Bowers & Wilkins refreshes its 700 Series loudspeaker lineup

Renowned British audio maker Bowers & Wilkins has announced an overall refresh of its 700 Collection floorstanding, bookshelf, and centre-channel speaker lineup. A three-12 months development cycle has resulted in substantially of the technological know-how originally formulated for the brand’s flagship 800 Collection Diamond speakers trickling down to a line that fees a full lot fewer properly, rather so.

The 700 Sequence features 8 new styles: 3 floorstanders, 3 bookshelf versions with optional stands, and two heart channels for residence-theater deployments, including just one with a tweeter-on-best diaphragm. B&W is also introducing a new colour option—a woodgrain “mocha”—that will join the gloss black and satin white finishes beforehand offered. A “rosenut” end will also be obtainable, but only in Asian and Pacific markets. The image up top reveals the 703 S3 floorstanders and HTM72 S3 center channel in entrance, with the 705 S3 bookshelf speakers mounted on their optional stands performing as encompass speakers.

Bowers & Wilkins

The new 700 Series’ cupboards are slimmer than prior generations and boast a curved front baffle with travel units that are mounted in external pods, 1 of the various style characteristics at first developed for the 800 Series Diamond. B&W says this minimizes the ‘cabinet diffraction’ result, encouraging the speakers acoustically disappear so you can concentrate on the audio.

Across the board, new 700 Collection speakers will be outfitted with B&W’s Carbon Dome tweeters coupled to enhanced voice coils with new upgraded magnets and for a longer time tubes to cut down resonant frequencies. Floorstanding designs 702-S3 (a 3-way speaker with dual Continuum mid-vary drivers, $7,000 a pair) and 703-S3 (a 3-way speaker with a solitary mid-vary driver, $6,000 a pair), bookshelf design 705-S3 (a two-way speaker, $3,400 a pair), and heart channel model HTM71-S3, $2,500) get the tweeter-on-best therapy. The major-of-the-line 702-S3 floor-stander also options a down-firing port, which is considerably less very likely to replicate sound off close by walls.

Machined from a good block of aluminum, B&W claims its tweeter-on-leading enclosure has been considerably lengthened to additional reduce distortion, assisted by an improved two-stage decoupling layout to isolate the assembly from the cupboard and produce a additional open soundstage. These tweeters will be supplied in either a dark anodized complete to match dim cupboard finishes, or mild anodized finish for satin white cupboards.

Bowers & Wilkins

In a briefing ahead of the announcement, B&W’s director of product marketing and advertising, Andy Kerr, reported “Having the tweeter on prime in the center channel is a huge step forward, but that style and design won’t operate for everybody. If you’re putting the speaker inside a piece of home furnishings, for instance, you’ll be limited in conditions of height.”

The considerably less-highly-priced 704 S3 floor-stander (a 3-way speaker priced at $4,000 pair), 706-S3 bookshelf (a 2-way speaker priced at $2,200 a pair), 707-S3 bookshelf (also two-way, but with smaller motorists and priced at $1,800 a pair), and the HTM72 S3 centre channel ($1,500 each) will have their tweeters mounted in the baffles. B&W offers complementary stands for the 700 Series bookshelf products at $800 a pair.

Bowers & Wilkins says all of the new speakers in the 700 Sequence lineup should really be out there for acquire now. During our briefing, Kerr mentioned “there will also be in-wall and in-ceiling styles, with optional subwoofers, for points like Dolby Atmos.”