From 603s to CM7

[monk_d_syple]

Hello,

Gosh I haven't been here for years. Anyway my dealer is considering taking my 603s L,W,C and selling me at discount, new cm7. L,W,C. He is deducting $800 or to be exact swiss francs (i'm a swissy and exchange rate is almost the same) for the 2 LW 603s and we haven't clarrified the center yet. My speakers are 5 years old and have not moved since installation. They are in mint condition.

Why I wanted a change? The family is here now and basically the 603s are too big and take too much room. Plus he let me listen to the cm7 and compare w/t the new 603 (683) and the difference was immense. Another question. I think the missus would like me to get the cm5 because of their size. The dealer did not have them for listening so I never got to test them. Is there a big difference with the cm7? What is it? I use my setup for movies and music at about equal amount. I really appreciate clarity with mainly jazz listening and for movies i'm keen on dialogue clarity (drives me nuts when the bass kills the clarity of the speech...to much bass not enough high and mid range..i think).

run down should I keep my 603 L W(org price sfr 2100 for pair) dealer ready to buy at sfr 1300?

get the cm7 with a discount of sfr.1300?

or get the cm5 due to cheaper price from cm7 and smaller neater look for living room (I'm a fan of book shelves on stands especially the 800series?


oh ps money is tight now the family is here and priorities have sadly, I mean gratefully changed.


Good day all. I really would appreciate all your insight

[stuofsci02]

Hello,

Gosh I haven't been here for years. Anyway my dealer is considering taking my 603s L,W,C and selling me at discount, new cm7. L,W,C. He is deducting $800 or to be exact swiss francs (i'm a swissy and exchange rate is almost the same) for the 2 LW 603s and we haven't clarrified the center yet. My speakers are 5 years old and have not moved since installation. They are in mint condition.

Why I wanted a change? The family is here now and basically the 603s are too big and take too much room. Plus he let me listen to the cm7 and compare w/t the new 603 (683) and the difference was immense. Another question. I think the missus would like me to get the cm5 because of their size. The dealer did not have them for listening so I never got to test them. Is there a big difference with the cm7? What is it? I use my setup for movies and music at about equal amount. I really appreciate clarity with mainly jazz listening and for movies i'm keen on dialogue clarity (drives me nuts when the bass kills the clarity of the speech...to much bass not enough high and mid range..i think).

run down should I keep my 603 L W(org price sfr 2100 for pair) dealer ready to buy at sfr 1300?

get the cm7 with a discount of sfr.1300?

or get the cm5 due to cheaper price from cm7 and smaller neater look for living room (I'm a fan of book shelves on stands especially the 800series?


oh ps money is tight now the family is here and priorities have sadly, I mean gratefully changed.


Good day all. I really would appreciate all your insight

Hi,

I used to have DM603 also and have since upgraded several times..

I love the CM7 too, but I think the upgrade price might be steep to go from 603 to CM7 (although I know pricing in Europe is more). I have not heard the CM5, but by the time you get stands for it, it will take up just as much space at the CM7, So I would go with the CM7 (if you are ok with price). You'll want that FST midrange driver.

Another thought is to check the used market. There are deals to be had.. I passed on a pair of CM7 that were less then a year old and in mint condition for a $1000 because I have no spot for them yet... You might be able to find a good deal too..

[monk_d_syple]

Hi,

thanks for the info. I will obviously look at the cm5 and test them too before i decide on 7s or 5s. What exactly does the FST provide and what is the disadvantage of not having it? Lastly, did you see a major difference in size and image from 603s to cm7s? I really would like something less bulky and i'm worried that the cm7s are almost as space demanding as the 603s. look wise too because due to toddler I won't be able to remove the grille. In perfect world, I'd get the 805d (just so that you know where i'm coming from).

good day

[stuofsci02]

I actually never owned the CM7. I Only demoed them at the shop. My experience was that the CM7 was more open and airy, had less coloration and the imaging was more precise. I really found it excelled in the upper mid range compared to the 603. I attribute this to the FST driver.

The FST driver has been used by B&W for over 10 years, where it started out in the 800 series speakers. It has now trickled down as far as the 600 series with the newer 683. FST stands for fixed suspension tranducer. It is my understanding that basically the driver is not bolted to the cabinet (at least in the 800 series) but rather pulled tight against it from the back. This means the pressure on the outside of the driver is constant (where it would change slightly if the driver was bolted to the cabinet).

Additionally and more importantly, with a typical rubber surround driver, the rubber also moves with the driver and this radiates some unwanted sound. By narrowing the operational frequency of the FST driver to a range where the driver does not move in and out very far, they have been able to create a much smaller ring which does not contribute as much sound. This makes for a more detailed precise sound. Of course this means that a FST driver cannot be used in a two-way speaker like the CM5 or even 805 since the midrange driver is also the bass driver and needs to be able to travel in and out a fair distance.

See B&W explanation for more..

http://www.bwspeakers.co.nz/default.asp?sid=14&cid=27&aid=41

[monk_d_syple]

Thanks for the feeback. I will evaluate the pros and cons and decide what to go for

[Dmantis]

No question this is a great upgrade. The CM7's blew me away the first and last time I heard them. I was not shopping for speakers and I almost walked out with a pair for no other reason then they took my breath away.

The DM series are very nice and perform excellent at their price points. I think they are better then most out there. But they are not in the same league as the CM series.

The CM5's are very impressive, they image like crazy . They kinda remind me of the N805'a in overall performance. They are shockingly good. Can't go wrong with them. Just make sure you buy the matching stands if you are going to floor mount them. You will be happy with the added stable platform.

[monk_d_syple]

Dmantis, thanks for the info. So if I'm correct you have listened to the DMs, the cm7 and cm5? My problem is that my ears obviously tell me to go for cm7s but my eyes (plus wife's) tell my to go for the cm5s. I haven't had the chance to test the cm5s yet but i really liked the cm7s and I'm waiting on my dealer to set the cm5s at his shop so I could test them. I'm excites to hear them now that you said they remind you of the 805s. Also the previous poster said that the cm5s plus stands come to the same size area wise as the cm7s.

[stuofsci02]

Just to clarify, he said they remind him of the N805, not the 805s. Still a great little speaker, but a generation before the 805s....

[btf1980]

Dmantis, thanks for the info. So if I'm correct you have listened to the DMs, the cm7 and cm5? My problem is that my ears obviously tell me to go for cm7s but my eyes (plus wife's) tell my to go for the cm5s. I haven't had the chance to test the cm5s yet but i really liked the cm7s and I'm waiting on my dealer to set the cm5s at his shop so I could test them. I'm excites to hear them now that you said they remind you of the 805s. Also the previous poster said that the cm5s plus stands come to the same size area wise as the cm7s.

Get the CM7 over the CM5. You won't really be saving any money or space, but you will most definitely get weaker performance on the low end. The CM5 is $1,500 and the stands are $400. This brings the total to $1,900. The CM7 is $2,000. You'd be better off with the CM7.