Note that this is a discontinued product. You may want to visit the brand's page here to browse their newer products.
What reviewers think
Bloggers and YouTubers have tried this product—so we've summarized their strongest opinions below. Links to full reviews follow.
Product Strengths
- Adept at handling complex compositions and uncovering the finest sonic detail without losing track of the musical picture as a whole
- Gets listeners closer than ever to the artist's intent
- Excellent sense of detail, of boundaries naturally drawn
- High-frequencies sound realistic and natural
Product Considerations
- Low frequencies were somewhat lightweight
- With such a tipped-up tweeter, the resulting sound could be too bright
- Due to a lack of boundary reinforcement, Bowers & Wilkins speakers with top-mounted tweeters always drop off below around 5kHz
Comparisons (according to reviewers)
- Versus Magico A1, Magico A1 aim for pure neutrality
- Versus Dynaudio Confidence 20, Dynaudio Confidence 20 is for listeners who just want to enjoy their music
Takeaway: The 805 D4 makes music sound very realistic and clear, almost as if you are there. It can make a small room feel big with its sound.
All
805 D4 Signature
reviews
Manufacturer details
- Dimensions (HxWxD): 440mm x 240mm x 373mm (17.3in x 9.4in x 14.7in)
- Net weight: 15.55kg (34.3 lb)
- Drive units: 1x ø25mm (1in) Diamond Dome high-frequency, 1x ø165mm (6.5in) Continuum™ cone bass/midrange
- Frequency range (-6dB): 34Hz to 35kHz
- Frequency response: 42Hz to 28kHz ±3dB
- Harmonic distortion: 2nd and 3rd harmonics (90dB, 1m on axis) <1% 90Hz - 20kHz, <0.3% 120Hz - 20kHz
- Nominal impedance: 8Ω (minimum 4.6Ω)
- Recommended amplifier power: 50W - 120W into 8Ω
- Max recommended cable impedance: 0.1Ω
- Sensitivity: 88dB spl (2.83Vrms, 1m)
Brand highlights
Taking a step back to look at reviewers' thoughts of the brand's entire lineup—not just this product—what stands out most is the following:
- They consistently produce clear and crisp sound, often exceeding expectations for soundbars, making them a reliable choice for audio fidelity.
- Bowers & Wilkins products, particularly soundbars, are known for their elegant and minimalistic designs, often featuring high-quality materials like Nappa leather, aluminum, and unique mesh fabrics. This blend of aesthetics and functionality aims to seamlessly integrate into any room decor.
Select products
600 Series
- Positioning: The entry-level range in the Bowers & Wilkins lineup, designed to offer high-quality sound at an affordable price.
- Description: Praised for its affordability and the inclusion of the Titanium Dome tweeter, which provides clear and detailed high frequencies. Compared to the more expensive 700 Series, offers a more accessible entry point for those who want good sound quality without the premium price tag.
700 Series
- Positioning: Sits above the 600 Series, offering a step-up in performance and design, drawing on technologies from the flagship 800 Series.
- Description: Notable for its use of the Carbon Dome tweeter and Continuum cone. This series provides a more expansive soundstage than the 600 Series.
Signature Series
- Positioning: Represents a premium offering within the Bowers & Wilkins lineup, featuring enhanced versions of existing models with unique finishes and optimized components.
- Description: Distinguished by its luxurious design and tuning, offering superior sound clarity and detail. It builds on the 700 Series with further refinements and exclusive finishes.
Nautilus
- Positioning: The flagship model of Bowers & Wilkins, known for its iconic design and groundbreaking technology.
- Description: Celebrated for its unique spiral design and advanced acoustic technologies, such as the tapered damping tubes that minimize distortion. It stands apart from other models with its unparalleled sound quality and artistic design. This model is best suited for dedicated listening rooms where its full potential can be realized.
Our take on the brand
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Used
Bowers & Wilkins
What if you spend more?
