Bowers & Wilkins 805 D4 Signature

The "Bowers" in the name of British manufacturer Bowers & Wilkins (B&W) refers to founder John Bowers, whom I got to know fairly well before he passed in 1987.

- JOHN ATKINSON

LOUDSPEAKER

In recent years, I've reviewed two Bowers & Wilkins loudspeakers: the 705 Signature two-way standmount in the December 2020 issue' and the Diamond Series 804 D4 three-way floorstander in the January 2022 issue. More recently, Tom Fine reviewed the three-way, floor-standing Signature Series 801 D4 in March 2024.3

Currently there are two models in the Signature Series, which was launched in 2023 to pay tribute to the company's groundbreaking John Bowers Silver Signature from the early 1990s: the 801 D4 and the subject of this review, the two-way 805 D4 standmount, which B&W describes as its "highest performance standmount ever."

The Signature Series 805 D4

While the standard-quality Diamond 805 D4, which remains in production, costs $9500/pair, the Signature model costs $13,500/pair. (Matching FS-805 D4 stands cost $1600/pair.) Superficially, the two speakers look identical except for the finish-see below-but there are significant differences.