Today Bowers & Wilkins introduced a new series of loudspeakers that hit a tasty price point for everyone who doesn’t drive a Maserati. The new 700 series lands around $2k -$4k for most floor stander entries and offers trickle-down tech from the flagship 800 series. All welcome advances, the PR release touts a feature update for every driver in the system and the lineup includes nearly every arrangement one would need to fulfill either a two channel rig or home theater setup.
The Tweeter:
“The new 700 Series introduces an entirely new Bowers & Wilkins tweeter technology: the Carbon Dome. A tweeter that bridges the performance gap between the Aluminum Double Dome used in the 600 Series and the Diamond Dome used in the 800 Series Diamond. The Carbon Dome is composed of two sections. The front portion is a 30 micron aluminum dome that has been stiffened by a PVD (Physical Vapor Deposition) coating of carbon. The second section is a 300-micron Carbon Ring that has been profiled to match the form of the main dome. This is then bonded to the inner face of the structure. The outcome is exceptional stiffness and resistance to distortion without undue mass and a first break-up point of 47kHz.”
The Midrange:
“Each model in the new 700 Series features the Continuum cone midrange drivers first seen in the 800 Series Diamond. The Continuum cone’s design is based on the concept of optimized and controlled flexibility. This helps it avoid the abrupt transition from pistonic to break-up mode behavior that drastically impair the openness and neutrality of a conventional drive unit. It delivers improved sound but shows continuity of approach with Kevlar. Like Kevlar, it is a woven composite that gives highly controlled break-up, for a sweeter, more detailed midrange.”
The Bass:
“A new implementation of the Aerofoil cone used in the 800 Series Diamond has been developed for the 700 Series. The new design uses paper rather than carbon fibre skins, and the sandwich filling material is now EPS, not syntactic foam as used in 800 Series Diamond and DB Series subwoofer. The result is a dramatic uplift in bass performance from the outgoing CM Series 2.”
The series hits all the good points from a streamlined marketing perspective, color us seriously intrigued as to how they will sound. The two stand-mount options are two way design with one Continuum mid/bass and one Carbon Dome Tweeter. Both the flagship pieces (702 S2, 705 S2) offer the classic BW tweeter-on-top look that was first designed for the 800 diamond series. Full rundown with pricing below.
More info: http://www.bowers-wilkins.com/Speakers/Home_Audio/700-Series
702 S2
$2,250 each
Floor stander
3-way vented-box
Tweeter on Top
3 x 165mm Aerofoil Profile bass
1 x 150mm Continuum FST midrange, decoupled
1 x 25mm Carbon Dome tweeter in Solid Body Tweeter-on-top
705 S2
$1,250 each
Stand-mount
2-way vented-box
Tweeter on top
1 x 165mm Continuum bass/midrange
1 x 25mm Carbon Dome tweeter in Solid Body Tweeter-on-top
703 S2
$1,750 each
Floor stander
3-way vented-box
2 x 165mm Aerofoil Profile bass
1 x 150mm Continuum FST midrange, decoupled
1 x 25mm Carbon Dome tweeter
704 S2
$1,250 each
Floor stander
3-way vented-box
2 x 130mm Aerofoil Profile bass
1 x 130mm Continuum FST midrange, decoupled
1 x 25mm Carbon Dome tweeter
706 S2
$900 each
Stand-mount
2-way vented-box
1 x 165mm Continuum bass/midrange
1 x 25mm Carbon Dome tweeter
707 S2
$600 each
Stand-mount
2-way vented box
1 x 130mm Continuum bass/mid
1 x 25mm Carbon Dome tweeter
HTM72 S2
$800 each
2-way vented-box, Center Channel
2 x 130mm Continuum bass/mid
1 x 25mm Carbon Dome tweeter
HTM71 S2
$1,350 each
3-way vented-box, Center Channel
2 x 165mm Aerofoil Profile bass
1 x 100mm Continuum FST midrange
1 x 25mm Carbon Dome tweeter
FS-700 S2
$250 each
Speaker stand for use with 707 S2, 706 S2 and 705 S2, available in Black or Silver finishes.
DB4S
$1,600 each
Single 10in forward-firing drive unit subwoofer
Carbon Aerofoil cone
1000w Hypex amplifier
DB-D digital pre-amp technology plus App control