The boxes were kept in our pantry opposite 20 bankers' boxes containing product metering manuals worth 33 years. These two large boxes were given to my wife the 801 Bauer Vecchio that she owned when she married in 1987. The four smaller boxes were prepared for B&W's signature and their booth, which I purchased after a review in June 1994. Both pairs of speakers provided excellent sound quality at the time, but now they sit in the storage room, and their boxes give me a sneering look when I visit.
Since the introduction of the first "pregnant kangaroo" DM6 in December 1977, Stereophile has reviewed many Bowers & Wilkins loudspeakers. The most recent one is the 705 signed standmount, which I wrote about in December 2020. At the end of my review of the 705 signature ($4,000 per pair), I wrote: "This elegant speaker replaces the music in a very satisfying way. "So, last summer, after I watched a video demonstration of Bowers & Wilkins' new Diamond Series 800 D4 Series speakers, I asked for a sample of the 804 D4 floorstanding speakers for $12,500/pair.
804D4
Most of the D4 800 series speakers are similar to the D3 model, but they contain some modified and upgraded design features. The biggest difference between the 804 D4 and its predecessor is that it features what the manufacturer calls a "reverse-packing cabinet" for the larger floor-to-ceiling 800 series models. The elliptically flat shell has a flat back and a vertical ribbed aluminum plate, while the front bezel is gently curved to optimize dispersion. The mid-range unit and dual woofers are mounted in a circular aluminium box mounted on the bezel. The shell has a cast aluminum roof plate covered with infill material, and the internal matrix support is now made of panels made of solid plywood instead of the previous MDF panels, which are reinforced with aluminum supports.
A 1-inch tweeter using steam-deposited diamond diaphragms is mounted at the front of a 12-inch long conical tube machined from solid aluminum blanks. It is located at the top of the cabinet with two compatible mounts. The tweeter's motor has a ventilated pole piece that absorbs echoes inside the tube. (I can't detect any output from the pipe end.) "The motor assembly of the tweeter has been redesigned to allow the drive to 'breathe' more efficiently without degrading performance," B&W said. The result is a significant reduction in the resonance frequency behind the tweeter dome. ”
The 5-inch mid-range unit uses a cone made of silver woven continuous material that Bauer Veckers is now familiar with. This material is said to be very light and hard, with very high damping. Like earlier versions of this drive, it dispensed with traditional wrapping and instead B&W's so-called Fixed Suspension Sensor (FST) technology D4 series mid-range drivers feature a "composite bionic suspension" system that reduces air resistance at the rear of the drive unit's diaphragm instead of the traditional fabric "spider" structure, keeping the voice coil in the center of the motor. The result, according to B&W, is "unprecedented mid-range transparency and realism"
The two 6.5-inch woofers use the manufacturer's airfoil cone, which has a low-mass composite foam "core, with carbon fiber skin thicknesses around the central voice coil ranging from minimum to minimum, increasing as the radius increases, and then thinning again as it approaches the perimeter. This topology is said to maximize stiffness without increasing mass. The D4 speakers added a new foam-resistant resonant plug that B&W claims "gently supports the sound." "As the cone moves within its operating range, the coil and distortion are reduced, ensuring cleaner bass."
The woofer reflex is loaded with a flared "air intake" with small dents on its surface to reduce turbulent air noise. When the port of the 804 D3 is located on the front bezel, the port of the D4 shoots down into the high space between the 1"-shell and the cast aluminum base; the shell is supported by four short outriggers. On the base, it is said that there is a restraining layer steel damping plate to control the resonance. The speaker arrives with rubber pointed feet that can be replaced with heavy-duty carpet piercing studs in the accessory box.
Cross details are not available. The electrical connection is made through two pairs of high-quality binding posts at the bottom of the rear panel. A jumper cable is supplied to allow a single wiring.
Set up
Optimizing the 804 D4 position is a bit more difficult than I expected from my experience of 705 signatures. Since the speakers were as close to the wall behind them as possible, I could go through the short staircase in the front hall behind the right speaker, which made the transition between the low-to-mid and low frequencies work best, but the lowest frequency room was over-excited. I moved each speaker forward to lower the volume of the pattern, but now the bass is too low.
I ended up with 804 D4S close, of which the PSB synced the T600, and I worked best on the issue review in November 2021: each front bezel 131 "from the listening position and 81" at the front wall. The woofer of the 804 D4 on the left is 36 inches from the LPs of the nearest sidewall; the woofer on the right is 54 inches from the sidewall behind the nearest sidewall bookshelf. As I sat in my chair and listened, my ears were 36 inches off the floor, flush with the midrange of the 804 D4. The bottom of the speaker is reached in to face the listening position. Once I had determined their final position, I replaced the rubber-pointed feet with nails. I don't have a grid that uses magnetic connections.
Note 1: You can find my measurements of this matrix 801 here.
Note 2: In June 2016, Kal Rubinson reviewed the D3 Series 802 loudspeakers.
Original source: stereophile John Atkinson