Pulled the trigger on a pair of 703's

[george_k]

Hey guys!

Walked into my my local B&W store to demo a pair of CM7's as an upgrade to my current 603/S3's

I brought some music along with me and listened to:
Diana Krall - Temptation
Eric Clapton unplugged - Walkin' Blues
Eric Clapton unplugged - Layla
Eagles Unplugged - Hotel California

Midrange was smooth and clear, treble was also smooth sounding (not bright at all). Where the speaker lacked was in the low end it just wasn't up to par with the rest of the speaker.

So I took a blind leap of faith and bought the 703 (none were in stock to listen to) on the premise that the 703's should sound, at least, comparable in terms of midrange and highs to the CM7's but have that "oomph" to go along with it.

*Edit* I should add that I'm getting out HT and sticking to 2 channel only...plus a sub for movies :-)

[Pedro]

I´ve Listened 703 and CM1. CM1 sounded much more airy, and less bright than 703. The Cm´s tweeter for me sounds like the 800 aluminium series.

[Ted]

George,

Congratulations!! If this helps you at all, I actually own both the CM7 and the 703. I think both are great. I use my 703 for 2 channel music and the CM7 are part of my HT.

The 703 are certainly more forward or bright. And like you said, the bass is better on the 703. I have no regrets with either speaker. I think the 703 are more revealing than the CM7 and image better (For a more direct comparison, I did hook up the CM7 to my system that the 703 are usually hooked up to; Rotel RC-1070, RB-1080, Rotel RCD-1072). I believe, the more forward/brighter sound of the 703 may be problematic for some people and I will admit I was a little nervous about it for awhile. But as they broke in and I'm sure as I became more accustomed to their sound, I don't really notice any more. The exception is when I have them playing louder than I really should anyway, then they are pretty bright still. I do have them in a fairly small room, so I don't think it would be much of a problem for me if I sat back farther from them and maybe used some room treatments.

The bottom line, in my opinion, they are both great speakers and I don't think you'll be finding your self saying, "I could have had CM7s!". :T

[wgriel]

Hi George,

What follows is of course, just my opinion. But anyway:

Your situation mirrors mine quite a bit from a few months ago. I had 603s and was thinking about upgrading. I first compared the CM7 and the 704 - that was pretty close, with each speaker doing certain things better. When I added the 703 to the mix, I found it was no contest.

I absolutely loved the 703, and thought it did everything better than the CM7 and the 704. It was like to took the best qualities of those two speakers and improved on them to some degree.

They were outside my budget, but naturally I bought them

I think you're gonna love em!

Bill

[Briz vegas]

They were outside my budget, but naturally I bought them

The most common quote in hifi

[george_k]

They were definately outside my price range as well, only reason why I can afford them is because my dealer was willing to accept a partial payment now and another payment in one month (he's awesome that way)

I really hope I don't find them bright sounding, I thought the CM7's were just right any more and I think it would bother my ears.

We'll see I guess, worst case scenario I upgrade to a pair of 804's :T :T

[bnieman]

I haven't heard the CM7's but I adore my 703's They just turned a year old in June.

I also just got a pair of N805 speakers and I still prefer my 703's (which I know is an unfair comparison... )

[jjahshik32]

oh yea the 804's will knock the 703 out of the water and into space! =D I wish I could afford those hehe but I just picked up a pair of 805s and will add a nice bass pretty much will sound the same as the 804 if not better =D

[george_k]

We'll see, I'm still waiting for delivery

If I keep the 703's I could see myself upgrading to the 803's within 2-3 years (I know myself too well...). The 804's would be too small a jump unless I were to make the change right away.

[Pedro]

The 804´s dont have the same "harmonic body" of the 703´s. The 804´s are less bright speakers, but it dont have the same bass or body. So the best jump from the 703 are the 803S

[Ted]

oh yea the 804's will knock the 703 out of the water and into space! =D I wish I could afford those hehe but I just picked up a pair of 805s and will add a nice bass pretty much will sound the same as the 804 if not better =D

After spending a considerable amount of time debating between these two speakers, I would say the 804 hardly "will knock the 703 out of the water" in my opinion. I certainly would agree that I preferred the sound of the less bright 804 to that of the 703, but I did not feel the sound difference was enough to justify the 804 over the 703 (I was willing to spend the extra money on the 804 if I thought the difference was enough).

Don't worry George, the 703 are great and when you are ready to upgrade, I think the 803 (S or even better D, or do I hear 802D? :W ), would be a good logical step, as I stated, I don't think there is enough difference between the 703 and 804 to make such a small step if you've got (or have ordered) the 703 already. Just my opinion.

[george_k]

I think the 803 (S or even better D, or do I hear 802D? )

Love the sound of the diamonds, I sat and listened to an entire cd played through a pair of 802D's at my local dealer...time really flew. I also briefly listened to the same cd over a pair of Quad ESL's (think it was the 67's) and man did they sound smooth.

The cost of replacing a tweeter scares me though... was it $1,000 ea. I'm very careful with my equipment but you never know.

[Pedro]

and man did they sound smooth.

yep. That´s why i loved so much the 800 Diamonds. They are smooth, and at same time very detailed

[george_k]

Just finished setting them up (see the B&W photos thread)

Fresh out the box they sounded great, played two tracks:
-Diana Krall - Temptation
-Patricia Barber - Too Rich for my Blood

Right off the bat I noticed how much more smooth the midrange was compared to my 603's. I did find it (midrange) a bit forward (I'd rather call it revealing) but for me this is a good thing. The highs were just right. I'm currently playing some dance music at low-medium volume to help break them in before I sit down and really give them a good listen.

[Ted]

Congrats!! They should just sound better to you with time!! :W Have fun!!

[NMG]

Indeed, they will settle in very nicely with time :T

[jjahshik32]

Even though i said the 804's will blow it out of the water, I did hear the 703 at my local dealer before exchaning to the 805s's and the 703's were very nice!! enjoy! =D

[Ted]

Even though i said the 804's will blow it out of the water...

:roll: Not really. They are better, but they won't blow them out of the water.

[jim777]

The 703's just need the right electronics. With a McIntosh integrated there is no sign of brightness and the speakers are great fun to listen to.

[dave shepard]

The 703's just need the right electronics. With a McIntosh integrated there is no sign of brightness and the speakers are great fun to listen to.

I agree the 703's with Classe' are not bright as I would say Mac's are in the same sound league, but when My wife and I heard them on a Rotel reciever they were bright to the point that if we were looking for either the 6's or 7's we would have bought the 6's. We both agreed hands down, but then we put the 7's on a Classe' 100x5.... forget it they came to life and were very nice almost transformed them into something different completely.

Dave

[jim777]

but when My wife and I heard them on a Rotel reciever they were bright to the point that if we were looking for either the 6's or 7's we would have bought the 6's.

I had the same exact experience, the Rotel with the old CM4 or 600's was great, but the 703 required better electronics. I also noticed that the RA-1062 sounded alot better than the stereo receiver.

[george_k]

Mine sound great pair with my NAD T-742 receiver a low to medium volume levels...for high volume listening I need to get a good 2ch amp...but one that won't break the bank either.

[meltdown]

703's

The 703's just need the right electronics. With a McIntosh integrated there is no sign of brightness and the speakers are great fun to listen to.

Ditto that.