B&W 804 D4 review and measurements by Stereophile

[Jukebox]

Courtesy to mr. John Atkinson and Stereophile we have the measurements of the new 804 D4. For many this speakers could be the best bang for buck in the 800 D4 series and the one with the most upgrades compared with the older model (reverse wrap cabinet; down fire port + plinth, new spider for the midrange, aluminum back plate...etc).
Now the look I personally consider beautiful, the sound is not for everyone but some aspects of the measurements are very interesting, like the very low impedance, the great rigid cabinet, not so great port resonance and of course somehow excessive high frequencies.
Didn't tested them personally yet, should happened next week.

Bowers & Wilkins Diamond Series 804 D4 loudspeaker | Stereophile.com

The boxes sit there in our storage unit, opposite the 20 banker's boxes that hold 33 years' worth of product-measurement workbooks. The two large boxes are for the Bowers & Wilkins Matrix 801s my wife owned when we got married in 1987 (footnote 1). The four smaller boxes are for the B&W John...

www.stereophile.com

 

[Matias]

B&W 800D4 series

yeah because they sound awesome, so if you don't see it you won't know how bad they are ;) I didn't imply they have to sound bad because they don't measure flat. Probably they can sound great.

www.audiosciencereview.com

 

[Tangband]

Courtesy to mr. John Atkinson and Stereophile we have the measurements of the new 804 D4. For many this speakers could be the best bang for buck in the 800 D4 series and the one with the most upgrades compared with the older model (reverse wrap cabinet; down fire port + plinth, new spider for the midrange, aluminum back plate...etc).
Now the look I personally consider beautiful, the sound is not for everyone but some aspects of the measurements are very interesting, like the very low impedance, the great rigid cabinet, not so great port resonance and of course somehow excessive high frequencies.
Didn't tested them personally yet, should happened next week.

Bowers & Wilkins Diamond Series 804 D4 loudspeaker | Stereophile.com

The boxes sit there in our storage unit, opposite the 20 banker's boxes that hold 33 years' worth of product-measurement workbooks. The two large boxes are for the Bowers & Wilkins Matrix 801s my wife owned when we got married in 1987 (footnote 1). The four smaller boxes are for the B&W John...

www.stereophile.com

Really good nonresonant cabinet. But horrible frequency response. Putting a tweeter on top of a loudspeaker is a really bad idea indeed. But nice looking speaker.

 

[Jukebox]

B&W 800D4 series

yeah because they sound awesome, so if you don't see it you won't know how bad they are ;) I didn't imply they have to sound bad because they don't measure flat. Probably they can sound great.

www.audiosciencereview.com

I saw the discussions there but now that the review is online I thought it deserve a separate discussion for this model only.

 

[TimVG]

At this price point, measurements aside, I'd really appreciate it if drive units were completely centered in the enclosure.

 

[Puddingbuks]

I just don’t like B&W. Too mainstream, and mediocre performance for a lot of money.

 

[charleski]

I have to applaud JA1's attempt to reach new levels of diplomacy:
"The Bowers & Wilkins 804 D4's measured performance is enigmatic"

/s

 

[tuga]

At this price point, measurements aside, I'd really appreciate it if drive units were completely centered in the enclosure.

View attachment 173191

The camera axis is off (look at the tweeter)

 

[DSJR]

They cost how much?

Bah humbug from me, but if this was a BBC Thin-wall model or an ATC/PMC, they'd be absolutely roasted to a cinder (domestic PMC's do mimic some of these characteristics I think), yet being B&W with all the hi-tech facilities and expertise at their disposal, this dreadful performance is somehow excused as 'enigmatic...'

I think JA should get out his old M801's and do an appreciation of how good B&W used to be.....

 

[TimVG]

The camera axis is off (look at the tweeter)

That may be so, but it's visible in the pair photo as well.

 

[thewas]

Horizontal directivity is quite smooth though compared to other newer B&Ws so with some EQ it can be probably made to sound more neutral.

 

[dasdoing]

At this price point, measurements aside, I'd really appreciate it if drive units were completely centered in the enclosure.

View attachment 173191

It's a render. companies don't photograph things anymore lol

 

[abdo123]

Horizontal directivity is quite smooth though compared to other newer B&Ws so with some EQ it can be probably made to sound more neutral.

Are you sure? the image shows one of the biggest crossover mismatches i have ever seen.

 

[TrevC]

Good grief, there are a lot of overpriced horrors on the Stereophile reviews. No wonder Bowers sell so well.

 

[thewas]

Are you sure? the image shows one of the biggest crossover mismatches i have ever seen.

I am totally sure, everything is relative, just look at these B&Ws in comparison:

B&W 800 Diamond loudspeaker Measurements | Stereophile.com

Sidebar 3: Measurements I used DRA Labs' MLSSA system and a calibrated DPA 4006 microphone to measure the B&W 800 Diamond's frequency response in the farfield, and an Earthworks QTC-40 for the nearfield responses. For logistical reasons, the loudspeaker I measured was not one of the samples...

www.stereophile.com

B&W 802D loudspeaker Measurements | Stereophile.com

Sidebar 3: Measurements I estimated the B&W 802D's voltage sensitivity as 89dB(B)/2.83V/m, within experimental error of the specified 90dB figure and usefully higher than the average of the more than 500 speakers I have measured in the past 16 years. The B&W's impedance plot (fig.1) reveals the...

www.stereophile.com

Bowers & Wilkins 702 S2 loudspeaker Measurements | Stereophile.com

Sidebar 3: Measurements I used DRA Labs' MLSSA system and a calibrated DPA 4006 microphone to measure 7the Bowers & Wilkins 702 S2's frequency response in the farfield, and an Earthworks QTC-40 for the nearfield responses. My estimate of the B&W's sensitivity was a high 90.2dB(B)/2.83V/m...

www.stereophile.com

The 804 D4 looks very smooth in comparison:

Bowers & Wilkins Diamond Series 804 D4 loudspeaker Measurements | Stereophile.com

Sidebar 3: Measurements I used DRA Labs' MLSSA system, a calibrated DPA 4006 microphone, and an Earthworks microphone preamplifier to measure the Bowers & Wilkins 804 D4's frequency response in the farfield. My primary axis for the measurements was level with the tweeter, but I also performed a...

www.stereophile.com

 

[TimVG]

It's a render. companies don't photograph things anymore lol

That's a photo.

 

[tuga]

Horizontal directivity is quite smooth though compared to other newer B&Ws so with some EQ it can be probably made to sound more neutral.

True, but that plot only goes up to 60° off axis which can be a bit misleading

 

[BrokenEnglishGuy]

Seems like the best thing about D4 its the D3 are going to lower his price..

 

[Somafunk]

I have to applaud JA1's attempt to reach new levels of diplomacy:
"The Bowers & Wilkins 804 D4's measured performance is enigmatic"

That’s quite a roundabout way to say they’re pretty crap


enigmatic
adjective

UK

/ˌen.ɪɡˈmæt.ɪk/ US

/ˌen.ɪɡˈmæt̬.ɪk/

mysterious and impossible to understand completely:

 

[MarcT]

The camera axis is off (look at the tweeter)

Very slightly.