B&W CM10 S2 or Paradigm Prestige 95F??

[crossedover]

Get ToGether , music meet up

 

[Matthew Fessenden]

I have to ask what town you live in, Paradigm is a pretty popular speaker with a fairly large dealer network.

I'm in Tulsa, OK. There are dealers here but none with the Prestige series on the floor. I'm checking in OKC and Stillwater now.

 

[crossedover]

Yes, the B&W's sound great to me. I was actually surprised to get the opposition I've received here and other places after all of the great reviews I've read. I only consider the Digms because of the screemin' deal I can get.

I dont dislike them, I Just believe at retail or 15% off, there are others to consider also

 

[fmw]

Yes, the B&W's sound great to me. I was actually surprised to get the opposition I've received here and other places after all of the great reviews I've read. I only consider the Digms because of the screemin' deal I can get.

What matters in the long run is the satisfaction you receive from them, not the "screemin'" deal.

 

[Matthew Fessenden]

What matters in the long run is the satisfaction you receive from them, not the "screemin'" deal.

The deal only helps me to consider the risk of purchase before listening. If I take the risk and still don't like them, I'll definitely not be keeping them just because I got the good deal. You make a good point.

 

[Cos]

At the end of the day, if you like the B&W, you are the one that has to live with them, so that is all that matters.

I would put it that way, if you are absolutely satisfied with the sound quality of those speakers, I would get the B&W, they are not going to sound the same as the paradigms, that can be good thing, or it can be bad thing.

 

[crossedover]

Salk cough Philharmonic couch...

 

[PENG]

I am biased, I like the B&W's transparent sound, typically lots of air too for live like brass.

 

[Matthew Fessenden]

I am biased, I like the B&W's transparent sound, typically lots of air too for live like brass.

What makes you biased? How are they for Home Theater? So far, I'm so enamored with their musicality that I hope I don't overlook their ability to perform in the HT realm.

 

[fmw]

What makes you biased? How are they for Home Theater? So far, I'm so enamored with their musicality that I hope I don't overlook their ability to perform in the HT realm.

Speaker don't perform differently because they are reproducing a movie sound track or a CD. As you can surmise, they can't tell the difference. If someone told you movie sound tracks require different speakers from music you can ignore that. It is one of nearly countless audio myths.

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

Speaker don't perform differently because they are reproducing a movie sound track or a CD. As you can surmise, they can't tell the difference. If someone told you movie sound tracks require different speakers from music you can ignore that. It is one of nearly countless audio myths.

I agree 100%. I think great speakers will sound great for every single application - music, movies, TV, games, etc.

But some people believe music sound is different than movie sound. They even try to justify having 2 separate sound systems - 1 for music only and 1 for movies only.

 

[PENG]

What makes you biased? How are they for Home Theater? So far, I'm so enamored with their musicality that I hope I don't overlook their ability to perform in the HT realm.

Because I have not actually heard either. I have heard the 800 series speakers and Paradigm's Studio and Signature series speakers. I did like the Paradigm S6 and S8 but I like the 804S, 804D, 805D, and 802D much more. That biased me to think I will likely prefer the CM10 to Paradigm's non signature series speakers. You really should listen to both before making your decision.

 

[Cos]

Because I have not actually heard either. I have heard the 800 series speakers and Paradigm's Studio and Signature series speakers. I did like the Paradigm S6 and S8 but I like the 804S, 804D, 805D, and 802D much more. That biased me to think I will likely prefer the CM10 to Paradigm's non signature series speakers. You really should listen to both before making your decision.

There is such a huge delta in sound quality between the 80XX and the CM series, or at least in my audio perception when I was trying them out. In defence of B&W it was the 802D vs the CM series.

If you were comparing the CM10 to the older Studio Series 100v5, which I have owned, I felt the opposite of you. That being said, the newer Prestige Series is a complete redesign and everything about the build quality/materials is different, so I would not be so quick to make that assumption.

I do agree, I find it hard to buy speakers that I have not heard. This is why I will never buy speakers from an ID company. Even with their return policy it's such a hassle to buy 100lbs speakers only to have to pack them up because you don't like them.

In my case when I picked up my GE Triton 1s, I drove one hour to test the RBH 8300 Series just to make sure I was comfortable with my decision. It was worth the trip as I felt more comfortable with my decision.

