On the eve of the company's 50th year in business, British high-end loudspeaker maker Bowers & Wilkins (B&W) has announced an entirely new reboot of their high-end speaker line: the 800 Series 3 Diamond speakers. More than just a tweak to their existing line-up, the Series 3 Diamond speakers feature new drivers, new crossovers and new cabinet designs. Basically anything they could improve, they have. And the results are impressive.
The announcement was made at a press conference at Sterling Studios, located in Chelsea Market in Manhattan. At great length and with incredible detail, company reps explained how and why they made such radical improvements to their already highly rated speaker line-up. They've beefed up the enclosures, created a new tweeter assembly with a diamond-coated driver and developed a new Turbine head midrange enclosure and a new Continuum midrange driver which offers lower distortion, creating a new level of clarity.
In addition to a lengthy PowerPoint presentation, the firm showed multiple videos featuring designers and engineers detailing how they went back the drawing board, revamped their manufacturing plant in Worthing, West Sussex and reimagined what was possible from a loudspeaker.
After the presentations, our Editor-in-Chief Chris Boylan and I were treated to some ears-on listening sessions. In the first demo, they played a clip on the previous generation bookshelf speakers (805 D2), followed by the same cut on the new Diamond Series 3 bookshelf speakers (805 D3). And as great as the current model sounded, the new Diamond Series 3 model was even better: improved articulation of human voice, a more solid well-defined soundstage and better cohesion in the overall presentation. Make no mistake, the D2 speakers sound very good, but in the comparison demos, the D 3 series sounded significantly more realistic, bringing the listener that much closer to the music.
I give Bowers & Wilkins major props because in this day and age, most manufacturers just tweak their existing products a bit to provide a constant upgrade path. Even B&W occasionally makes relatively minor updates to their line-up with an improved crossover, a better baffle, or a tweaked cabinet design. But this time, the changes are more radical and as they say, "the proof is in the pudding."
Speakers in B&W's new Diamond Series 3 lineup are expected to begin shipping in early October, however the flagship model 800 is expected next spring. Models and US pricing are included below.
Loudspeakers and prices (US Dollars):
Floor Stands:
More Information:
