B&W owners or anyone that has auditioned them... (1 Viewer)

[Chris Lanni]

David,

You will not be disappointed with B&W speakers. I encountered the same as the above mentioned by Mark. I went to two dealers looking for my 602 S3's, one quoted me MSRP and the other offered the seemingly standard 10% off. Of course I went with the second dealer as he also was more friendly and gave me a great deal on stands and wire.

Chris

 

[Patrick TX]

I JUST ordered a pair CDM9NT's, as well as a CDMCNT from my local dealer. He was so SICK of me him-hawing, he gave me a nice deal. Retail is $3,300, but $2,500 + tax to me. I did buy some Definitive stuff, as well as my B&W surrounds from them a couple years back. Also, he knows I can get a great deal from a relative at Tweeter. They used to work together. It was pretty nice to hear that figure, especially after asking other dealers (4) for a discount. Typical "no margin" BS. I can't wait to get these beauties.

 

[Arron H]

Patrick,

Nice decision and thanks for the PM. Enjoy those 9s, they are one heckuva speaker.

 

[RajeeK]

RETAIL FOR B&W'S!!!!! The Horror. Come on people, you all need to give your dealers a bit harder time. I got all my B&W's for 20% off and this was in Los Angeles. You gotta stick to your guns and be ready to walk out if needed, but I got not only one place but two who offered me 20% off. Here's what I got.

Main: CDM9-NT's
Center: CDM-CNT
Side Surrounds: CDM-1NT's
Rear Surrounds: CDM-1NT's
Sub: Dual SVS 16-46+'s

Powered by and Acurus A200 amp for all but the rears, which are powered by a Pioneer VSX-49TX, also the heart of the system.

Anyhow, work on those dealers and DON'T be afraid to walk if you have to. That is really the key.

 

[Mark C.]

Rajee:

Like Rotel dealers, B&W dealers in the LA area are numerous. That certainly helps. Here in Silicon Valley, there are exactly two. The less options you have, the closer to list you'll pay. That's why I purchased my Nautilus 804s from a dealer on the other side of the country via mail-order, something B&W forbids.

 

[Patrick TX]

How is that CDM-CNT? It doesn't look like much. The Nautilus HTM1 looks like it can kick some butt. I do enjoy 5.1 music. I'm wondering if the CDM-CNT is up to the task. I'm going to go listen today. My dealer doesn't even carry the CDM-9NT's, only the 7's. I imagine the 9's might hurt the nautilus 804 sales. I listned to both last week in Houston, & the 9's seemed livelier, punchy, & more up to the task of Rock, Techno, & HT duties. The nautilus 804 was SILKY SMOOTH, probably perfect for Classical, Opera, Jazz, etc. I actually preferred the 9's.

 

[Robert G]

I have a 6.1 set up with 602's across the front and rear center with 601's as side surrounds. They are run by a Denon 3802. I also have dual SVS 20-39 CSi's. I love the setup.

Word of warning to those with RPTV's. While a non sheilded speaker will not do any permanent damage they will throw off convergence badly if placed to closely to the CRT's. I tried to place my 602 right in front of the TV on a stand and my convergence was very bad and unstable. I moved it to the top of the TV and everything is fine. I preferred the sound with the speaker in front but it just would not work out. I had to move it out almost 2 feet from the TV for it not to effect convergence.

 

[RajeeK]

Like Rotel dealers, B&W dealers in the LA area are numerous. That certainly helps. Here in Silicon Valley, there are exactly two. The less options you have, the closer to list you'll pay. That's why I purchased my Nautilus 804s from a dealer on the other side of the country via mail-order, something B&W forbids.

Yes, you do pose a valid point. Lucky you found a place willing to mail order you 804's. Being up in Gilroy, you could even come down to LA for a trip to pick up some stuff and get deals if you needed.. Just make some calls and get everything set up at the LA stores. It may take a bit of work but to save hundreds of dollars, it certainly would be worth it I think. While your coming, ya can bring some Garlic for us (for those who are scratching their heads about that last comment, Gilroy is the Garlic capital of the world.) BTW, I PM'd ya Mark.

 

[Arron H]

Patrick,
As RajeeK suggested, compare the HTM2 to the CDM CNT. I heard enough of a difference to go with the HTM2/805s combo rather than the CDM 9s/CDM CNT combo. The CDM CNT seemed somewhat overpowered by the 9s during my audition but calibrating the speakers to the same spl may make a difference. The dealer actually recommended the 9s with an HTM1 or waiting a little while on the center as he intimated that B&W may be coming out with a larger CDM CNT for around $1200 MSRP.
RajeeK,
In Portland, we have 2 B&W dealers and only 1 of the dealers carries Nautilus :frowning: It's certainly not a buyer's market in this area.

 

[RajeeK]

The dealer actually recommended the 9s with an HTM1 or waiting a little while on the center as he intimated that B&W may be coming out with a larger CDM CNT for around $1200 MSRP.

Hmmm...new center CNT coming out. Tempting, anybody else heard this?

 

[Mark C.]

That's all we need--a LARGER CDM center speaker. I have the CDM1 SE, and that thing is a beast. I searched for months for a TV stand with a shelf that would accomodate the height of this monster. NO LUCK! You need at least 10 inches of clearance. It sits like a monolith on top of my 35-inch Mits tube.

 

[Boris_V]

Greetings!

@ Greg_TSL:

I have seen that you have the ASW650 sub from B&W - how does it sound as i may buy one in the near future (currently i own a Sony SA-WM40 sub - how much of an improvement would the ASW650 be?)? Could you please explain the sounding of this sub in greater detail, pleeeaaase. I mean, how accurate and fast is it for music, how punchy, loud and low for movies (my main concern) and so on? With what other woofers did you compare the B&W and why did you choose it? Are you completely satisfied with it? I see you have one additional sub (Velodyne) for the rears - does that mean that you somehow miss some bass with only one ASW650 (how big is your room, mine's quite small, about 18 square meters)? If you would be so kind, please reveal all your thoughts on this B&W sub. You know, there are so many subs out there that i'm getting lost, in addition i don't have the possibility of demoing all the subs because of living in a small village and as a student and therefore limited means i don't want to make the wrong decision. I'm so fixed on this sub because i actually own B&W speakers (4xDM303, LCR3 for center) and am very satisfied with them (although i will soon upgrade to the 600 series) and because the dealer from which i bought them has good prices on them. (If anyone else would want to share their thoughts, please do it.)

@ to all:

As i said above, i'm in possession of B&W speakers (for now 300s but will upgrade to 600s in the near future), and because i think it is now a good time to do an upgrade on my receiver (Onkyo 595) as well i now ask you what do you think of the new NAD receivers, the t752 or t762, or of NAD generally? Are B&W and NAD a good combination? How does it sound? Or are there better amps for my speakers?