Jeff Stockton has posted a review of the entry-level Bowers & Wilkins CM5 loudspeakers ($1,500) at Soundstage! Hi-Fi. Here is an excerpt:
When I first hooked up the CM5s to my NAD C 325BEE, I was startled by the immediate difference in sound quality. The B&Ws were in the positions occupied by every other speaker I’ve had in this room — about 2’ from the front wall and 4’ from the sidewalls, with a slight toe-in — and the size of the room certainly hadn’t changed. But the amount of music that filled the space seemed much greater than before. The music sounded bigger and richer, more present, squaring off the frame rather than simply occupying it.
Greater width, yes, but also greater height and depth, as demonstrated by "Mango," from Bruce Cockburn’s Breakfast in New Orleans (CD, Rykodisc 10407). Cockburn’s voice sounded silky smooth, his guitar solo shimmered, the female backing singers were clearly delineated from his lead vocal, and swirling around it all was the liquid mwahhh of a fretless bass. Each tone occupied its own distinct level in the sonic architecture, but the CM5 integrated all of them into a beautiful whole.
You can read the full review here.
