CM9 - 3-way vented-box system

If it’s hard to put the sound of the CM9 into words, that’s just as well.

This top-of-the-range floorstanding speaker will fill even the largest domestic spaces with music so richly detailed, and so startlingly lifelike, that it will leave you speechless.

The three-way CM9 delivers truly commanding bass with the aid of twin 165mm paper/Kevlar® cone drive units. An FST® driver, with its characteristic compression surround supporting the outer edge of the distinctive Kevlar® cone, is specially developed for outstanding midrange performance. The CM9’s Nautilus™ tube-loaded aluminium dome tweeter keeps 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.

Bowers & Wilkins CM9 Wins EISA Award

EUROPEAN Loudspeaker 2009-2010
Official quote from EISA:

“This handsome floorstanding loudspeaker offers tremendous value for money, and features B&W’s highly regarded FST midrange unit as part of a four-driver system. The woven Kevlar cone of the FST driver is swaged at its edge and rests on a ring of foamed plastic that acts in compression. This novel arrangement improves the driver’s dissipation of unwanted vibrations but limits its excursion, so the unit hands over to twin 165mm bass drivers, reflex loaded through a dimpled port, for deep and extended low frequencies. The speaker offers a healthy sensitivity but is reasonably tough to drive – weedy amplifiers need not apply! Suitably partnered, the CM9 offers a very lush sound, big and expressive with a very realistic sense of musical dynamics. It’s one of B&W’s most compelling floorstanders to date and at a price that seals its EISA commendation.”

CM9 Specifications

Woven Kevlar
Crossover Tuning
Nautilus Tapering Tube
Flowport
Mushrooms
FST
Tweeter on Top
Matrix
Rohacell
Diamond Tweeters
Sphere / Tube Enclosure
De-Coupling
Nautilus
Technical features	Nautilus™ tube loaded aluminium dome tweeter
	Kevlar® brand fibre cone FST midrange
	Flowport™
Description	3-way vented-box system
Drive units	1x ø25mm (1 in) aluminium dome high-frequency
	1x ø150mm (6 in) woven Kevlar® cone FST midrange
	2x ø165mm (6.5 in) paper/Kevlar® cone bass
Frequency range	-6dB at 30Hz and 50kHz
Frequency response	56Hz - 22kHz ±3dB on reference axis
Dispersion	Within 2dB of reference response
Horizontal:	over 60º arc
Vertical:	over 10º arc
Sensitivity	89dB spl (2.83V, 1m)
Harmonic distortion	2nd and 3rd harmonics (90dB, 1m)
	<1% 90Hz - 22kHz
	<0.5% 120Hz - 20kHz
Nominal impedance	8Ω (minimum 3.0Ω)
Crossover frequencies	350Hz, 4kHz
Recommended amplifier power	30W - 200W into 8Ω on unclipped programme
Max. recommended cable impedance	0.1Ω
Dimensions
Height:	990mm (39 in) (cabinet only)
	1025mm (40.4 in) (including plinth but not feet)
Width:	200mm (7.9 in) (cabinet only)
	320mm (12.6 in) (including plinth)
Depth:	300mm (11.8 in) (cabinet only)
	321mm (12.6 in) (including grille and terminals but not plinth)
	370mm (14.6 in) (including plinth)
Net weight	26.6kg (58.5 lb)
Finishes
Cabinet - Real Wood Veneers	Grille
Wengé	Black
Rosenut	Black
Painted Finish
Gloss Black	Black