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Bowers & Wilkins 702 Signature floorstanding loudspeaker

Bowers & Wilkins 702 Signature floorstanding loudspeaker

The advantages of large-scale manufacturing become immediately apparent on unpacking this loudspeaker; the quality of finish is in the Premier League and distinctly higher than is achieved by most smaller companies at this price point. Bowers & Wilkins call it a Datuk gloss finish, an ebony coloured veneer with strong figuring, which looks spectacular on the tall 702 Signature.

The 702 is one of two loudspeakers given the Signature treatment by Bowers & Wilkins, the other is the 705 stand mount. Both of these are based on the current equivalent 700 S2 models, but have upgraded parts and finishes that add just over a £1,000 to the price of this model compared to its S2 sibling. It shares the three Aerofoil section bass drivers, Continuum cone midrange and carbon dome tweeter in a solid body external housing with the 702 S2… and those elements alone give it a head start in the fiercely fought over middle ground of the speaker market place. All three are derived from technologies created for the company’s best loudspeakers; the 800 series. The 802 for instance has the same Continuum midrange with the FST invisible surround and a decoupling system to minimize energy transmission between driver and box. The 802 has larger and fewer bass drivers; two times 200mm rather than three times 165mm seen here. The full title of the 800 Series Diamond tells you that the tweeter is not carbon as it is on a 700 model; the latter was created to bridge the gap between the metal dome found in 600 series speakers and the diamond dome of the big guns. It is said to be good up to a first break up point of 47kHz.

, Bowers & Wilkins 702 Signature floorstanding loudspeaker

The cabinet is a lot more straightforward than an 802 with its Turbine Head midrange enclosure, but that tweeter body on top is milled from solid aluminium in order to confer massive stiffness at the frequencies where this is needed. Earlier examples of this body that looked much the same had cast zinc housings that were measurably less calm under fire than the solid body type used here.

The changes most likely to benefit sound quality in the 702 Signature model are in the crossover where ‘specially treated’ upgraded Mundorf bypass capacitors, larger heatsinking and an upgraded capacitor on the bass section have been incorporated. The price premium therefore is largely allocated to the luxury finish, the crossover upgrades being an incentive for the sound conscious who might not be swayed by looks alone. There is also a rather nice Signature badge on the back above the bi-wire terminals that reinforces the premium aspect of this loudspeaker.

 

For the benefit of boisterous youngsters and their pets, the 702 Signatures are supplied with black MDF plinths that extend the footprint and make this reasonably tall speaker harder to knock over… almost impossible in fact (I used to think the EU’s ‘tilte test’ was unnecessary nannying, but a few years ago one of my nephews managed to topple one of a pair of Living Voice Auditorium speakers. The reckless youth was unscathed but the speaker didn’t enjoy the experience). That said, the plinths don’t enhance the aesthetic so I left them off for the review and used the soft feet that are supplied; those wanting the floor to vibrate along with the music can install the set of spikes that are also in the box.

I use Bowers’ 802 D3s as a reference and find them to be extremely good at revealing all aspects of the capabilities of equipment under review, and when that kit is good the results are extremely engaging. I was, therefore, a little nervous about the downgrade to something similar but in many ways very different and a lot smaller. I needn’t have worried; the 702 Signature may not have the power and resolution of its stablemate but it does a lot of the same things well enough for the transition to be wholly painless. The fact that the midrange and treble drivers are closer to the floor is actually a benefit in my room; I can’t sit that far away from the 802s, about 11 feet, which means I have to tilt the speakers down a little to have the mid and treble drivers pointed at my seated head height. The midrange on the 702 Signature is 16cm lower (just over six inches) than the 802, so it’s better suited to this relatively nearfield listening. The fact that it is smaller back to front and has less bass output means that it works closer to the wall too, so the front baffle is a foot further away from the listener. I was concerned that the rear firing port might cause bass issues but that was not the case (if it had been there are two levels of port bung supplied to tame excess low frequency energy).

