Bowers & Wilkins 801 D4 Signature
Floorstanding Speaker
Item #BW:801D4-SIG
Bowers & Wilkins 801 D4 Signature
Floorstanding Speaker
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Overview
The 801 D4 Signature is an optimized version of Bowers & Wilkins most advanced loudspeaker. It features meticulously evolved technology, carefully crafted design, and unique finishes that culminate in the pinnacle of performance.
High Notes
The Best 800’s Ever
The new 801 Signature and 805 Signature are the best 800 models we have ever heard. They absolutely bowled us over with their sonic prowess and presented all forms of music in a way that made us feel like the performers were in the room.
A Quest for Perfection
The Bowers & Wilkins engineers in the UK took designs that were already extraordinarily good and searched for ways to lower distortion and improve clarity even more. This resulted in new drivers, crossovers, and cabinet parts to take the 801 D4 and 805 D4 to another level with the Signature version.
Impeccably Finished
We doubt you will find cabinets on any speaker better finished than the two unique styles available on the Signature 800 models. Whether you choose the Midnight Blue Metallic or California Burl, these will make a statement in your home like no other speaker.
About Signature
The name ‘Signature’ is one of the most illustrious and evocative in the Bowers & Wilkins canon. Every Signature model has had its own unique identity and at the same time, every model has been connected to its predecessor by several common threads: no-holds-barred performance, unique, distinctive beauty and special-edition exclusivity. Signature is a level above the best. This is us perfected.
Crafted. Honed. Perfected.
Expertly crafted, diligently honed and optimised for perfection. The 800 Series Signature models build on the pioneering foundations of our most advanced range of loudspeakers. Refined technologies, timeless design and unique characteristics combine for a pinnacle loudspeaker. The 800 Series Signature models are loudspeakers like no other. They are the culmination of Bowers & Wilkins’ enduring dedication to performance and elegance.
801 D4 Signature
The 801 D4 Signature is an optimised version of our most advanced loudspeaker. It features meticulously evolved technology, carefully crafted design and unique finishes that culminate in the pinnacle of performance. This is Bowers & Wilkins 800 Series Signature flagship loudspeaker.
Turbine Head
Hear the sound, not the cabinet. Bowers & Wilkins all-aluminium Turbine Head is a phenomenally stiff and inert housing for the crucial midrange cone, carefully damped to avoid unwanted resonances and decoupled from both the bass enclosure and the tweeter body. The result? The most realistic midrange sound yet.
Biomimetic Suspension
Sometimes, making a big difference takes unconventional thinking. For decades, we thought nothing could improve on the sound of our famous yellow Aramid Fibre midrange cones, but eventually, our Continuum™ Cone technology changed our minds. Now, we’ve turned our attention to another crucial element in a loudspeaker cone: the fabric spider. Our advanced Biomimetic Suspension revolutionises midrange cone performance by greatly reducing the unwanted air pressure and coloration that a conventional fabric spider can generate. The result? Midrange transparency you wouldn’t believe possible.
Aluminium top-plate
Every new 800 Series Signature model has a significantly upgraded cabinet design with an all-new, optimised aluminium top section for even greater stiffness. The same design also provides a perfect mounting point for all-new Leather by Connolly cabinet detailing, with luxurious full-grain blue leather for our Midnight Blue Metallic models and full-grain black leather for our California Burl Gloss models.
Details & Specs
Solid Body Tweeter
The latest incarnation of our iconic Solid Body Tweeter-on-Top housing features an elongated form with a longer tube-loading system and an all-new design of tweeter grille that has been optimized to produce an even more free and open sound with high frequencies. As before, the carefully decoupled housing is milled from a single solid block of aluminium to better resist resonance.
Reverse Wrap cabinet
Instead of a flat-fronted speaker with a curving back, our cabinets are formed from one continuous curve, finished off with a spine of solid aluminium. Fewer joins make for a stiffer, more inert structure, and a curved front means less baffling around the drive units. So sound dispersion is improved, and cabinet reflection is reduced.
Matrix™
Matrix™ bracing uses interlocking panels to reinforce loudspeaker cabinet walls in all directions internally, reducing resonance and creating a more believable soundstage. Both the new 800 Series Signature models benefit from our most advanced Matrix design that combines solid plywood construction with aluminium bracing to reinforce key stress points.
Continuum™ Cone
Thanks to its composite construction, the Continuum™ Cone avoids the abrupt transitions in behavior that can impair the performance of a conventional drive unit. The result is a more open, neutral performance that delivers voices and instruments with precision and transparency.
Decoupled Midrange assembly
Our 801 D4 Signature loudspeaker has a dedicated midrange cone using four key Bowers & Wilkins technologies: the Continuum™ Cone, FST™, Biomimetic Suspension and midrange decoupling, the latter ensuring minimal interference from the operation of the loudspeaker’s bass drivers.
Crossover
Both new 800 Series Signature models use upgraded rear-mounted crossover designs mounted on stiff aluminium 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.
Leather by Connolly
The top section of both speakers features an optimized aluminium top plate, covered in all-new Leather by Connolly trim. We use luxurious, full-grain blue leather for Midnight Blue Metallic, and full-grain black leather for California Burl Gloss.
- Technical features -
- Diamond tweeter
- Solid-body Tweeter-on-Top
- Continuum™ cone FST
- Anti-Resonance plug
- Biomimetic Suspension Turbine™ Head
- Matrix™
- Aerofoil™ cone bass units
- Flowport
- Description - 3-way vented-box system
- Drive units -
- 1x ø25mm (1in) diamond dome high-frequency
- 1x ø150mm (6in) Continuum cone FST midrange
- 2x ø250mm (10in) Aerofoil cone bass units
- Frequency range - 13Hz to 35kHz
- Frequency response (+/-3dB from reference axis) - 15Hz to 28kHz
- Sensitivity (on-axis at 2.83Vrms at 1m) - 90dB
- Harmonic distortion -
- 2nd and 3rd harmonics (90dB,1m on-axis)
- <1% 30Hz – 20kHz
- <0.3% 100Hz – 20kHz
- Nominal impedance - 8Ω (minimum 3.0Ω)
- Recommended amplifier power - 50W – 1000W into 8Ω on unclipped program
- Max. recommended cable impedance - 0.1Ω
- Dimensions -
- Height: 1221mm (48.07")
- Width: 451mm (17.76")
- Depth: 600mm (23.62")
- Net weight 100.60 kg (221.79 lbs)
- Finishes -
- Gloss Black Cabinet, Black Grille
- White Satin Cabinet, Grey Grille
- Rosenut Cabinet, Black Grille
- Satin Walnut Cabinet, Grey Grille
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