B&W CDM Line

venomclan

Hi Guys,
I have been a Polk enthusiast for the last 7 years. My system is as follows:
Mains: RT16
Center: CS350LS
Surround: LS/FX

Equipment:
Outlaw 950 Pre/Pro
Outlaw M200 amps (5)
CD Player: Cambridge Audio Azur 640

I have been getting more and more into 2 channel redbook listening and find myself wanting more from my RT16's. The RT16's are great speakers hands down. I have tweaked with brass spikes, dacron bass port fiddling, placement etc... over the last few years, but still would like a little more. I have heard great things about the LSI15's and have been trying to demo them. However, I am in south Florida and no store has them. Circuit City never carries them, and the 2-3 independent dealers Polk recommended I contact do not have them.

I recently went to another independent high-end dealer to look at some other equipment. He is a B&W dealer as well and had the new 800 series set up with B&K equipment. The B&W's (803 I think)sounded amazing, but were $1500.00 each.

As I was walking out, he showed me a smaller B&W tower (CDM7NT) in rosewood. Real nice woodworking. It was a 2 1/2 way tower with the Nautilus tweeter. He demo'd Dianna Krall for me and the sound was hypnotic. Very impressive for a smaller speaker. The deep bass was a little on the light side but the speakers were not broken in yet. They were an open box display pair and offered them to me for $900/pair. They were originally $2000/pair.

I have always been loyal to Polk but really liked these little B&W's. Does anyone think this is a good deal on these and think I should go for them, or wait until I can demo an LSI15? From my research, The LSI stands out from its ring tweeter, but the other drivers are similar to other Polk's. The B&W's tweeter is from the Nautilus range, their upper range line, and sound awesome.

What do you guys think?
Best Regards,
Jeremy

PolkWannabie

I have not listened to that series but I do have extensive listening time in on the Nautilus series. Although a lot of folks here don't particluarly care for B&W's they are one of my fav's. The series you are looking at is less demanding than the N's, but for reference the N's really need oodles of clean power to bring out what they have.

As far as price goes, imho that's a great price as average used price is well above it. So if they are in good shape and you decide to get them, you won't have much trouble getting what you paid for them if you decide later to go with something else.

As far as the LSi15's go, if you can spare the extra $ temporarily, what you MIGHT want to do is get them both with the latter from some place like Crutchfield where you have a 30 day return policy and will only have to eat the cost of return shipping should you decide not to keep them.

Although this is probably not the least expensive place to get them it would allow you to decide which one better meets your needs where it counts, in your listening area.

RuSsMaN

I think Crutchfield covers return shipping too.

Between the 2, I'd go for the CDM hands-down, especially at the price you mentioned. I'm a big Polk fan, but also a big Bowers and Wilkins fan - and I own both.

I would suggest you get a demo of the 15's if at all possible. Perhaps a member in your area has a pair?

Cheers,
Russ

VR3

Crutch has free in-home demo. 30 day return, free return shipping. No harm to try it. You dont like it, send it back.

mantis

I feel different,
I think the Lsi series is a much better quality sounding speaker then all B&W series except N series.

When I was on the speaker upgrade path,I had CDM series on the list.I Installed them many times and found them to lack in many ways.They excelled at certain types of music and really lacked in HT.There rears where nice at best.Not the most filling speaker I have ever Installed.Pricey and not worth the asking price.The CDM9NT's are 2600.00 and hold nothing(except built quality) on the Lsi15's at 1740.00.My opnion,
Dan

Telemundo

not sure if you know this....there is a new cabinet design by B&W that just came out, the 700 series. It was meant to replace the CDM series. I'd definitly get a demo of those also, before u get the CDMs. Are you planning on running the B&Ws with your Outlaws? The Outlaws are great, but I'd check out some of the new Rotels that just came out. B&W and Rotel has really strong business relationships, no doubt that they are made to compliment each other the best.

venomclan

Hi Guys,
I just pulled the trigger and bought the B&W CDM7NT's & CDMCNT center from the local dealer. They were demo units and actually were placed in a Carl's Furniture (high-end store) in a $65,000 home theater set-up display. The speakers are in great condition and in red cherry. I ended up paying $1200.00 for all 3. So far, even though they are not broken in all the way, the CDM7NT's destroy my RT16's in all categories except very deep bass. The bass from the 7's is very tight and controlled, mids and highs are creamy smooth and precise. The CDMCNT center is one big sucker. I thought my CS350 was big, the CNT is supersized. Right now I have the center on the floor and must admit that the imaging is very good, even with poor placement.

I am using my Outlaw M200's to drive each speaker biwired. I think it is enough power. I found another cdm7nt owner who powers his by a Krell amp and says he is amazed by the sound. I have heard that Rotel and B&w work very well together. I may have to try that sometime. I would have loved to hear the LSI15's but no one has them. I don't think as the consumer, that it is fare that I have to buy and ship them to me just to demo them. I have been a Polk enthusiast for a while but really think that they should re-think their LSI marketing plan. Anyhow, I will still be using my Polk LS/FX for the rears.

Thanks for all your help guys.
Best Regards,
Jeremy

venomclan

Hi Venom,
I know, know. I was blowing off some steam because I actually spent some time trying to track down the LSI15's without having to do the Crutchfield thing. I am a Marketing Manager for 44 companies, handling all their overseas export business. I set up distributors and dealers around the world, and know how complicated it all can be.
It just seems to me that there is very little mid-ground when it comes to audio. Either you have the Best Buy-Circuit City's low end mass market stuff, or you have the ultra high-end individual small dealers who need to make a killer profit in order to stay in business.
The mid-fi market seems to be disappearing into the lower end market as bigger companies consolidate, build the product in Asia or Mexico, as the quality goes down so does the name. I like Polk and still think that they have a very good product for their price point. If it is the Lsi's that push polk into the higher end, and they are alomost unatainable, then the Polk image will stay in the Circuit City range to those who are not familiar with their product, capabilities or bang for the buck. Perception is reality.
oh well, have a good one.
Best Regards,'
Jeremy

AsSiMiLaTeD

Originally posted by ATCVenom
Polk’s biggest disadvantage is the name itself. There is also some history that swings against their favor as well.

Sean

Can you explain this a little?

AsSiMiLaTeD

OK, I see where you're coming from now, makes sense...