Bowers & Wilkins New and Old

Lewis Dalven, resident audiophile, shares his thoughts on product, trends, industry happenings, and why Steeley Dan is the greatest band ever.

New products come out all the time in our industry, but few recent product launches are as exciting to me as the introduction of Bowers & Wilkins’ CM-10 floor standing loudspeakers. For those unfamiliar with the brand, Bowers & Wilkins is one of the few makers of HiFi speakers to be continuously in the conversation of “world’s best” for over 4 decades! Their top models have defined “state-of-the-art” in multiple eras, as they continue to innovate, while adhering to the founders’ philosophy of balanced technical performance in the service of faithful music reproduction.

Bowers & Wilkins lines

Bowers & Wilkins makes 3 lines, broadly speaking. The main-stream models comprise the 600 series, the middle tier is called CM, and the flagship line are the 800 Diamonds. Certain technology solutions are found in each, commensurate with their price point and objective. The CM line all use higher grade components and have a more beautiful cabinet finish than 600 line models, and the 800 D models all share a long list of distinctive features. What makes the CM-10 exciting is how much 800 D tech has been incorporated in its design.

800 D models all have:

These features are all implemented in order to reduce the coloring effects of cabinet resonance, rear wave reflection, and edge diffraction, allowing their exceptionally accurate drive units to deliver the amplified music signal into your room as completely and perfectly as possible.

These features have been developed through years of R&D at considerable expense in tooling, and in some cases are very costly and labor intensive to produce. Their highly aesthetic design has also served to set the price of the 800 D range high. But while 800 D series owners may enjoy all the fruits of B&W’s pursuit of loudspeaker perfection and design excellence, what about the rest of us? The engineers at B&W’s R&D lab are not elitists, after all, and the sound of accurate music reproduction can be appreciated by anyone with ears!

Something for (more of) the 99%

With the introduction of CM-10, B&W now makes two models meant to bring a measure of their top-tier technology to the mid-range market. Each is priced at roughly half what the 800D series equivalent sells for and each is magnificent in its own right. The PM-1 mini-monitor ($ 2,800.00/pair) is the junior version of the 805D 2-way ($5,000.00/pair), and the CM-10 ($ 4,000.00/pair) is the functional stand-in for the 804D

($ 7,500.00/pair). While the design brief for PM-1 emphasizes its suitability for smaller listening spaces compared to the 805D, the CM-10, like 804D is a no-compromise performer capable of fulfilling its role in rooms large and small.

The 800 D elements shared by these two models include their use of top-mounted tapered-tube loaded tweeter pods, woven-Kevlar drive units, and high-spec crossover components. The CM-10 also uses an FST mid-range like its 3-way 800 D kin. Rather than diamond, both these models use aluminum domes braced with a ring of carbon fiber to bring the clarity of their treble-range reproduction into nearly perfect focus.

Find a recording with well-miked cymbals and put PM-1s or CM-10s to the “shimmer” test…you will be very impressed!

Overall, these models allow us at Audio Concepts to offer sound reproduction of the highest standard to a significantly wider range of clients who love and value music a lot, as we do.