B&W CM1 ¦ $1499 per pair ¦ ¦ www.e-hifi.com.au
For: Fine neutrality and delicate detailing with superior imaging.
Against: Lacks dynamic tension and some expression.
Verdict: A very pretty luxury miniature that is very cleverly engineered.
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Worthing based B&W is the world leader in hi-fi loudspeakers, and has built its position by creating a number of model ranges that fill most of the obvious sectors the marketplace. There's obvious demand for high performance speakers to partner plasma and LCD TVs, hence the new slimline, silver metal-jackets of the new XT-Series. At the same time, B&W engineers have rearranged the XT building blocks to create the CM1 miniature standmount, for the stereo enthusiast who likes to keep things small and elegant.

High-performance miniature speakers, with internal volumes of around 5-7 litres, have long been a niche sector of the hi-fi scene. Their illustrious history can count numerous ‘classics' going back over 40-odd years. Furthermore, budget-price miniatures – like the Wharfedale Diamond and Mordaunt-Short MS3.10 – were the biggest sellers a decade or two ago, before fashion changes moved towards floorstanders.

Surprisingly perhaps, B&W is one company that has tended to avoid the miniature sector of the market, especially the luxury end thereof. And while this little CM1's $1499 per pair price tag is a lot smaller than the ones appearing on some of the other tinies out there, its sharply tailored real wood veneer and shiny driver trim certainly looks the part.

In this case, the enclosure is very slim indeed, helped by a smaller than usual bass/mid drive unit. It's also nearly as deep as it is tall, giving a total enclosed volume of 6.5 litres. It is, of course, a two-way, with a nominal 130mm main driver equipped with a 95mm woven Kevlar cone and pointed dust cap, plus a 25mm aluminium dome tweeter.

The tweeter is fitted conventionally into the front of the enclosure, but uses a Nautilus-style rear loading tube mounted internally to absorb the rear radiation from the diaphragm. And it also uses the diaphragm/surround arrangement developed for the 805S, giving output up to 50kHz and having a low enough fundamental resonance to allow it to be fed via a first-order, single capacitor network.

Both the CM1's drivers use detailed modelling of their magnetic motors and  laser-based measurements in order to minimise distortion and line arise their net inductance. Their mechanical design has even been tailored to enable the simplest possible crossover network to be used. Much of the development time then went into auditioning and comparing alternative network components, since measurement techniques are still not as musically discriminating as human hearing.

The tasty cabinet comes in wenge or rosenut finish, and the fabric grille (if used) is held by magnets hidden beneath the veneer, avoiding unsightly lugs. Both drivers are flush-mounted, the tweeter featuring a highly polished faceplate to match the main driver trim, partly cut away to allow the drivers to be as close together as possible. Twin terminal pairs offer the bi-wire/bi-amp option, and a generous flared Flow port reflex-loads the enclosure. A hollow foam sleeve offers an interesting port tuning option.

SOUND QUALITY

Over and beyond considerations of price and surface finish, the one thing that usually and fundamentally distinguishes the ‘luxury' from the ‘budget' miniature is that the former tend to sacrifice sensitivity in order to achieve a free-space bass alignment. That's much the case here, where our measurements indicated a sensitivity as low as 84-85dB. Wondering whether the test gear was correctly set, it was gratifying to get confirmation that the manufacturer was also claiming 84dB. This low figure means that ultimate loudness capability will be somewhat limited, but at least the load it presents to the amplifier, which stays above five ohms, will be easy enough to drive.

With the port left completely unobstructed, it was tuned to 58Hz, which is very close to one of our room's major modes, and consequently showed a +5dB peak on our far-field in-room averaged trace. Inserting the hollow foam bungs reduces the port output and re-tunes it to 40Hz, giving a smoother, flatter bass output with slightly greater extension. Subjectively, however, the speaker was actually preferred without the foam inserts.

Whatever the chosen bass alignment, the balance over the rest of the audio band is remarkably well judged and ordered, holding within tight limits throughout. It's a little laid back above 1.5 kHz, with just a shallow, broad depression through the presence zone.

A near-perfect balance is an excellent starting point for any speaker, whatever its size. It virtually guarantees fine basic neutrality, and that was certainly a key factor in the listening experience. Whatever the source, this speaker will deliver its sound with restrained even-handedness, gently laid back, free from exaggeration, and with surprising weight and solidity for its size.

However, the CM1's tiny dimensions have at least three other specific implications – two positive, one negative. Because the front baffle is so small and the drivers so close together, the speaker will behave very like a point source, and this is the reason why the stereo image is both spacious and precisely focused. And because there's very little cabinet here to add coloration to the sound of the drive units, there's very little cabinet coloration. Some of the more costly luxury miniatures go even further in banishing boxiness, but the CM1 certainly has very little coloration, boxy or otherwise, to distract one from the music.

On the other hand, because this speaker is so small, it doesn't move a lot of air. This one factor robs the CM1 of the sort of dynamic expression and tension that larger speakers can generate. Although many seem happy enough with the sound of small speakers, the sound they create is invariably ‘reproduced', lacking the greater sense of reality that only bigger speakers seem able to deliver. This one unavoidable caveat aside, if you're looking for an attractive pair of compact speakers for a small(ish) room, the CM1 takes top honours for the price tag.