We had an opportunity to visit Sound and Vision in NorthEast Ohio. They are generous hosts, and we are looking forward to the future of working with Mike and his team. For our first visit we auditioned a Pair of Bowers & Wilkins 805 D3 Speakers. They are paired with a McIntosh MA 252 integrated amplifier and a Marantz NA6006 Network Player. We will also be doing full reviews on the McIntosh and Marantz in the near future. We also did an interview with the President of Sound and Vision which will be up this week, so keep an eye out for that.

The 805 D3

The Bowers and Wilkins 805 D3 is an incredible speaker, it is hard to describe with words alone. They have extreme detail, even with the fastest music I played through them. You will hear each and every note on these. They shine the most with classical music as well as vocal heavy songs. If you want to jam out to AC/DC or metallica these may not deliver the sound you look for most, however you will likely still not be disappointed in the sound quality regardless of your music tastes. As with many smaller speakers they have plenty of low end coverage but with a smaller driver you will not achieve heavy, hard hitting bass. You will hear those low frequencies, you just may not feel them as much as with a set of 800 series towers. If you listen to music with more bass, it may be worth looking into a subwoofer that will pair well with the rest of your set up. The Bowers & Wilkins 805 D3 sound much larger than they are. They have no problem filling even a larger room with sound, however with larger rooms larger speakers may play better, the 800 series also has towers which we will be reviewing in the future.

Bower & Wilkins 805 D3 Highlights

• detailed
• crystal clear highs
• filling mids and lows
• great stereo imaging and channel separation
• Gorgeous finish
• Bi amp/wire posts
• dynamic range, especially for a 2 way speaker
• perfect for an intimate listing space, but will work well in some larger rooms as well

Bower & Wilkins 805 D3 Features

The 805 D3 has quite a few great features, most notably is the signature seperate tweeter. It is a 1 inch Diamond Dome tweeter mounted in a solid aluminum housing. The mid/bass driver is a 6.5 inch Contimuum driver. There are 4 binding posts on the back allowing for a biwire set up to get even more detail out of the Bowers & Wilkins 805 D3. The forward facing port allows for faster bass and mid response, as well as more punch in the low tones than many speakers this size.

Bower & Wilkins 805 D3 Specs

Technical features
Diamond tweeter    
Continuum™ cone bass mid    
Anti-resonance plug    
Flowport™    
Optimized Matrix    
Solid body tweeter    
Tweeter-on-Top        

Description
2-way vented-box system    

Drive units
1x ø25mm (1 in) Diamond dome high-frequency    
1x ø165mm (6.5 in) Continuum™ cone bass midrange        

Frequency range
34Hz to 35kHz        

Frequency response (+/-3dB from reference axis)
42Hz to 28kHz            

Sensitivity (1m on axis at 2.83Vrms)
88dB 

Harmonic distortion
2nd and 3rd harmonics (90dB, 1m on axis)    
<1 % 70Hz – 20kHz    
<0.6% 120Hz – 20kHz            

Nominal impedance (min)
8Ω (minimum 4.6Ω)        

Recommended amplifier power
50W – 120W into 8Ω on unclipped programme    

Max. recommended cable impedance
0.1Ω     

Dimensions
Height: 424mm
Width: 238mm
Depth: 345mm

Net weight
12.6kg (28lb)  

 Cabinet finishes
Gloss black
Satin white
Rosenut
Prestige

Grille finishes
Black
Grey

To purchase the 805 D3’s see your local Bowers & Wilkins Dealer
If you are in Ohio Head to one of three Sound and Vision Locations, click the link below to see their website.
Sound and Vision