Bowers & Wilkins Bolsters 700 Series with Signature Speakers

Throughout its 54-year history Bowers & Wilkins had rarely issued the designation of Signature, but the newest 700 Series speakers—the Signature 705 and Signature 702—stand as unique speakers to earn the name.

Bowers & Wilkins points out that like previous Signature loudspeakers, the new 705 and 702 Signature products represent the highest levels of the company’s engineering capabilities.

First introduced in 2017, the 700 Series of products feature design elements from the company’s 800 Series Diamond products. Some of those elements include the solid Body Tweeter On-Top assembly, Continuum cone drivers and Aerofoil profile woofers.

As part of the speakers’ Signature designation, the 705 and 702 speakers feature upgraded bypass capacitors from Mundorf, larger heatsinks. The Signature 702 adds an upgraded low-frequency capacitor to the bass section of the speaker’s crossover network.

A Closer Look at 700 Series Signature Speakers

Examining the new Bowers & Wilkins speakers, the company points out 705 and 702 Signature products utilize Datuk gloss ebony-colored veneer.

The finish offers homeowners the look of exotic woods and the environmental benefits of sustainably sourced materials. These wood materials come from the Italian company Alpi, and Bowers & Wilkins augments these materials with nine coats of finish that includes primer, base coat and lacquer.

Enhancing these finish materials, Bowers and Wilkins notes the new 700 Series speakers employ metal trim rings around the mid-bass and midrange cones, and silver-finished tweeter grilles.

Additionally, Bowers & Wilkins says there are signature identity plates on the speakers’ rear panels.

Internally, both models incorporate the company’s Carbon Dome Tweeter technologies. According to Bowers & Wilkins, these technologies are designed to bridge the gap between the Aluminum Double Dome Tweeter used in its 600 Series of products and the Diamond Dome used in the 800 Series Diamond series.

Summarizing Carbon Dome Tweeter, Bowers & Wilkins says the driver is capable of extending up to 47kHz before first breakup.

The tweeter is setup on the Signature series using the Tweeter On-Top design, which is also found on the 800 Series Diamond. Bowers & Wilkins explains this feature employs a piece of solid aluminum milled to form the tweeter housing. The benefit of the decoupled aluminum housing is that it is less resonant, which helps it to deliver higher levels of transparency.

Bowers & Wilkins says the Signature edition 700 Series speakers also feature 800 Series Diamond’s Continuum driver cones to deliver more midrange detail.

Supporting the performance of the Continuum cones in the 702, Bowers & Wilkins engineered the floor standing speaker to use its FST drive unit and FEA-optimized aluminum chassis design. The midrange driver is augmented with a tuned-mass dampener on the front face to minimize resonances.

Moreover, the speakers employ midrange decoupling systems that are similar to the designs used in the 800 Series Diamond speakers.

Bowers & Wilkins adds the 700 Series Signature 702 and 705 speakers incorporate Aerofoil-profile bass cones, which are also used in the 800 Series Diamond products.

Both the 702 floorstanding and 705 bookshelf speakers will be available in July 2020 for a respective price per pair of $6,500 and $4,000.

700 Series Signature Speaker Specs:

702 Signature Series Floorstanding Loudspeaker

• Three-way design
• Three 6.5-inch Aerofoil Profile woofers
• One 5.9-inch, decoupled Continuum midrange driver
• One 1-inch Carbon Dome Tweeter in Solid Body Tweeter On-Top housing

705 Signature Series Bookshelf Loudspeaker

• Stand mount, two-way vented box design
• One 5.9-inch Continuum bass/midrange driver
• One 1-inch Carbon Dome Tweeter in Solid Body On-Top housing