The making of an 800 Series Diamond speaker

In 1979 we redefined what is possible in sound reproduction with the very first 800 Series speaker -- the Matrix 800. In 1998, we re-wrote the rulebook all over again with the Nautilus 800 Series. But we didn't stop there. We continued to refine and experiment, and now we've raised the benchmark again. The 800 Series Diamond harnesses the unique properties of diamond throughout the range, producing a sound of unheard-of accuracy and realism.
This is the first time this extraordinary and time-consuming process of creating an 800 Series speaker has been captured on film in its entirety. From the formation of the outer shell of the cabinet, through the painstaking painting and polishing process, right up to the final test that makes sure the loudspeaker meets our -- and our customers' -- exacting standards, each stage is carefully monitored, and consistently applied.
Listen and you'll see.

[@HonJazzz]

One day I’ll own a pair of

[@butwait]

I own a pair of 802d's and I love them. I will keep these forever...:)

[@leonmare6315]

Wonderful to watch how the best is made. I listen to Classical Music on my B&W CDM9NTs every day - what a pleasure!

[@xsamitt]

The best !!!!! Go watch how an Eggelstonworks speaker is made......then you will have seen the best!

[@TheSticknstones]

I started with the 804 Nautilus sold them 7 years later at 75% of the original cost used that plus new money to buy the 802 Nautilus. It weighs 154 pounds per speaker and the sound is spectacular. I will eventually sell them to get the 802D Nautilus. The moral of this story is they hold their value way better than a car and an heirloom in your family. They are stunning to see and hear!

[@AlexanderCB1982]

I LOVE the 800 series, thanks!!

[@yourphxrealtor]

bowers and wilkins, you always pick good music for your videos.

[@MaZEEZaM]

Great to see the making of these speakers :-)

[@mornecoetzee735]

These speakers (especially the 802 D2) sounds amazing!! Listen and you'll see.....🎶

[@aaronvx220]

Anyone who is sceptical about buying these speakers should not be, i previously went to visit my uncles he had bowers and wilking 802 series diamond and they sounded amazing its acctually unbeliabable how good they are. You could play them to the maximum voleum possible and there was no distortion (the sound quality was amazing) I would definantly reccomend getting any B&W products. BIG SMILE :)

[@dans8935]

IMO these are the most beautiful loudspeakers ever made! I'm not a fan of the new 800 series (d3), but these older D2s are just so beautiful to look at! I love my 802 Diamonds (D2), but plan on upgrading to 800 D2s once a nice used set comes up for sale.

[@dans8935]

@@lynnhenson3042 Do it! You only live once! I think this style will be a collectors item in another 5-10 years.

[@corey1845]

Whatching this video with the B&W P5 Headphones... Guy seriously... NO SERIOUSLY, THESE ARE THE VERY BEST HEADPHONES I EVER HAD! WAY better than any Beats or others, and every cent i payed worth it! Believe me, if you want good headphones... REALLY GOOD Headphones, go and buy the P5! Thanks so much Bowers&Wilkins!

[@Melvin2808]

What a dream to have one pair of those 800 one day!

[@corey1845]

my sound is definitly not lacking, and check the size... the sound for such small headphones ist phenomenal! aaand they look amazing^^

[@444Patricky]

Very nice video and of course nice speakers.

[@roy4975]

I have CM10's and they are amazing. I have heard Diamond 800's on a demo and they will definetely be my upgrade when next I buy speakers. Quality craftsmanship for a quality sound.

[@MateusRochadeMedeiros]

Amazing! Pure engineering

[@luisvalencia5225]

Amazing speaker 😍

[@DMcH-gj6gv]

I got the B&W DM603 speakers and they sound really good.These must sound even better.

[@joehappyjoehappy]

I like this video very much, like couple of years wants to come back to watch, still amazed, may I request a new version for the new 801D4 signature ? 😊

[@paulmac63]

Fair enough , it was just reading your post you seemed to be insinuating that B&W didn't know what they are talking about in respect of their sales pitch. apologies for first reply :)

[@Alexandra-Rex]

The song was horrible, but the image were wonderful :O Such craftsmanship to build something so beautiful!

[@kazz330]

Watched it. Again and again.

[@kdomster9141]

amounts of audio idiots below is just amazing. :) these are amazing speakers.

