Floorstanding loudspeakers — B&W (Bowers & Wilkins) 801 D4 Signature

The 801 D4 Signature is an optimised version of the 801 D4 floorstanding loudspeaker in the 800 Series Diamond range from Bowers & Wilkins. It keeps the three-way vented-box layout but adds an upgraded crossover, a new tweeter grille and two finishes reserved for the Signature models. Bowers & Wilkins prices it in the US at USD 60,000 per pair.

Key specs that matter

It uses a 25 mm Diamond Dome tweeter, which Bowers & Wilkins describes as combining low mass with high stiffness and counts among its most significant accomplishments of the past two decades, a 150 mm FST midrange with a Continuum cone, plus two 250 mm Aerofoil Profile bass units. At -6 dB the frequency range reaches from 13 Hz to 35 kHz, and the +/-3 dB response from the reference axis is 15 Hz to 28 kHz. With 2.83 Vrms at 1 m on axis the speaker gives 90 dB. The 8 ohm nominal impedance drops to a minimum of 3.0 ohm. For amplification the maker gives a range of 50 W to 1,000 W into 8 ohm on unclipped programme. At a level of 90 dB and a 1 m distance, the maker quotes second and third order distortion under 1 percent between 30 Hz and 20 kHz and under 0.3 percent between 100 Hz and 20 kHz. Height is 1221 mm, width 451 mm and depth 600 mm, with a net weight of 100.6 kg per cabinet.

Engineering and use context

On the Signature, the tweeter enclosure has an elongated form with a longer tube-loading system and a new tweeter grille design. The crossover sits at the rear of the cabinet on stiff aluminium spines, which isolates the sensitive capacitors from the air pressure in the cabinet, and Bowers & Wilkins describes this crossover as upgraded for the Signature. A new optimised aluminium top section adds stiffness to the cabinet and provides the mount for Leather by Connolly detailing. Full-grain blue leather is used on Midnight Blue Metallic cabinets and full-grain black leather on California Burl Gloss cabinets, and both versions have a black grille. The speaker also uses the Turbine Head midrange housing, the Anti-Resonance plug, the Biomimetic Suspension, Matrix bracing and a Flowport reflex opening.

Pairing

An amplifier for this speaker must remain stable where the impedance dips, with output inside the span the maker suggests. The maximum speaker cable impedance Bowers & Wilkins recommends is 0.1 ohm.

Alternatives

The Bowers & Wilkins 802 D4 is a three-way floorstander of the same range with two 200 mm bass units.