Audio Score – Bowers & Wilkins 802 Diamond (D4) – Review

TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS & AUDIO EXCELLENCE.
With a system frequency response of 17Hz and 28kHz at -3DB, the 802’s go far down the human hearing spectrum. On paper it is excellent, and in combination with the sensitivity of 90DB, the 802 D4’s are not that power hungry. As with all B&W flagship speakers, more control in the amplification will make a significant difference.

DETAIL.
The first note I took, after about 20 minutes of listening was: The tweeter completely disappears from the soundstage. The reproduction of female voices, especially at medium- to high volumes, is a difficult task because I feel there has always been somewhat of a trade-off between detail and sharpness. I will never forget the clarity of the Focal Utopia (EVO) series, with comes with the compromise of that tendency towards sharpness when you crank it up. The D4 did an outstanding job at finding the right balance. The tweeters are exceptionally detailed, fast, accurate and at the same time completely integrate into the sound. Like it should be. Detail is excellent and one of the best I have heard so far. Yes, I had four moments where I heard something new in tracks that I have listened to hundreds of times with high-end speakers. Another note I took was openness- and yes, the D4 is another improvement over the D3 in this regard. The ability to disappear as a loudspeaker is brought to an extreme.

IMAGING.
The second thing I noticed was the extreme focus of the D4. I wrote down “monitor-like”. The D4’s created a very focused representation of voices, without any exaggeration. The soundstage sounded so direct and accurate that I wrote down the word “compressed”. Especially at lower volumes, the representation was very accurate, but it lacked character. I wish the speakers would produce a bigger soundstage; however, I am sure the D4 is true to the original. If you are searching for a speaker that blows you away with 360-degree soundstages at any volume level, there are better options on the market. I even think that the older D2 generation has more character in the imaging, while being slightly untrue to the original sound. Academically, the D4 is getting closer to perfection. For me, that step did not result in more enjoyment but in the desire for more character, more bloom, a wider soundstage. Many people will love this ability, especially when listening to more complex music.

BASS PERFORMANCE.
I listened to Billie Eilish, to Stefan Bodzin and to classical masterpieces like 1812 from Tchaikovsky. I was missing a lot of presence in the bass. I wrote down “they sound like musical instruments”, the reproduction is so clean, so fast and the bass is deep. After about 1 hour I went to my dealer to get a second opinion and he said that I have simply listened to the 800’s D3 and predecessors too much. I would like to make a statement here. In the older (D1, N) series, the 802 was tuned with a rise at about 100 hz in the frequency response to compensate for the natural shortness in bass vs. the 800. That made it sound warm and full, but also slower and if cranked up, significantly less accurate. The 802 D4 does deliver serious bass performance, it goes low, and it is as accurate as it gets. If you have more than 40m2 and like to go very low, you need more. You will miss character, you will miss the lowest frequencies, the groove, and the punch. For everything less than 40m2 the 802 delivers excellence.

SYNERGY.

Picking up the impressions for bass, synergy is strong. The 802’s need-controlled amplification to deliver their accuracy, their punch and their openness. However, with a 200 wpc Mcintosh, Hegel, Luxman or equivalent you are rocking your house. You don’t need monoblocs or even separates.

TOTAL.
The Sound Score of Bowers & Wilkins 802 Diamonds (D4) is 41 out of 50.

At $26.000 I have mixed feelings. On one hand I am impressed by the quality of materials, the looks, the overall styling, the punch, the groove, and the accuracy of these speakers. They are perfect for any room smaller than 35-40 m2 and for complex music. Personally, I would pick up an 800D3 or even the D2 because they simply deliver more down low. The improvements in the highs are significant and B&W has put together the perfect speaker for medium sized rooms at a hefty price. I can’t wait to test the rest of the lineup.

Add it all up and the scores are 29+41+6= 77 out of 100.