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Product Strengths
- Powerful and deep bass response for its size
- Clear and natural sound reproduction, with vocals being particularly noteworthy
- An 'all-in-two' system, the RIALTO includes a streamer, DAC, pre-amp, and amp, making it easy to set up and use, especially with the Cabasse StreamCONTROL app
- Effective room correction helps to optimize the sound for the listening environment
- Elegant design and build quality
Product Considerations
- The lack of seamless gapless playback between digital tracks requires a workaround or use of an analog source
- The RIALTO has a laid-back treble response, which may not appeal to listeners who prefer a brighter sound
- Potential for technical hiccups exists, because of the amount of technology packed into the RIALTO
- Many features are controlled with the mobile app
Comparisons (according to reviewers)
- The RIALTO provides a more balanced—and much more natural—listening experience than the Devialet Phantom II 98 dB Stereo
Takeaway: The Cabasse RIALTO is a compact and elegant audio system that offers powerful sound and a range of integrated features, making it a great choice for music lovers who want an easy-to-use and high-performing system. The sound quality and room correction allow it to adapt well to different listening spaces, offering an immersive experience.
Video review
Our take on the brand
Majestic Performance Meets Unparalleled Engineering The SuperMon Isobaric was created to bring about a revolution in the audio industry.Our latest innovation not only offers impeccable sound quality, but it combines it with a level of never-seen-before construction and engineering.The outer construction and cabinet consist of Metal, and aluminum in particular to ensure the most sophisticated sound quality possible. The large-diameter 7mm thick precision-machined aluminum front plate ensures linear frequency response and represents an extremely stable platform for the magnetic movement system inside.
Our summary
Product Strengths
- Build quality is second to none, using the best construction materials
- Very well-controlled midrange
- Excellent imaging capabilities
- All aluminum cabinets make for an impressive sight
- Good dynamic range, if given enough power to compensate for bass equalization
Product Considerations
- Depressed bass response below 100Hz, potentially requiring equalization
- Rough treble response on-axis that can be piercing with certain content, solvable by mild to no toe-in angle
- The effort involved in attaining a great sound from these speakers will inevitably be a turn-off for some people
- At 80 lbs each, users will need to be careful when handling these speakers
- The use of an isobaric design has likely caused more problems than it has solved in this instance
Comparisons (according to reviewers)
- The SuperMon Mini provides an incredible amount of detail to go with that superb imaging and soundstaging, while the LS3/5a has a natural tonality that's simply breathtaking
Takeaway: With EQ'd bass and correct placement, the SuperMon Isobarics can sound terrific—offering excellent soundstage and imaging. These speakers are for audio lovers to proudly display and will likely be the subject of conversation.
Video review
Our take on the brand
When Crystal Cable launched the original, glass cabinet Arabesque in 2009, the audio world was stunned by the performance of a speaker that sounded as clean and clear as it looked. The Arabesque shape of this groundbreaking loudspeaker was developed to prevent resonance and standing waves and to eliminate parallel walls and common dimensions, resulting in natural resonant decay without resorting to damping materials. This unique design and technology was then further perfected in the following Arabesque speaker models: the Arabesque Mini, the Arabesque III and the Minissimo.
Now, the new Minissimo Forte takes things to an even higher level. Crystal Cable's goal was to further refine the performance possible from a standmount loudspeaker, while maintaining its predecessor's beauty and compactness. An advanced new passive-active crossover has been added, alongside special fully balanced filter technology. Our unique MAD™ (Multiple Absorption and Dispersion) system and the new stable and decoupled stand further reduce cavity resonances, and improve sound quality. Together, this series of engineering improvements delivers superb sonic performance.
Development
With so much of the design right first time, the original Minissimo stand mount loudspeaker was a hard act to follow. So our engineers thoroughly analyzed the behavior of the loudspeaker using tools like COMSOL™ Multiphysics computer aided design facilities and our custom-made vibration measurement system. The decision was then taken to focus in on three specific areas where further improvements could be achieved, namely the speaker cabinet, stand assembly and crossover.
