BOWERS & WILKINS 805 D4 SIGNATURE Review
Pushes boundaries and empties the wallet. Everything about the Bowers & Wilkins 805 D4 Signature is fantastic, but the price is steep.
LASSE SVENDSEN
By pure chance, I read the press release from 2023 again. That’s when Bowers & Wilkins launched a special version of the smallest speaker in the 800 series, the 805 D4, which we tested in 2021. Unlike many other manufacturers, Bowers & Wilkins’ press releases are quite restrained, informative, and appealingly short.
It states that the signature version of the 805 D4 is an improved edition of the already nearly perfect 805 D4, and you can get the speakers in one of two exclusive finishes. At a hefty extra cost, of course. That might have been the last straw that made the press release end up in the archive after we had reported on the news. Testing them wasn’t particularly relevant, I thought then.
Often, so-called signature versions are something manufacturers come up with when a speaker has been on the market so long that sales have started to decline. Consider it a kind of revitalization of an outgoing model. Naturally at a higher price, because it has to be exclusive! Often the exclusive part is a special color or veneer of an expensive type of wood—and an engraved brass plaque. Maybe it comes with a book and a pair of white gloves, but that’s all.
Not much to get excited about.
BOWERS & WILKINS 805 D4 SIGNATURE
The signature version of the 805 D4 came just two years after the D4 edition was launched, and I remember thinking it was a bit too early for an “exclusive” edition of the speakers. Which we, of course, tested in their original version the same year they were released—and concluded that they were a reference for eternity and gave them six stars.
But when I read the press release for the second time, my curiosity was awakened. Not long before that, we had tested the signature versions of the new 700 series from B&W, with good results. It wasn’t hard to hear what had been improved on the signature editions. Could it be that the same applied to the 805 D4 Signature? There was only one way to find out.
DIAMONDS AND METALLIC PAINT
B&W has done what most others do and manufactured the 805 D4 Signature in exclusive lacquer colors. You can choose between a deep blue silky lacquer in 11 layers that they call Midnight Blue Metallic, which looks fantastic. Almost black in low light and deep blue when sunlight hits the metallic paint.
The other version is called California Burl Gloss, with 14 layers of lacquer on a veneer from Italian company Alpi. Burl comes from wood that has a special type of fungus in it when it gets old. Here it is formed around B&W’s 12-layer cabinet with thin wood panels shaped under high-frequency high pressure and is stiffer than most square cabinets. But as I have already pointed out, an exclusive color alone isn’t worthy of a signature designation.
B&W agrees on that point, so they have made some changes that affect the sound. Which you don’t see but hear. Let’s start at the top.
There you find B&W’s characteristic tweeter tube, with a 25 mm tweeter diaphragm coated with a 40 μm thin, artificially manufactured diamond material. In front of the diaphragm sits a new grille that is more open than on the standard version of the 805 D4. The tube is, as we already know, open at the back to eliminate compression and distortion. Black leather from English company Connolly—supplier to, among others, Rolls-Royce—is wrapped around the tweeter tube, on a modified top plate of aluminum.
The bass and midrange driver with the 16.5 cm large Continuum diaphragm is the same as in the 805 D4, but here B&W has reinforced the internal Matrix structure with aluminum. Inside, changes have been made to the crossover, where new capacitors are connected in double bypass.
SIGNATURE SOUND
On paper, the electrical properties are identical to the 805 D4. The frequency response reaches down to about 42 Hz at –3 dB and down to 34 Hz at –6 dB. Sensitivity is a moderate 88 dB and the nominal impedance is 8 ohms and never drops below 4.6 ohms, according to B&W.
There is no signature version of the stands; they are the same as those available for the 805 D4. With steel inserts in the foot for stability, adjustable spikes in the corners, and a top plate where you can attach the speakers with four screws.
The test period started with the 805 D4 Signature on the original stands, 80 cm from the back wall and angled inward toward the middle of the sofa in the listening room. The first weeks, I switched between the Denon PMA-3000NE and Yamaha A-S3200; later on, the speakers were connected to a Hegel H190V, and toward the end of the test period to a McIntosh MC312 at 2 x 300 watts.
Four quite different amplifiers, with different signatures, but all worked brilliantly with the 805 D4 Signature. Which didn’t need the muscles of a McIntosh to play well. They are relatively easy to drive. The Denon amplifier gave the 805 D4 Signature a silky and incredibly resolved soundstage, the Yamaha amplifier tightened the bass, and the Hegel amplifier tightened the focus.
No matter which amplifier was connected, I could enjoy a soundstage that was unusually large for coming from such a compact speaker. Few speakers of this size go as deep with the same conviction as a pair of 805 D4. The signature version is no different—but it is in other areas.
You hear the same slightly rounded but clearly defined bass that lifts the interval between 50 and 200 Hz with a becoming energy. Neutral? Not at all. Then you should buy the Magico A1 instead. But this generosity gives drums extra weight and double bass body and fullness.
There is no real deep bass here, but the speakers extend deep enough for the lowest octave on a grand piano to sound realistic and credible. Which leads me to the piano sound. It doesn’t matter if it’s Leif Ove Andsnes or Jan Gunnar Hoff. The piano is deep and rich in timbre and is perceived as holistic, warm, and dynamic.
Vocals get the warmth required for the soundstage to have body, not just throat, and they are neither nasal nor confined. Far from it. The midrange is actually the speakers’ greatest strength.
Compared to the original 805 D4, there is a bit more energy at the top in the 805 D4 Signature. But it never becomes sharp or shrill. It is most noticeable in the highest octave from piano, brass, and to some extent even rim shots on a snare drum sound more pronounced, and I don’t think that’s so bad.
It actually gives a better sense of rhythm, as cymbals, strings, and to some extent even rim shots on a snare drum sound more pronounced, and I don’t think that’s so bad.
The 805 D4 Signature is in a price class where there are more floor-standing speakers than stand-mount speakers. Therefore, it is difficult to find a relevant basis for comparison, but the original 805 D4 is naturally the one to compare with. And indeed, the 805 D4 Signature is a better speaker in some areas.
CONCLUSION
A pair of 805 D4 Signature opens up the soundstage even more than a pair of standard 805 D4. The soundstage is tidier and better focused. The natural and warm tone is maintained, but the treble is perceived as more pronounced, and you get a clearer window into the music. Otherwise, they have the same qualities. But if you appreciate a higher degree of refinement and a better-focused detail reproduction, the 805 D4 Signature is worth all the extra money compared to buying a new pair of 805 D4. But if I already had a pair of 805 D4, I doubt I would upgrade to the 805 D4 Signature, because the differences aren’t that great.
+ Beautifully warm and open tone, large soundstage, and plenty of bass for a stand-mount speaker. Outstanding build quality.
– High price tag.
805 D4 Signature. (Photo: Bowers & Wilkins)
16.5 cm Continuum driver (Photo: Bowers & Wilkins)
Midnight Blue Metallic. (Photo: Bowers & Wilkins)
SPECIFICATIONS:
Type: Two-way stand-mount speaker, bass reflex
Tweeter: 25 mm Diamond Dome
Bass: 16.5 cm Continuum
Frequency range: 42–28,000 Hz (–3 dB)
Sensitivity/Impedance: 88 dB/8 ohms
Crossover frequency: no information
Recommended power: 50–120 watts
Dimensions/Weight: 44 x 24 x 37.3 cm/15.5 kg
Color: California Burl Gloss, Midnight Blue Metallic
Website: hifiklubben.se
Price: $14,000
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