CDM7SE Bowers & Wilkins

[BlazeES]

Lost a tweet and had to act fast.

Picked up these bad boys ~ 7 years ago for a song locally. They date back to 1994 and I just love them; well matched speakers for my setup.
I checked around via all the official channels and learned that the tweeters were no longer produced (duh) and only one pair were still hanging around.
Decided to treat the situation like replacing tires - do it in pairs. I've read that various B&W tweeter designs from this era had issues with the ferro-fluid
over time and they could tighten up, so I figured since I had to replace one - do both - keep em age matched so to speak. Installation was so easy I could have
managed it hung-over, oh wait, I AM HUNG OVER! I have to hand it to the Brits on this well engineered, modular design.

I took the time to clean and condition the driver surrounds while I was at it. They needed it and I recommend that if you have prized speakers
that have closed-cell surround material, that you clean and condition in order to preserve the past for the longer haul.


Here's some pictures for your enjoyment..

 

[Gepetto]

What did you condition your surrounds with? Nice Kevlar drivers in those speaks.

 

[BlazeES]

What did you condition your surrounds with? Nice Kevlar drivers in those speaks.

You're gonna laugh

I use a microfiber towel and sparingly apply some Meguiars Natural Shine (automotive) protectant.
I've never dug into the MSDS sheet on it but it does contain some Scotch Guard UV Block which I figure can't hurt.
I wet the towel and wipe, let sit, and repeat the process until the residuals on the towel start to look like they are diminishing.
No hard rubbing, just circular strokes. (if Stuwee was here he'd be laughing his ass off right about now..)

Some buddies and I have tried different things on surrounds over the years and this stuff doesn't appear to attack the material or oil up in any way.
Works good on dashboard surfaces too!

 

[Fast Forward]

Never seen a pair of those,,,Different

 

[BlazeES]

Never seen a pair of those,,,Different

The "SE" part means Special Edition. Driver upgrades primarily.
Had to grow to love the two-tone cabinets but that really has no impact on what they are supposed to do.
I've seen and personally know folks that have owned 7 NT's but never these.
Some folks claim they are fatiguing and too bright - must be environmentals or something, because mine are nicely balanced.
Good low end, so much so I can go without turning on my sub many times and still thoroughly enjoy.

 

[speakerman1]

I wanted a pair of B&Ws when I found the Vandersteens. I couldn't pass up the Vandys. Is the bass pretty tight?

 

[BlazeES]

I wanted a pair of B&Ws when I found the Vandersteens. I couldn't pass up the Vandys. Is the bass pretty tight?

A good friend of mine way back when went the Vandersteen route and they are nice. I tried them on my rig and I wasn't satisfied..
I ended up opting for some KEF Q's at the time.

The bass on these speakers is very articulate (for bass), full and balanced with regard to overall presence. So to answer your question, yep,
they are tight. I'm continually shocked how well these speakers perform all by themselves. More Pop oriented music programming is fine but when I throw classical, acoustic or well engineered jazz at them, that's when they really friggin shine. Keep in mind that my amps are mono-blocked, fast slew and have plenty of reserve kick.
From my experience, B&W's need amps driving them that are rated twice the speaker max power rating, along with impedance, slew
and power bandwidth matching..

 

[speakerman1]

I paid 500.00 for my pair of CE II Signature II. I couldn't find B&Ws for that. With my Cary's it does a pretty nice job. Now I do have a pretty nice preamp hooked up. Just 100 watts on the amps. Sound pretty good to me. I fretted for awhile with the tweeters. Then everything got burned in and they sound pretty good now. There is a thread on the preamp some where. I'll look if your interested.

 

[Pure_Brew]

A good friend of mine way back when went the Vandersteen route and they are nice. I tried them on my rig and I wasn't satisfied..
I ended up opting for some KEF Q's at the time.

The bass on these speakers is very articulate (for bass), full and balanced with regard to overall presence. So to answer your question, yep,
they are tight. I'm continually shocked how well these speakers perform all by themselves. More Pop oriented music programming is fine but when I throw classical, acoustic or well engineered jazz
at them, that's when they really friggin shine. Keep in mind that my amps are mono-blocked, fast slew and have plenty of reserve kick.
From my experience, B&W's need amps driving them that are rated twice the speaker max power rating, along with impedance, slew
and power bandwidth matching..

Yeah I found many B&W speakers definitely needed top notch amplification to drive. Or at least careful matching. Otherwise the the sound of the mids get anchored to the tweeter. Seemed that way anyway.

 

[kemelinux]

Little bit warmer sound

I bought my pair of speakers together with my Denon AVC-1AD amplifier about 15 years ago.
The combination of this amplifier with the B&W CDM 7 SE speakers always sounded a bit too cold and flat to me.
I was missing warm voices when listening to Melody Gardot and the bass was always very very tight.
After visiting some HiFi shops and listening to new B&W speaker on my amp I did not notice much improvement.
Even other brands of amplifiers (tube amps) and speakers didn't give me the thrill I was looking for.

For a warmer sounds they always recommended me to buy the bigger and more expensive range of (B&W) speakers.
But looking at the specs I started to wander why such big speakers like these CDM 7 sound so "small" and "flat".
So, one day... I removed the isolation material that is located at the bottom of the speakers.
(you can also remove the isolation at back, which will increase the volume even more giving you major bass but it can be a bit too much some times)

And now they sound more like the high high high end speakers. Jazz music is sharp, well defined and voices sound much warmer.
When listening to some music the speakers seems to be 2 meters high, submerging you into the music.
I still have large subwoofer as well but I no longer need it, these speakers produce enough bass on their own.

And if it is too much bass for you than you can simply but the isolation back in.