Developing the cabinet
One key design aim was to take the Minissimo's cabinet and support stand out of the equation, making them as acoustically inert as possible. This was done by identifying and then eliminating all vibration paths inside the speaker, by the fitment of a special layer of internal resonance-reducing material. This is unique in the field of loudspeaker design, and has further lowered cabinet noise as well as preventing extraneous vibrations between cabinet and stand.
Developing the crossover
For the 'passive-active' crossover design, our engineers benefited greatly from the spectacular results achieved while designing the Symphony loudspeaker of sister-brand Siltech, with which Crystal Cable shares all resources and production facilities. Most loudspeakers employ a passive separation filter using coils to provide the drivers with the correct signal, but this can cause non-linearity and dynamic compression of the signal. The passive-active filter used in Minissimo Forte eliminates these limitations by using frequency dependent components, which allows for much greater control of the sound, higher resolution of details in the music, and increases the dynamic range.
Our summary
Product Strengths
- The Minissimo Forte creates a palpably dimensional and believable representation of musical sounds, offering the most believable representation of a musical sound through a stereo system
- It communicates the dynamic life of music exceptionally well at lower playback levels
- Incredible resolution and coloration-free tonality
- The speakers play organically with excellent timbre, detail, and incredible soundstage
Product Considerations
- The owner's manual lacks detailed setup instructions regarding channel configuration
- Positioning the right and left speakers with the 'fat' part of the apostrophe on the outside results in a reduction in the seamlessness of the soundstage
Comparisons (according to reviewers)
- Compared to Harbeth, the Crystal Cable speakers possessed a skill—allowing even better insight into the recording
- Compared to BBC LS3/5a loudspeakers, the Minissimo Forte goes a step, or two, further in transparency
Takeaway: The Crystal Cable Minissimo Forte loudspeaker is excellent for audiophiles who want a high level of realism. These speakers are especially good in small and medium spaces with high-end electronics.
Video review
Our take on the brand
What competes at this price?
Our Summary
Product Strengths
- Solid bass performance for a speaker of its size
- Able to do justice to any genre of music and at realistic volume levels
- Very easy to drive
- Offers a balanced presentation from top to bottom with seamlessness between the woofer and tweeter
- Started sounding like far more than a pair of 8″ two-way monitors when properly positioned along the side walls
Product Considerations
- Achieving the best imaging and deep bass may require experimenting with toe-in and distance from corners and the back wall
- Does not provide much forward/backward information, with the image typically stopping at the outer edge of the speakers
- The basic 'D' model comes only in black ash veneer, while higher-end models offer more choices
- Bass can be overblown if not adjusted properly in room placement
Comparisons (according to reviewers)
- The AN-E has more bass, is easier to drive, and has a bigger presentation
- Some may prefer the J because they find it a more taught presentation in the mid bass, as well as more "present" in the voice band
Takeaway:
The AN-J is a near full-range loudspeaker capable of articulation and organic flow, making music sound natural and engaging. If someone is looking for a communicative quality that remains consistent wherever they listen, then the AN-J could be a good fit.
Video review
Our take on the brand
Our Summary
Product Strengths
- Balanced, refined, and musical performance
- Fine stereo imaging and a wide—beautifully focused—soundstage
- Impressive bass power and authority for a standmount speaker
- Excellent build quality and finish
- Uni-Q driver produces a consistent dispersion pattern
Product Considerations
- Demands an amplifier with plenty of power due to its low sensitivity (85dB/W/m) and 4 Ohm impedance (minimum 3.2 Ohms)
- Dedicated stands are expensive (S-RF1)
Comparisons (according to reviewers)
- Vs Bowers & Wilkins 805 D4: Sounds larger-scale, more muscular, and punchy
Takeaway: The KEF Reference 1 Meta is a superb speaker combining excellent sound with clever engineering, well suited for audiophiles looking for a high-quality listening experience. It delivers an immersive and detailed soundstage.
