Bowers & Wilkins 804 D4

Description

Why we install Bowers & Wilkins 804 D4

The 804 D4 is often the 800 Series Diamond floorstander we look to when a room deserves a serious stereo loudspeaker, but not the visual or spatial commitment of the larger models. In a typical Bath listening room, open-plan living space, or cinema where the front left and right channels must also carry music with authority, it gives us a refined route into Bowers & Wilkins’ flagship thinking while remaining practical to place and live with. We usually partner it with amplification that has firm current delivery and a clean preamp stage, whether the system is centred on a dedicated stereo source or integrated into a wider AV installation with a matched Bowers & Wilkins centre and discreet subwoofer support. Setup matters: the 804 D4 rewards careful toe-in, precise levelling on its plinth and spikes, and sensible spacing from rear and side boundaries, particularly with its downward Flowport arrangement. We prefer to get the physical placement right before applying any room correction, so the speaker’s imaging and bass balance are established naturally first. Compared with stepping up to 803 D4, the 804 D4 is the more room-friendly choice where listening distance, furniture layout or visual balance are priorities; choose the 803 D4 when the space and system scale genuinely justify it. Visit the Hidden Home Technology showroom in Bath to hear how the 804 D4 behaves in a properly set-up system rather than judging it from specifications alone.

B&W 804 D4

Classic quality
804 D4 is perhaps more conventional in appearance than other floor-standers in the 800 Series Diamond range, but it’s every bit as sophisticated. Its new Reverse-Wrap cabinet is both a mechanical and acoustic revolution in its class, and its new plinth ensures rock-solid, accurate bass response too.

Aluminium top-plate
Every stereo model in the new 800 Series Diamond range has a significantly upgraded cabinet with an all-new aluminium top-plate. This also provides a perfect mounting point for all-new Leather by Connolly trim, with luxurious black leather for dark cabinets and light grey for lighter finishes.

Reverse Wrap cabinet
Instead of a conventional loudspeaker box, the cabinet in 804 D4 is made from a continuous curved section of wood, with the drive units mounted at the heart of the curvature. This stiffer, more inert structure resists mechanical resonances far better and also ensures better dispersion of sound.

Aluminium plinth
A great speaker needs a rock-solid foundation. The new 804 D4 uses a downwards-firing Flowport exiting on to a solid aluminium plinth complete with a steel constrained layer damping sheet, which controls unwanted resonance. It also has greatly upgraded spikes for maximum stability and durability.

The science of sound
Innovation is at the heart of everything we do. We question, we examine, we understand and then we evolve. We use computer modelling to explore and reimagine every aspect of loudspeaker design. Learn more about all the technologies that combine to make 800 Series Diamond so special here.

804 D4 – Flagship 800 Series Diamond floor-standing speakers | Bowers & Wilkins – Global

Press & reviews

Stereophile review of the Bowers & Wilkins 804 D4