Bowers and Wilkins CM1 s1

I saw this little CM1 s1 speakers on sale and I just had to buy them because I always wanted to own B&W CM series as they look stunning.
How do they sound? There are many reviews online, but most accurate review I found is here is here. In short, what you get is about 80% of performance for 1/3 of price of 805n. Of cos they can't replace 805's  as my main speakers but they do offer a lot at this price point. They are better sounding than B&W 685 speakers for sure and they can be very enjoyable to listen if you don't over force them at high levels with too demanding music tracks. Size of speaker just cannot cope with that. But simple jazz or even rock music in a smaller listening area is where they shine with great imaging and control. Only minus would be their low sensitivity at around 84 dB per W/m. But, if you have proper amp with enough power to drive them this shouldn't be a problem.
 Annoyingly I lost one of the screws from speaker terminal and already ordered new one from official B&W shop for about S$20.

Even my cat approves them. :)

Emotiva UPA-2 new heart of my setup

It's been a while since my last post, there are some interesting changes in my setup. :)  I've sold my Cambridge Audio 740 amplifier mainly due lcd display  'burned' out. :/

I was monitoring second hand market for Emotiva amps and finally I found used UPA-2 that I quickly picked up from seller. What I didn't pay attention is that front panel had some 'spots' on it that end up to be a pain as I was annoyed by it.

I tried everything - polishing , cleaning , even painting it, however special type of blacked brushed aluminium is impossible to fix thus I end up buying another front panel and fixing it.

 But, why 'Emotiva'? Unknown brand? You may wonder. So did I , until back few years I've heard my speakers on Emotiva amp from seller. I was amazed with the sound and bass reproduction thus it was a non-brainer to get one of this amps after that.Just had to find one used because  I didn't want to buy new because of import and shipping cost - and I'm glad I didn't - because old Emotiva UPA-2 is heavier as it uses passive cooling while new models use active (fan) and many people complain about that.

Since Emotiva UPA-2 is a power amp, I'm now using my CA CXN in pre-amp mode. Other components are connected using digital inputs on CXN. 

Verdict : Amazing upgrade. I just can't believe that an amp can make such a difference. Cambridge audio was a good amp, but it simply couldn't feed 805n with enough current to control the bass like Emotiva does. This is what I needed to wake my speakers up and demonstrate their full potential. Now I just listen music and enjoy every day. :)