Sound United completes acquisition of Bowers and Wilkins

[Movie2099]

Cause I know how many people on this forum love Bowers and Wilkins. I thought I'd put this out there.

Sound United completes acquisition of Bowers & Wilkins

Originally announced in June, the deal has now been completed

www.whathifi.com

 

[ryanosaur]

Oh Joy! Def Tech and B&W, all under one roof.



Maybe in the way DT fixed some of their more glaring issues in the Demand series release, perhaps this will get B&W to do something similar.



I won't hold my breath, though.

 

[William Lemmerhirt]

Oh Joy! Def Tech and B&W, all under one roof.



Maybe in the way DT fixed some of their more glaring issues in the Demand series release, perhaps this will get B&W to do something similar.



I won't hold my breath, though.

Lmao!!! Wheeee!!!!

 

[davidscott]

Oh Joy! Def Tech and B&W, all under one roof.



Maybe in the way DT fixed some of their more glaring issues in the Demand series release, perhaps this will get B&W to do something similar.



I won't hold my breath, though.

Never owned any DT or B&W but back in the day B&W speakers were HIGHLY respected. Thanks for the info...

 

[ryanosaur]

Never owned any DT or B&W but back in the day B&W speakers were HIGHLY respected. Thanks for the info...

They ARE highly respected. I would love to sit down with the 800 series just to have that experience. But many people that have owned them still say they aren't really Flat or Neutral. B&W has a House Sound that focuses largely on a Mid Range Dip, at least in their lower offerings. Let us not forget the notorious Low Impedance and bad Phase Angle common in many of the designs, too.

 

[ryanosaur]

BTW, speaking of Sound United and their Stable...

WTF Boston Acoustics? Where are you? Who are you?

 

[Hetfield]

Wow they are buying up everything. Interesting development.

Sent from my Pixel 4 XL using Tapatalk

 

[mazersteven]

They ARE highly respected. I would love to sit down with the 800 series just to have that experience.

A friend of mine has the 800's. Like $22000 a pair. Powers them with Krell 700w Monoblocks. They are Sweet

 

[lovinthehd]

A friend of mine has the 800's. Like $22000 a pair. Powers them with Krell 700w Monoblocks. They are Sweet

If they're not for that kinda money you're just deranged.....

 

[TLS Guy]

A friend of mine has the 800's. Like $22000 a pair. Powers them with Krell 700w Monoblocks. They are Sweet

These are the measurements I got from my friends B & W 800 D3s.

The blue trace is on axis, and the black one out to 90 degrees, where there is a suck out at 1.8 KHz.

Waterfall plot.

Impedance and phase angles.

Any respectable amplifier should be able to drive those speakers.

As you would expect from those measurements the speakers sound excellent. So I would have to put them in the reference class. They are a significant improvement from the precious 800 line. My only criticism is that they seem to sound a little distressed at high power in the massive forte's. My speakers seem smoother and more relaxed when the going gets really rough.

 

[gene]

Cause I know how many people on this forum love Bowers and Wilkins. I thought I'd put this out there.

Sound United completes acquisition of Bowers & Wilkins

Originally announced in June, the deal has now been completed

www.whathifi.com

Posted on Audioholics too

Bowers & Wilkins is Welcomed to the Sound United Family

Sound United LLC today announced that it has finalized the acquisition of Bowers & Wilkins. What does this mean for the brand? Read on as we speculate the future of this premium loudspeaker company.

www.audioholics.com

 

[PENG]

Posted on Audioholics too

Bowers & Wilkins is Welcomed to the Sound United Family

Sound United LLC today announced that it has finalized the acquisition of Bowers & Wilkins. What does this mean for the brand? Read on as we speculate the future of this premium loudspeaker company.

www.audioholics.com

Who owns Rotel now? If I remember right at one time they were with B&W, just wondering if United Sound would be acquiring them too if not already.

 

[PENG]

These are the measurements I got from my friends B & W 800 D3s.

The blue trace is on axis, and the black one out to 90 degrees, where there is a suck out at 1.8 KHz.

Waterfall plot.

Impedance and phase angles.

Any respectable amplifier should be able to drive those speakers.

As you would expect from those measurements the speakers sound excellent. So I would have to put them in the reference class. They are a significant improvement from the precious 800 line. My only criticism is that they seem to sound a little distressed at high power in the massive forte's. My speakers seem smoother and more relaxed when the going gets really rough.

Based on your plots, I know you are not going to disagree but I am sure your friend would benefit from Audyssey for the range up to 300 Hz, if he uses those speakers in his HT system as well. Even for music, it's worth a try..

 

[Movie2099]

Who owns Rotel now? If I remember right at one time they were with B&W, just wondering if United Sound would be acquiring them too if not already.

