Tower Speaker Reviews

B&W doesn't offer a CM Series subwoofer, so I requested the ASW 2500. It's a little powerhouse: 50 pounds packed into a 12.4-inch-wide and -tall box that is 15.7 inches deep. The sub's 10-inch paper/Kevlar cone is motivated by a 700-watt MOSFET amp. Connectivity options include an active high-pass line-level output (at 80 Hz) and a bypassable 50- to 150-Hz variable low-pass filter. The sub lacks speaker-level ins or outs. An EQ switch provides a 60-Hz bump for greater home theater impact. This sealed sub is available in a black-ash or cherrywood vinyl finish. B&W supplies carpet-piercing spikes and, for those of you with wood or tiled floors, rubber feet.

When I first set them up, the CM speakers sounded boxy. The treble was rough, and the bass was lightweight. The glare faded over time, and the bottom and midrange ripened as I racked up a hundred or so hours of playing time. You gotta give these speakers some hard use before they'll show their true colors.

To suss out the CM system's musicality, I listened to some of the latest and greatest SACDs via a Philips SACD 1000 player. Switching between the CD and SACD layers of Duke Ellington's Blues in Orbit quickly demonstrated what's so super about Super Audio: The stereo SACD's sound was so much more natural and three-dimensional. There's just more there. By comparison, the CD layer sounded squashed and flat. The Philips player comes with a copy of Ivan Fischer's live multichannel SACD with the Budapest Festival Orchestra. Wow, this is one of the best-sounding surround recordings I've ever heard, and the CM ensemble conjured up a reasonable facsimile of an actual acoustic space. I had the CM 2s in the rear, at the four and eight o'clock positions (110 degrees from the sweet spot, which is recommended for music in surround sound), and they handily completed the soundfield. I loved their very refined, pure sound, but the CMs aren't the sort of speakers that serve up bucketfuls of high-resolution detail.

Enough with the audiophile stuff. I wanted to see if the CMs could boogie, so I tried out a bunch of new blues CDs. Buddy Guy's back-to-the-woodshed Sweet Tea and James Blood Ulmer's rip-roaring Memphis Blood: Sun Sessions brought the CM system to life, especially when I leaned on the volume control. Buddy Guy's disc, in particular, was so raw and live-feeling that it sounded like his Stratocaster was plugged straight into the CM 4s. Moving on to something completely different, I checked out the futuristic/primitive Pig in a Can CD, which lurches between dangerously raw sound and transcendent soul. This CD's thick-toned bass lines should've jumped out of the CM 4s, but the lower-end definition was a tad soft, as if the speakers blunted the leading-edge bass. They dip fairly low, but let's get real: A 6.5-inch woofer has its limits, so a sub is a must for home theater fun. The CM 4's tweeter sounded slightly zippy on these less-than-pristine recordings. Yes, you can count the rivets dancing on cymbals, but I prefer the JMlab Cobalt Series' inverted-titanium-dome tweeters or the softer sound of soft domes. The CM Series' tweeter definitely sounds like the tweeter on the top-of-the-line Nautilus models.

The CM system blasted through the space-launch sequences on the Contact DVD with nary a complaint. This ensemble spectacularly presented the immense textural palette of the film's special effects, but the full-tilt dynamics didn't knock me out. The SLS HT 600 5.1 system, for example, can generate more pin-you-to-your-seat slam. I was impressed with the CM C's midrange, which was harmonically true and utterly natural. In terms of its dynamic range, the center speaker kept up with the CM 4s without a problem. The ASW 2500 sub can muster its share of kidney-kicking shock waves, and it'll do fine in a small- to mid-sized room. It's certainly faster and tighter than Sunfire's muscular subs, but it's nowhere near as deep or as powerful. I shouldn't complain: The ASW 2500 didn't get nasty or boomy, and it seamlessly integrated with the CM speakers.

Finally, I swung the CM 2s around to the front positions and explored some of my favorite second-season Sopranos episodes on DVD. With less-demanding dramatic or comedic soundtracks, the CM 2s emulated most of the CM 4s' qualities. Actually, the ASW 2500 seemed punchier when teamed with the little guys. For a smaller room, I'd recommend building a system around four CM 2s, a CM C, and the ASW 2500.

B&W set out to design a line of high-performance speakers that would appeal to a wider audience than just us audiophiles. That's smart because I doubt that too many civilians would want something as outlandishly styled as the Nautilus 801 in their homes. Décor-conscious folks and 'philes will happily scoop up these handsome CM Series speakers.

HIGHLIGHTS
• Beautiful veneers and a handsome design
• Liquid sound
• Sub could use more oomph