 

[PENG]

There is such a huge delta in sound quality between the 80XX and the CM series, or at least in my audio perception when I was trying them out. In defence of B&W it was the 802D vs the CM series.

If you were comparing the CM10 to the older Studio Series 100v5, which I have owned, I felt the opposite of you. That being said, the newer Prestige Series is a complete redesign and everything about the build quality/materials is different, so I would not be so quick to make that assumption.

I do agree, I find it hard to buy speakers that I have not heard. This is why I will never buy speakers from an ID company. Even with their return policy it's such a hassle to buy 100lbs speakers only to have to pack them up because you don't like them.

In my case when I picked up my GE Triton 1s, I drove one hour to test the RBH 8300 Series just to make sure I was comfortable with my decision. It was worth the trip as I felt more comfortable with my decision.

You might have misunderstood me. I said I had not listened to either the CM or the new Digms. That's why I said upfront I was biased, biased in the sense that my preference was not based on my impression of the mentioned models but other models by B&W and Digm, i.e. the 800s and d series vs the Studio 3,5 and Sig series. It is totally possible that I may like the Studio 100/60 V5 better than I may like the CM10 series, but I definitely prefer the 804S/D to any of the Digms except the one the OP is looking at because I have not auditioned that one, yet..

 

[Matthew Fessenden]

Speaker don't perform differently because they are reproducing a movie sound track or a CD. As you can surmise, they can't tell the difference. If someone told you movie sound tracks require different speakers from music you can ignore that. It is one of nearly countless audio myths.

I understand that the speakers will handle different medias the same in terms of their quality of output and sound signature.

I do think, however, that people impose different expectations of speakers during critical listening between the medias. This may be a subconscious decision, I don't know.

E.g. I like my music bright, forward, crisp, and clear. I like movies to have more mid range and more of a warm tone.

Because speakers excel at different things, one might prefer one speaker over the other when listening to the different medias because you want to hear the media differently.

 

[macddmac]

Yes, the B&W's sound great to me. I was actually surprised to get the opposition I've received here and other places after all of the great reviews I've read. I only consider the Digms because of the screemin' deal I can get.

Both are very good speakers- looks like about 500.00 difference favoring the Paradigms.
I'd go with them first.
Cheers, Mac

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

Another thing. Sometimes the store may have bad setups of the speakers and they may sound terrible. I listened to a pair of Paradigm Studio 100 once and they sounded horrible (although the store owner thought the S100 sounded good). So then I am biased against all Paradigm.

I am not biased against PSB. But one time I also listened to a pair of $2K PSB towers and they sounded horrible. I just blamed the store for that experience since most people love PSB.

So store-sound may be bad, but home-sound may be great.

Problem is, when most people compare speakers, it is from one store vs other stores, not in the same house.

 

[fmw]

I understand that the speakers will handle different medias the same in terms of their quality of output and sound signature.

I do think, however, that people impose different expectations of speakers during critical listening between the medias. This may be a subconscious decision, I don't know.

E.g. I like my music bright, forward, crisp, and clear. I like movies to have more mid range and more of a warm tone.

Because speakers excel at different things, one might prefer one speaker over the other when listening to the different medias because you want to hear the media differently.

I would rather say that speakers excel differently at the same things. I can't imagine how you would prefer music with different tonality based on the medium to which it was recorded but your preferences are your preferences.

 

[Matthew Fessenden]

I would rather say that speakers excel differently at the same things. I can't imagine how you would prefer music with different tonality based on the medium to which it was recorded but your preferences are your preferences.

I can't put it into words. It's just different when listening to music than when listening to movies. Movies have what I call "movie magic" and that can be destroyed by being too clear. For instance, these new televisions with ridiculous refresh rates make everything look like a low budget soap opera. When watching movies, it's o.k. for some of the music to be not as clear because it's intended for background noise behind sound effects and voices. Not all of the time, but a vast majority.

 

[fmw]

I can't put it into words. It's just different when listening to music than when listening to movies. Movies have what I call "movie magic" and that can be destroyed by being too clear. For instance, these new televisions with ridiculous refresh rates make everything look like a low budget soap opera. When watching movies, it's o.k. for some of the music to be not as clear because it's intended for background noise behind sound effects and voices. Not all of the time, but a vast majority.

I don't agree but, as I said, your preferences are your preferences.