Are Bowers and Wilkins speakers overpriced?

All of you arguing with me need to know that you literally can't.

I've made my points, and they are not arguable:

1 - I don't like B&W that much.  You can't argue personal taste.

2 - They are not objectively neutral  - Proven in measurements

3 - B&W has changed their curves over time - Again, proven.

Those of you who love B&W, I suggest you want to stick to what you love about them, instead of trying to disprove facts.

Enjoy the bonfire I've left here for you, because this is silly and I'm done. :)

Erik

Please tell us what B&W speakers you have set up in your own space/s and the associated gear that was used.

Why would I bring a speaker home I did not like?

Seriously enough with the theory.

NO. No, no. In this case because the theory perfectly matches what I've heard. I don't like how they sound. I don't find them neutral or speakers I can listen to for a long time. If you want to know why, there it is in the charts.

Again, I don’t care what you like. You can love B&W, but if you ask me why it’s different, there you go.

Do you judge and compare every speaker, component that has made improvements over 15 plus years old design? I expect better from you than peddling an article that has absolutely no relevance to 4th generation of Diamond line or have no personal experience with the brand.

@lalitk

You sound triggered, as I kind of expected. OK, so the 802 D3 from 2015:

https://www.stereophile.com/content/bowers-wilkins-802-d3-diamond-loudspeaker

Or the OP’s speaker reviewed in 2017:

https://www.stereophile.com/content/bowers-wilkins-805-d3-loudspeaker-measurements

And I make no claim to spend my life listening to all speakers, do you? I’ve listened to a few of them, over time, have you? Are you saying that I can’t state my opinions here unless I have researched every B&W speaker?

Did you miss the part where I say you should buy what you like?


Do you feel that B&W had problems in the past, but now are fixed??

Here’s what I mean by "quirky:"

https://www.stereophile.com/content/bowers-amp-wilkins-804-diamond-loudspeaker-measurements

Now keep in mind, I don’t care what speakers you actually buy, but if you want to know what makes B&W stand out, this is a great example.

Take a look at the frequency response in figure 4. The peak at 100 Hz and rolloff below is quite common, helps fit many rooms, but the dip at around 2.5 to 2.7 kHz. Accentuates imaging, but also reduces the overall smoothness of the response. Next, take a look at the peak at 10 kHz. Accentuates detail at the cost of neutrality.

Now, these may be the best speakers in the world for you, I don’t care. I am just going to use this FR to answer the OP’s question.

Now lets compare to another British speaker, the Monitor Audio Platinum:

https://www.stereophile.com/content/monitor-audio-platinum-pl300-ii-loudspeaker-measurements

Above the bass peak, this is a much smoother, and objectively more neutral speaker. It’s not perfect, there’s a strange dip around 15 kHz, but overall the response between the bass to treble is much more tightly controlled.

And yes, while I have a very strong preference for Monitor Audio, that doesn’t mean you should. Buy whichever you like, but don’t call them both neutral speakers. :)

Also, over time B&W has revised their curves, so it is another reason to call them quirky. They’ve often experimented with the market and the voicing. Nothing wrong with that, again, but they get too much credit in my mind for being neutral reference speakers, when that really varied over time. Of course, there are other features such as dispersion,  distortion, stored energy and compression which is not discussed here.

Having typed all of this, I make no statement about whether or not B&W is priced correctly. That’s for the market, credit should be given them their drivers and the quality of crossover components they have moved to.

In my mind they are quirky. Each generation / model has different target curves. Some of the bad rap may be that they may be designed to be listened on mid axis instead of tweeter axis. Some has to do with their voicing which is designed to stand out.

One positive thing I will say is they’ve taken to using higher end caps in their crossovers, which a lot of high end makers skimp on.

Before I get any flames, please, buy B&W if you like them, or any other brand, I don't care. Enjoy what you buy.