Discontinued 700 Series

[BWLover]

So they dumped the 700 series? There not on the B&W website. Does this mean the CM's are the new 700's? Or is there a new line coming out?

[activ]

Yep, my dealer told me a while ago that this was going to happen.
The CM series has now replaced the 700 series.

A shame though, the 700 series sounds much better.

[hifiguymi]

B&W ended production on the 700 Series early this year. The CM Series is basically the replacement but who know what my come down the line. I wouldn't be surprised if the 700 Series came back in some form in the future. I would like to see the 800 Series as it is now split up and the future 800 Series being diamond tweeter only. That would open the door for the 700 Series to come back in place of the aluminum tweeter 800 Series. It would be up market from where it is now but keep the diamond tweeter product differentiated from the the rest of the line. Just my opinion of course.

Eric

[george_k]

The CM lineup makes more sense as a replacement for the 600s line but as for the 700s, to my ears and eyes, it's more of a step back.

[1oldguy]

I couldn't take the CM series as serious contenders to the 700 series.Even the look seems off for my tastes.Just as an oldguy I've gotten accustom to a certain styling from the good ole boys from England.I can understand they wanted to maybe update the look.But just like a fine car if you change it too much what not made no more becomes vintage.I'm sure it will make the 700 series even that much more valuable to certain folks.

[BWLover]

B&W ended production on the 700 Series early this year. The CM Series is basically the replacement but who know what my come down the line. I wouldn't be surprised if the 700 Series came back in some form in the future. I would like to see the 800 Series as it is now split up and the future 800 Series being diamond tweeter only. That would open the door for the 700 Series to come back in place of the aluminum tweeter 800 Series. It would be up market from where it is now but keep the diamond tweeter product differentiated from the the rest of the line. Just my opinion of course.

Eric

I agree with this. The CM's i think arrent a good enough replacement for the 700 series. And if they are, then why not name them in 7XX? they completely re vamped the 600 series and kept them 6XX so why go with letters.

[Audio_ElF]

Don't forget ... before the 700 series came out there was the CM and the CDM NT series. The 700 series basically replaced the CDM NT series but both were dropped. It was only a few years later that a new CM series was introduced so don't write off the 700 series completely - who knows what B&W's engineering elves are up to with a replacement design.

Eloise

[Briz vegas]

In a current hifi magazine (can't remember which) they review the CM and ask why they have gone against their theory that the tweeter on top is best. B&W responded that the cabinet design is to suit customers taste and they wanted to provide a variety of product to suit different tastes. They say that the cabinet is still relatively slim and tweeter dispersion is still pretty good. Of course for those purists this is not what they want to hear. I like the fact that my speakers shape (804 and 705) is for a technical reason ie that it maximises sound quality.

Interestingly the article did not touch on the other aspect of cabinet shape - the 700 series was not a box, it only had two parallel surfaces being the front baffle and the back. This also has benefits in regard to standing waves etc.

Dropping the 700 series was a compromise to improve sales, something that the 700s never did that brilliantly at. Of course every speaker has compromises and B&W are a business so they need sales to keep going.

I guess there is always second hand 800 series for those that don't fancy the CM.

[1oldguy]

In a current hifi magazine (can't remember which) they review the CM and ask why they have gone against their theory that the tweeter on top is best. B&W responded that the cabinet design is to suit customers taste and they wanted to provide a variety of product to suit different tastes. They say that the cabinet is still relatively slim and tweeter dispersion is still pretty good. Of course for those purists this is not what they want to hear. I like the fact that my speakers shape (804 and 705) is for a technical reason ie that it maximizes sound quality.

Interestingly the article did not touch on the other aspect of cabinet shape - the 700 series was not a box, it only had two parallel surfaces being the front baffle and the back. This also has benefits in regard to standing waves etc.

Dropping the 700 series was a compromise to improve sales, something that the 700s never did that brilliantly at. Of course every speaker has compromises and B&W are a business so they need sales to keep going.

I guess there is always second hand 800 series for those that don't fancy the CM.

------------------------

[hifiguymi]

One other reason why the 700 Series was discontinued - expense. The cabinet was very costly to build due to the front baffle and top were all one piece with a single piece of veneer, and the non parallel sides. Even after the price increase their margins were small on those speakers. They kept going down every year and it's tough to keep a product around when that happens.

With any luck we will see the 700 Series come back at some point with the tweeter on top where it belongs.

Eric

[wgriel]

One other reason why the 700 Series was discontinued - expense. The cabinet was very costly to build due to the front baffle and top were all one piece with a single piece of veneer, and the non parallel sides. Even after the price increase their margins were small on those speakers. They kept going down every year and it's tough to keep a product around when that happens.

This is what I suspected. I'm under the impression that the cabinet is often the most costly part of a speaker for a manufacturer. A much more conventional box like the CM series employs will be vastly cheaper to build than the curved cabinet of the 700 series.

With any luck we will see the 700 Series come back at some point with the tweeter on top where it belongs.

Eric

I certainly hope so. As it stands, I'm very pleased that I got my 703s when I did

[emig5m]

Used mine for a couple of days ,not my cup of tea,so for anyone wanting the 800 series mine are going at a steal just to move them.

You don't like your 800 series? Wow! :E What don't you like about them? We keep hearing reviews about what people like, lets get a review about dislikes for a change. BTW, spending that much didn't audition first? I know I went and auditioned my 804S before ordering, heh.

[1oldguy]

I think that their incredible given the right kind of music.Mostly into the 70 rock myself.
I guess it all personal preference at the end of the day.Cutting my losses and moving on.
No one carries this kind of speakers around here unless you special order them.That's why I didn't demo.So for anyone who knows the B&W sound and wants a set of basically new speakers and you like black will here they are.

[Audio_ElF]

Breaking in

It might be worth keeping your new 800 series for a little longer see if they break in. It won't affect the value of them much and might save you a fortune. Also look at the position of them.

Is there something specific about the sound from them you don't like? What speakers did you have before out of interest?

Eloise

[bgruyaert]

I just started looking around to replace my 15 year old B&W P6 speakers (predecessors from CDM series). I hoped to replace them by the 703 but found out that they are no longer available. I'm not satisfied with the CDM series nor with the 804. For me it was or the 703 or the 803S but my budget (wife ;-) does not allow this.

It's like previously stated, why not build a series with a simple design with matrix cabinet and a free aluminium Nautilus tweeter? This could be a series based on the matrix 800 series. My father has bought the 803 series 2 in 1995 for a listed price of 2.300 euro and got 10% reduction. For a comparable speaker at B&W you are looking at the current 803S listed at 5.500 euro (x2 in 10 years time). I also heard from my dealer that the price difference is mainly because of the design. This should also be the reason that B&W has dropped the 700 series (expensive design).

I hope the near future will bring something or I will be forced to look for an alternative.

For me an updated matrix 803 would be fine...

[Ken49r]

With B&W dropping the "S" portion of the 800 series soon, I'm looking for the next generation 700 series to include the drivers, build and sound of the 805S, 804S, 803S.

From what I have seen when B&W releases a next generation they make it to match the series above it.

[bgruyaert]

This would be great ...

[97disco]

I just started looking around to replace my 15 year old B&W P6 speakers (predecessors from CDM series). I hoped to replace them by the 703 but found out that they are no longer available. I'm not satisfied with the CDM series nor with the 804. For me it was or the 703 or the 803S but my budget (wife ;-) does not allow this.

I went from the P6's to the 704's earlier this year and absolutely love 'em!

Well worth checking out Audiogon for a used pair.