The new 700 Series develops the ethos of the CM Series it replaces, adds technology from the 800 Series Diamond and new, bespoke acoustic innovations. Technologies that have ‘trickled down’ from the 800 Series Diamond include the Continuum midrange driver, which is “the cleanest and most transparent midrange cone material Bowers & Wilkins has ever used”. It uses a bespoke version of the Aerofoil profile bass driver plus improved tweeter housings on the two flagship models that are crafted from solid aluminium.
New technologies come in the shape of Carbon Braced tweeters. This is claimed to deliver “sweeter, cleaner high-frequency performance even further up the audible bandwidth than the previous aluminium tweeters”.
The new 700 Series comprises eight models, two with Tweeter-on-Top technology including the flagship 702 S2. The range includes three floorstanding models, three standmount speakers and two dedicated centre channels for surround sound and home theatre use. All models are available in a choice of gloss black, satin white and Rosenut finishes.
The launch also sees the announcement of a new subwoofer. The fourth model in the new DB Series, the DB4S is a single-driver subwoofer that shares drive unit technology, amplification and preamp section with the dual-driver DB2D, but in a single driver format. It has a single 10in Carbon Aerofoil drive unit in a forward-firing configuration plus 1000W of amplification and a digital preamp section with Dynamic EQ, Room EQ and an App-based configuration system.
700 series range
702 S2
£3299
Floor stander
3-way vented-box
Tweeter on Top
3 x 165mm Aerofoil Profile bass
1 x 150mm Continuum FST midrange, decoupled
1 x 25mm Carbon Dome tweeter in Solid Body Tweeter-on-top
705 S2 (page top) £1799
Stand-mount
2-way vented-box
Tweeter on top
1 x 165mm Continuum bass/midrange
1 x 25mm Carbon Dome tweeter in Solid Body Tweeter-on-top
703 S2
£2399
Floor stander
3-way vented-box
2 x 165mm Aerofoil Profile bass
1 x 150mm Continuum FST midrange, decoupled
1 x 25mm Carbon Dome tweeter
704 S2 (above)
£1999
Floor stander
3-way vented-box
2 x 130mm Aerofoil Profile bass
1 x 130mm Continuum FST midrange, decoupled
1 x 25mm Carbon Dome tweeter
706 S2
£1099
Stand-mount
2-way vented-box
1 x 165mm Continuum bass/midrange
1 x 25mm Carbon Dome tweeter
707 S2
(above) £799
Stand-mount
2-way vented box
1 x 130mm Continuum bass/mid
1 x 25mm Carbon Dome tweeter
HTM72 S2
£599
2-way vented-box
2 x 130mm Continuum bass/mid
1 x 25mm Carbon Dome tweeter
HTM71 S2
£899
3-way vented-box
2 x 165mm Aerofoil Profile bass
1 x 100mm Continuum FST midrange
1 x 25mm Carbon Dome tweeter
FS-700 S2
£399
Speaker stand for use with 707 S2, 706 S2 and 705 S2
DB4S
£1350
Single 10in forward-firing drive unit
Carbon Aerofoil cone
1000w Hypex amplifier
DB-D digital pre-amp technology plus App control