I agree with all of the above posts. B&W speakers are extremely revealing. They also require substantially more break-in time than other brands. I think you will be fine after they are broken in. This can take more than 100 hours on your CDM7's. I work for a B&W dealer, and every new pair I take out of the box has the exact qualities you mentioned. but after break-in, they take on a very engaging and natural sound. So put in a CD on repeat and let it play for a while. Good luck!
B&W cdm7nt experiences
Just inserted a pair of CDM7NT's into what I consider a good, old, mid-fi system. Still breaking in, but they seem bright, even sizzly. The tweeter sound seems more forward than the rest of the spectrum, it's a bit distracting. Nice low end. Have other CDMxNT listeners had this experience? Of course there are lots of things to tweak, but I'd appreciate a baseline sense of how much of this brightness is just the rest of my system vs the speakers themselves. If you have found good matching components for your CDM's, what were they? I'm running British (Musical) Fidelity Preamp 3B, Marantz 140 pwr, older Sony mobile CD player, Thorens TT, Ortofon cartridge, 12ga. zip cord speaker cables, Straightwire IC. Am ready to start upgrading, probably starting with better CD and biwiring. All suggestions welcome, thanks in advance.