Напольная акустика — B&W (Bowers & Wilkins) 803 D4

The 803 D4 is the most compact of the 800 Series Diamond floorstanders from Bowers & Wilkins that carry a separate midrange head. This three-way ported speaker brings the Turbine Head midrange enclosure to a smaller footprint than the 801 D4 and 802 D4.

Key specs that matter

On top sits a 25 mm diamond dome tweeter, below it a 130 mm Continuum cone FST midrange, and the main cabinet holds two 180 mm Aerofoil cone bass units. Bowers & Wilkins gives a frequency range of 16 Hz to 35 kHz and a +/-3 dB response of 19 Hz to 28 kHz from the reference axis. Sensitivity is 90 dB on axis for 2.83 Vrms at 1 m. The impedance is rated at 8 ohm nominal and 3.0 ohm minimum, and suitable amplifiers are rated at 50 W to 500 W into 8 ohm on unclipped programme. Distortion from the second and third harmonics at 90 dB and 1 m stays below 1 percent across 80 Hz to 20 kHz and below 0.3 percent across 100 Hz to 20 kHz. Each cabinet is 1165 mm high, 357 mm wide and 511 mm deep and weighs 62.15 kg.

Engineering and use context

The midrange cone works inside the Turbine Head, a stiff all-aluminium housing that is damped and decoupled from the bass cabinet and from the tweeter body. That driver combines the Continuum cone with a Biomimetic Suspension that does away with the fabric spider, plus an Anti-Resonance plug, and it is decoupled to limit interference from the bass units. The tweeter enclosure is machined out of solid aluminium, and its elongated shape contains a longer tube-loading system. The bass cabinet follows a reverse-wrap layout with a continuous curved front and sides tied by a solid aluminium spine. Matrix bracing mixes solid plywood with aluminium reinforcement. The crossover is mounted on an aluminium spine at the rear, so its capacitors are shielded from air pressure inside the box and the spine draws off heat. Stiffness is raised further by a top plate carrying Leather by Connolly detailing. The 803 D4 is built in England in Gloss Black, White and two satin wood finishes, with black or grey grilles.

Pairing

Bowers & Wilkins names the HTM82 D4 centre channel as the match for theatre systems built around the 803 D4. Stereo amplifiers should remain stable at the low impedance minimum, and cable impedance should not exceed 0.1 ohm.

Alternatives

The Bowers & Wilkins 804 D4 is a tower in the 800 Series Diamond family that pairs a conventional reverse-wrap cabinet with a new plinth and no separate midrange head.