CM10 vs 804S

[spadez]

Hi,

I've had some low budget but relatively nice speakers over the years and have even built a few sets. However I am looking to sink a bit of money into some nice 2 channel speakers for music.

My budget is between £1-2k. Currently I am looking at the following:

- B&W CM10 (Can get them new for around £1.5k)
- B&W 804S (Second hand - Around £1.6K)


I like a lot of modern music as well as the more traditional kind. For my budget and purpose, can anyone give me any input and recommendations? I can't find the 804s in shops anymore to demo and they only sell the 804D which I can't afford. I will be getting an amp in the future to suit the speakers, and currently my listening room in medium sized but I'm hoping to keep these the rest of my life.

Any input would be much appreciated.

[TomScrut]

Brand new CM10s for half price?

[spadez]

Closer to 40% off, so maybe arond £1.7k. But really the point here is I can only get the discount if I am buying new, rather than getting a second hand one off ebay like the 804s.

New CM10 or second hand 804s (assuming they are the same price)

[TomScrut]

Haven't heard them but I know that the 803S is a LOT better than the CM9 if this helps. I do have a few points to make excluding sound quality from the equation:

The 800S series prices have been stable for years now, more or less since the last ex demos went in 2010, if they are already knocking 40 percent of the CM10 one has to question how good an investment it is from a residuals perspective. I think that the 800 series of any type but especially the S, D and Diamonds are an aspirational speaker which the CM10 will never be, regardless of sound quality. This might not be important if you don't ever intend selling them but never is a long time....

FWIW I would look for 803Ss but you would have to be patient to find a pair under 2k. I sold a pair 3 weeks ago for £2200.

[spadez]

Thank you for the reply. The 40% off is because he works in the industry, but I do agree with what you are saying in regards to aspiration.

[TomScrut]

Thank you for the reply. The 40% off is because he works in the industry, but I do agree with what you are saying in regards to aspiration.

Ah I see. The only technology the CM10 has that the S series doesn't is the new tweeter, and whether it's better than the S series is still unknown to me. The S series on the other hand has a lot of things the CM series doesnt. Whether they sum up to better sound I don't know but I suspect it will!

[Playdrv4me]

For me it's easy... I find it doubtful that the CM10 is a better speaker than the 803/804S, and then there's UK > China.