Diamond John

By Scott Wilkinson • Posted: Jul 14, 2009

John Bowers founded British speaker giant Bowers & Wilkins in 1965, hand assembling speakers in the back of an electronics shop he ran with Roy Wilkins in Worthing, England. Nearly 45 years later, B&W has become one of the world's pre-eminent speaker companies, thanks in part to the spirit of innovation embodied in its flagship 800 series.

Like the Kharma Exquisite line previously profiled in this blog, the top members of the 800 series include a dome tweeter made of pure, laboratory-grown diamond, which exhibits a very high stiffness and break-up frequency, making it an ideal tweeter-diaphragm material. This remarkable achievement is made possible by the invention of a process called chemical vapor deposition, in which a specific chemical environment encourages carbon atoms to form a diamond lattice directly on a substrate material such as tungsten, molybdenum, or silicon—in this case, the substrate form is spherical as shown in the photo above.

Also common to the upper echelon of the 800 series is B&W's so-called Marlan head unit, which combines the tweeter and midrange driver in their own, separate enclosures. Derived from the Nautilus design, each enclosure uses a tapered transmission line or "lossy waveguide" behind the driver, which minimizes coloration from the backwave.

At the pinnacle of this series is the 800D, a ported, 3-way floorstander with one 1-inch diamond-dome tweeter, one 6-inch Kevlar midrange, and two 10-inch Rohacell-sandwich cone woofers mounted in a curved, Matrix-braced main cabinet said to effectively resist resonances. The impressive frequency response ranges from 32Hz to 28kHz (±3dB), and the –6dB points are 25Hz and 33kHz. Of course, this level of performance doesn't come cheap—the 800D lists for $11,500 each.

Among the center-channel models in the series is the top-dog HTM1D, which sports a 1-inch diamond-dome tweeter above a 6-inch Kevlar midrange in the Marlan configuration, below which are three 8-inch Rohacell-sandwich woofers. Interestingly, this center-channel speaker is designed to sit on the floor rather than a stand, and the included spiked feet allow it to be tilted upward toward the listener. The HTM1D matches the 800D perfectly with a frequency response from 38Hz to 28kHz (±3dB), with –6dB points at 32Hz and 33kHz, all for $9000.

None of the 800-series surrounds include a diamond-dome tweeter, but the DS8S should suffice quite nicely anyway. This trapezoidal surround speaker can be switched to operate as a monopole from the front-firing 1-inch aluminum-dome tweeter and 7-inch Kevlar mid/bass driver or a dipole from the 1-inch aluminum-dome tweeters and 4-inch Kevlar midrange drivers on the side panels. (In dipole mode, the front tweeter is disabled, but the front woofer remains active.) The monopole frequency response extends from 60Hz to 22kHz (±3dB), with –6dB points at 45Hz and 50kHz; in dipole mode, the –6dB points are 45Hz and 18kHz. The price for this puppy? $1650 each.

For the ultimate home-theater package, the ASW855 is the subwoofer to get. This sealed-box design includes a single 15-inch, long-throw, Rohacell-sandwich cone driver and 1000-watt Class D amp to achieve a frequency response from 18Hz to 110Hz (±3dB) with –6dB points at 14Hz and 140Hz. As you would expect, that much bass costs—$3500 to be exact.

At minimum, a 5.1 system with two 800Ds, one HTM1D center, two DS8S surrounds, and one ASW855 sub will set you back almost $39,000—a real bargain compared with some of the systems I've profiled in this blog. Of course, you could opt for 7.2 channels or put additional 800Ds in the surround positions if you simply must spend more money. I've not heard these particular models, but I have listened to plenty of B&Ws, and they are among the finest-sounding speakers in my experience. Thus, I have no doubt that the system described here would satisfy just about anyone's desire for the ultimate home-theater sound.

Comments

Submitted by alex on July 14, 2009 - 3:48pm.

Please stop commenting on all these things you have NOT heard.

Submitted by Raymond T. on July 14, 2009 - 5:46pm.

I SAW A DEMO AT STORE AND THE SYSTEM WAS B&W 800D FRONTS AND REARS AND HTM1D CENTER JL FATHOM F113 SUBWOOFER MCINTOSH MX120 PROCESSOR MCINTOSH MC205 AMP MCINTOSH MVX871 DVD PLAYER RUNCO PROJECTOR VX-55D STEWART FILM SCREEN "130" AND THE MOVIE 007 CASINO ROYALE DVD AND THE SOUND LIKE NO MOVIE THEATER COULD COMPARE IT WAS LIKE YOU ARE THERE

Submitted by Scott Wilkinson on July 14, 2009 - 9:41pm.

Alex, why do you care if I make such comments or not? Raymond, I really appreciate the comment about your actual experience with the B&Ws. However, I would have appreciated it even more if you hadn't written it in ALL CAPS, which defies the first rule of netiquette: Don't write in all caps because it's equivalent to shouting.

Submitted by Chris on July 15, 2009 - 8:00am.

I agree with Alex on this one. I would have enjoyed this article much better if I could read some first hand impressions. Chances are I will never be able to afford this system so I will have to take other's impressions. What you have written here is nothing more then I could get from B&W website. As to the all cap's comment maybe he was just that excitted about what he actually HEARD!

Submitted by John on July 15, 2009 - 9:47am.

