B&W VM1 - Horizontal & vertical speakers

B&W VM1 - An Amazingly Good Centre Speaker!

I couldn't believe my ears when I heard this speaker.
On the outside, I wasn't expecting much because I normally find speakers with flat baffled enclosures to not deliver great sound.

The VM1 was designed to complement modern flat panel TVs so they are long & flat, but not deep.
I normally find such speakers to be quite poor, so I was very impressed with what I heard.

The VM1 can be mounted vertically, or horizontally.
I was particularly impressed by how well it worked as a centre channel in HT use partnered with the B&W 686.

What really intrigued me is that the VM-1 & LM-1 are theoretically supposed to be identical speakers, with the same drivers in only a different enclosure. Yet the VM1 somehow stands out vocally.
And thats despite it being a flat enclosure, & the LM1 being a rounded baffle.

The VM1 vocals are crisp & it has a lot of detail in the bottom end.
Its a 2 way speaker but doesn't have the muddiness I often complain about with centre channels.
The VM1 wont go as deep as anything new like a HTM62 but thats perfectly fine, its not the target competition.

If you were on a budget, & owned B&W 6 series bookshelves, I would highly recommend buying these second hand for around $100 they are a steal.

The LM1 is also a great speaker, but a tad out of place for centre channel use as it cant be laid flat down, & wont look good laying flat down.

If I had a choice between a VM1 & LCR3 - which the VM1 reminds me of, then I would go with VM1 for small bookshelves & LCR3 for bigger 3 way floor standers.

I wish B&W make a new Vm2 - There is surely going to be a target market for it.
At least the market that the poor M1 left out on!