The Bowers & Wilkins 801 D4

The loudspeaker that sets the standard other high-end designs will be judged by for years to come. Endowed with every new technology the 800 Series Diamond™ has to offer, the reference-quality 801 D4 is an instant icon.

40 years of excellence

Innovation. 801 D4 is defined by it. In each of its incarnations over the decades, 801 has always been the most advanced loudspeaker that we know to make at that particular point in time, a showcase of all our newest technologies and most original thinking. Small wonder it has become an icon.

The ultimate Matrix™

Matrix bracing uses interlocking panels to reinforce loudspeaker cabinet walls in all directions internally, reducing resonance and creating a more believable soundstage. The Matrix assembly in 801 D4 is our best yet, upgraded with extensive aluminium bracing to reinforce key stress points.

Turbine™ Head

The all-aluminium Turbine Head houses our Continuum™ midrange cone in a stiff and critically damped enclosure to eliminate unwanted resonances. At the same time, it’s 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. The new Biomimetic Suspension revolutionises midrange performance by greatly reducing the unwanted air pressure and coloration that a traditional fabric spider can generate. The result? Midrange transparency you wouldn’t believe.

The science of sound

Bowers & Wilkins engineers use computer modelling to explore and reimagine every aspect of loudspeaker design. 

The state of our art

801 D4 is the flagship and the most powerful model in the new 800 Series Diamond range. Its no-compromise design includes all Bowers & Wilkins most advanced technologies in their purest, most optimised form alongside crossover components of the highest quality. You want a reference loudspeaker? This is it…

Diamond DomeTweeter

The Solid Body Tweeter-on-Top has been revised in every new 800 Series Diamond loudspeaker, including both models with and without the Turbine Head. The new design is longer – approaching 30cm (12-in) long – and its longer tube length has notable benefits for the resonant frequency (f/s) of the diamond dome tweeter, essentially meaning that the dome can now ‘breathe’ more easily than before. Alongside a revised two-point decoupling mechanism that ensures better-than-ever isolation of the sensitive assembly from its surrounding enclosure, the result is an even-more-believable sense of sounds floating in free space rather than being restricted to the confines of a loudspeaker cabinet.

 

 

Aluminium plinth

A great speaker needs a rock-solid foundation. The new 801 D4 uses a downwards-firing Flowport exiting on to a solid aluminium plinth complete with a steel constrained layer damping sheet, which controls unwanted resonance. additional massively thicker M12 floor spikes has greatly upgraded stability and durability.

All of this work has gone into just acoustic and mechanical properties of each loudspeaker – we haven’t even scratched the surface of transducer design or crossover componentry. But even with ‘just’ this area covered, it should be clear that the results are radically transformed loudspeakers that sound even more believable – and even less like loudspeakers – than ever.

Specifications