Sound &
Vision
From private home theaters to whole-home audio, we design and install immersive entertainment experiences with hidden technology and stunning performance.
Experience Entertainment
Premium audio/video design and installation that transforms how you experience music, movies, and media throughout your home.
Inside the Bowers & Wilkins 801 D5
Bowers & Wilkins’ flagship is not one object — it is ten engineered systems that happen to share a cabinet. Choose an angle, then pull it apart.
Shown in Dark Walnut. Also available in Stealth Black, Warm White and Light Walnut.
01 Diamond dome tweeter
A 25 mm dome of real synthetic diamond — the stiffest material available — pushes first break-up to 70 kHz, far beyond hearing. Treble with no audible hardness.
1 × ø25 mm · diamond02 Solid body Tweeter-on-Top
The tweeter rides in its own solid aluminium needle, tapering to a point behind the dome and fully isolated from the cabinet. Nothing the bass drivers do can reach it.
Decoupled alloy enclosure03 Continuum™ cone FST midrange
Six years in development. The woven composite cone breaks up gracefully instead of ringing, and the FST design omits a conventional surround — so voices arrive without colouration.
1 × ø150 mm · Continuum04 Turbine Head
The midrange lives in a solid aluminium airfoil — full at the nose, then one long gradual taper back to a fine tail overhanging the cabinet. Panel resonance has nowhere to form.
Machined solid alloy05 Aerofoil™ bass drivers
Two 250 mm cones whose thickness varies across the radius — computer-modelled like an aircraft wing to stay rigid where it matters and light everywhere else.
2 × ø250 mm · Aerofoil06 Matrix™ & Space Frame
An interlocking internal skeleton with aluminium Space Frame bracing and a solid alloy spine, so the cabinet walls cannot flex and add their own voice.
Alloy bracing · birch matrix07 Flowport™
A dimpled, down-firing port — the same principle as a golf ball — breathing into the gap above the plinth and keeping air moving smoothly instead of chuffing audibly.
Dimpled vent08 Reverse-wrap cabinet
Layers of curved plywood pressed into a shell with a convex baffle and no parallel walls, so standing waves have nowhere to build. Shown here in Dark Walnut — one of four finishes.
Curved ply · Dark Walnut09 Machined plinth
A broad oval base — wider and deeper than the cabinet — couples the loudspeaker rigidly to the floor and leaves the gap the Flowport breathes into.
1221 mm tall · 3-way vented box10 Finned alloy spine
The whole rear face is a full-height finned aluminium spine — a structural backbone that also sheds heat, with the terminal plate set into its base. Switch to Rear to see it.
Full-height alloy · rear
Related Articles
The reference brands behind every system
From McIntosh amplifiers to Kaleidescape movie servers — we specify and install the gear audiophiles and cinephiles trust.
Ready to Get Started?
Schedule a free consultation with our team. We'll design a customized solution tailored to your home and lifestyle.