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Can I use the B&W CDM9NT in this small room?

A friend of mine is about to purchase a pair of speakers. He is not good at writing in English,and so made a request for posting this question to me. The following is his saying;

I have the Arcam CD72T and the Classe CAP-100. Although I consider the B&W CDM9NT,my room is so small that I am uneasy. I listen to in the living room of the apartment. The size of it is W13'x D10'x H8'. The distance from the front side of the speakers to the front wall is maximum 2'. The size of 9NT is W8.7"x H40.3"x D13.1". My mainly listening musics are Symphony 20%,Concerto 15%,Orchestral 15%,Chamber music 10% and Opera 40%. Can I use the B&W CDM9NT in this small room?

If the 9NT's are not suitable to my room,I consider the Revel M20. Can I Use the Revel M20?

The prices of 9NT and M20 here are each $2600 and $2300. My budget is $2600.

I make a request for this question.
bluesky
4 responses Add your response
sugarbrie
3,854 posts
 
What it would come down to for me is; how do the speakers perform at lower volume levels? I assume it won't take a lot of volume to fill that small room to normal listening levels.

As Yoda might have said: "Size Matters Not".

I find some speakers can sound shut-in at low volume. They open up as the volume increases. I also find that many that sound good at low level, distort at high volume levels.
gustavog
36 posts
 
Get the M20s. With the music that he listens too and the size of the room your friend will not miss that much the additional low end that the CDM9 NTs will bring over the M20s and the later should have far better mid highs. I haven't heard the M20s but they are often compared (and many people say they are better) than the B&W N805s which I own. The N805s have far better mid highs, imaging, detail than anything on the CDM series.

But you'll need stands for the M20s, btw, so count that too.
swingman
30 posts
 
One other issue is driver coherence. It takes a reasonable amount of distance for the sound of the different driver units in the 9NT to blend well. If your friend plans to sit less than 8 feet away from the speakers, he might not be as happy with them as he would be at a greater distance. Also, the 9NT has more bass than any of the other CDM models, so Sugarbrie's comment about listening levels is worth considering. If your friend finds himself needing to turn up the volume to get the midrange to come alive, he may end up with too much bass.

The 9NTs are a good speaker. As with all speakers, their suitability depends heavily on your tastes, your room and your equipment. I haven't heard the M20s so I can't offer you a comparison with them. Good luck.
bluesky OP
28 posts
 
Sugarbrie,Gustavog and Swingman,thanks for your replies.
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