I think what people are trying to say is that they would love to see a review of this package Scott. I sell B&W for a living, so I know how good these speakers sound. However, not everyone has a B&W dealer nearby so why don't you guys do a review of this EXACT speaker system described above? If you have the ability to test things far more expensive that frankly don't impress, why can't you test these? Do it in a 5.1 config and maybe 7.1 config. Also test it with movies, music, and SACD/DVD-Audio. You will not be disappointed.

Submitted by Bob on July 15, 2009 - 10:23am.

Gentleman, This system is out of the reach of most mortal men if you insist on buying new, however, I recently purchased a set of 802D thru Ebay at a very reasonable cost and anxiously awaiting thier arrival. I will post my analysis after living with them for a couple of weeks.

Submitted by Jerry on July 15, 2009 - 12:29pm.

Gentlemen, (Alex, et. al.) this is a BLOG, not a formal review page. I think if you have any audiophile pretenses at all, then, goodness gracious I would HOPE you would have heard B&W speakers-esp the 800 series by now! Even if you haven't, again, if you're interested in high end audio, you know what the B&W signature sound is.....C'MON!! The intention of blogs like this are not necessarily to have full blown reviews, but to offer an intro into the bodacious high end of audio that we all aspire to. I think if Scott were to review every product that he writes about on these pages, we would start seeing his picture on milk cartons. Give it a REST.

Submitted by Bruce in CO on July 15, 2009 - 2:16pm.

Thank you Jerry. I totally agree.

Submitted by Carnell on July 15, 2009 - 3:28pm.

If I enjoy my lowly, discontinued, DM303's. I think these would ruin me for life.

Submitted by Scott Wilkinson on July 15, 2009 - 7:59pm.

Jerry, many thanks for your well-stated support; you definitely get what I'm trying to do here! I certainly wish I could review every product I profile here, but alas, I can't. To Alex et al, my original question still remains. What's the big deal if I draw on my experience with a manufacturer's other products to speculate in this blog about the performance of a particular product I've not yet heard? I believe I'm completely justified in saying that, based on what I've heard from other B&W speakers, these should sound fantastic. Even better, since this is a blog, readers like Raymond can chime in with their direct experiences. I really appreciate these comments, so keep 'em coming—just try to avoid hitting the caps-lock key!

Submitted by B&W_2009 on July 16, 2009 - 6:51am.

I own a pair of 801D and a sub Watch Dog of WILSON. I have to say how pleased I am with the 801D, with the sound is crystal clear, perfectly clear throughout the audible range and is easily adapted to the acoustics of my room. Not however that the Watch Dog or programmable digital equilizer (which is very rudimentary features) have not yet committed to the sound of my room. Surely B & W is the best manufacturer with money in my humble opinion the audio enthusiast in 14 years.

Submitted by Scott Caventer on July 16, 2009 - 9:28am.

Scott, Thanks for being true to your word and posting a blog about the B&W 800 series. I agree with most of the comments above, it isn't necessary that you listen and review all the products you put on display here. I think its great that you expose us to equipment that we would normally not even think about. These blogs help me get a different perspective on this industry. Ulitmately, it is up to us, the end user, to seek out these pruducts to listen to and decide if they will work for us!

Submitted by Alex on July 16, 2009 - 3:10pm.

I think if I go to an AV website I want first hand experience... if I want speculation of how awesome a Wilson 7.2 setup sounds I will go to various online forums and will find plenty of that. On professional blogs I expect a higher standard where, even if it isn't a review, you've seen or heard it if you are going to gush over it. Now, if you hear about a new product (given your position you are a more likely to here so than I am) and want to talk about how cool you think it is, that's FINE, but this line of speakers is not new at all... so I just don't understand the timing.

Submitted by Scott Wilkinson on July 17, 2009 - 1:45pm.

Alex, I agree that first-hand experience is ideal, but at the rate I'm required to populate this blog, there's no way I can see or hear all the products I profile. As for new products, I do as many as I can find, but there simply aren't that many high-end introductions in a given time period, so I must fall back on existing products when I can't find anything brand new. Also, this blog is about interesting high-end products, not necessarily new ones. In this particular case, I was asked by a reader to cover the B&W 800D, which is why I did. I see absolutely nothing wrong with speculating about the performance of a product based on my 20 years as a professional journalist in this field. So I guess we must agree to disagree on this point.

Submitted by nathan on July 27, 2009 - 4:36pm.

There is nothing wrong with speculating about press releases. It appears some people were coming to this blog for product reviews. This is not the place for that.

Submitted by Kodg Man on September 14, 2009 - 3:37pm.

My current system icludes the 802ds & 803ds as mains & surround A's, surround b's are Ds8s & the rear surrounds are B&W CCM-817, the center is the htm2d rounded off by two jl F-110. I sold my F-113 after i purchased the 802ds & 803ds as the bass was quite adequate! The F-110 are their for movies only, but don't be fooled by the same size of the F-110 @ 900 watts a piece the y are more than adequate considering the bass I get from the 800d's. My screen is the 60" Kuro Elite Pioneer Plasma. I enjoy the set-up!! I am looking at the HTM1d, well see. IMO it is as close to the perfect system as possible (at least for the $$) But I want more? It is a little excessive! I think IMO to spend 800D money on rear surrounds is silly, really my CCM-117 ceiling speakers are more than enought to handle the small amount of sound that is allocated to the rear surrounds. I would rather spemd the $ and go with the HMT1D center instead. Kodg