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Wow, what a day. Free speaker surprise

txbdan

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Apr 21, 2020
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Hey all,

I thought I'd share my lucky day and pick your brains for advice. My Aunt-in-law said she was cleaning out the house and had some old tower speakers that I could have if I wanted. She didn't know what they were, nor cared, just wanted them gone. I said, sure I'll come take a look.

We pulled up and they were in her garage waiting. The first set was a pair of Monitor Audio Silver 6s. Very nice! The second set was a pair of B&W CM9s, wow again! I was like, these are really nice speakers, let me pay you for them, and she insisted that if they made me happy that's plenty. Lucky me!

I listened to the Silver 6s for a bit in my smallish office that night. This is normally where I listen to my NHT C3 bookshelves. The S6s sounded nice. Definitely warm, a little bass/boxy and rolled off at the top, but a lot of that is likely the small room. Vocals sounded very nice. They have a transparent and easy nature. That was just for maybe 45min while I had some time.

Yesterday I spent like 4 hours with the CM9s. They literally won't fit in my office in any reasonable manner so I convinced my wife to let me put them down in the den around our TV. She's not into big speakers, but she admits these are "classy", except that their rosenut color doesn't work for us. She said we could keep them there if we painted them white. hehe. I brought down my only amp at the moment, a NAD 3045 lil' class D 60W'er that I use for my desktop setup. I got it all setup and was like, "Emmy prepare your mind for $3,000 speakers!". I hit play and it sounded like two little tin cans. I was like oh wtf. She was not impressed. Then of course I realized I didn't even think about the terminal post bridges and didn't realize they were missing. So I was playing tweeters only. Doh. So I patched 'em up with speaker wire and got back to it with proper full range sound.

My first impression is that these are big and full. They play quite deep and have the musical range covered. Also the tonal balance is really good. Every song's mix sounded spot on. Normally I can pick out something tonally I don't quite like, mostly its mid bass bloat/boxiness I'm sensitive to or fatiguing treble, but these are pretty darn good. They also have a really big wide sound stage. After a bunch of random indie/rock/r&b/hip hop songs, I smoked some pot and played dark side of the moon right as the sun set so it got dark. Damn I was tripping. The space sounded absolutely huge. haha Then I started playing FKA Twigs - Magdalene. Man that album is a sonic trip, too.

Anyway, I really dig the fullness, the range, and the tonal balance. The speakers really just project up a big full scene. As for cons, the imagining doesn't seem very sharp. The tweeter domes were crushed in and I pulled them back out with tape. They're now dome shaped, but they're lumpy and creased a little. This may have something to do with it. I found new tweeters for $60ea so I'll replace them. The other con is that seem to lose it a little with fast/punchy music. Between the Buried and Me is my test for that and the kick and bass would get sloppy. Really, the only speaker I've heard that I really like in this regard are my NHT C3s and that's because they're sealed I think. I also suspect my wimpy amp could have something to do with it. I've heard these speakers are hard to drive. All in all they're very nice, but they're not total game changers or anything. I think my C3s can hang (with a sub), particularly in imagining and accuracy, maybe even detail. Makes me want to try the C series towers. But for two speakers that need to deliver a live concert to your living room, the CM9s are awesome.

The MA Silver 6s (these are the early 2000s ones) predate my audio knowledge a bit. What's ya'll take on these?

I know B&W gets a lot of hate, mostly for poor value, but they look and sound the part to me. What do you all think? They have a few scuffs and dings so used value may not be high enough to fund anything better.

I don't really have a place/purpose for a pair of towers at the moment, but since they were sort of a gift I'll prob keep them for around for a bit. Can't beat the price! :-D
 

q3cpma

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210bwspeak.meas.jpg

Meh (purple is CM9).
 

thewas

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The CM9 like most newer B&Ws habe a significant presence dip which makes them sound quite sweet and never annoying and thus can be a good choice for people who prefer less listening fatigue especially with poorer recordings versus high neutrality in reproduction.

The dented metal tweeter membrane will have earlier break up modes and distortion even when pulled back, so good choice you plan to replace them.
 
OP
T

txbdan

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Apr 21, 2020
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^Ha, I also have a BMW. Luckily its 30yrs old and in race car form.

Yeh, I think the CM9s are a pretty known quantity. I'm less familiar with the Monitor Audio S6s. Any thoughts on those? I've been mostly listening to the CM9s and need to give them some time as well.
 

Kachda

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Hey all,

I thought I'd share my lucky day and pick your brains for advice. My Aunt-in-law said she was cleaning out the house and had some old tower speakers that I could have if I wanted. She didn't know what they were, nor cared, just wanted them gone. I said, sure I'll come take a look.