Video review
Our take on the brand
Our Summary
Product Strengths
- Features a 1-inch pure beryllium inverted dome tweeter that rests inside its own chamber, which acts as a tuned resonator, and helps give the speaker its iconic profile
- The cabinet's shape helps to mechanically time-align the two drivers and optimize the phase between them
- Bass is firm, free of any distortion or boominess, and agile when driven correctly with a capable amplifier
- The speaker is neutral throughout the midrange, and clear, focused, and detailed
- Transparency to the music and resulting 3-dimensional soundstage that is boundary-defying in almost all directions, with dynamics close second only to the La Scala
Product Considerations
- For true full-range playback, a subwoofer is required
- The beryllium tweeter has the ability to showcase the flaws in poor recordings
- Sound improves the more upmarket the accompanying equipment is
- Amplification pairing is vital and can drastically change the sound
- Placement of these speakers in different spots in the room changed the sound drastically
Comparisons (according to reviewers)
- The Diablo's have more detail on tap but remain smooth and realistic, with the midrange being leaner but cleaner than the Fleetwood Deville SQ
- The Diablo will offer everything the Sonus Faber Sopra 1 does—and even more
Takeaway: The Focal Diablo Utopia Color Evo speakers are transparent and reveal details in music with incredible imaging, making for a fun listening experience. To hear all the nuances in music, these speakers could be a great choice.
Video review
Our take on the brand
Our Summary
Product Strengths
- Fantastic, clean, and clear orchestration, with no sibilance, and no hot top end
- Spectacular imaging and soundstage, very detailed, but buttery smooth; vocals are reproduced very well and are right where they need to be
- The Guarneri G5 delivers vocals with a richness and body that ensures they grab and hold attention without sounding enhanced or cartoonish
- Well-proportioned and packed with pleasing details; the metal sections joining the more traditional wood and leather are nice
Product Considerations
- Bass didn't go very far and was disappointing; low-end extension was lacking; a subwoofer may be needed to complete the experience
- The Sonus Faber Guarneri G5 is somewhat restrained at quieter listening levels; some of the scale and three-dimensionality is less apparent and can lack a little excitement
- The Guarneri G5 needs a reasonable amount of power to do its best work
- The Guarneri G5 stand is pricey
Comparisons (according to reviewers)
- Vs Guarneri Tradition: The mid-range of the G5 was more lush and the mid/treble transition smoother and more natural, and the bass delivery of the new Guarneris was noticeably more tuneful and better defined
- Vs Wilson: The Wilson is clinical in a good way; the Sonus Fabers are buttery smooth
Takeaway: The Guarneri is a beautiful speaker that brings joy by making everything sound more beautiful, especially vocals and violins, with a buttery smooth sound. If you love music, this speaker is worth considering, especially if you listen at healthy levels in a smaller room.
Video review
Our take on the brand
Our Summary
Product Strengths
- Clarity, transparency, and a 3D soundstage, creating a sense of space with speed and articulation
- Accuflex-damped silk tweeter, contributing to precise and articulate information delivery
- Very good and very tight bass, almost as articulate as the treble
- High build quality with a machined aluminum front baffle and rear panel
- Tuned Mass Technology (TMT) redirects energy and resonances away from the drive units
Product Considerations
- Can be quite fussy in terms of finding a perfect sound synergy
- May reveal sibilance in the upper vocal region if the system synergy is not well-matched
- Not ideal for those seeking a big, warm, cuddly type of speaker
Comparisons (according to reviewers)
- AVID EVO Four has similarities in treble voicing to Bowers & Wilkins 805 D4, but also stark differences in how they present music
- Compared to the Mission 770, sound is not heard coming from the AVID EVO Four
Takeaway: The AVID EVO Four speakers offer impressive clarity, resolution, and soundstage, making them an exciting option for listeners who value a lively and energetic sound. With their advanced technology and build quality, they are worth auditioning if seeking a unique and engaging listening experience.
Video review
Our take on the brand
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