"The B&W Sound"

I do not have "the right stuff". Moving from CDN 1NT to Tylers Linbrooks ( Seas Tweeter). I can´t listen to music more than an hour!!! Having B & W´s speakers for than eight years, I feel is enough.

Ben - Maybe you've already thought about some of this but....What about your room? It can, and likely does, have a huge impact on the sound of your system. What about speaker placement? Try listening with them straight ahead, then toe them in slightly, etc. There are a number of tweaks that will change and, in many cases, improve the sound of any speakers. Besides, tweaking the room is part of the fun. Good luck.

Someone here or on another audio forum recently reported taming the treble output of B&W CDM1s by upgrading capacitor(s) in the crossover network. I didn't take a note of this because I got rid of mine after 6 years of struggle trying to integrate them into a suitable system. If they hadn't been so good in all other respects I wouldn't have bothered, but a combination of warm amp (Plinius 8150) and cdp (Arcam CD93) still didn't work. It wasn't that the treble was harsh or otherwise objectionable - there was just too much of it. I've ended up happily with New Zealand-made Image speakers with Morel drivers, including a soft-dome tweeter, but these are not yet readily available outside NZ.

In the same room with the same ancillaries they give an all-round better performance than either the CDM1s or the newer 704 or 705 models (which I've trialled) at less than half the price. But if I had been able to tame the treble on the CDM1s it is quite likely I would have held on to them for life. I've got no issues with the rest of their pwerformance.

I had N805's and found I could not listern for longer than about 20 min. My previous and much less expensive system was NHT/NAD and I enjoyed it MUCH more than the 805's. I could not believe that the speakers were a problem so I looked elseware in the system. The biggest improvement came with the addition of a benchmark DAC. The main problem persisted which was a lack of "meat" in the sound. I don't listen to "audiophile music" I listen to rock, jazz, blues. The music still had no balls, but the highs were much improved with the DAC1 in fact the whole frequency range improved, just not enough. I then went to audition some 802D's at a local dealer. The Sophias were next to them and already hooked up, I listened to them first with a disc I made containing music I am very familiar with, WOW finally I heard what I expected from "high end". Next up 802Ds, I was prepared to be blown away but instead I heard the same sonic "signature" as my 805s only bigger. I could not stop listening to the Sophias and couldn't stop fast enough with the 802's. These were driven by big Krells, no lack of juice. Sold the 805s and bought some JM labs 907bes. They fit my room, have plenty of the meat that was missing and I listen for hours at a time now. It IS the speakers, audition some other brands and buy what you like for the type of music YOU listen to. Some JM Labs 927bes can be had in your price range and if they are anything like the 907bes they will be great. Good luck.

3 years I owned B&W CDM 1NT's, wich was a love-hate relationschip.
I used cheap equipement such as a Rotel 971 amp and a Rotel RCD 971 player.
I would discribe the sound rather as detailled, nearly analytical and a bit shrill.
However, later I've got great results with vinyl ( a cheap Pro-ject Debut (!), the music was far less agressive in my humble opinion.
I schould try smooth equipement on B&W speakers,
tube amps or amps such a LFD Mistral LE for example, however maybe underpowered for the big guys (N 802, 801,..).
Good luck.