We pulled up and they were in her garage waiting. The first set was a pair of Monitor Audio Silver 6s. Very nice! The second set was a pair of B&W CM9s, wow again! I was like, these are really nice speakers, let me pay you for them, and she insisted that if they made me happy that's plenty. Lucky me!

I listened to the Silver 6s for a bit in my smallish office that night. This is normally where I listen to my NHT C3 bookshelves. The S6s sounded nice. Definitely warm, a little bass/boxy and rolled off at the top, but a lot of that is likely the small room. Vocals sounded very nice. They have a transparent and easy nature. That was just for maybe 45min while I had some time.

Yesterday I spent like 4 hours with the CM9s. They literally won't fit in my office in any reasonable manner so I convinced my wife to let me put them down in the den around our TV. She's not into big speakers, but she admits these are "classy", except that their rosenut color doesn't work for us. She said we could keep them there if we painted them white. hehe. I brought down my only amp at the moment, a NAD 3045 lil' class D 60W'er that I use for my desktop setup. I got it all setup and was like, "Emmy prepare your mind for $3,000 speakers!". I hit play and it sounded like two little tin cans. I was like oh wtf. She was not impressed. Then of course I realized I didn't even think about the terminal post bridges and didn't realize they were missing. So I was playing tweeters only. Doh. So I patched 'em up with speaker wire and got back to it with proper full range sound.

My first impression is that these are big and full. They play quite deep and have the musical range covered. Also the tonal balance is really good. Every song's mix sounded spot on. Normally I can pick out something tonally I don't quite like, mostly its mid bass bloat/boxiness I'm sensitive to or fatiguing treble, but these are pretty darn good. They also have a really big wide sound stage. After a bunch of random indie/rock/r&b/hip hop songs, I smoked some pot and played dark side of the moon right as the sun set so it got dark. Damn I was tripping. The space sounded absolutely huge. haha Then I started playing FKA Twigs - Magdalene. Man that album is a sonic trip, too.

Anyway, I really dig the fullness, the range, and the tonal balance. The speakers really just project up a big full scene. As for cons, the imagining doesn't seem very sharp. The tweeter domes were crushed in and I pulled them back out with tape. They're now dome shaped, but they're lumpy and creased a little. This may have something to do with it. I found new tweeters for $60ea so I'll replace them. The other con is that seem to lose it a little with fast/punchy music. Between the Buried and Me is my test for that and the kick and bass would get sloppy. Really, the only speaker I've heard that I really like in this regard are my NHT C3s and that's because they're sealed I think. I also suspect my wimpy amp could have something to do with it. I've heard these speakers are hard to drive. All in all they're very nice, but they're not total game changers or anything. I think my C3s can hang (with a sub), particularly in imagining and accuracy, maybe even detail. Makes me want to try the C series towers. But for two speakers that need to deliver a live concert to your living room, the CM9s are awesome.

The MA Silver 6s (these are the early 2000s ones) predate my audio knowledge a bit. What's ya'll take on these?

I know B&W gets a lot of hate, mostly for poor value, but they look and sound the part to me. What do you all think? They have a few scuffs and dings so used value may not be high enough to fund anything better.

I don't really have a place/purpose for a pair of towers at the moment, but since they were sort of a gift I'll prob keep them for around for a bit. Can't beat the price! :-D
May all of us be so lucky
 

preload

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I know B&W gets a lot of hate, mostly for poor value, but they look and sound the part to me. What do you all think? They have a few scuffs and dings so used value may not be high enough to fund anything better.

Sounds like you scored. Great story. Are these the original CM9? (The CM9 S2 have a grille over the tweeters, so I'm guessing it was the original CM9).

Also, where did you find B&W replacement tweeters for $60? The diaphragm by itself runs $75 each.

You could easily sell your pair (once repaired) for >$1000 and get something else that matches your room better.

B&W still makes some great speakers in their lineup. The CM9 took the FST midrange from the 800-range and brought into a much lower pricepoint. There are plenty of people out there that like B&W, you just won't find them here on ASR.
 
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T

txbdan

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Joined
Apr 21, 2020
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Sounds like you scored. Great story. Are these the original CM9? (The CM9 S2 have a grille over the tweeters, so I'm guessing it was the original CM9).

Also, where did you find B&W replacement tweeters for $60? The diaphragm by itself runs $75 each.

You could easily sell your pair (once repaired) for >$1000 and get something else that matches your room better.

B&W still makes some great speakers in their lineup. The CM9 took the FST midrange from the 800-range and brought into a much lower pricepoint. There are plenty of people out there that like B&W, you just won't find them here on ASR.

Yep, the original CM9s. Right, I got only the diaphragms for $62 each at https://bowerswilkins.encompass.com. Interestingly, they don't show them there today. Maybe I took the last two. PN is ZZ24328

I will say I'm not quite getting the detail and imaging out of these that'd I'd expect. Hoping replacing the tweeters does the trick.
 
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