[@scb2scb2]

+k domster You do understand this is the Internet right ?, If you combine the just idiots with the even larger group of people just trolling you get this on any topic. I fully admit that part of owning these speakers or any of my other hifi stuff is enjoyment of how they look, how they are made and how they make me feel when i use them. The same is true for anything from cars, camera's, food... Fully know admitting i have/use these speakers will open me up for comments from below and above and it will be even worse if i admit i 'drive' them using a 'lowend' brand like denon (in this case a denon avp a1hdci + denon poa a1hdci bridged/biamped but so be it. Value is a tricky thing on both these buys i enjoy the end result, how they have been made and what technical solutions they have picked and why. That others feel i am crazy thats fine sometimes i ask how much they spend on their new kitchen and how often they cook but that just seems to upset them :)

[@ENTR0P1]

Extraordinary!

[@daniloreyes2]

Love them, great video.

[@reji1rajan]

Wish I had these pair in my room

[@Squishmallows24]

Just order 5, can’t wait.

[@DarthTyranusbr]

Just beautiful! One day i will have this floorspeakers, but I live in a Country where these B&W costs 3x more than in Europe and US. It's more complicated...but...one day!!!!

[@trevorcourt1403]

Stunning

[@derbigpr500]

Audiophile speaker cable believers would cringe at seeing that inside their speaker, very cheap wires are used to connect drivers to the crossovers and to the binding posts, so whatever 1000 dollar per meter speaker cable you're using, the current still travels trough a cheap 2 dollar per 10 meter wire.

[@wyatt.photos]

Audiophile cable is the biggest scam

[@nokivasaracom]

Wyatt Tyler There was a test in the late 1980´s regarding so-called audiophile cables and regular cables. There were meagre traces of the superiority of high-end cables. Certain minor differences could be detected with the most challenging speakers with a low impedance (say 0,5 ohms, Inifinty Kappa series afair). The test concluded that there are far major factors in a savoury sound than mere cables: Proper cones, crossover network design, behaviour in the echoless room, controlling diffractions and room acoustics. I believe that 200 € cables may not make a huge difference with my 1988 Philips CD-player and boom-boom living room...

[@Mortison77577]

nokivasaracom Almost certainly none of that was audible.

[@wyatt.photos]

Ester Samuels what?

[@MrCarlsenth]

The cables used inside the 800 Diamond series, are cables from A.J Van Den Hul, made for Bowers & Wilkins. 805, 804 and 802 uses the same type, while 800 uses a thicker version. Also made by VDH. None of these are no-brand, cheap, cables.

[@kingofpunk1977]

Expensive but compared to other speakers they are worth the money

[@ericeng91]

I have never seen the use of the word "eddy" in fluid dynamics until I did a quick wiki search. I just use a different term when describing these types of "eddy currents". And I definitely am not under-estimating B&W. I have a pair of the 686Bs, albeit lower end, I love them. I was just commenting on the written portion of their article. They have an accompanying video where the engineer does a great job explaining.

[@klbird]

The Brits can't make a good breakfast but their sound products are among the best.British engineeing combined with a real sense of art.

[@bowerswilkins]

@irh007 Hi, the music is by a band called Spiro and the track is The Darkling Plains.

[@thingsdemystified]

"Maximum volume" doesn't really mean anything. All this proves was that your uncle had a big enough amplifier to drive the speakers without distortion. I'm not saying anything about B&W here. I'm only trying to keep it real. But when I did audition B&W speakers, I was blown away by how good they sounded (not how loud they could play).

[@Luke-qs2cg]

That response curve 😱

[@calinyoz]

I have been lucky enough to own these speakers, they are excellent in each and every way. And they look as beautiful as they sound. I am curious if anybody has listened the Nautilus and how does the sound compare to this.. Probably a dull questions, but are they that good?

[@AhmadzairiBinOsman]

Amazing

[@paulgarrett4610]

A really good friend of mine had a pair of 802D's sadly he passed away but the 802's were amazing! No way i could afford them and he had a big room to use them in , they were sold off after he died to pay off debts but boy i wish i had have bought them though!

[@DoNultima]

Gotta love B&W, proper high end speakers, second only to Snell THX Reference series :)

[@SiFFon-h2j]

если бы они еще и играли....цены бы им небыло!

