I have been nostalgic and playing with some old equipment from my youth which have remained unused and forgotten for many years: I refoamed rotten CX100 and cleaned dusty RL35 (my first B&O speakers when I was 14...). I compared both and was quite disappointed, although I did not expect too much (back in the eighties already my uneducated ears suspected these were probably not the best speakers in the world...):
- CX100: very bass light, sometimes a little strident, but more detailed mediums/highs
- RL35: more bass, but lot of resonance and very damped/unclear mediums/highs

I wonder how better models in the same series (i.e. CX100+Cona and RL60.2) performed back in the late eighties?

js 

The CX100's will sound a lot better with a Cona, which will provide bass, and the bigger RL's are also more detailed in soundstage

-Søren

The cx100's in combo with a cona can be surprisingly pleasant to listen to.
I did change the crossovers in mine though, giving a better all-over soundstage with a little more bass of their own.
The cona I later added, added bit of low-end bass that I felt was still missing. It's linked as an extra pair of speakers.

The RL60.2 speakers are fine speakers, but they have to be positioned right to get the full benefit.

I'm planning to add a pair of CX-100's currently in storage as rear speakers to a surround set-up soon. Mainly for cost reasons, as all I'll need to buy is a Beolink amplifier and some cables. I remember them sounding very pleasant the last time they were hooked up (7 years ago!) and hope they'll do a good job as rears.

Leo

CX on a Passive amp do work quiet well as surround speakers, just make sure you use Mark 2 cables as the Mark 3's tend to make them Pop!

No I didn't hear any of these in when they were new...

But the CX100's were a clear disappointment - perhaps not considering the size, but they still didn't sound very useful by themselves. A friend of mine has them now and we added a Cona recently... that took care of the bass - even too much to my tastes - but still I don't consider it a very good sounding setup.

I have a pair of 60.2 as well and I love them - but it definitely needed replacing the caps in the crossover.

As rear speakers in combination with a larger front speaker RL60 or S80 thereabouts they are OK but the sound can get kind of unpleasant at higher volume levesl.

I like the speakers and they do work well in tandem with a larger front set at moderate listening levels. Say no higher tha 3:8 on a BM 5000/5500.

I like usuing them as side speakers in an Ambio setup off my BM 4000.

I have never used them as main speakers in a setup before.

 

Large48: Thanks for the MkII cables tip!

Leo

Finally, my CX-100 surrounds are installed and working. Beolink Passive is the amplifier. Mark II powerlink cables definitely needed; while impatiently waiting for them to arrive from Sounds Heavenly, I tried a Mark III cable and it didn't work at all.

The speakers are mounted high up the side walls with stb wall brackets, and they look awesome. They sound great too - the foam is still in good shape.

One interesting quirk is that the Beolink Passive turns on (standby light turns to green) when the TV is turned on, even though the TV's programmed to SPEAKER 1 as default. The Lab 9 front speakers, for example, stay switched off. Is this just a programming bug of the TV? It sends a signal to turn on the Passive even though it's not supposed to (until switched to SPEAKER 4 or 5)?

Leo

I have been using both CX100 & 50 in various setups.

I can say that for an overall performance with a Cona the result is quite impressive considering their size. Although the CX100 specifically with an Amplifier are an excellent solution for a low budget decent stereo sound.

Concerning the RL range, I have been using my RL6000 many years and currently are being used along with an Overture in my home link over a custom made amp from Ulf. Te sound result is by far better than BL4000 with lots of bass to play with.

This is a pair of speakers that will be there for ever.