Bowers & Wilkins CM8 wenge (pack of 2)

Aluminum Tweeters

Most Bowers & Wilkins speakers feature aluminum dome tweeters. The combination of lightness and rigidity that characterizes them allows them to reproduce the subtleties of music with astonishing precision, like delicate brushstrokes on the surface of a cymbal. Our latest tweeters have a “crowned” voice coil and a silver-plated pole base, extending the bandwidth by more than an octave beyond the limits of human hearing, making a separate “super tweeter” unnecessary.

Kevlar

Kevlar has been the material of choice for Bowers & Wilkins speaker cones since 1974, and for good reason. Not only does it deliver more transparent sound, but it also covers a wider range. Today, nearly all Bowers & Wilkins speakers feature this distinctive yellow cone material.

FST

The FST midrange driver optimizes the effects of Kevlar by improving the cone’s temporal response and the overall integrity of sound transmission. Since a midrange driver’s cone does not have large excursions, Bowers & Wilkins was able to make the shape of this surround nearly “invisible”. This midrange driver produces the purest sound a driver of its kind is capable of today.

Tapered Nautilus Tube

Not all sounds emitted by a speaker are good to hear. The sound created at the rear of a functioning speaker, in a conventional enclosure, can even become so intrusive that it degrades the sound emitted from the front of the cone. The pioneering Bowers & Wilkins Nautilus speaker definitively solved the problem of “boxes”. Progressively tapered rear-loading tubes filled with absorbent wadding gradually attenuate the energy of this rearward wave, virtually eliminating any undesirable resonance.

Crossover

We conduct numerous listening tests, rigorously evaluating the performance of each component until we find the optimal component for each position in the circuit. Tuning by ear is only possible if the crossover is simple and the section of it, which perhaps benefits from our policy of learning by listening, is the part processing the signal for the tweeter. In most Bowers & Wilkins speakers, it is handled by a single component, chosen by listening, which preserves the most precise details.

Flowport

The Bowers & Wilkins Flowport minimizes turbulence in the same way a golf ball does. Small dimples on its surface generate micro-currents that allow air to flow smoothly, reducing turbulence and improving performance. Because if turbulence appears in the air flow through this port, it results in the generation of parasitic noise. And the higher you turn up the volume, the less firm and rhythmically accurate the bass becomes.

3-way bass-reflex speaker

• Speakers
  • 1 x 25 mm aluminum dome tweeter
  • 1 x ø130 mm midrange with FST Kevlar weave diaphragm
  • 2 x ø130 mm woofers with paper/Kevlar diaphragm
• Aluminum dome tweeter with tubular loading
• Nautilus
• FST Kevlar fiber midrange diaphragm
• Flowport

Measurements

• Recommended power: 30 W - 150 W (into 8 Ω)
• Sensitivity: 88 dB SPL (2.83 V, 1 m)
• Frequency response: 69 Hz – 22 kHz ± 3 dB
• Power handling: 30 W – 150 W into 8 Ω
• Impedance: 8 Ω
• Less than 2 dB in reference axis
  • Horizontal: > 60° arc
  • Vertical: > 10° arc
• 2nd and 3rd harmonic distortion (90 dB, 1m)
  • • <1% 90 Hz - 22 kHz
  • • <0.5% 120 Hz - 20 kHz

General

• Dimensions: (W x H x D) 252 x 960 x 298 mm
• Net weight: 19.56 kg