{"id":30004,"date":"2021-11-29T11:50:33","date_gmt":"2021-11-29T09:50:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.hifi-advice.com\/blog\/?p=30004"},"modified":"2023-07-21T10:39:29","modified_gmt":"2023-07-21T08:39:29","slug":"soundunited-bw-801-d4","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.hifi-advice.com\/blog\/specials\/soundunited-bw-801-d4\/","title":{"rendered":"Bowers & Wilkins 801 D4"},"content":{"rendered":"

Review sample supplied by SoundUnited<\/a>
\nRetail price in the NL (incl. 21% VAT): 35.000 euro (per pair)<\/h4>\n

Personal History<\/h3>\n

My first experience with Bowers & Wilkins goes back to when the initial Nautilus series was introduced 22 years ago. At that time, I was in the market for new speakers and got entirely infatuated with the curvaceous new Nautilus shape, especially the N802 with its intriguing snail shell-inspired midrange- and treble heads. Alas, the N802 was solidly out of my reach so, at that time, I did not dare aspire to it. But this did bring me to investigate the lower-tier Nautilus models.<\/p>\n

When listening to the N805\u2019s and the N804\u2019s at Hobo Hifi in Amsterdam, the modest little N805 stand-mounters readily wowed me with their fluid, open, and remarkably spacious sound. Naturally, they had a limited bass response but that certainly did not go for the 804\u2019s. The floorstanders had the same footprint as the 805\u2019s and a super-slender appearance but with double woofers and much more internal space, they produced deep and powerful bass. In addition, the three-way\u2019s yellow FST unit provided a more pronounced, cleaner, and better-textured midrange that came slightly closer to the 802’s in performance.<\/p>\n

At that time, I was pretty much already sold. The 803 that was placed above the 804 was more than twice as expensive but was basically only a scaled-up version of the 804 but at a price level that rapidly approached the cost of a pair of 802’s which were not feasible anyway.<\/p>\n

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Now having obtained certainty, Hobo Hifi had a new customer and I owned a new set of N804’s. These speakers would not move away from their place for about 8 years of system updates. Although… there were two moments of doubt where I was tempted by other systems and I sold the N804s, even though in both instances, in no time, I bought the exact same model again. The last time, I had blindly decided to upgrade to the S-series version of the 804 and sold my own pair before the new pair was delivered. Alas, the 804S had a restrained kind of sweetness that I could not get used to and that prompted me to get my third pair of N804’s in a row.<\/p>\n

10 years later, Bowers & Wilkins introduced the diamond series, dropping the N prefix and adding a D appendix to the model number. Oh boy, I still couldn’t really afford them, but just like before, the 802 model had me totally in awe. Hobo Hifi again kindly agreed to a home demo (thanks Hans-Peter Rietveld!) and this marked my first experience with the 802D. Oh, yes, this was something else! As good as the N804’s were, the 802D’s outperformed them in many aspects such as soundstage depth and layering, focus and precision, and mostly, treble refinement and air. While many people were imagining a diamond to sound hard and perhaps edgy, the 802D’s tweeter actually delivered smooth, refined, and liquid treble. Actually, the 802D’s treble performance was so remarkable that my good friend JW, a die-hard ribbon-lover, was impressed.<\/p>\n

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Feverishly, I was thinking of ways to scrape together the required sum. If I sold a couple of components and took a loan, then I could perhaps just make it. However, soon, it became clear that the 802D’s bass was far too prodigious for my space and the walls were also too thin, leading to neighbor’s complaints. Alas, this party had to be canceled!<\/p>\n

Successive listening sessions in other systems later confirmed that in addition to possessing a particularly potent bass, the 802D also sounded warmer and richer than my N804’s. At a time when I was seeking a more and more neutral sound, this turned my attention to the new 800 range-topping model. Although the 800 is physically larger and more imposing than the 802, the reference model was said to sound leaner and more linear.<\/p>\n

When the N800s had to make way for the new model and I listened to them at Staffhorst extensively, this confirmed everything I had heard about the flagship. Again, I was heavily tempted but no matter how beautifully neutral the N800 played, I couldn’t get the magical performance of the diamond tweeter of the 802D out of my head. No matter if I had lived with the N804’s aluminum tweeter for what seemed like an eternity and never had any complaints about its treble behavior, clearly, the goalposts had been moved.<\/p>\n

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In 2011, I was in the fortunate position to get my hands on a second-hand pair of 800Ds for a very good price, and so I took the plunge. This time, the acoustics of my newly moved-in house worked against me\u00a0and the magisterial loudspeakers<\/span> hardly<\/span> came<\/span> into<\/span> their<\/span> own.<\/span> Unfortunately,<\/span> this<\/span> meant<\/span> the<\/span> premature<\/span> end<\/span> of<\/span> my<\/span> relationship<\/span> with<\/span> the<\/span> brand,<\/span> whereupon<\/span> I<\/span> took<\/span> a<\/span> completely<\/span> different<\/span> direction<\/span> with<\/span> Magnepan,<\/span> Martin<\/span> Logan,<\/span> Quad, and<\/span> Apogee<\/span> speakers.<\/span><\/p>\n

