New gear! B&W CM10S2 (2024)

Hey guys,
just wanted to share the joy! I was looking for some decent pair of speakers to match my Mc amp, and I finally chose the B&W CM10 S2.
Well, first thing first, it was such an adventure to get them home : they're large, and soooo heavy!!!
But now they're home, and I'm already trying them of course!
On classical (both orchestra and chamber music), they're definitely great! You can actually feel the musicians presence and listen to every detail . The soundstage is pretty wide, too.
On small jazz ensembles, they sound fantastic as well, just like the musicians were just in front of you!
On more modern music (hip-hip, R&B), I find them a tad too bassy and boomy. Even if I could get them a bit far from the wall behind, it seemed a bit better by putting a part of foam that is supplied into the bass reflex holes. not all the foam part, just a kind of ring, to reduce the hole's diameter, otherwise the bass was totally erased!
On one record (the Whiplash movie OST, on the "Whiplash" track, I found the hi-mids and trebles really harsch, don't know if because the speakers need some break-in (bought them new...)

Now I'm listening to Snarky Puppy's last album, Culcha Vulcha on vinyl, and the imaging is absolutely terrific! Close your eyes, and you can visual all of them (it's a very large band!) in the studio!
The neighbours don't seem to be home, so I take this opportunity to listen to them at fairly high level (well, level at 10/100 is already really loud on the Mac!), and I would say that they are both really precise but don't create any hearing fatigue.
Well, that's it for now, I guess I now have to break them in during the whole weekend!

Nice choice from what I hear from others. Congrats!!

Nice!! I agree that these speakers sound better than their price would indicate. What I was surprised by was just how much better they sound than the CM9 S2 when I compared them side by side at my dealer!

Enjoy them!!

Pics!

Here it is, Sir!

Nice!

I've got the same speakers and love mine. They're powered by a McIntosh 402 congrats on your new speakers, you like them now you'll love them later after the break in.

B&W and McIntosh complement each other

Beautiful!

OMG!!! Can I possibly be THAT stupid??? See, In the original post, I wrote that sometimes I found the high mids and trebles a bit harsh. Well, it took me 10 days to realize that somebody (I have 2 kids and sometimes their friends at home, but it's probably a coincidence!!!) had cranked the treble pot up!!!
I usually never touch the treble and bass pots, so I didn't pay any attention, and actually this morning, once again I was thinking that the trebles were really aggressive, so I decided to roll-off the trebles a little bit, that's where I realized something was really wrong!
And now guess what? That's far better! Yes, you can really call me stupid, that's what I'm currently doing for hours now!!!

I bought these about 9 months ago and love them. Hope you enjoy them as much as I do.

I find myself digging through my recordings listening to stuff I probably overplayed in years past, growing bored. Now with these new speakers, it's like hearing them for the first time. The sound of drums and acoustic instruments is so much more detailed and lifelike.

Also, I think you will find that the low end on these will tighten up after break in. The drivers get a little faster.

Congrats! Those are gorgeous and I bet they sound terrific. I agree about the break in, bet they open up in the next couple of weeks.

How would you describe the different between the CM9 and CM 10?

Honestly I can't tell, never tried the CM9s!

I'm still really happy with the CM10s anyway, even if sometimes the bass a bit too boomy, typically as bass reflex, don't know if the positioning might change something, I've gotta perform a few tests! Currently they are quite far from the wall so I don't know...

same speakers I bought approx 6 months ago!! I love them!!
noticed also the harshness in mid-highs. I adjusted the tone controls and it got better as the months have passed...

I wonder how different these sound from the 683 s2. Same mid and tweeter.

These are not the same tweeter.

How's that? It's in a different "thing" on the top of the cabinet, but is that all?

No that is not all. It is a different tweeter, not just in a different location. This has been true of the difference between the 600 line of B&W's and the mid level (CM, CDM, CNT) for over 20 years. They might look similar but they are not. CNT lines had the 800 series nautilus tweeter, the 600, to my knowledge, has never had the nautilus tweeter. I like B&W speakers a lot but sadly only have two pairs at the moment.

Beautiful enjoy them.

It's kind of academic now. My 683 S2's were destroyed by the Hurricane Harvey flood, along with the entire house and most of what was in it. CM's are most likely sold out by now. The new 700 series is getting good reviews. I have a pair of LS50's, a very different ball game.