B&W Decisions (1 Viewer)

[Joe Mollura]

If you knew you were not going to make any upgrades to your system for some time (I know that's a funny statement but true) which would you buy? A pair of B&W CDM 9NT, or a pair of B&W 604s3 and a nice sub(possibly Paradigm PW 2200).
System: Rotel 1095 amp/1066 preamp, 3 B&W LCR6s2, Paradigm PDR 12 sub. I live on the first floor of a house (cement under my carpet) and the PDR 12 just doesn't get it done for HT. If I knew I could upgrade my sub and center (to CDM series) sooner then later I would probably go for the 9NT's. But with engagement ($$) and then saving for a wedding ($$$$$$$) not to far away this will be my last upgrade for some time. What do you think?

 

[Jason_Me]

Its always better to get the highest quality component possible.

 

[James_N_H]

I almost went for the 9nt's at the beginning of the year, however they did not suit my music taste and I ended up going for th 605 S2's. You did not say your music taste or whether you would be using the speakers for H/T, but if you are and with your current amplification I would go with the 604's and save yourself some money in the process.

 

[rodneyH]

James, are you serious?? the 9s to everything the 600 series does but MUCH BETTER, believe me, I use to own the 600 series, NO comparison!! UNLESS, you like less sound stage, less transparency, less air, less openness, etc, etc... B&W designs the characteristics of them to all be similar with the less expensive speakers using similar technology BUT with cheaper parts.

as to the subject at hand, ALWAYs go with the better otherwise you will soon be saying "what if".

 

[itai]

get the cdm7's, and save some bucks. or the cdm1's!!!
both are better than 600's.
mazal-tov, anyway!...

 

[Bruce Chang]

Or rodney and everyone else on the board will say, buy Rockets

 

[James_N_H]

rodneyH,
Yes I am serious, I just didnt like the 9nt's or the 7nt's for that matter. The 1nt's I did like but I needed floorstanders and I found the 605's to suit my music taste better and also better for Home Cinema, plus I saved some money in the process. Different people have different tastes, obviously you like the nt's better as most will but in my case I prefered the 605's.

 

[KeithBR]

Rule of thumb is to put the most money of your budget in your speakers (especially your mains if music is the primary reason for buying them) then hardware.

I have never owned or even listened to anything in the B&W line below CDM's. However I do own or have auditioned everything in the CDM and Nautilus line up. If you are buying them strictly for music I would say buy 9's. I don't see why you would need a sub with them though. If your money is limited and you cant afford both a sub and 9's buy the CDM 7's which paired with a sub with out perform the 9's without a sub

 

[David Judah]

I would get the 9NTs and build my own sub(actually, that's exactly what I did).

Ask your dealer if they have an upgrade policy. Alot of them will give you a year to trade up, giving you full value for your trade-in. If so, you could get the 600 series and a sub then trade up to the NTs when you have some extra money.

Both lines are great in their respective price ranges, but the NTs are clearly better.

DJ

 

[rodneyH]

"Yes I am serious, I just didnt like the 9nt's or the 7nt's for that matter. The 1nt's I did like but I needed floorstanders and I found the 605's to suit my music taste better and also better for Home Cinema, plus I saved some money in the process. Different people have different tastes, obviously you like the nt's better as most will but in my case I prefered the 605's"

Interesting observation, especially since the 1 and the 7s use the EXACT SAME drivers, except the 7 has an added woofer and bigger box. The 9 is a slight upgrade from that with the FST mid driver, teh one that the 800 series uses (DO YOU NOT LIKE THE SOUND OF THE 800 SERIES AS WELL??). I would assume a lot of the differences came in because of possible different systems and acoustics??

I will say that the ONLY advantage the 605 has on the others is in the BASS department (not in quality BUT in quality)IMO. But you are right, everybody does have different taste, I heard some 602s that sounded absolutely stunning, but it was being used with a $6,000 amp and a &6,000 2 channel pre-amp. I still wouldn't say they sounded better than the CDM1NTs though.

 

[rodneyH]

"Or rodney and everyone else on the board will say, buy Rockets"

I am not sure what that means, I am hardly in the "buy Rockets" camp. I have my 4th pair of B&Ws on order (804s), so I would say (and others on this board) that I am very biased towards B&Ws. Although the rocket situation is intreging and I have been thinking about buying a pair just for curiosity sake that I could put in another room (to replace my Vandersteens with).