[@mraiwa1000]

Awsome!

[@alexmcc89]

Listened to it all with my B&W 685's, wooooohhhhh!! :)

[@derbigpr500]

Any gear that is made in China is supervised by the manufacturer and made by specialized workers completely up to standards of quality that manufacturer want's. It's not like Apple or Dell or B&W, or anyone else comes to China and starts picking random people on the street, gives them some money and tells them to build stuff in some garage. They build modern factories where stuff is made exactly as it would be made in Germany, England, France, Japan, Canada, USA, etc.

[@ericeng91]

So I was about to comment about your Flowport design until I watched the video on your website. You guys should really have an engineer write parts of your website. The caption of your Flowport video states that the dimples minimize turbulence like it does on a golf ball, but that is quite the opposite of what dimples do. Your engineer Stuart Nevill does a great job explaining (correctly), but the design actually creates more turbulent flow just as on a golf ball.

[@landisvaldoribeiro4673]

Top

[@ghostzapper2006]

These speakers in the mids and highs absolutely put Dynaudios to shame.

[@BrusselsSouth]

I'm still satisfied with the matrix 802 bought in 1992.

[@panagiotiskafritsas4271]

Fantastic! Would love to see the assembly of the Chinese factory!!!

[@armyhobo12]

its a long voice coil thats thinner then most speakers but its longer to equal it out and give it better performance

[@louisjenvey1998]

Because all of that polishing makes it sound better...

[@joske1007]

Totaly Going to make one At home now I know how to

[@tiz444]

Me too!!

[@swampusmaximus]

Fantastic Vid....Thanx

[@N4CR]

802D or 800D will be my next speakers.

[@DAVIDSDIEGO]

Amazing video! Are these made in the UK or China? I'm just asking because my Zeppelin Air and P5s were designed the UK; however, made in China.

[@mojo2382]

Awesome I have the 805 Ds mated to McIntosh 2275 Integrated Tube Amp Sweet Airy Trasparency!!!!!!!!

[@jamesbond9873]

Love the 800s. All I have are 570s.

[@TheXtremesoundz]

Are they passive or active?

[@keato02]

@bowerswilkins why did you make the tweeter out of diamond?

[@ericeng91]

Also, your article says it creates "eddy currents". Now you're just using fancy words. Eddy currents are electrical. I think what you meant to say was "turbulent zones". The turbulent zones, however, are designed not to interfere with the sound output, but to decrease the height of the boundary layer against the walls of your port and increase the velocity of your air, all while keeping the separation point of the air to a minimum.

[@MaZEEZaM]

+tetra digm thats a little unfortunate, you might base your opinion on your knowledge of speaker design but without hearing the speakers, These speaker get very high reviews from top quality hifi magazines. including this comment in one review "They are a true reference grade product that compete with and in many ways outperform everything in their class as well as embarrass loudspeakers costing twice as much."

[@maidpretty]

Geez... I'm so wanting the B&W reference minimal-phase series. One day I'll get a pair dammit!

[@321iseeyou]

The Alexandria's are phenomenal but they do cost $195,000 a pair, the B&W speakers cost £3750 a pair (apologies for the different currencies). Hardly fair, is it?

[@WL2K]

The speed of sound through a material is but one of about 6548 things they analyze when choosing or implementing a driver material...

[@peceps]

Why does the installed drivers look like they have no magnet?

[@Maisonier]

Oh my goodness, this is awesome ... bad luck I'm poor and I will never could buy one of this ...

[@joeygonzo]

2:25, look at that network!

[@Eric.Morrison]

gotta get a pair of these for my car

[@SpanasyukO]

I was gonna get some for my bike

[@daniel93ss]

Mommy, look at that crossover !

[@ole9421]

Ok, how much for them in kit form?

[@DAVIDSDIEGO]

@RovexHD Perhaps their high end products might be made in the UK. However, I do not own the 800 Series, therefore I do not know...

[@MrJoe750li]

I just bought a pair of 800's series flagship models

[@irh007]

great vid whats the tune ?

[@apfelipod]

If I had only known that bowers and wilkins was in worthing, back when I was there myself.

[@erikhaug]

I want this!

