Bowers & Wilkins, commonly known as B&W, is a British company that produces consumer and professional loudspeakers and headphones.
B&W was founded in 1966 by John Bowers in Worthing, West Sussex, England.
In October 2020, B&W was acquired by Sound United, a holding company who owns several other audio brands.
Technology, research and development
Research and development has been important for B&W, especially to its founder John Bowers (1922–1987). From the start of the company, earnings were invested in new product development.
In 1982 the company opened a research centre titled 'SRE' or 'Steyning Research Establishment' in Steyning, about 10 miles from Worthing. The buildings were fit for audio-related work since they were previously used by SME, the English tonearm designer who felt the downturn in tonearm sales due to the introduction of the new digital media CD.
The design of B&W loudspeaker cabinets has been done by industrial designer Kenneth Grange since 1975. Morten Villiers Warren became manager of design in the late 1990s when designing the new 800 series of speakers.
Noteworthy loudspeaker innovations by B&W: The patented use of Kevlar fibres, impregnated with a stiffening resin, resulting in B&W's yellow speaker cones started in 1974. This composite material proved to provide controlled rigidity and internal damping, minimising distortion, as Fryer determined by using laser interferometry on speaker cones. Phase linear transmission was realised in the DM6 from 1976. In the DM6, the speakers are mounted in different vertical planes. In 1977 the DM7 introduced a tweeter separate from the main speaker cabinet. This has been a feature of many B&W speaker designs since. Engineer Laurence Dickie invented the 'Matrix' enclosure which reduces cabinet sound colouration. The 'Nautilus' speaker resulted from research commenced by Bowers into 'perfect dipoles'. Before Bowers died, he handed this research to the young Dickie who discovered the principle of the exponential tapered tube. The Nautilus project was one of the most extensive research and development projects undertaken. Instead of open-backed drivers, it uses drivers loaded by reverse-tapered horns, or exponentially diminishing tubes, to absorb the rear radiation. The construction is based on fibre-reinforced plastic enclosures. The result of the distinct speaker shape was a near perfect response and near-zero enclosure colouration. The 'Flowport' is an improvement that reduces friction in the air moving through the bass reflex vent. This is realised by covering the surface of the vent with dimples, just like a golf ball. The diamond tweeter was developed to create the optimal ratio of tweeter dome mass and material stiffness. The tweeter is grown into shape by chemical vapour deposition.
Formation
Released in 2019, the Formation Suite consists of Duo, Wedge, Bar, Bass, Audio and Flex.
History
Early years
Bowers & Wilkins began as a radio and electronics shop in Worthing. It was started after World War II by Bowers and Roy Wilkins who had met while serving in the Royal Corps of Signals during the war. The shop expanded to include televisions retail, a rentals business and a service department run by Peter Hayward. When the shop began supplying public address equipment to schools and churches in Sussex, Bowers became increasingly involved in the design and assembly of loudspeakers, eventually setting up a small production line in workshops behind the shop.
1960s
In 1966, Bowers started a separate business: B&W Loudspeakers Ltd., and was no longer involved with the shop itself. The first production line was established in the workshops in the shop's backyard. The shop still exists to this day, and the remnants of the original production line can still be seen. The shop is now owned by and managed by Roy's son Paul Wilkins, who together with Chris Hugill used to run the UK distribution arm of B&W, B&W Loudspeakers UK Ltd. They also acted as the UK distribution of the aforementioned Aura range of electronics, and Nakamichi compact cassette decks.
The 1967 P1 was the first commercial speaker from B&W. The cabinet and filter were B&W's own, but the drivers came from EMI and Celestion. The profits of the P1 allowed Bowers to purchase a Radiometer Oscillator and Pen Recorder, allowing for calibration certificates for every speaker sold.
In 1968, Audioscript in the Netherlands became the first international distributor appointed. The DM1 (Domestic Monitor) and DM3 were introduced. Dennis Ward (a former technical manager at EMI) became a member of the board in 1969.