BOWERS & WILKINS 801 D4

Bowers & Wilkins set the foundations of the current D4 range in 80’s, that is forty years ago. Travelling along the timeline of their flagship models, from the revolutionary 801 to the most recent D, Diamond (D2) and D3 series, one can easily document how the technologies of high-end loudspeakers have been developing. Very few companies can afford the R&D complexity of B&W, and its manufacturing equipment. Still, with the previous model, the 800 D3, I felt the company had hasted a bit the introduction to improve margins instead giving the completely facelifted model one more thought and finalizing it to a full effect. Thus, the D3 flagship was merely a redesign of the Diamond series with some radical yet not finished improvements. All of this clicks together with the new D4 range and the new leader of the pack, the brand-new Bowers & Wilkins 801 D4.

Like the predecessor the main cabinet is a teardrop-curved enclosure; instead of a curved enclosure with a flat front baffle the 801 D4s have a U-curved front battle that is held together by a slightly convex aluminum panel at the back. The aluminum panel also hosts bi-wirable speaker terminals. The “Matrix” assembly (that is internal bracing) combines plywood and aluminum to further stiffen the enclosure. None of the plains are flat, none are parallel. The curvature is made more complex by all the driver assemblies that are either protruding from the cabinet (the bass drivers) or sitting atop of it (the midrange turbine head and the tweeter head).

Irrespective of the fact that the 801 D4 internals have been essentially reworked from scratch, from outside not much has changed. Although the heads of the midrange driver and the tweeter, that sit atop the main enclosure, have become aluminized since the D3 range, for the D4 their shapes have been reworked into more tapered looks to better dissipate energy inside. Like in previous the versions the heads are decoupled from each other and from the main enclosure by gel segments. The silvery mesh of what B&W calls “Continuum material” is similar in technology to the previously used yellow Kevlar cones that were a kind of signature of the Bowers & Wilkins’ midrange before. The dual bass drivers keep using “Aerofoil” which is a sandwich of variable thickness made of synthetic foam and carbon fiber skin. The 25mm tweeter employs plasma-vaporized diamond on a former. The speaker’s oversized anti-turbulence bass port fires into the plinth gap.

Each speaker rests on rollers that facilitate ease of moving them around until the listener finds the final placement. Then it is recommended to spike-mount the speakers. From my previous experience I would discourage from using spikes for the speakers are heavy (100kg each) and will probably pierce though any floor structure. The other reason is that the spikes kill the sound; you’d be better off with good decoupling devices like those from Stillpoints, Authentic Audio Image, or Finite Elemente.