Experience "True Sound" from Bookshelf Loudspeakers: British-Built Bowers & Wilkins 805 D4 Feature Diamond Dome Tweeters, Tweeter-on-Top Architecture, Reverse-Wrap Cabinets

The 805 D4, the only bookshelf loudspeaker in Bowers & Wilkins' prestigious 800 Series Diamond does its job so well, there is no need for a sibling standmount model to exist. And just because it's the most compact entry in the range doesn't mean that it skimps on performance — or innovation. Created under the premise of playing with what Bowers & Wilkins deems "True Sound," 805 D4 serves the artist's original intent by reproducing music with beguiling transparency, detail, resolution, and accuracy that practically take you to the recording studio. When employed in a 800 Series Diamond home-theater setup, 805 D4 promises the same kind of immersiveness with cinematic films, television shows, and sporting events.

Designed to excel playing any kind of music — from modern pop to bluegrass, bebop to opera, outlaw country to golden-age hip-hop, stoner rock to speed metal — the two-way 805 D4 doesn't discriminate when it comes to genre. Its advanced driver array accounts for its engaging dynamics, openness, air, and balance. A specialist when it comes to recreating believable soundstages and intricate details, Bowers & Wilkins' one-inch diamond dome tweeter and signature solid-body Tweeter-on-Top housing — milled from a single block of aluminum and sculpted into an elongated form with a long tube-loading system that lessens rear diffraction — accompany a 6.5-inch Continuum cone bass midrange and an aluminum bass pod. They're part of a form-follows-function mentality that helps make music sound as if it is being made in your room in real time by real artists.

Yet what might startle you most is how true to the source 805 D4 remains in both the analog and digital domains. Credit for such transparency owes to Bowers & Wilkins engineers' belief that everything involved with the speaker's construction can impact the end result. That obsessive passion explains why 805 D4 is made entirely in the company's dedicated factory in England — and why all its components went through years of sophisticated testing and analysis. That painstaking devotion also accounts for why many of the world's foremost music institutions and recording studios — Abbey Road Studios, Capitol Records, Interscope Records, 20th Century Fox, Sony, MIT, Sterling Sound, and the Boston Symphony Orchestra to name just a handful — choose to use the 800 Series Diamond family in their everyday pursuits.

Measuring 17.3 x 9.4 x 14.7 inches (HWD), 805 D4 touts advanced Matrix bracing, in which interlocking panels reinforce the cabinet walls in all directions to reduce resonance and solidify the soundstage. Another major perk: The reverse-wrap cabinet, wherein the front and sides are formed from one continuous curve and held together by a solid aluminum spine. In real-word terms, the approach improves dispersion and lessens reflections. Add to these features the Leather by Connolly detailing, choice of four colors, and rear-mounted crossover mounted on stiff aluminum spines — a unique touch that isolates the sensitive capacitors and acts as a strategic heatsink. The speaker's unique architecture, which extends to the decoupled tweeter housing, also means colorations are practically an afterthought.

We'd love to talk more with you about these truly special speakers. To learn more, and arrange for a risk-free in-home audition, please call one of our audio consultants today.

“[The] 805 D4 loses nothing in the honesty stakes, but gains some fun and excitement along the way.”
—Hi-Fi+, 2022 Best Product Award, Standmount Loudspeaker

“Sometimes a change is little more than a step, but in the Bowers & Wilkins 805 D4 it’s a giant leap. Whether or not you follow the fortunes of the little reference speaker from the brand, the Bowers & Wilkins 805 D4 has entered the race as one of the best stand-mount loudspeakers in audio right now.”
—Alan Sircom, Hi-Fi+

Solid Body Tweeter: Not Just for Looks

The latest edition of Bowers & Wilkins' iconic Solid Body Tweeter-on-Top housing features an elongated form with a longer tube-loading system, producing an incredibly free and open sound with high frequencies. The carefully decoupled housing is milled from a single solid block of aluminum to better resist resonance.

Decoupled Midrange: An 800 Series Diamond Hallmark

Every 800 Series Diamond loudspeaker (save for 805 D4) has a dedicated midrange cone using several proprietary Bowers & Wilkins technologies: the Continuum FST cone, Biomimetic Suspension, and midrange decoupling. The latter ensures minimal interference from the operation of the loudspeaker's bass units.

Matrix Bracing: Reinforcing the Point

Trademarked Matrix bracing uses interlocking panels to reinforce loudspeaker cabinet walls in all directions internally, reducing resonance and creating a more believable soundstage. Every loudspeaker in 800 Series Diamond benefits from an upgraded Matrix design that combines solid plywood construction with aluminum bracing to reinforce key stress points.

Reverse Wrap Cabinet: A Wicked Curve

When it came to designing the ideal shape for the 800 Series Diamond cabinet, Bowers & Wilkins did a U-turn. Instead of a flat-fronted speaker with a curving back, the company produced a cabinet with a front and sides formed of one continuous curve — and held together with a spine of solid aluminum. Fewer joins make for a stiffer, more inert structure, and a curved front means less baffling around the drive units. The upshots: sound dispersion is improved, and cabinet reflection reduced.

Aluminum Top Plate: The Ideal Match

Every stereo model in the 800 Series Diamond range has a significantly upgraded cabinet design with an all-new aluminum top plate for even greater stiffness. The same design also provides a perfect mounting point for the all-new Leather by Connolly cabinet detailing.

Rear-Mounted Crossover: No Detail Overlooked

All stereo models in the 800 Series Diamond range use rear-mounted crossover designs mounted on stiff aluminum 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.