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Used 804 N or S vs New CM10 S2?

Hi,

I'm considering one of these speakers, but I'm unable to find a pair of the 804's to listen to prior to purchase, but have heard the CM10's extensively. On the used market, these speakers seem to sell for about the same price with the newer CM10's selling for just a bit more. Since it will be almost impossible for me to be able to listen to these speakers with the same system and A/B them, I'm curious if anyone else has done so.

I have seen a handful of threads online in various places, but can't really find any first hand experience. I know the freq response on the 804's is slightly lower and the bass is probably a bit tighter (even on an older speaker?), but my question, I suppose, would be more in a comparison of imaging/soundstage because the design is similar, but the tweeters are very different.

Any experience here would be greatly appreciated!
ryanward

Showing 3 responses by lewinskih01

lewinskih01
906 posts
 
What will you use to drive these?

FWIW, I used to have the older CM4 powered by Rotel RB1080 (200W). I upgraded to 804S and suddendly the treble was brittle. It was the more revealing speaker now allowing me to hear the amp's limitations. I upgraded the amp to McIntosh MC275 (tubes), after listening in the same system the 804S with MC275 and MC252 (solid state). Both sounded great, but I liked the tubes better.

Can't talk about the 804N. Never heard them. The 804S are very good when paired with the right equipment, like any other speaker.
lewinskih01
906 posts
 
Keep in mind I haven't heard the CM10 so what follows is a bit of a guess.
Considering:
- the new power amp is a Rotel RB1090, which is better than the RB1080 I had yet probably not in a different league,
- the RB1080 plus 804S sounded harsh to me (which you may or may not share),
- the old CM4 and RB1080 didn't bother me,
- you don't want to be spending more money in the coming months

I'm inclined to suggest you drop the 804S off your list. It's a bit counterintuitive suggesting this as I tend to think priority should be placed on better speakers. But this can also lead to insatisfaction with the rest of the chain. That would be your judgement call.

As for CM10 vs. 804N, I can't really offer much insight as I haven't heard either one.

What kind of music do you listen to?
What source/s do you use?

Don't rush it. Well, at least to me the learning involved in each upgrade has been part of the enjoyment.
lewinskih01
906 posts
 
Glad you agree with that phrase. Yet it does look like you are rushing it! :-)

So you bought th RCD1072. Very good unit. I had it in that Rotel setup I mentioned.
As good as it is, though, a stock Squeezebox Touch playing wav files from the same CD the RCD was playing sounded as good. But provided greater flexibility. Eventually sold the RCD and upgraded the SBT with a stand alone DAC.

So you use other sources, or envision doing so soon? Asked another way, why do you need a preamp? I do have one, but in my experience it takes a very good pre to surpass a good DAC with volume control connected directly to an amp. Of course this is not a general statement, though.

I thought you didn't want to spend more money, but you bought a pre and a cd player on the spot.
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