Bowers & Wilkins M-1 manual Full metal jacket, Sound Quality

Full metal jacket

B&W’s pretty little M-1 satellite makes a stylish partner for the massive ‘medicine ball’ PV1 sub

PRODUCT B&W M-1 and PV1

TYPE Satellite and subwoofer speaker system

PRICE (M-1) £125 each, (PV-1) £950

KEY FEATURES (M-1) Size (WxHxD): 11x21x15 cm

P Weight: 2.7kg P Flexible mounting system

P Cast alloy enclosure P 25mm tube-loaded tweeter P 100mm main driver P (PV1) Size (WxHxD): 29x34x35 cm P Weight: 20.5kg P Spherical cast alloy enclosure P 2x200mm drivers P 500W power amplifier

CONTACT ￿ 01903 221500 q www.bwspeakers.com

Sound reproduction has gone through big changes in recent years. The advent of surround sound music and movie

sources are changing the hi-fi landscape dramatically. Hi-Fi Choice continues to focus firmly on the reproduction of music in stereo, but it would be myopic to ignore multichannel developments entirely, especially given the development of SACD and DVD-Audio.

Because of the space required to house a home cinema system, the 5.1 sub/sat combination has become a core multichannel market stereotype. Five small and easily sited satellite speakers cover the mid and top, and provide the surround effects, while the low bass goes to a subwoofer that can be tucked discreetly out of the way. This sub/sat approach might particularly suit multichannel systems, but it’s by no means a new idea, and is equally valid for stereo. HFC tested a batch of three-box stereo sub/sat systems way back in 1992; that’s practically prehistoric in home cinema terms.

B&W obviously expects to sell most of its new M-1 satellites as part of 5.1 systems, alongside one of three alternative subwoofers, but the ‘2.1’ or ‘three-box’ stereo option is clearly an integral part of the scenario, too. The press release claims the M-1 speakers front “an audiophile sub/sat system”, and full discussion of the stereo options is found in the very thorough manual.

For the purposes of this review, the M-1 satellites were underpinned by the excellent PV1 subwoofer, which we reviewed in full in HFC 259. In fact, two PV1s were drafted in for some tests, because physically separating the bass sources gives more even room-drive. That’s really a separate issue. The superior performance of the PV1 is already a given, and the main purpose here is to evaluate the little M-1 satellite, and see how well it lives up to its ‘audiophile’ billing.

‘Son of Solid’ is the first reaction on unpacking this system, though that’s largely because both the M-1 and the previous Solid designs feature an integral swivelling stand. In fact, this new model is not only considerably smaller and more flexible, it also, ironically, feels a whole lot more, er, solid. Picking one up, its considerable 2.7kg weight comes as quite a surprise, since the enclosure is probably no more than a litre or so in total volume (think Tetrapack). Back and sides are a single alloy casting, while the baffle, top and base is made from tough ABS plastic. And if the alloy itself

is inherently very stiff, rigidity is further enhanced by the curvaceous shape.

How small can you go? That’s the key question the designer of any satellite speaker must confront. Make it too big and no-one will buy it; make it too small and you can kiss goodbye to all hi-fi pretensions. The M-1 looks a little larger than many of its rivals, which should be a performance plus, but is still small enough to look cute. Priced at £125 per speaker, it’s hardly the cheapest satellite around, but the serious engineering content and clever design justify the asking price.

A two-way port-loaded design, it combines a 100mm main driver that has an advanced 80mm fibreglass cone, with a 25mm metal dome tube-loaded tweeter. The crossover is deliberately minimalist, and the mounting arrangements are clever and flexible; the unit may be used horizontally or vertically on its stand/base, or fitted to a wall bracket or a slim free-standing pillar. Cleverly, the stand also doubles as a tiny speaker terminal block. The M-1 is available in black, silver or white.

SOUND QUALITY

The satellites naturally have limited bass extension, though they work well enough down to around 140Hz. This matches seamlessly to the PV1, which may be fed either via its (unfiltered) line-level phono input, or using the speaker-level connector with the filter set to maximum bandwidth (150Hz).

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