 

[James_N_H]

I did like the 1Nt's alot as bookshelfs and I know the 7's use the same mid but they also have the bass unit which didnt do a great deal for me, I am not denying they do have a better mid, but with the electronics that I tested them with their was not much difference as unfortunately I did not have a fortune to spends on amps so in reality I wouldnt have done the Nt's justice, plus I dont like their style that much either, prefer the typical box style of the 600 series speakers.

I have not had the opportunity to listen to any of the 800 series yet, which I would like to do very much, although I also wouldnt like to as they would probably make me unhappy with my system!

With regard to your statement about the 605's not having a better quality bass compared to the nt's but only having a greater quantity of it I would disagree alot. The 605's have alot more control than any of the nt's I tested and I found the 605's bass to be more musical, plus it can be tuned to individual tastes.

 

[rodneyH]

James, I do think the 605s are tuned for more of a HT application and iirc they don't make them anymore. And I really think that you are right in the sense that in a HT application even the CDM9NTs and even teh 804s need a sub, while with the 605s you already have that. (which also saves you $$, floor space, etc...). Don't get me wrong, the 600 series is a very nice set up, very nice, I just know that for me I always buy something then soon after, I wish I would have spent a little more on the next one up, so to answer the origional Q, if someone were considering the CDM VS the 600 series, I would go CDM so I would regret it.

BTW, I also think that they 7s are perhaps the way to go if one already has a sub (you save $600 vs the 9s)

 

[Joe Mollura]

Thanks for all the great replies so far I should have stated that I use my system for about 65% music 35%HT. If I end up with the something from the CDM series how do you think my LCR6s2 will blend with them for HT or 5 channel SACD (I don't have much 5 channel music so that's not a huge issue). If I go with anything less then the 9's I wll also be able to upgrade my sub. I have to listen to the 7's paired with a good sub, and see how they compare to the 9's...........If I could only afford the 9's with a nice new sub

 

[Marc_E]

Currently (until I pick up N804's and NHTM1 next month) I have an NHTM2 and DM630s. The I do notice a difference in timber when the center is high above the mains (on top of my 65" mits). When I lowered it in front it was impossible to tell any differences IMO. So, if you find that there is a difference, put the center down in front and see what that does.

Marc

 

[Bob Sa]

Joe- congrats to you on your selection of B&W speakers- I know several professional classical musicians in the Boston area who swear by B&W for musicality and they influenced my decision to buy them. You won't be disappointed. Just be sure to find a dealer that will let you audition them without obligation, because even the best listening rooms in the dealer don't come close to the reality of your home placement/liveness/etc. issues.

I agree with Jason- get the best pair of mains you can afford now and wait for the sub or other purchases- even in HT vs. pure audio the mains are doing a lot of the work in your system. Another recommendation- go with the best center speaker you can afford also- same argument. Ironically, I preferred the Snell XA55cr to the B&W centers-far more "natural" speech sounding, even tho the B&Ws were more musical. The Snell matches just fine with my B&Ws (Nautilus 803's).

Purists might object to the brand mixing, but that was my experience. Cheers, and happy listening.

 

[Bob-N]

I've got the CDM1NTs with an SVS sub and they sound great for music. I don't think I'm missing anything (much) from the 7's or the 9's. I moved up from 602's (which also were good for the price). I found the CDM1's to put up a bigger and fuller (airy) soundstage vs. the 602's and hence the upgrade.

I currently have an LCR6 center and it sounds fine (not great though) with the 1's in HT. I will be moving up to the CNT when I decide the sell the LCR6 as a down payment for the CNT. I'm sure it will be a bit more of an issue if I was into 5 ch music.

 

[Rob Verstegen]

Go for the 9NT's, save some more money and buy a new sub later.


Rob

 

[JustinDR]

I have to agree with everyone else and suggest you choose a CDM combo over the 600 series.
If you don't mind bookshelf speakers, go for the CDM1NTs with a good sub. Save the money from the 7NT (with sub) or 9NT (without sub) and purchase a CDM center speaker.
Just so you know, I used to own a pair of CDM1SEs and CDM1NTs with a B&W sub, and I have listened to most of the 600 series and CDMNT line.
Good Luck