have had B&W 602 s2s for the longest time running on a Rotel RMB-1075. My brother has a set of Vandersteen (paid about $1200 for them new) running on the same amp. We've both found the Vandersteens to be much more laid back in comparison... too much for my taste. Also, to me the B&Ws sounded warmer. He recently bought a used set of Paradigm Ref 60s and immediately threw the Vandersteens in the basement. But then again, it all comes down to personal preference.

[Music4Life]

I'm contemplating a music only listening area. My budget for this is about $1,500 for everything. So far I'm thinking a NAD 521BEE CD Player powered by a NAD 320BEE Stereo Integrated Amplifier and either Vandersteen 1C's or B&W CM1's for the speakers. How do the B&W's compare to the Vandersteen's? Also is anyone using the NAD products I mentioned if so what do you think of them?

Not so sure about the price but highly consider this for now.
CM1
NAD C521BEE
NAD 320BEE

I have the C372+C521BEE+CM1 and it sounds great! CM1 has alot of potential. It can be better if paired with higher end electronics like Classe.