New B&W CM1 owner - needs help with stands

[beamobhoy]

Hi there, just restarting my hifi adventures after a few years out due to carpet crawlers! I have always wanted a pair of CM1's due to their gorgeous looks (the only speaker the wife would have) so ordered a pair and they arrived this Thursday (my first ever B&W). I am starting out by pairing them upto an Onkyo AVR (NR515) as I already have this in situ in the lounge (play a lot of spotify, internet radio etc). I know it's not the best of amps for the CM1s but I will eventually upgrade my amp to a Rotel sometime in the future (wanted to get the speaker right first!).

My question comes out of trying to find a speaker stand to suit - I don't like the cost or looks of the B&W stand so wandered what any other CM1 users have and how did they attach to the speaker (easily or some mods).

Thanks

[cunningjim]

Hello beamobhoy,

I recently purchased my first CM1 rosenut veneer speakers and am very happy with them. My space is small (12x18) so I decided to mount them on speaker wall-mounts (VideoSecu Side Clamping Speaker Mounting Bracket from Amazon) about 7 ft above the listening area. Floor stands would not work for me but with proper placement on the wall (0.5M from the back wall) and experimenting with the foam plug, I am happy with the sound. I also have a subwoofer and surround speakers but the CM1's are my two main LR speakers. Just a suggestion.

Comment: the CM1's are not as efficient as the other small B&W speakers so you may find that your NR515 will need to be cranked up a bit to really open up the CM1's.

Jim

[beamobhoy]

Hello beamobhoy,

I recently purchased my first CM1 rosenut veneer speakers and am very happy with them. My space is small (12x18) so I decided to mount them on speaker wall-mounts (VideoSecu Side Clamping Speaker Mounting Bracket from Amazon) about 7 ft above the listening area. Floor stands would not work for me but with proper placement on the wall (0.5M from the back wall) and experimenting with the foam plug, I am happy with the sound. I also have a subwoofer and surround speakers but the CM1's are my two main LR speakers. Just a suggestion.

Comment: the CM1's are not as efficient as the other small B&W speakers so you may find that your NR515 will need to be cranked up a bit to really open up the CM1's.

Jim

Thanks for the reply. My space is about 25x14 but the speakers will be in a corner so angled towards the rest of the room. Due to a patio door, wall mounting is not an option for me. Seen a few stands but getting hole positions information is near enough impossible! Going to end up getting some gloss black stands - the same as the speakers and will not worry too much about the sound implications!

My NR515 is not the best match but for the time being i'll have to crank it up - god help the neighbourhood!!

[PewterTA]

Just good search speaker stands... there's TONS out there.

For my 602s3, I go the VTI VSP ones, filled them with sand and they are awesome!

http://www.wayfair.com/VTI-VSP-Series-29-Fixed-Height-Speaker-Stand-Set-of-2-VSP-VI1173.html

[beamobhoy]

There certainly are loads of stands out there! Plumped for some Norstone Stylum 2's as they are slim, gloss black good lookers like my CM1's! Shall await delivery of both and then play!

[Grzywa]

What about making pair out of black marble ? Sure You can find marble stonecutter someware near.
example - http://www.norstone-design.com/media...AND_HEADER.jpg

[beamobhoy]

What about making pair out of black marble ? Sure You can find marble stonecutter someware near.
example - http://www.norstone-design.com/media...AND_HEADER.jpg

I'm not that adventurous!

[Grasynoll]

Check out Sanus, alot of options

[beamobhoy]

Got them, fitted them onto the Norstones and enjoyed some music yesterday. However, I managed to "pop" one of my tweeters already - arrrrrrgh! Just got a straw and sucked it out but there's still a "ring" visible. That's life!

They are sounding good already but the Onkyo definitely needs cranking up a notch or 12 to get them to perform. I have read reviews about these speakers and many of them have said they lack bass - not here! Had to dampen them with the bungs.

[Nuz1]

If I may ask, how did you pop a tweeter?

[beamobhoy]

Not entirely sure, guess it must of been when I was repositioning them, I did have them pushed onto my body whilst moving.

[Nuz1]

Thanks. I have CM5s. I'll make sure to take care when I move them.

[ears to you]

Attaching Speakers to Stands

Hi there, just restarting my hifi adventures after a few years out due to carpet crawlers! I have always wanted a pair of CM1's due to their gorgeous looks (the only speaker the wife would have) so ordered a pair and they arrived this Thursday (my first ever B&W). I am starting out by pairing them upto an Onkyo AVR (NR515) as I already have this in situ in the lounge (play a lot of spotify, internet radio etc). I know it's not the best of amps for the CM1s but I will eventually upgrade my amp to a Rotel sometime in the future (wanted to get the speaker right first!).

My question comes out of trying to find a speaker stand to suit - I don't like the cost or looks of the B&W stand so wandered what any other CM1 users have and how did they attach to the speaker (easily or some mods).

Thanks

Hi beamobhoy,

I have CM5s on Sanus Ultimate stands, and I attached them with poster putty. Many, many posts have discussed using Blu Tack under the speakers, and this is the same stuff, albeit a generic version from the stationery store. You roll 8 pieces, each about pea sized and shaped, and put 4 underneath each speaker (one near each of the corners). You then push down on the speakers to squash the peas, and this creates a nice, removable, non-marring seal, as well as helping to sonically better mate the speaker to the stand. If you need to remove the speakers from the stands, you simply grab the speaker and twist from side to side (rotating it in relation to the top of the stand). Trying to lift them straight off will damage the finish, as the bond under the speakers becomes incredibly strong, but I have done it the other way several times with absolutely no problems. I don't know if your CM1s have screwholes on the underside like my CM5s, but if they do, be sure to first cover the holes with scotch tape to prevent the putty from getting into those threads.

I hope that this helps in what you are trying to do, and good luck with your new speakers!