Next: D3 and D4 descriptions<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

D3<\/h3>\n

After launching the second incarnation of the D series, the D2, in 2015, Bowers & Wilkins surprised everyone by introducing the D3 range with its “inverted” rear-side-front cabinet. At first, the new design took some getting used to but soon it made the old design look, well old.<\/p>\n

While my experience with the aforementioned dipole panel speakers had made me aware of the coloration that was still present in the old 804\u2019s, my first acquaintance with the new D3 series made it immediately clear that the radical new design also marked a huge sonic change, substituting the brand’s traditional warmth and fullness by an unprecedented level of neutrality and resolution.<\/p>\n

Bowers & Wilkins loudspeakers have always offered superb value for money but all of a sudden, the new models now challenged established ultra-high-precision brands such as Magico and YG acoustics in important areas such as resolution, refinement, and lack of coloration. However, while the D3 series speakers were certainly ground-breakingly transparent and revealing, in all the demos that I attended, they also sounded a little too clean and analytical for my taste. For me, it was as though technical perfection had taken precedence over the emotional aspects of the music.<\/p>\n

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D4<\/h3>\n

The new 801 D4 is the successor to the 800D3 and with this one of the most iconic model names returns to the portfolio. The 801 D4 is the top model of the series and the new reference by which all other Bowers & Wilkins speakers are judged.<\/p>\n

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Above and below, Johan Katgert is showing us what the new Biomimetic<\/i> Suspension looks like up close (By Werner Ero Fotografie)<\/em><\/p>\n

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Nico Bierhoff and Johan Katgert provide a great look at the top and bottom of the new aluminum top panels (By Werner Ero Fotografie)<\/em><\/p>\n

The 801 D4 is equipped with all the new technology that the 800 Series Diamond has to offer such as the considerably heavier and more solid tweeter housing that is milled from a big bar of aluminum and the aluminum Turbine Head with the Continuum driver for the midrange.<\/p>\n

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The new Continuum driver is now equipped with Biomimetic Suspension (see photo above), which means that the traditional woven spider at the back of the cone has been replaced by a kind of plastic frame with the minimum amount of material to prevent backward reflections from interfering.<\/p>\n

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Above: Regular Woven Fabric Spider as used in a woofer; Below: new Biomimetic<\/i> Suspension as used in the Continuum midrange driver.<\/em><\/p>\n

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In addition, there is now a milled aluminum top panel, crossovers that are mounted on a rigid aluminum heatsink on the rear of the speaker, and a greatly improved Matrix housing, equipped with aluminum-reinforced, interlocking panels. Importantly, wherever there are aluminum-wood intersections, the parts are glued as well as screwed in place.<\/p>\n

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After the D4 range was released, it didn’t take long for rave reports to come my way. The new model was said to be not only the best incarnation of the series but actually the best that Bowers & Wilkins has issued. Of course, this is more often said with the introduction of a new reference series, so I took the news with a few grains of salt. When good friend and fellow reviewer Werner Ero then told me that the D4 did indeed provide all the benefits of the D3 series, along with key aspects that made the D2 series so great, that’s when I really took note.<\/p>\n

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Next: arranging the review and system setup<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Arranging the Review<\/h3>\n

I approached Channel Marketeer Nico Bierhoff of SoundUnited whom I first met when arranging the Classe Delta<\/a> review, and asked if he was interested in an HFA review of the new D4 series. As he confessed, he had already put me down while waiting for review samples to become available. Meanwhile, due to the speaker’s immense bulk and weight, Werner had agreed to do a review of the new 801D, not in his home system, but at the SoundUnited demo facility.<\/p>\n

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As a reviewer, it is important to have equipment available with which you are intimately familiar, and preferably in a room that you know well. Especially the latter is often underestimated, and that’s why I always prefer to do reviews using my reference system. While I was making plans for a home review, Werner asked if I wanted to come along with him to SoundUnited so that we could join forces. We are attuned to each other and together we can very effectively tweak a system to our mutual satisfaction in such a way that we can draw the right conclusions from it. Of course, each of us is perfectly capable of doing this on his own, but given the limited amount of time that was available to us, it’s more effective and more relaxed with two persons, especially where an unfamiliar environment and heavy speakers are concerned. Nico happily agreed, and thus, this would become my first joint review. Naturally, we would each write our own stories, but our efforts would be 100% coordinated, and I must say, that worked out really well.<\/p>\n

