Source: Press Release, Last Accessed: 2016/05/10

The new Bowers & Wilkins 800 D3 loudspeaker is the best performing, most advanced loudspeaker the brand has yet produced and is a fitting announcement on the eve of B&W's 50th anniversary; taking the company closer than ever to John Bowers’ stated goal of “losing the least”.
When the new 800 Series Diamond launched late last year, the range as a whole redefined performance standards for the 800 Series. The result of an intensive seven-year project to make the best better, the 800 Series Diamond resulted from a combination of tireless research and development, advanced engineering, and countless hours of listening by the very best ears in the business. And with the launch of the range’s flagship 800 D3, the bar has been raised once again.
The most immediate visual differences between the new 800 D3 and the 802 D3 is the size of the new loudspeaker’s low frequency enclosure and twin bass drivers. The 800 D3 features two 10-inch Aerofoil bass drivers, as opposed to the two 8-inch drivers on the slightly smaller 802 D3. However, the bass drivers are not only larger: they also utilize a unique carbon fiber construction for an even stiffer, more pistonic cone and are optimized for linearity and low distortion. The drivers also benefit from a higher specification motor assembly with upgraded magnets for increased control and crossover improvements that offer a considerable upgrade over the 802 D3 in terms of performance.
The Aerofoil drivers’ dust caps are an enhanced version of the component found on the 802 D3 and 803 D3 and are formed from a sandwich construction consisting of carbon fiber and the same syntactic foam as the Aerofoil cone itself. This further reduces dust-cap resonances and is one of the many seemingly minor developments and tweaks that represent the incredible attention to detail on the “leave no-stone unturned” 800 D3.
Elsewhere, the 800 D3 deploys the same size Continuum cone, Turbine head and solid-body tweeter assembly as the 802 D3. However, improved crossovers and capacitors combine to raise the resolution of these vital areas to better match the 800 D3’s excellent bass performance. Even with all these changes, the 800 D3 sports a similar load and sensitivity to the 802 D3.
These innovations, when teamed with improvements to the series as a whole, such as dramatically stiffer cabinets, a more robust Matrix bracing system that involves thicker slats, and the thoughtful application of aluminum and steel bracing where it is required, means the new 800 D3 represents the pinnacle of reference quality sound. Obviously there is more bass weight on offer, but the key acoustic character of the new 800 D3 is both its effortlessness and accuracy. There are incredibly insightful levels of accuracy in the bass output and when compared to the already outstanding 802 D3, low frequency drive unit distortion is 10dB less, the company says.
Testament to Bowers & Wilkins desire to consistently produce class-leading loudspeakers, the state-of-the-art manufacturing plant in Worthing, West Sussex, was redesigned specifically for production of the new 800 Series Diamond. The 800 D3 is completely manufactured in the updated facility alongside the rest of the range.
The 800 D3 will be available in Piano Gloss Black and Rosenut from July for $30,000.- a pair.

For more information: http://www.bowers-wilkins.net/

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