About The Bowers & Wilkins 702 S3 Floorstanding Speakers
The 702 S3 is the flagship of the 700 S3 range. It is nothing less than a state-of-the-art floorstanding speaker that redefines standards for performance in its class. Its Carbon Dome tweeter is housed in a redesigned Solid Body Tweeter assembly. This ensures even more realistic treble, while its decoupled midrange assembly, enhanced here with B&W's revolutionary Biomimetic Suspension, provides outstanding midrange transparency and openness. And thanks to its new downward-firing port configuration and its trio of Aerofoil Profile bass cones, 702 S3 can deliver bass that's both profoundly deep and endlessly articulate. If you want the best, this is it.
Solid Body Tweeter: The 702 S3 features the latest generation of B&W's iconic Solid Body Tweeter-on-Top housing. Its redesigned, more elongated form incorporates a longer tube-loading system to produce an even more free and open sound with high frequencies. The carefully decoupled housing is milled from a single solid block of aluminium to better resist resonance.
Carbon Dome Tweeters: Carbon Dome tweeters are purpose-built for the 700 Series. Delivering a dramatic improvement on the aluminium double dome tweeter, they raise the breakup threshold to 47kHz, for pinpoint imaging accuracy and detail.
Biomimetic Suspension: Sometimes, making a big difference takes unconventional thinking. The transition from B&W's famous yellow Aramid Fibre midrange cones to the Continuum cone technology resulted in a massive improvement to midrange performance. Now, B&W have turned their attention to another crucial element in a loudspeaker cone: the fabric spider. The unique Biomimetic Suspension revolutionises midrange cone performance by greatly reducing the unwanted air pressure and coloration that a conventional fabric spider can generate. The result? Midrange transparency you wouldn't believe possible.
Continuum™ Cone: Thanks to its composite construction, the Continuum™ cone avoids the abrupt transitions in behaviour that can impair the performance of a conventional drive unit. The result is a more open, neutral performance that delivers voices and instruments with precision and transparency.
Decoupled Midrange Assembly: The 702 S3 has a dedicated midrange cone using four key Bowers & Wilkins technologies: the Continuum cone, FST™, Biomimetic Suspension and midrange decoupling, the latter ensuring minimal interference from the operation of the loudspeaker's bass drivers.
Aerofoil™ Profile Bass Cone: Developed using advanced computer modelling techniques, the Aerofoil™ Profile bass cone has variable thickness, providing stiffness and rigidity where it's needed most. The result: deep and dynamic bass.
Curved Baffle: The 700 S3 range features a curved front baffle for the first time. This allows the midrange and bass drivers to be located in individual pod-type housings that sit proud of the speaker baffle. When combined with the curvature of the structure, this advanced approach – derived from the 800 Series Diamond – reduces the audible impact of the cabinet, creating a cleaner, more open and more immersive sound.
About The 700 Series 3 Range
The Bowers & Wilkins 700 S3 range of loudspeakers is defined by elegance and driven by performance. Every model in the range is inspired by the recording studio and enabled by cutting-edge technologies first developed for B&W's flagship 800 Series Diamond.
The 700 Series contains eight models: there's a speaker to suit every home and every requirement, whether your passion is high-performance stereo, immersive home cinema or a mix of both. Every model combines slim, elegant proportions with a choice of exquisite finishes.
With the 700 Series 3, Studio Sound comes home.
Precision Sound: 700 Series uses a wealth of state-of-the-art technologies derived from B&W's award-winning 800 Series Diamond range to provide a best-in-class audio experience.
Bring Hollywood Home: With two centre channel speakers to choose from plus the option of matching subwoofers, in-wall and in-ceiling speakers, the 700 Series performs brilliantly in any home cinema set-up.
Meaningful Design: Thanks to its svelte proportions, premium detailing and subtly curved cabinet form – plus the option of an all new Mocha finish – the 700 Series range is both beautiful and effortlessly elegant.
Studio Sound, Your Way: This is B&W's most extensive range: 700 Series range features floorstanding, standmount and bookshelf speakers, meaning you can get precision sound in any size of room, however you prefer to listen.
Bowers & Wilkins 702 S3 Reviews
"Aside from the sheer scale and majesty of the sound that this speaker produces, the first thing to grab my attention was the bass performance. I'll nail my colours to the mast and say that the 702 S3 delivers the cleanest, most articulate bass I've heard from any floorstanding loudspeaker in my listening room to date. I'm convinced this is due to the downward firing port and plinth arrangement, which assists the three woofers without adding any flub, overhang or chuffing associated with more conventionally ported designs. It's a quality I associate with sealed-box (infinite baffle) designs and electrostatics that have no box at all. Where it bests these designs, though, is in its absolute authority, ensuring a firm low-frequency foundation from which the rest of the sound spectrum can develop.
