The 800 Series Diamond is the flagship speaker line of Bowers & Wilkins , the British company that's been in the high-end speaker business since 1965. You'll find B&W's 800 Series speakers in many of the world's top recording and mastering studios, and yesterday I witnessed the unveiling of the line's latest update at just such a facility.

The event took place at Sterling Sound, a studio in Manhattan that mastered an astonishing array of hit albums. It began with an in-depth technical presentation on the new speakers that lasted over an hour. B&W's head of engineering—Stuart Neville—gave the presentation; it included a series of video clips showing various aspects of the 800 Series D3 production process.

A packed house of journalists covered the technical presentation given by Stuart Neville.

B&W hammered home the point that the new 800 Series Diamond 3 speakers represent a significant leap forward in performance. Of particular interest is the company's decision to move on from Kevlar as the material of choice for its midrange drivers. Bowers & Wilkins pioneered the use of Kevlar, and it claims to be the only company that fully understands that material's properties. Nevertheless, the new midrange cone material is made from an unidentified gray material that is said to be superior.

The company is not saying what the Continuum cone is made out of, but promises to do so once its patent application is processed. I did find out that it's not made of any sort of exotic material. Namely, it's not carbon fiber. However, it apparently performs quite a bit better when used as a midrange driver cone material than Kevlar.

A redesigned Turbine head houses the midrange in the 802 D3 and 803 D3 models. It is one of the most recognizable features of B&W's top speakers, and the latest iteration is said to minimize resonances far more effectively than what came before it.

The new Turbine head on the 802 D3 with the Continuum cone midrange.

The new Continuum cone makes its way into every model of the new 800 Series Diamond speakers. And, of course, all of the speakers in the series feature the eponymous Diamond tweeter. The woofers are also a new design that B&W calls Aerofoil because a cross-section of the cone has a shape similar to an airplane wing. A couple examples of the new woofer cone were passed around; it was remarkably light and rigid.

CNET's Steve Guttenberg takes a look at the new Aerofoil woofer cone.

A close-up view of the Aerofoil woofer cone.

Here's the complete new lineup, which is expected to ship in October of this year:

The 802 D3 is the current top dog in the new lineup. It costs $22,000 for a pair, and each one weighs 208 lbs. It's a three-way 8-ohm design with a 1" diamond dome tweeter, a 6" Continuum cone midrange mounted in a Turbine head, and twin 8" Aerofoil cone woofers. Frequency response is listed as 17 Hz to 28 kHz +/-3dB (wow!) with 90 dB sensitivity, and the maximum recommended amplifier power is 500 watts.

Next up is the 803 D3. It sells for $17,000 per pair, and each one tips the scales at 144 lbs. It's a three-way 8-ohm design with a 1" diamond dome tweeter, a 5" Continuum cone midrange mounted in a Turbine head, and twin 7" Aerofoil cone woofers. Frequency response is listed as 19 Hz to 28 kHz +/-3dB with 90 dB sensitivity, and the maximum recommended amplifier power is 500 watts.

The most affordable tower in the series is the 804 D3, which costs $9000 for a pair. It's a 73-lb speaker with a three-way 8-ohm design that forsakes the turbine head featured on the 802 D3 and 803 D3 models. The 804 D3 features a 1" diamond dome tweeter, a 5" Continuum cone midrange, and twin 6.5" Aerofoil cone woofers. Frequency response is listed at as 19Hz to 28kHz +/-3dB with 90 dB sensitivity. Frequency response is listed as 24 Hz to 28 kHz +/-3dB with 89 dB sensitivity. Maximum recommended amplification is 200 watts.

The 805 D3 is a two-way 8-ohm bookshelf design that sells for $6000 per pair. It has a 1" diamond dome tweeter and a 6.5" Continuum cone midrange/woofer. Frequency response is listed at as 19Hz to 28kHz +/-3dB with 90 dB sensitivity. Frequency response is listed as 42 Hz to 28 kHz +/-3dB with 88 dB sensitivity. The maximum recommended amplifier power is 120 watts.

The HTM1 D3 is a $6000 center channel speaker. It weighs a hefty 67 lbs. and features a three-way 8-ohm design with a 1” diamond dome tweeter, a 6” Continuum cone
midrange, and dual 8” Aerofoil cone woofers. Frequency response is listed as 28 Hz to 28 kHz +/-3dB with 91 dB sensitivity. The maximum recommended amplification is 500 watts.

Finally, the HTM2 D3 is a $4000 center channel speaker with a currently unspecified weight. It is a three-way 8-ohm design with a 1” diamond dome tweeter, a 5” Continuum cone
midrange, and dual 6.5” Aerofoil cone woofers. Frequency response is listed as 45 Hz to 28 kHz +/-3dB with 90 dB sensitivity. The maximum recommended amplifier power is 200 watts.

I had a chance to hear both the 805 D3 and the 802 D3 from the sweet spot, using a couple of mastering suites at Sterling Sound. I can report that is was quite incredible. Indeed, it reminded me that I don't always hear transcendent audio at shows. But in Sterling Sound's facilities, with its exceptional acoustics and Classé gear powering the whole shebang, the sound quality I heard coming from the new speakers was jaw-droppingly good. Furthermore, the presentation used nothing but 16-bit/44.1 kHz audio and convincingly made the case that CD quality sound is truly a wonder to behold when properly reproduced.

In the following uncut video clip, the demo starts with the previous generation 805 D2, with its Kevlar cone. John Atkinson from Stereophile is in the sweet spot seat for the 805 D2 track. Then, the 805 D2s are swapped out for 805 D3s. Following that, the rest of the journalists in the room took turns in the captain's chair. I went last for what it's worth; between tracks you can hear some of my commentary in the background.
After the 805 D3 demo, our small group moved to another mastering suite and listened to the 802 D3 towers. Once again, we took turns sitting in the sweet spot. The 802 D3s produced a flawless soundstage and put on a world-class performance. Here's the session on video, it kicks off with the Ryan Adams track that's also featured in the 805 D3 video.
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Check out this series of videos from B&W that gets into the details about the new line. I watched the same videos during the unveiling:
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This video from B&W takes you through the entire process of constructing an 802 D3 speaker.
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A slick overview of the new models set to ambient music.
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Bowers & Wilkins employees discuss their motivations for building better speakers.

 
About the new plinth design.
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Regarding the redesigned Matrix enclosure.
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The new Turbine Head is a key component of the 802 D3 and 803 D3 towers.
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How Bowers & Wilkins finds performance parameters to improve upon.
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