At High-End Vienna, Bowers & Wilkins took the wraps off its flagship 800 Series loudspeakers, which it says are its most “advanced” loudspeakers yet.
The new D5 range marks the fifth generation of Bowers’ 800 series, and its first major loudspeaker launch after Sound United was acquired by Harman.
The new 800 Series Diamond range is made up of seven models, which are:
Two-way 805 D5 stand-mount
Three-way 804 D5, 805 D5, 802 D5, 801 D5 floorstanders
HTM81 D5 and HTM82 D5 centre channels for home theatre use
Bowers & Wilkins describes the new 800 Series Diamond as fusing “acoustic and mechanical excellence with elegant and meaningful design”. The design has been optimised with a new top plate, spine,and plinth, as well as revised drive unit, pods, tweeter body, trim rings and grilles.
All of these design changes are complemented by new finishes, including an all-new dark walnut finish that replaces the option of the satin rosenut in the D5 range, and was inspired by the limited production 801 Abbey Road Limited Edition. Other options include stealth black and warm white.
Acoustic changes are significant. The Space Frame Bracing stiffens the enclosure to reduce unwanted vibration and resonance within the cabinet. All floorstanding models feature a revised aluminium plinth that aims to improve performance to resist unwanted vibration.
Image Credit (Bowers & Wilkins)
The aluminium top plate features thicker aluminium ribbing sections for “greater stiffness” and more mechanical location points to optimise “coupling to the top of the enclosure and revised decoupling mounts to support the Turbine Head or Solid-Body-Tweeter assembly,” improving the mechanical behaviour at the top of each cabinet.
The grille meshes for the Diamond Dome tweeters have designed to be more acoustically transparent, improving off-axis performance and upping the resolution of the sound. Every midrange, bass/midrange and bass drive unit has been given an upgraded with the introduction of lower distortion motor systems for a cleaner, more accurate sound, with better “resolution, transient response and dynamics.”
All the stereo models in the range feature a crossover assembly that’s housed on an all-aluminium plate construction, rigidly coupled into the cabinet and Space Frame Bracing, increasing the stiffness of the cabinet.
Pricing for the new 800 Series Diamond is as follows. Be sure to check you bank account first.
801 D5 | £43,000 / $65,000 / €50,000
802 D5 | £32,500 / $45,000 / €37,000
803 D5 | £25,500 / $35,000 / €30,000
804 D5 | £16,000 / $25,000 / €18,000
805 D5 | £10,000 / $15,000 / €12,000
HTM81 D5 | £10,000 / $15,000 / €12,000
HTM82 D5 | £8,000 / $12,000 / €10,000
FS-805 D5 | £1,600 / $2,000 / €1,800
FS-HTM D5 | £1,100 / $1,500 / €1,300
You’ll have to wait a while until you can hear the new series, with availability starting September 9th. If you are at High End Vienna, you’ll be able to at least see them there.
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