The round CCM818 combines an 8-inch version of B&W’s acclaimed woven-Kevlar® cone bass/midrange driver with an offset 25mm aluminum dome tweeter—another B&W icon—with cleverly integrated Nautilus™ tube-loading. To eliminate reflections from projectors or other bright light sources the bass/midrange cone in the CCM818 utilizes Blue Kevlar. The unique tweeter “enclosure” eliminates coloration and “smearing” artifacts from the driver’s back wave, with the audible result of startlingly clear, dynamic, and transparent reproduction—from a ceiling speaker.

Of course, a custom-install speaker is much more than simply the sum of its drivers. The CCM 818’s angled bass/midrange baffle permits designer/installers to orient it for optimum coverage and tonal accuracy at the listening position, even when less-than-ideal speaker locations must be used. The B&W design’s new flush-mount format, including recessed tweeter, provides an unobtrusive look.

And B&W’s simple but effective swing-out “fixing dogs” make installation fast, secure, and efficient. Frame diameter is 11 inches, with cutout requirements of 10 inches by 5.4 inches mounting-depth.

The new B&W’s 8&Mac189; impedance delivers a stable, easily driven load making it “friendly” even to less powerful distributed-sound installations. Just the same, with careful installation and suitable system components, the CCM 818 is a true rarity: a ceiling-type custom-installation loudspeaker that can truly achieve sound quality rivaling that possible from high-end freestanding speakers.

The B&W CCM818 is finished in matte, paintable white, with perforated-aluminum grille. It will be available in September 2007, at a manufacturer’s suggested price of $800 each.

Source: Press Release