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Upon arriving at the SoundUnited premises, we were enthusiastically received by Channel Marketeer Nico Bierhoff, Brand Activation Manager Johan Katgert, and Senior Sound Engineer Rainer Finck. Before we started with the job at hand, a pleasant hour of chatter had quickly passed during which the gentlemen explained the proceedings at the facility and we shared many interesting thoughts and stories. During these conversations, I suddenly remembered how I knew Rainer’s name: he was responsible for the modification of the Marantz CD16 to make it the CD16 “Exclusive”! Remember? This was the CD player that challenged the long-standing-favorite, 100-Punkte, Sony XA50ES in one of the major German magazines at the time. But that was only one of a long list of developments for which he was responsible.<\/p>\n

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System Setup<\/h3>\n

In advance, it was well discussed what the intention was for the review and we were given a free hand to put the system together and set it up as we wanted. With this in mind, Rainer and Johan had set up the 801 D4s on their built-in positioning wheels. Prior to letting us do our thing, Rainer demoed the system using his preferred computer solution running Roon, connecting via USB cable either to the Class\u00e9 Delta Pre or the Marantz SA-10 according to taste. The main power amplifiers are the Class\u00e9 Delta Mono and as a bonus, there was also a Marantz PM-10 integrated amplifier. After a few tracks, Rainer left the room with the message that he was only a couple of doors away in case of questions, and for the afternoon, we would now have a private listening room.<\/p>\n

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Because Werner and I both like to work with well-known equipment, we have brought various components and cables with us, of which we have also used many. For example, the Grimm MU1 music server and the MolaMola Tambaqui DAC were used together with a Siltech Golden Eagle 110 Double CrownAES\/EBU cable and the AudioQuest Fire RCA as an interlink between the Class\u00e9 Delta Pre and the Delta Mono power amplifiers. It’s hard to conclude which of these changes was the most pivotal but as we added them one by one, each of these components incurred changes that we felt were big improvements over using the supplied components.<\/p>\n

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What was particularly remarkable was the effect of changing from using the Class\u00e9 Delta Pre as a DAC and preamp to using the MolaMola Tambaqui as a DAC and feeding its output to the Delta Pre. The latter contains a great DAC, but evidently, it is even better as a preamp. We did listen briefly to the SA-10 as a CD player and as a DAC but this led to a rounder, warmer, and more mellow sound that Werner and I both did not prefer.<\/p>\n

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Speaker Positioning<\/h3>\n

When the system played to our satisfaction, we turned our focus to the loudspeaker positions. As positioned now, they were optimized for large audiences. Our objective was to achieve a more focused sound that’s ideal for the middle two seats while minimizing the room interaction. Although the room was carefully treated on all the surface areas with a mixture of diffusion and absorption to achieve what Rainer referred to as an accurately measured result as well as a musically pleasing performance, we felt that the relatively “dead” room made the speakers sound more closed-in than we liked. But this is why we requested to be allowed the freedom to arrange the system as desired and it is where our two-man collaboration would soon pay off.<\/p>\n

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After moving the speakers around, first after distance measurements using a laser measuring device and then by ear, we arrived at a position where the speakers were slightly more apart from one another, a little closer to the listening position, and with considerably less toe-in. As we soon found, this room has very effective bass damping as well as general damping which can be too much if the speakers are not positioned just so. Either they start sounding muffled, or they start sounding overly lean. The sweet spot between these two extremes turned out to be quite small, just like a lens that has only one spot where the focus is ideal. But even when we had found the ideal positions, we still felt that the speakers were not sounding as crisp and articulate as we would expect them to be.<\/p>\n

More for completeness than\u00a0expecting a huge improvement, I suggested using the speaker’s spikes instead of the wheels. The great thing about these speakers is that both spikes and wheels are incorporated into the base and one can change between them without having to tilt or move the heavy cabinets. This means that once the ideal position has been found, the speakers can be “lifted” in place via the adjustable spikes until the wheels come loose and they stand absolutely rock solid.<\/p>\n

To our delight, as I was turning each spike (that seem to have a zillion turns), Werner commented how he heard the bass become tighter and firmer while the focusing and overall stability also improved. Sure, we expected tighter bass but the result was so much more pronounced! Not only did the bass become tighter and more controlled, but the soundstage also became more stable as well as wider and more freely filling the room, while the focus had improved leaps and bounds. This goes to show not only the importance of the room, precise positioning, and floor-coupling but also how sensitive the 801 D4’s are to these variables. Don’t assume that speakers will not benefit from spikes simply because they are super-heavy. Incidentally, in speaking with the gentlemen later, they confirmed the importance of using spike-coupling and indicated that they only used the wheels to aid in our positioning endeavors.<\/p>\n

