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Bronze Member Username: DscrobeReading, PA USA Post Number: 61 Registered: Dec-05 | Having only seen this with B&W, I notice how as the model line increases, the tweeter is set further apart from the enclosure. The sales rep explained this has something to do with reducing the standing waves that can be created behind the driver. Is B&W unique to this kind of tweeter design? I got my eyes pretty much set on a pair of bookshelf 700's. I was going to get a pair of CM's but I am skeptical of the performance of the Flowport in the rear of the enclosure as compared to being normally in front. I like the wood veneer enclosures. |
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Platinum Member Username: Jan_b_vigneDallas, TX Post Number: 11647 Registered: May-04 | . "I was going to get a pair of CM's but I am skeptical of the performance of the Flowport in the rear of the enclosure as compared to being normally in front." Where's your flowport located? . |
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Bronze Member Username: DscrobeReading, PA USA Post Number: 62 Registered: Dec-05 | Well, it's one that I was going to purchase, but the flowport is not visualized in the front. It is the CM1 speaker. The rep told me that it was there and was probably in the rear. I found that very odd. |
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Bronze Member Username: DscrobeReading, PA USA Post Number: 63 Registered: Dec-05 | A picture of it is here: http://www.bowers-wilkins.com/display.aspx?infid=1065 |
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Gold Member Username: StefanomVienna, VA United States Post Number: 1111 Registered: Apr-06 | "Where's your flowport located? " You don't want to know... |
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Platinum Member Username: Jan_b_vigneDallas, TX Post Number: 11648 Registered: May-04 | . "Well, it's one that I was going to purchase, but the flowport is not visualized in the front. It is the CM1 speaker. The rep told me that it was there and was probably in the rear. I found that very odd. Personally, I find it odd you were going to buy a flowport. And visualize it. But let me get this straight. The rep told you it was "there" (where?) and when looking at the front of the speaker told you it was probably in the rear?! I'm not sure what to make of that. That the rep knew it was somewhere. Or, that when no port showed up on the front the assumption was made the port was probably on the rear. But no one checked? What if it's not there? What if someone took your flowport? I don't think "odd" begins to cover this one. If the same rep said the position of the tweeter has "something" to do with standing waves, why are you still talking to this rep? I can understand being sceptical of the performance of the flowport. That whole dimple thing sounds kinda fishy to me too. But why are you concerned about whether it's in front or in back? Just because you couldn't find it on the front? I'm confused. . |
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Gold Member Username: My_rantzAustralia Post Number: 1653 Registered: Nov-05 | Daniel, if you click the "view 3D" link on that page, you'll see how the flowport is fitted. Usually, speakers with rear ports are a bit more difficult placement-wise, meaning they need more room from rear, side walls and corners. Dimpled, pimpled or otherwise, listening yourself or perhaps even a home audtion with a few different speakers and brands will be the most beneficial to you. |
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Bronze Member Username: DscrobeReading, PA USA Post Number: 64 Registered: Dec-05 | M.R., thanks on the 3D link. I am not the expert on speaker design/engineering. It's just that I usually see the port on the front. My real curiosity is on the tweeter though. |
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Platinum Member Username: Jan_b_vigneDallas, TX Post Number: 11650 Registered: May-04 | . It's on the front. |
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Bronze Member Username: DscrobeReading, PA USA Post Number: 65 Registered: Dec-05 | Jan...the CM1 has it on the rear. |
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Gold Member Username: Frank_abelaBerkshire UK Post Number: 2471 Registered: Sep-04 | Daniel, I presume you mean that you are tempted to go for the 705 because the port is on the front. For your information, nowadays it is more usual for speaker manufacturers to place the port on the back of the speaker than on the front. This helps any chuffing noise from the port to be dissipated against the back wall. Chuffing noise has been a problem with many front-ported speakers. The 705 is quite a bit bigger than the CM1 and is more demanding of the amplifier than the CM1. It is built beautifully and is also a much better speaker, BUT it has to be accompanied by appropriate electronics, otherwise it shows up the rest of the system since it's a bit of an open window. Now here's where things go awry in terms of your reasoning I'm afraid. Although mounting the port at the front should mean that the 705 could be placed nearer the wall, my experience with the 705 when I used to sell it was that it needed a fair amount of distance from the back wall to work properly. The 705 has a big presentation. It may be 'just' a bookshelf, but it's still a full frequency transducer. When placed close to the rear wall (closer than say 18 inches), the 705's bass became too much and swamped the sound. The 705 is the best of the 700 series in this respect - the 704 and 703 needed at least 24 inches. The CM1 can go a bit closer to the wall, but not too much closer. It still has B&W's somewhat 'fruity' character in the bass - ie. a touch too much in my opinion - so you mustn't go too close to the wall but if you do, you can apply the foam plugs to reduce the bass output and control the situation. That said, foam plugs have a tendency to strangle midrange a bit so they're not a panacea I'm afraid. As for the relocation of the tweeter on the 700 series, B&W have been developing the separately enclosed tweeter for some years now, and this is trickle-down technology in action. In fact, even the CM series tweeters benefit from some of this technology. Although economies of scale mean that the CM can't mount the tweeter in its separate enclosure a la 700 series, it still loads the tweeter with a long tube in the same way as the 700 and 800 series. This is meant to give benefits in terms of how the tweeter is controlled; there is little doubt that the CM tweeter gives a very sweet treble presentation with almost no ringing which is pretty good for a metal dome tweeter, and better than its predecessors. Regards, Frank. |
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Bronze Member Username: DscrobeReading, PA USA Post Number: 67 Registered: Dec-05 | Frank, excellent post. The 705 did tempt me for the port because I was first hooked on the CM, with its wood veneer enclosure. I like what I see in B&W and I wanted something a little higher than its low end product. When I saw that the CM's port was in the rear, I was wondering about placing my speakers against a wall. So I started looking at the 700's and the 800's and began wondering of the extra added benefits of the tweeter design. I got a quote for $1460.00/pair on 705's, which might be a little high for me. Considering your post, I probably should stick with my first choice afterall. |
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Platinum Member Username: Jan_b_vigneDallas, TX Post Number: 11654 Registered: May-04 | . "the CM1 has it on the rear." Damn! What'll they think of next? No wonder it has something to do with standing waves. |
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Gold Member Username: Frank_abelaBerkshire UK Post Number: 2481 Registered: Sep-04 | LOL Jan, you crack me up! |
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Bronze Member Username: DscrobeReading, PA USA Post Number: 68 Registered: Dec-05 | Frank, it seems that I am worse off when I jump from a 600 series to a CM. The frequency response is not as low and the sensitivity decreases from 88 to 84. |