On a bookshelf or a speaker stand, the CM5 will give you a wonderfully big, expansive sound even if you don’t have the floorspace to match.
It’s a slightly larger speaker than its sibling the CM1, with even higher sensitivity and power handling, and better bass extension. It partners a sizable 165mm Kevlar® cone bass/midrange driver with a Nautilus™ tube-loaded aluminium dome tweeter, capable of keeping high frequencies crisp and sharp all the way up to 50kHz and beyond.
The quality of CM Series drive units has made it possible to use minimalist crossovers throughout the whole range. The resulting gentle transition between drivers avoids the unnaturally rapid changes in dispersion that bedevil more complex designs, while the high quality components, carefully chosen after exhaustive listening tests, ensure that as little as possible gets between you and the sound of the original recording.
All CM Series speakers come with aluminium driver trims. Grilles attach magnetically, so there are no unsightly grille-mounting features to spoil the clean lines of the speaker’s façade. For the finish, you can choose either one of two real-wood veneers in Rosenut or Wengé, or a highly polished gloss black.
| Woven Kevlar | |
| Crossover Tuning | |
| Nautilus Tapering Tube | |
| Flowport | |
| Technical features | Nautilus™ tube loaded aluminium dome tweeter Kevlar® brand fibre cone bass/midrange Flowport™ |
| Description | 2-way vented-box system |
| Drive units | 1x ø25mm (1 in) aluminium dome high-frequency 1x ø165mm (6.5 in) woven Kevlar® cone bass/midrange |
| Frequency range | -6dB at 45Hz and 50kHz |
| Frequency response | 52Hz - 22kHz ±3dB on reference axis |
| Dispersion | Within 2dB of reference response |
| Horizontal: | over 60º arc |
| Vertical: | over 10º arc |
| Sensitivity | 88dB spl (2.83V, 1m) |
| Harmonic distortion | 2nd and 3rd harmonics (90dB, 1m) <1% 100Hz - 22kHz <0.5% 150Hz - 20kHz |
| Nominal impedance | 8Ω (minimum 3.7Ω) |
| Crossover frequencies | 4kHz |
| Recommended amplifier power | 30W - 120W into 8Ω on unclipped programme |
| Max. recommended cable impedance | 0.1Ω |
| Dimensions | |
| Height: | 340mm (13.4 in) (not including feet) |
| Width: | 200mm (7.9 in) |
| Depth: | 301mm (11.9 in) (including grille and terminals) |
| Net weight | 8.9kg (19.6 lb) |
| Finishes | |
| Cabinet - Real Wood Veneers | Wengé Rosenut |
| Cabinet - Painted Finish | Black Gloss Satin White |
| Grille | Black |
Stereophile - December 2012
The B&W CM5 touched me in a unique way. With every recording I played this neautral, dynamic speaker revealed layers of detail that let me hear into the recording process, but in a way that made it easy to forget about that process, kick back, and enjoy the music.
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Sound Stage Hi-Fi October 2010
"Authority. Richness. Clarity. Expansiveness. Ambience."
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The CM1 may be ideal for smaller spaces, but don’t let the size of this bookshelf speaker fool you. Thanks to the quality of its construction, it’s capable of producing a sound that’s a match for its bigger brothers.
The two-way CM Centre features two 130mm Kevlar® cone drivers handling the midrange and the bass, while a Nautilus tube-loaded aluminium dome tweeter keeps high frequencies crisp.
The CM8 is a true three-way loudspeaker, but an incredibly slim, compact one. It is designed for audiophile levels of performance, but in smaller spaces.
PM1 is a compact loudspeaker that offers an extremely high-quality performance. It features a new tweeter design, and a cabinet unlike anything previously constructed by Bowers & Wilkins.
Wenge
Rosenut
Gloss Black