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With everything now in focus, the rhythm had also benefited hugely. Now, everything we played sounded beautifully articulate, propulsive, and infectiously communicative. As my foot was tapping and we played some of our collectively well-known tracks, we agreed that we had achieved what we set out to do. More importantly, we agreed that the speakers did indeed perform marvelously.<\/p>\n

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Next: 801 D4 performance and Conclusion<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

801 D4 performance<\/h3>\n

In my introduction, I talked about the originally rich and warm Bowers & Wilkins sound that offered great value for money. With the D3 series, these aspects were equalized, that is, the prices had risen considerably, but at the same time, the speakers now sounded amazingly neutral while huge leaps had also been made in terms of the overall performance. After my aforementioned dipole adventures, I ended up at Wilson Audio Watt\/Puppy 8 and finally Magico S1 MkII. The S1’s are small and have a limited bass response, but in general, they provide much of what I am looking for in music reproduction. As a side note, the S1’s, as well as other Magicos, share more than a few facets of sound with what I have come to know as the D3 performance. But as mentioned, none of the D3 models managed to move me emotionally. Oh, how different this turned out with the 801 D4’s!<\/p>\n

Let me tell you, what I was hearing now with the 801 D4s is an achievement that might actually have some exotic brands worried. What Bowers & Wilkins is now offering is not only a performance that borders on technical perfection but also at a price that is significantly lower than with comparably performing exotics. The Magico S1 MkII was the brand’s smallest model in a range that was, at the introduction, their entry-level. They may only be a small two-way system with a limited bass response and they are not truly an exotic product, but still, they do cost 23.000 euros, which is only 12.000 euros short of the price for the Bowers & Wilkins reference model! I’ll let that sink in.<\/p>\n

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But besides that, the 801 D4 does literally everything that the S1’s do, either in equal measure, or better, while improving on them in several other key aspects.<\/p>\n

First of all, there is this amazing neutrality and linearity from top to bottom with absolutely no cabinet-induced-, or other kinds of coloration to be heard anywhere. Then, there is this amazing coherence between the bass drivers and the midrange. Where the transition between these two areas was sometimes audible in previous models as well as in many other multi-driver speakers, it is now as if I am listening to a two-way speaker but, mind you, one that has a frequency extension right down to the limit of our hearing range!<\/p>\n

Some people like a loudness kind of bass and so did I when I was younger. But as I grow older, I prefer the frequency response to be as linear as possible. But as experience has shown, building a truly linear speaker is extremely hard, not least because linearizing almost always comes with penalties in other areas, such as timing or expression. In essence, every loudspeaker is a compromise, but with the 801 D4, I simply cannot hear any evidence of this. These speakers just sound so neutral and yet so beautifully balanced, I can’t help but be hugely impressed.<\/p>\n

What all the Turbine-head models always had in common was a sound that effortlessly floated around the speakers and I’m glad to find that the 801 D4 continues this tradition. At the same time, the sound is highly focused, more so than before, and with great imaging and soundstage layering.<\/p>\n

The 801 D4 has no musical preference, it does not add any character of its own, but importantly, it also never sounds tonally gray or deprived of musical soul. This is a very important point to note! Irrespective of its neutrality and precision, the 801 D4 also sounds natural and it certainly does not restrict the emotional aspect of the performances. The speaker simply lets the music speak for itself, in all its harmonic richness or pure simplicity, wholly depending on how it is registered in the recording.<\/p>\n

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As a final test, we connected the Marantz PM-10 and although this review is long enough already and I don’t want to dive too deeply into the Marantz’ contribution, it was very interesting to note how supremely refined the relatively affordable amplifier performed. It was arguably just as detailed but silkier and even more delicate, as it substituted the rock-solid image with a more free-flowing soundstage. Understandably, it did not have the robust bass and the overall authority of the big Class\u00e9 Delta Monos, but it drove the 801 D4’s with enough power and confidence. For those who desire their sonic delivery slightly more rose-tinted, the Marantz is definitely a worthy alternative.<\/p>\n

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Conclusion<\/h2>\n

Considering that the 801 D4 combines all the refinement, fluidity, and airiness of the D2 series but none of the thickness or excessive warmth, with the neutrality and explicit detailing of the D3 series minus this series’ overly analytical stance, I can’t help but fully agree with the company’s statement that the 801 D4 is indeed the best incarnation in the series. What Bowers & Wilkins offers here is not only a lot of value for money but something that actually borders on the “state of the art”.<\/p>\n

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More Bowers & Wilkins<\/h3>\n

Company Profile and Signature 801 D4 Review<\/a><\/p>\n

External Links<\/h3>\n

SoundUnited<\/a>
\nBowers&Wilkins<\/a><\/p>\n

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