Bowers & Wilkins PI4

Bowers & Wilkins

1960s: Humble beginnings

The sleepy coastal town of Worthing in South England might not look like a hotbed of 1960s freewheeling experimentation, but for audio fans it’s a place that’s synonymous with innovation. Thanks to the first Bowers & Wilkins speakers built here in the early years of the company, music lovers could experience albums such as Sgt. Pepper and Pet Sounds in new, mind-expanding depth and clarity

1966: Beginings

John Bowers begins assembling speaker systems in the workshop of his electronics shop in Worthing, South East England Following an inheritance of £10,000 from a satisfied customer, John Bowers sets up his own loudspeaker company

1966: P1

The first Bowers & Wilkins loudspeaker. The profit from P1 allowed the company to invest in new calibration equipment

1968: Domestic Monitors

The DM1 and DM3 were launched to bring high quality audio to more customers, at an affordable price point

1970s: A decade of milestones

With the company established and growing fast, Bowers & Wilkins developed its reputation for innovative design backed up by world-leading R&D. They introduced new forms and design concepts including Tweeter-on-Top, new cone materials such as Aramid fibre, and it all culminated in the launch of the iconic 801, soon to become the reference speaker of choice for many of the world’s leading recording studios

1970: DM70

With its curved cabinet, the DM70 changed the shape of loudspeaker design

1980s: The application of science

Extensive investment in research led to the establishment of the company’s dedicated R&D facility in Steyning. The era of MTV pop superstardom and bombastic stadium rock also saw Bowers & Wilkins buck the trend and introduce something small and unobtrusive: the “compact monitor”, or CM1

1990s: Rewriting the rulebook

The 1990s saw the pioneering work of the Steyning research team realised in spectacular fashion with the launch of Nautilus™, a speaker that rewrote preconceived notions of speaker design. It also saw major product launches at both ends of the spectrum, with the unveiling of the highly regarded entry-level 600 Series and the flagship Nautilus 800 Series

2000s: Expansion in to new categories

The decade that brought us iPods and smartphones saw them embrace the new world with the launch of the iconic Zeppelin. They also expanded into the car audio category and transformed the performance of their 800 Series with the development of the Diamond-dome tweeter

2015: 800 Series Diamond

The latest version of their flagship introduced a complete redesign and revolutionary new technologies, such as the Continuum™ cone