Напольная акустика — B&W (Bowers & Wilkins) 702 S3 Signature

Bowers & Wilkins builds the 702 S3 Signature on the platform of its 702 S3 tower, keeping the driver line-up and adding upgrades that were first developed for the 800 Series Signature loudspeakers. It belongs to the 700 Series Signature range and is sold only in two special finishes.

Key specs that matter

This three-way ported floorstander uses a 25 mm Decoupled Carbon Dome tweeter, one 150 mm Continuum cone FST midrange and a trio of 165 mm Aerofoil Profile woofers. Bowers & Wilkins specifies 46 Hz to 28 kHz within plus or minus 3 dB, and 28 Hz to 33 kHz at -6 dB. Rated sensitivity is 90 dB SPL with 2.83 V at 1 m. Load impedance is given as 8 ohm, reaching a minimum of 3.1 ohm. The published harmonic figures, taken at 90 dB and 1 m on axis for the second and third orders, are below 1% between 86 Hz and 28 kHz and below 0.5% between 110 Hz and 20 kHz. Cabinet height is 1010 mm, or 1138 mm with plinth and tweeter; width is 192 mm, or 290 mm across the plinth; depth is 354 mm for the bare cabinet, 391 mm with grille and 410 mm at the plinth. Net weight rises to 35.26 kg per speaker.

Engineering and use context

The Signature treatment covers upgraded motor systems for both the midrange and the low-frequency drivers, better capacitors, reworked terminals on the rear panel and a tweeter grille with a more open weave. A Solid Body Tweeter-on-Top enclosure, cut from one piece of aluminium, isolates the tweeter from the main cabinet, and its 30 micron aluminium dome, strengthened with a carbon coating and ring, reaches breakup only at 47 kHz. A decoupled mounting is also used for the midrange, whose cone is a woven Continuum composite. The Aerofoil Profile bass cones have a thickness that changes across the cone, derived from computer modelling, and a Flowport with a dimpled surface in the manner of a golf ball serves the reflex loading. Owners pick Midnight Blue Metallic paint or Datuk Gloss veneer, each supplied with a black grille. The speaker is meant for floor mounting on the plinth, which has to stay fitted with its spike or rubber feet.

Pairing

The recommended amplifier range is 30 W to 300 W on unclipped programme, with speaker cable no higher than 0.1 ohm in impedance. Two linked pairs of posts can be split for bi-wiring or bi-amplifying once the links come off and accept 4 mm plugs, spades or bare conductors.

Alternatives

The Bowers & Wilkins 703 S3 is a smaller three-way 700 Series floorstander with two bass units instead of three.