BOWERS & WILKINS 702 S3 Floorstanding Speakers – Pair

The 702 S3 by Bowers & Wilkins represents their top-of-the-line product, a cutting-edge floorstanding speaker that sets new benchmarks for performance within its category. This speaker boasts a Carbon Dome tweeter, which is enclosed in a Solid Body Tweeter assembly that’s brand-new and based on the latest generation of the 800 Series Diamond. Consequently, it offers an even more lifelike high-frequency response. Furthermore, the midrange assembly is decoupled and significantly improved with the revolutionary Biomimetic Suspension, which contributes to outstanding midrange clarity and openness. Additionally, the Bowers & Wilkins 702 S3 features a novel downward-firing port arrangement and a set of three Aerofoil Profile bass cones, enabling it to produce bass that is both deeply resonant and highly articulate. If you’re looking for the finest speaker available, the 702 S3 is the one to choose.

Product Features:

The Bowers & Wilkins 702 S3 speaker has a number of features that contribute to its excellent sound quality. These include:

1. Solid Body Tweeter: The latest generation of Bowers & Wilkins’ Solid Body Tweeter-on-Top housing is carefully decoupled and milled from a single solid block of aluminum to better resist resonance. Its elongated form features a longer tube-loading system that produces an even more open and free sound with high frequencies.
2. Carbon Dome Tweeters: These tweeters, purpose-built for the Bowers & Wilkins 702 s3, have a carbon dome construction that raises the breakup threshold to 47kHz, resulting in pinpoint imaging accuracy and detail.
3. Biomimetic Suspension: The new Biomimetic Suspension, first seen on the 800 Series Diamond, greatly reduces the unwanted air pressure and coloration that a conventional fabric spider can generate, revolutionizing midrange cone performance. The result is midrange transparency that is hard to believe possible.
4. Continuum™ Cone: This cone is constructed of a composite material that avoids abrupt transitions in behavior, which 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.
5. Decoupled Midrange Assembly: Every three-way loudspeaker in the 702 s3 has a dedicated midrange cone using four key Bowers & Wilkins technologies, including the Continuum cone, FST™, Biomimetic Suspension, and midrange decoupling. The latter ensures minimal interference from the operation of the loudspeaker’s bass drivers.
6. Aerofoil™ Profile Bass Cone: The Aerofoil Profile bass cone is developed using advanced computer modeling techniques, with variable thickness providing stiffness and rigidity where it’s needed most, resulting in deep and dynamic bass.
7. Curved Baffle: The 702 s3 features a curved front baffle for the first time, allowing the midrange and bass drivers to be located in individual pod-type housings that sit proud of the speaker baffle. This new approach, derived from the 800 Series Diamond, reduces the audible impact of the cabinet, creating a cleaner, more open, and more immersive sound.

Technical Specifications:

The technical specifications of the Bowers & Wilkins 702 s3 speaker are as follows:

1. Drive Units:
   • 1x ø25mm (1in) Decoupled Carbon Dome high-frequency
   • 1x ø150mm (6in) Continuum cone FST midrange
   • 3x ø165mm (6.5in) Aerofoil Profile bass
2. Frequency Range: 28Hz to 33kHz
3. Frequency Response: (+/-3dB from reference axis) 46Hz – 28kHz
4. Sensitivity: (on axis at 2.83Vrms at 1m) 90dB
5. Harmonic Distortion:
   • 2nd and 3rd harmonics (90dB, 1m on axis)
   • <1% 86Hz – 28kHz
   • <0.5% 110Hz – 20kHz
6. Nominal Impedance: 8Ω (minimum 3.1Ω)
7. Recommended Amplifier Power: 30W – 300W into 8Ω on unclipped program
8. Dimensions:
   • Height: 1010mm (39.8in) cabinet only, 1138mm (44.8in) including tweeter and plinth
   • Width: 192mm (7.6in) cabinet only, 290mm (11.4in) including plinth
   • Depth: 354