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B&W brings Signature touch to sweet-looking 700 series speakers

Bowers and Wilkins announces the new 700 Signature speaker range which incorporates a standmount and a floorstanding speaker

Ty Pendlebury Editor
Ty Pendlebury is a journalism graduate of RMIT Melbourne, and has worked at CNET since 2006. He lives in New York City where he writes about streaming and home audio.
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Ty Pendlebury
2 min read
Bowers and Wilkins

Bowers and Wilkins is bringing back the Signature banner for its latest series of loudspeakers -- the 705 and 702 Signature -- which offer both internal and external upgrades. Both speakers are upgrades to the existing 700 series speakers which include improved crossover designs and components (Mundorf capacitors, larger heatsinks and an upgraded LF capacitor on the 702) plus a number of cosmetic improvements.

Both speakers have the Continuum drivers of the 700 series and a Carbon Dome tweeter in a solid body housing which is milled from a single piece of aluminum.

The 702 Signature is the "ultra" version of the existing 702 S2 floorstander and includes: 

  • A three-way vented-box with a carbon dome tweeter on top
  • Three 6.5-inch Aerofoil Profile bass drivers 
  • One 6-inch Continuum midrange driver
  • Price: $6,500, AU$8,500 or approximately £5,190
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Bowers and Wilkins

The smaller two-way 705 Signature includes:

  • A 1-inch Carbon Dome tweeter on top
  • A 6.5-inch continuum bass and midrange
  • Price: $4,000, AU$4,999 or about £2,000

Bowers and Wilkins says the upgrades "improve the already-remarkable resolution, openness and spatial retrieval on offer, lending them an even-more polished, refined and involving sound."

Cosmetics have seen a significant lift with a Datuk Gloss ebony-colored veneer with metal trim rings around the drivers and bright, silver- finished tweeter grilles. Each speaker is finished with a Signature identity plate on its rear panel.

Outlook

With a $1,000-plus premium over the standard 700 range, the Signature speakers a significant step up in price. If you're thinking of buying one of them, you'll need to weigh up whether spending more on the 800 series would be more worthwhile.

It's been a big week for the manufacturer after Sound United (Denon, Polk) announced it was in acquisition talks with the brand. The British company was bought by start-up Eva Automation in 2016. The union produced the Formation series of products, but its CEO Gideon Yu left earlier this year.