Experience Music the Way the Artists and Producers Intend: British-Made Bowers & Wilkins 802 D4 Floor-Standing Loudspeakers Play with Extraordinary Transparency, Detail, and Range

The question that often springs to mind when considering the Bowers & Wilkins 802 D4 is how this slightly more compact floor-standing loudspeaker differs from its modestly larger sibling, and 800 Series Diamond flagship, the 801 D4. The answers may surprise you: Aside from marginally smaller woofers and a few changes in overall proportions, 802 D4 harbors the exact same DNA, touts identical attention to detail, and, most importantly, delivers extremely similar performance. An ideal choice for both critical stereo listening and home-theater applications, this 48 x 16.3 x 23.7-inch (HWD) head-turner exists to serve the artist's original intent by reproducing music with levels of transparency, detail, scope, resolution, and accuracy that will change the way you listen — even to recordings you may have heard thousands of times. Welcome to "True Sound" as defined by Bowers & Wilkins.

Like all the models in the 800 Diamond Series, 802 D4 adheres to a thought process wherein Bowers & Wilkins engineers believe everything involved with the speaker's construction can impact the end result. That obsessive passion explains why 802 D4 is made entirely in Bowers & Wilkins' dedicated factory in England — and why all of its components went through years of sophisticated testing and analysis before they were approved. Such painstaking devotion also accounts for why many of the world's foremost music institutions and recording studios — Abbey Road Studios, Capitol Records, Interscope Records, 20th Century Fox, Sony, MIT, Sterling Sound, and the Boston Symphony Orchestra to name just a handful — choose to use the 800 Diamond Series family in their everyday pursuits.

Weighing in at 180 pounds, 802 D4 uses all of the leading-edge technological innovations — the all-aluminum Turbine Head that houses the Continuum midrange cone; advanced Matrix bracing with interlocking panels for superb reinforcement; all-new Biomimetic Suspension that dramatically reduces unwanted air pressure and coloration; reverse-wrap cabinet for unprecedented inertness — that Bowers & Wilkins developed during the past decade for optimal performance. (You can read more about these hallmark features below.) It goes without saying that the driver array is devised to handle any kind of music with extraordinary depth, dynamics, openness, air, and balance.

Specialists in playing with stunning frequency extension and recreating three-dimensional soundstages, Bowers & Wilkins' famous one-inch diamond-dome tweeter and famous solid-body Tweeter-on-Top housing — milled from a single block of aluminum and sculpted into an elongated form with a long tube-loading system that lessens rear diffraction — accompany a six-inch Continuum cone FST midrange and two large, eight-inch Aerofoil woofers. They're among the reasons 802 D4 touts an astounding 14Hz-35kHz range and claims a practically infinitesimal total-harmonic distortion ratio. What might most startle you is how utterly true to the source 802 D4 remains in both the analog and digital domains. This speaker's unique architecture also means reflections and colorations are practically an afterthought; also note that the tweeter housing is decoupled, as is the housing for the midrange Turbine Head. On paper, Bowers & Wilkins' engineering feats impress. In practice, they help make music sound as if it is being made in your room in real time by real artists.

As a bonus, 802 D4 possesses the kind of looks that will command the attention of any room. One glance tells you everything you need to know. These speakers have the kind of lines, finishes, materials, and stop-dead-in-your-tracks curves modeled by the world's most desirable supercars. Just consider the Leather by Connolly detailing, choice of four different hand-applied colors, or rear-mounted crossover mounted on stiff aluminum spines — a unique touch that isolates the sensitive capacitors and acts as a strategic heatsink. Just as importantly, Bowers & Wilkins didn't forget about practicality.

To simplify setup and placement, 802 D4 arrives on wheels to aid with positioning. Once you get the speaker where you want in your room, in-built spikes and corresponding floor cups are at the ready. A set of stabilizers provide extra security and assist in holding the speakers in place. Want more peace of mind? 802 D4 includes a five-year manufacturer warranty.

Experiencing music on a pair of 802 D4 towers is something that cannot be captured in words. We'd love to talk more with you about these truly special components. To learn more, and arrange for a risk-free in-home audition, please call one of our audio consultants today.

"Think of it as a high-end design for all seasons, as it works so well across such a wide range of music. It is large but not huge, whilst having a bandwidth and a physical scale of sound that's wide enough for pretty much anyone except wild eccentrics."
—StereoNet, Applause Award 

Turbine Head: A B&W Trademark

Hear the sound, not the cabinet. Separate midrange enclosures have always been a feature of 800 Series models. The latest all-aluminum Turbine Head housing takes that concept to the next level. This phenomenally stiff and inert housing for the crucial midrange cone is carefully damped to avoid unwanted resonances and decoupled from both the bass enclosure and the tweeter body. The result? Extraordinarily realistic midrange sound.

Solid Body Tweeter: Not Just for Looks

The latest edition of Bowers & Wilkins' iconic Solid Body Tweeter-on-Top housing features an elongated form with a longer tube-loading system, producing an incredibly free and open sound with high frequencies. The carefully decoupled housing is milled from a single solid block of aluminum to better resist resonance.

Matrix Bracing: Reinforcing the Point

Trademarked Matrix bracing uses interlocking panels to reinforce loudspeaker cabinet walls in all directions internally, reducing resonance and creating a more believable soundstage. Every loudspeaker in 800 Series Diamond benefits from an upgraded Matrix design that combines solid plywood construction with aluminum bracing to reinforce key stress points.

Reverse Wrap Cabinet: A Wicked Curve

When it came to designing the ideal shape for the 800 Series Diamond cabinet, Bowers & Wilkins did a U-turn. Instead of a flat-fronted speaker with a curving back, the company produced a cabinet with a front and sides formed of one continuous curve — and held together with a spine of solid aluminum. Fewer joins make for a stiffer, more inert structure, and a curved front means less baffling around the drive units. The upshots: sound dispersion is improved, and cabinet reflection reduced.

Biomimetic Suspension: Thinking Outside the Box

Sometimes, making a big difference takes unconventional thinking. Bowers & Wilkins' all-new Biomimetic Suspension revolutionizes midrange-cone performance by greatly reducing the unwanted air pressure and coloration that a conventional fabric spider can generate. The resultant transparency needs to be experienced in order to be believed.

Decoupled Midrange: An 800 Series Diamond Hallmark

Every 800 Series Diamond loudspeaker (save for 805 D4) has a dedicated midrange cone using several proprietary Bowers & Wilkins technologies: the Continuum FST cone, Biomimetic Suspension, and midrange decoupling. The latter ensures minimal interference from the operation of the loudspeaker's bass units.

Aluminum Top Plate: The Ideal Match

Every stereo model in the 800 Series Diamond range has a significantly upgraded cabinet design with an all-new aluminum top plate for even greater stiffness. The same design also provides a perfect mounting point for the all-new Leather by Connolly cabinet detailing.

Rear-Mounted Crossover: No Detail Overlooked

All stereo models in the 800 Series Diamond range use rear-mounted crossover designs mounted on stiff aluminum spines. This isolates the sensitive capacitors from the unwanted effects of air pressure within the enclosure and makes for a very effective heatsink to ensure optimum performance when in use.