[@Trevis_Bikle]

2:56 что за этап? what is the point?

[@irh007]

@bowerswilkins thank you 8-)

[@Mortison77577]

Why is the cross over so big?

[@fumo1000]

Ester Samuels Can't really see a couple of the components too well but the capacitors are likely polypropylene going into 100s of uF. Similary sized to motor run capacitors. The two inductors on the right hand side have a wide diameter... I can't tell their height but the increased diameter is likely to reduce resistance. Speaking of resistance I can't see any resistors.... although if they're precision resistors they could be the square shapes on the end of the white cables. To me this looks like a well designed, quality crossover... to inflate the price of their speakers!

[@epiphonesg007]

+Ester Samuels Power handling.

[@igettunes]

So they munch power, make them look bigger

[@Noah-Lach]

Probably because these speakers max out at 1,000w.

[@artharutunyan]

at 2:02 Passed today-65, Failed today-123

[@josmau12]

you'r right. But it also says "total passes 178.185" they can't possible sell that many right? even if half of them fail that's still a large market for those expensive speakers.

[@Beghty27]

The failed speakers just get sent back through production to have any problems corrected. It isn't like it goes straight into the trash.

[@suma5939]

if it did, i would sleep in their containers :D

[@ultimateone624]

Good Eye lol

[@SchwizzZer]

The software says "D2" and the year 2011

[@paulmac63]

I don't think you know what you are talking about eric tbh.The word eddy IS used in describing air turbulence, as with golf ball design. I also think you are underestimating the skills of B&W design. I have CDM9NT's , not as good as 800 series , but sound v price, they take some beating. 800's would be way too big for my room 15"x17"aswell, 803's probably ideal.

[@oohhhdaniel]

As you said before, you have never personally heard these speakers, so how can you say "low quality sound"? And if you think Bowers and Wilkins is a good "marketing scheme" then you clearly know nothing about Bose. They are 100% all about marketing their products.

[@DGFishRfine1]

You missed the part where I cut out my own kidney for resale... Gotta pay for the 802s somehow :D

[@TheHorwords]

-fantastic!

[@ane74]

I want it !!

[@ВладимирИльин-о4к]

An excellent example of winding up the cost of a product that is to be sold. Ultimate sound quality is a chimera that doesn't exist. The very existence of auditory analyzer thresholds and functionality as a universal requirement for devices and instruments in the broadest sense of the word contradicts this understanding. It's time to abandon kevlar fibers in favor of high molecular weight graphite carbon fiber, and use high molecular weight polyethylene as a binder. You just need to learn how to cut off the heat generated on the speaker coil. And these new diaphragms will change the way we think about good dynamics. The difference in speed of sound in these materials is sufficient.

[@spsfalex]

I... I want a pair...

[@mikreference3a130]

Ils sont où les menuisiers ?

[@Oxibase]

I wonder if they have a special program so the employees can own a pair?

[@Shercko]

Ah, what I would do for a system with these.

[@theprof291166]

You made a mistake - the original 800 series speakers were not Matrix that came in the mid 1980s and was first fitted to the aptly named B&W Matrix 1 series. The honeycomb system invented by Laurence Dickie was then applied to the 801 and 802 to make the Matrix 801 series 2, identified by its port opening. People like Steve Roe or John Dibb could put your history straight for you.

[@Svulloismyhero]

cool

[@aussie_philosopher8079]

Man that's amazing. Some millionaire wanna help us out with a pair ? hahaha.

[@reyjulio]

amazing,the only bad is the price

[@PetyAndr]

What song is play on the video??

[@lhe22]

+Peter Andriichuk Fuck Song by AlwaysAskingSameQuestion

[@PetyAndr]

+Gumby Gibi 0:21 Spiro-Darkling Plains

[@zajdima]

One day...

[@RennieAsh]

"Listen and you'll see" I thought I'd be hearing?

[@86Ivar]

WTF they use cheap spade connectors? even cheap radios got soldered terminals.

[@N4CR]

Some of the lower models are, my older 604 s2 was made in Britain, newer ones are in china. They don't look Chinese in this video either.

[@MrJoe750li]

Guy below me CM series are made in china Diamond series are still made Worthing England

[@CosticaKristianDiVogli]

You can see (end eventually hear) that their price is justified!