As there is no dialled-in mid-bass boost, like you often get with smaller speakers, the bottom end integrates seamlessly with the midrange ensuring a smooth, lump-free presentation. On the downside, bass-shy recordings – most nineteen-sixties pop, for example – are not fleshed-out in any way, so in true monitor style, you do hear the recording without artificial sweetening.
Clarity is a word that cropped up in my listening notes consistently. The superb midrange driver from the flagship 800 Diamond series interacts brilliantly with the all-new carbon dome tweeter to offer super clean and clear reproduction. It's not just that the 702 S3 is faithfully transparent to the recording; it unveils the filigree detail often masked through less capable systems, peeling back layers to reveal subtleties even in familiar recordings.
Character wise, the 702 S3 is difficult to pigeonhole. It's neither warm nor bright tonally, and while I wouldn't describe it as 'fast-sounding', it conveys rhythms truthfully with no exaggerated excitement. It certainly isn't sluggish and is remarkably time-and phase-coherent for a loudspeaker with multiple drive units along the front baffle. There's a slightly cool perspective to the midrange where vocals and prominent lead instruments reside, which makes music sound fresh and invigorating, like air conditioning for the ears.
The technological advancements of the latest S3 version of Bowers & Wilkins' well-respected 702 take this model into a new league, where it offers a good deal of the performance of the company's top-flight 800 Series Diamond at a much more affordable price. Its studio monitor-style presentation means you're not in for a cosy and cosseting musical ride, but it never strays into the 'brutally frank' school of over-analytical reproduction that sucks the joy out of listening. Instead, no matter what you play, it does the music proud." StereoNet
"The Bowers & Wilkins 702 S3 makes life very difficult for other loudspeaker manufacturers. It delivers extremely high definition with very low coloration at a price that few can begin to compete with. You need a reasonably powerful amplifier to get the best out of this model, probably a minimum of 75 good quality Watts, but nonetheless this is an impressive achievement in a professionally executed package. Just remember to set it up carefully." Hi-Fi+
Our Take On The Bowers & Wilkins 702 S3 Speakers
And we thought the previous signature edition 702's were special. The 702 S3 rewrites the book and makes you wonder why you would ever need anything more, apart from maybe a couple of subs for the very lowest frequencies that no speaker can reach. Having said that, the new down-firing port and trio of Aerofoil Profile bass cones deliver bass that is both profoundly deep and endlessly articulate. Further up, the freedom from box colouration is breathtaking with a beauty of midrange tone and shimmer of airy treble that must be experienced to be believed. And talking of beauty, the subtly rounded front baffles have a surprisingly large and positive impact on the way this speaker blends into a room in an almost sculptural way. Also, the new Mocha finish is an absolute standout and something we have not seen the likes of before. All-in-all this flagship lives up to expectations and then some. An audition is a must. Drive, fly, crawl – get here any way you can and have a listen. You will not be disappointed.
Main Features & Specifications
- Design: 3-Way Vented-Box Floorstanding Speakers
- Decoupled Carbon Dome Tweeter
- Solid Body Tweeter-on-Top
- Continuum™ Cone FST™ Midrange
- Decoupled Midrange
- Aerofoil™ Profile Bass Cones
- Flowport™
- Drive Units
- 25mm (1") Decoupled Carbon Dome High-Frequency Driver
- 150mm (6") Continuum Cone FST Midrange
- 3 x 165mm (6.5") Aerofoil Profile Bass Drivers
- Frequency Range: 28Hz to 33kHz
- Frequency Response: 46Hz - 28kHz (+/-3dB from reference axis)
- Sensitivity: 90dB (on axis at 2.83Vrms at 1m)
- Harmonic Distortion: 2nd and 3rd harmonics (90dB, 1m on axis)
- <1% 86Hz - 28kHz
- <0.5% 110Hz - 20kHz
- Nominal Impedance: 8Ω (minimum 3.1Ω)
- Recommended Amplifier Power: 30W - 300W into 8Ω on unclipped programme
- Cabinet Finishes: Gloss Black (Black Grille), Satin White (Grey Grille), Mocha (Black Grille) & Rosenut (Black Grille)
- Width
- 192mm cabinet only
- 290mm including plinth
- Height
- 1,010mm cabinet only
- 1,138mm including tweeter & plinth
- Depth
- 354mm cabinet only
- 391mm including grille and terminals
- 410mm including plinth
- Weight 33.5 kg each
- Manufacturer's Warranty: 5 Years
Note: Features & Specifications Subject To Change Without Notice. E&OE