Bowers & Wilkins 801 D5 Reference Tower Loudspeaker

Sixty years of obsession. One loudspeaker. The Bowers & Wilkins 801 D5 is the definitive expression of what a loudspeaker can be — engineered with the same exacting standards used by the world's most celebrated recording studios, and now available at Sunny Audio Video for your home listening room.

Whether you're a seasoned audiophile building your reference system or a discerning listener ready to experience music exactly as the artist intended, the 801 D5 is the benchmark by which all others are measured.

60 Years in the Making

Some products are built to sell. The 801 D5 was built to be the truth. For decades, the Bowers & Wilkins 800 Series has been the loudspeaker of choice in the world's most revered recording studios — the reference standard used by engineers and musicians who demand absolute accuracy when creating the music we love.

The 801 D5 represents the fifth generation of this legacy, carrying forward everything B&W has learned about the science of sound and applying it with meticulous refinement. Every design decision — the shape of the cabinet, the materials in the drivers, the geometry of the bracing — exists for one reason: to get out of the way and let the music speak.

When you listen to the 801 D5, you're hearing your recordings the way they were actually mixed. No coloration. No flattery. Just music.

Advanced Technologies, Measurable Results

Diamond Dome Tweeter

At the heart of the 801 D5's high-frequency performance is B&W's legendary Diamond dome tweeter. Diamond is the hardest natural material on earth, and its extraordinary stiffness pushes resonance far beyond the audible range — to 70kHz — ensuring the tweeter behaves as a perfect piston across the entire audio band. The result is a high end that is genuinely open and airy, not bright or fatiguing, revealing spatial detail and air around instruments that lesser tweeters simply cannot resolve.

Continuum™ Cone Midrange

The midrange is where music lives — voices, guitars, pianos, strings. The 801 D5's Continuum™ cone FST (Fixed Suspension Transducer) midrange driver reproduces this critical band with a level of accuracy and tonal neutrality that competitors have struggled to match. Free from the colorations introduced by traditional spider suspensions, it renders vocals and instruments with lifelike texture and presence.

Aerofoil™ Bass Drivers

Two 10-inch Aerofoil™ bass drivers provide the foundation. Their aerodynamically profiled cones vary in thickness from edge to center — inspired by aircraft wing cross-sections — delivering both exceptional rigidity and ultra-low mass. Bass is tight, extended, and authoritative, reaching down to 13Hz (–6dB) with no bloat or overhang.

Matrix™ Cabinet Bracing & Space Frame

The 801 D5's cabinet doesn't just house the drivers — it actively resists resonance. An upgraded Matrix™ internal bracing structure breaks up standing waves before they can color the sound, while new aluminium Space Frame Bracing and an all-new aluminium top section further reduce cabinet-induced distortions. The soundstage benefit is tangible: a more believable, open, and precisely imaged presentation.

Tweeter-on-Top & Turbine Head

The iconic Tweeter-on-Top design places the diamond tweeter in an acoustically isolated housing, physically separated from the midrange enclosure to prevent mechanical cross-contamination. Paired with the composite Turbine Head — which houses the midrange driver in a structure designed to minimize diffraction — the 801 D5 achieves the kind of image focus and soundstage coherence that leaves listeners forgetting they're hearing reproduced sound.

Flowport™ Technology

B&W's Flowport™ bass reflex port uses a dimpled inner surface — modeled on a golf ball — to eliminate turbulence noise at the port exit. The result is cleaner, lower bass with no chuffing, even at higher listening levels.