In 1980 John Bowers carried the first 801 into Abbey Road Studios to demonstrate it, and the studio has used B&W's 800 Series speakers ever since. The idea behind them is easy to see. In a top B&W, the bass, midrange and treble drivers each get an enclosure of their own, with open space around each one, so the cabinet adds as little sound as possible. Reviewers hear the result as clarity and precise placement. John Darko heard "laser guided delivery of instrument placement" from the 703 S3, and Steve Guttenberg called the 705 S3 "very, very clean." Terry Ellis of Pursuit Perfect System hears the 803 D4's midrange favoring "a leaner, more technically accurate sound." B&W suits listeners who want to hear into a recording and know where every player is standing.

The range has three tiers, and the tweeter is the quickest guide to them. The 600 Series is the entry point. In the 700 Series, several models put the tweeter in a pod on top like the 800s, and Andrew Robinson found the 703 S3 nearly as good as the 805 D4 in his room. The 800 Series adds a diamond tweeter and is built in Worthing, England, and Ellis calls the 803 D4 the sweet spot. Plan the amplifier along with the speakers, because the bigger models draw a lot of current, and Guttenberg suggests 200 watts a channel as a starting point for an 801 or 802. Darko found a Marantz Model 30 "a splendid match" for the 703 S3. Give them room, too. Robinson set his 801s well apart and out from the wall, pointed straight ahead, with the grilles off for serious listening.

The separate-enclosure idea began with the DM7 of 1977, which put the tweeter in its own enclosure on top, and the 801 of 1979 gave the midrange a head of its own as well. Abbey Road became the first studio in the world to use the 801 full time, and successive 800 Series models have been used in its control, mastering and transfer rooms since. B&W says the scores for Raiders of the Lost Ark, Aliens, the Lord of the Rings films and Skyfall were mixed on 801s there. In 2005 the 800 Series tweeter became a dome of synthetic diamond, grown from methane and hydrogen. At the very top of the high end, Andrew Robinson names Wilson's Watt/Puppy as the 801's one true rival and says the contest between the two brands has entertained hifi for decades.