Напольная акустика — B&W (Bowers & Wilkins) 804 D4

The 804 D4 is the most compact floorstander in Bowers & Wilkins' 800 Series Diamond, the British company's loudspeaker range. It carries the series' key technologies - diamond dome tweeter, Continuum cone midrange and Aerofoil bass cones - into a conventional tower cabinet, without the separate Turbine Head midrange enclosure of the larger 803 D4, 802 D4 and 801 D4. It is aimed at rooms where the bigger models would be too large.

Key specs that matter

The 804 D4 is a three-way vented-box design with a 25mm diamond dome tweeter, a 130mm Continuum cone FST midrange and two 165mm Aerofoil cone bass units. Frequency range extends from 20Hz to 35kHz, with a +/-3dB response of 24Hz to 28kHz. Sensitivity is 89dB at 2.83V/1m, and nominal impedance is 8 ohms with a 3-ohm minimum, with recommended amplification of 50 to 200W. Second and third harmonic distortion at 90dB is below 1% from 90Hz to 20kHz and below 0.3% from 100Hz. Each speaker measures 107.1 x 30.6 x 39.1cm and weighs 36.85kg.

Engineering and use context

The diamond dome is extremely stiff for its mass, pushing its break-up far above the audible range, and it sits in a Solid Body Tweeter-on-Top housing machined from aluminium and decoupled from the main cabinet. The Continuum cone is a woven composite that replaced Kevlar in the 800 Series to reduce cone resonances. It is mounted with FST (Fixed Suspension Transducer), which removes the conventional roll surround, together with Biomimetic Suspension, an open-lattice spider that reduces air turbulence behind the cone. The midrange is decoupled from the rest of the cabinet so bass vibration does not reach it. The Aerofoil bass cones use a carbon-fibre skin over a variable-thickness foam core, thicker where stiffness is needed, and a foam Anti-Resonance Plug in the motor lowers distortion further. The Reverse Wrap cabinet is formed from one continuous curve backed by an aluminium spine and Matrix internal bracing, which improves dispersion and reduces reflections inside the box. The port fires downward through a Flowport onto a solid aluminium plinth with a steel constrained-layer damping sheet.

Pairing

Because impedance dips well below nominal, the 804 D4 benefits from amplifiers with good current delivery. In a home cinema, it pairs with the HTM82 D4 centre channel, whose midrange driver is sized to match the 804 D4.

Alternatives

Bowers & Wilkins' own 803 D4 adds larger 180mm bass drivers and a Turbine Head midrange enclosure for bigger rooms.