In the early 1980s Rotel joined the B&W Group forming a strategic alliance with Bowers & Wilkins and later adding Classé Audio. The company was formed by Tomoki Tachikawa and is currently run by the Nephew, Peter Kao.

Looks like they are still independent, but continue to be partners with B&W.

 

[PENG]

In the early 1980s Rotel joined the B&W Group forming a strategic alliance with Bowers & Wilkins and later adding Classé Audio. The company was formed by Tomoki Tachikawa and is currently run by the Nephew, Peter Kao.

Looks like they are still independent, but continue to be partners with B&W.

Thank you, so it was just "alliance..", their website don't tell much of that, if any..

The Classé one did not surprise me because when I was auditioning B&W speakers, dealers (at least in Ontario where I am) all seemed to be pushing Bryston (especially their monoblock series) and then Classé later. A few would push McIntosh's too, that's up to when they first introduced the diamond series. During that time, if you asked them about Rotel, I think they would laugh and want to kick you out their "high end" demo room for not being serious.

 

[TLS Guy]

Based on your plots, I know you are not going to disagree but I am sure your friend would benefit from Audyssey for the range up to 300 Hz, if he uses those speakers in his HT system as well. Even for music, it's worth a try..

He does not have Audyssey. His electronics are 100% Mac. In any event my measurements are quasi anechoic and like all of those are somewhat suspect below 200 Hz. The speakers sound fine and do not need Audyssey to much up the sound. I'm sorry but in any of my three systems if you engage any of Audyssey's Eq platforms, the downgrade in sound is huge and not at all subtle. Audyssey is doing some very bad things, which I strongly suspect are in the time domain. It is absolutely something that should never be used with really accurate speaker systems.

 

[highfigh]

Oh Joy! Def Tech and B&W, all under one roof.



Maybe in the way DT fixed some of their more glaring issues in the Demand series release, perhaps this will get B&W to do something similar.



I won't hold my breath, though.

What about Polk and Boston Acoustics? They're part of Sound United, too.

 

[Swerd]

They ARE highly respected. I would love to sit down with the 800 series just to have that experience. But many people that have owned them still say they aren't really Flat or Neutral. B&W has a House Sound that focuses largely on a Mid Range Dip, at least in their lower offerings. Let us not forget the notorious Low Impedance and bad Phase Angle common in many of the designs, too.

For what it's worth, here is a recent ASR review of a B&W 805S bookshelf speaker. This model is not a recent B&W product – it has the abandoned yellow Kevlar mid-woofer. It's performance, in the opinion of the reviewer, is less than stellar. I agree.

The high resolution acoustic measurements reveal the problems that plagued B&W's Kevlar driver, and their unreasonable insistence at crossing it over to the tweeter at such a high frequency.

Bowers & Wilkins 805S Bookshelf Speaker Review

This is a review and detailed measurements of the B&W 805S Bookshelf speaker. It is on kind loan from a member. The 805S is discontinued but seems to draw on the same principals of their speakers so makes for a good test. Looks like the original cost was US $2,500. Despite being bookshelf...

www.audiosciencereview.com

 

[highfigh]

For what it's worth, here is a recent ASR review of a B&W 805S bookshelf speaker. This model is not a recent B&W product – it has the abandoned yellow Kevlar mid-woofer. It's performance, in the opinion of the reviewer, is less than stellar. I agree.

The high resolution acoustic measurements reveal the problems that plagued B&W's Kevlar driver, and their unreasonable insistence at crossing it over to the tweeter at such a high frequency.

Bowers & Wilkins 805S Bookshelf Speaker Review

This is a review and detailed measurements of the B&W 805S Bookshelf speaker. It is on kind loan from a member. The 805S is discontinued but seems to draw on the same principals of their speakers so makes for a good test. Looks like the original cost was US $2,500. Despite being bookshelf...

www.audiosciencereview.com

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View attachment 40617

Any possibility that these were tested in free air? The boundaries created by being in bookshelves could reinforce the range where the dips occur.

 

[ryanosaur]

What about Polk and Boston Acoustics? They're part of Sound United, too.

Its just by reaction to those two specific brands.
Obviously I'm trying to keep my mind open about the New DT Demand Series.

My Dad still owns some BA Towers. I listened to them last time I was in the Midwest. Surprisingly good gear. Don't recall the specifics on them, but near on to 20+ years old.
But where is BA these days? The last I saw from them was the A series from a couple years ago. Seemingly decent entry level gear, but no longer available as best I can tell.

The new Polks also are getting some pretty high praise, too. I don't have the same dislike for Polk as DT and B&W have earned (though their two older lines are mildly annoying with the perpetual questions about how much power they need to really open them up and get them to sing... or blossom... or whatever...).