Bowers & Wilkins VM1 - Manual

and more conventionally packaged
ASW300, which offers greater bass
extension and more adjustability for
just £25 more – a real bargain if you’re
willing to put up with the extra bulk.
Performance
Sound quality is excellent, matching and
in some respects surpassing its opposite
number from Celestion (reviewed
overleaf), another high-achieving
sub/sat system. The character of the
system is one whose sound has plenty
of body and immediacy, while the bass
is modestly well extended even without
the subwoofer. The carefully graduated
directivity means that dialogue is quite
sharply focused towards the centre
of the soundstage, while the other
speakers working together manage
to generate a soundfield that is open
and generously proportioned.
Colouration levels are very low and
the satellites have a well extended
low-frequency response in their own
right, which is just 3dB shy of nominal
at 75Hz. Subwoofer integration problems
are always eased if the handover takes
place at a low frequency.
Conclusion
Of all the sub/sat systems in this group,
the VM1 with the ASW300 sub (see
below) comes closest to delivering
a genuinely tactile quality, a sense
of physical presence, combined with
FEATURES
VM1 SATELLITES
Drive units: 1 x 125mm cone bass/mid,
25mm tweeter
Enclosure type: Bass reflex, rear vented
Frequency response: 75Hz-20kHz +/-3dB
Crossover frequency: 3.5kHz
Sensitivity: 91dB/m @2.83V
Impedance: 8 Ω nom
Power handling: 100 Watts programme
Dimensions: 552(h) x 124(w)
x 93(d) mm; Finish: metallic silver
AS1 POWERED
SUBWOOFER
Drive unit: 164mm cone
Enclosure type: Rear vented
Frequency response: 27Hz-100Hz +/-3dB
Power output: 85 Watts
Dimensions: 378(h) x 250(w) x 385(d)
mm; Finish: Metallic silver
a wide tonal palate and real tonal
accuracy. The supplied AS1 subwoofer
is a different matter. The AS1 is clearly
well matched, but avoid the ‘movies’
setting, which tends to boom.
In addition, the low pass filtering is less
than fully effective, which means a not
quite imperceptible transition to the
satellites. It doesn’t offer particularly
impressive bass extension either and the
alternative ASW300 subwoofer, a much
better engineered design, would be an
extremely worthwhile alternative for
a modest extra expenditure. With this
subwoofer, the system really knows
how to hark when needed; the system
as a whole develops a richer tonality
and a more colourful and extended
treble, which can follow from
improvements in the bass.
B&W VM1
COMPLETE SYSTEM AS TESTED £850 (APPROX) ◆ 01903 221500
◆ www.bwspeakers.com ◆ OVERALL RATING ★★★★
The two speaker models used in this
smart-looking sub/sat system are the
VM1 – four of which are in the corners
of the system with a fifth front centre
turned from portrait to landscape
orientation – and the AS1 subwoofer.
According to B&W, the ‘V’ in VM1 stands
for ‘versatile’, which stems from its
ability to be used vertically using the
pedestal stand and horizontally using
a prop which can be screwed to a wall.
Description
The stands, like the speakers, are sturdy,
with the pedestal stand being well
integrated visually with the VM1s. The
horizontal prop support is not usually
visible from the front so there is no real
attempt at styling. The enclosures are
solid and well built, with a rear facing
port and quality 4mm binding posts.
The system was supplied with a
matching subwoofer, the AS1, which is
a very neat, slimline design, with a port
and the driver on the front face and the
key operating controls – mains on/off,
music/movies ‘mode’ switch and level
control – easily accessible on top. There is
no adjustable low pass filter, presumably
because it is only designed for use with
the VM1 whose low-frequency behaviour
is known. Nevertheless, you don’t need
to buy the AS1 for this system. Our
recommended alternative is the bigger
Group Test
H O M E C I N E M A O C T O B E R 2 0 0 3
1000
800
900
700
600
500
400
300
200
100
552mm
The B&W VM1 satellite
speakers can be used in
both a horizontal or
vertical alignment
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