With an ATC P2 power amplifier driving the 702 Signatures Bob Marley’s ‘Natural Mystic’ [Natural Mystic (The Legend Lives On), Island] doesn’t have the full girth you get with bigger loudspeakers, but it is both powerful and deep, with the groove coming through in tight, controlled fashion. Pushing the cabinets closer to the wall increased bass depth at a slight expense to midrange focus but without losing bass definition. Lana Del Rey’s voice was still visceral in its presence; her NFR! album [Polydor] is very well recorded but it still takes a good speaker to place the singer in the room in such palpable fashion. Another favourite, the Grateful Dead’s ‘Cumberland Blues’ [Europe ’72, Warner Bros], worked remarkably well too with clear differences in depth between the members of the band. This indicates a level of separation that goes beyond the norm… well beyond it. That they do this whilst maximising the boogie factor that was the band’s speciality makes it more impressive, systems often excel in one of these areas but rarely both.

, Bowers & Wilkins 702 Signature floorstanding loudspeaker

I put on a couple of Joni Mitchell tracks next, ‘Big Yellow Taxi’ [Miles of Aisles, Asylum] live had my foot stomping with enthusiasm and ‘The Man I Love’ [Gershwin’s World, Herbie Hancock, Verve] had me marvelling at the nuances of expression that she brought to one of her last great recordings. At this point I remembered that the Melco S100 network switch was still in the system and probably aiding the result, but the true extent of this only became clear when I went back to the English Electric 8Switch. The latter is very good indeed but these Bowers & Wilkins speakers made it clear that the near four times price premium asked for the Melco does bring obvious rewards in depth of resolution. The EE switch is faster and drier, delivering great scale with it and allowed the 702 Signatures to continue with their impressive reproduction of all sorts of material. Including Nick Cave’s Push the Sky Away [Bad Seed] where the deluxe production comes through loud and clear in a lovely glow around instruments and voice, it made me realise that I need more Cave in the collection. Streaming services are good but locally stored, full fat rips are clearly superior.

 

I spent a pleasant evening playing vinyl through these speakers, as their sensitivity to timing and low level detail make them eminently well suited to the subtleties that this format is able to reproduce. Ryley Walker’s Golden Sings that have been Sung [Tompkins Square] delivering very strong vocals within a precisely defined acoustic, the lyrics being articulated so well that even Walker’s mumblings become clear. This source proved highly engaging with a variety of records, the less smooth among them were not masked but neither were their shortcomings emphasised. For a contrast I swapped amplifiers for a Rega Elex-R integrated, a musically inspiring few days ensued with what turned out to be a surprisingly well-matched combination. The bass wasn’t as solid but it still went down low with adequate control and the mid and treble provided a spark that was hard to put down. It proved to be highly enjoyable with everything from Nick Drake to Blind Faith (the live version of ‘Can’t Find My Way Home’ is a blinder) and Terry Callier to name a few. All had three dimensionality, pace and good projection when the recordings allowed it.

, Bowers & Wilkins 702 Signature floorstanding loudspeaker

The Bowers & Wilkins 702 Signature is not just a great looking speaker with a deluxe finish, it’s a refinement of what was already a damn fine speaker that takes performance to the next level. There may be competitors that deliver an equally impressive combination of performance and looks for the price, but I’ve yet to hear them.

TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS

  • Type: Three-way, five-driver, floorstanding speaker with bass reflex enclosure
  • Driver complement: One 25mm carbon dome tweeter in decoupled housing; one 150mm Continuum cone FST midrange driver; three 165mm Aerofoil profile bass drivers.
  • Frequency response: 45Hz–28kHz
  • Impedance: 8 Ohms
  • Sensitivity: 90dB/W/m
  • Dimensions (H×W×D):
    1087mm (including tweeter & plinth) × 200mm × 337mm
  • Weight: 29.5kg/each
  • Finish: Datuk gloss
  • Price: £4,499/pair

Manufacturer: Bowers & Wilkins

Tel: 0800 232 1513

URL: bowers-wilkins.co.uk

https://hifiplus.com/reviews/

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