Bowers & Wilkins: PH Meets

Want a personal concert on your commute? B&W are the people to speak to!

Car stereos were largely an afterthought up to the mid-90s - left to those who preferred to retrofit their own systems: huge subwoofers, amplifiers, 6x9s in the parcel shelf and tweeters throughout the cabin, that sort of thing. That era is over and high-end speaker manufacturers are moving into the automotive sector. Names like Harman, Naim and Bowers and Wilkins among many more can now be found on options lists. It could be overlooked when ticking the £3,000 Sensus Connect with Premium sound box that this XC90 is fitted with, but Bowers & Wilkins consider themselves what is known as a 'second-tier' supplier; misleadingly this means that no better option should be available to the customer, by working with manufacturers to get the best out of the cabin architecture.

What better test vehicle?

History lesson
John Bowers was an avid concertgoer concerned by the quality of sound reproduced at performances, and set about improving existing loudspeaker designs. He wanted the sound to accurately portray one that was heard in the studio when the song was first recorded.

After amicably parting ways with his friend Roy Wilkins (with whom he had run a radio shop after WWII), Bowers set up 'B&W Loudspeakers Ltd' in 1966 and the company has grown since then. Now with multiple factories - the Worthing HQ deals with the pinnacle Nautilus and 800 series loudspeaker ranges, with new media including headphones and Bluetooth speakers produced in China - Bowers & Wilkins is one of the most highly regarded audio companies.

John Bowers' quote, "The best loudspeaker isn't the one that gives the most, it's one that loses the least" is proudly displayed in the visitors' centre as a reminder that chasing perfection can never be an afterthought. Catchy. Throughout the factory tour, from the pair of Rosenut wood veneer finishes for the 800 series to the synthetically grown diamond domes used in the tweeter heads and the yellow Kevlar used in the mid-range speakers, most jobs and machines are unique to the company. Throughout the process, labels show the person who built it and when it was made.

Concert hall added at Volvo's request

Science of sound
Sound is, very basically, the variation of air pressure. The human hearing range is between 20Hz and 20,000Hz, with a greater sensitivity between 1,000 and 4,000Hz. If a speaker's maximum range is similar to that of a human ear, the distortions in the airwaves will greatly alter the sound. Aluminium and synthetic diamond used in the B&W tweeters have a maximum frequency of 30,000Hz and 70,000Hz respectively, meaning that no matter how loud you turn up the volume the sound is just as clear to you. This is where the mechanical quietness of the speaker stacks come into play, and why multiple layers of Beech wood veneer cross-ply is moulded using hundreds of tons of pressure to ensure structural rigidity. A number of elements in the factory could be outsourced but the innate need to be better has meant many of the jobs are kept in-house, aiming to perfect the mantra started by John Bowers. Andy Kerr, Senior Product Manager at B&W, confirms that the manufacturing process is all about flow; some processes may require more time and attention, therefore each member of staff on the floor is able to invalidate any piece of the speaker if a flaw is found. The entire process isn't rushed and that meticulousness can be seen at every station. Billets of aluminium are formed into tweeter housings, which are decoupled from the rest of the speaker using thermoplastic elastomer so that the units don't affect the frequencies from the drivers.

Now this is a speaker

However, a billet of aluminium perched atop a dashboard will more than likely fail safety tests, so B&W's signature tweeters had to be reworked in sturdy plastic housings to still be placed on the dash facing the occupants. In the Volvo XC90, the audio engineers had plenty of 'architecture' available to them to house the 19 speakers of varied size and power. The larger the space available, the simpler it is to create a stage for the driver and passengers. By raising the three speakers in each door above the knee, that means the 'horizon' is higher and closer to the ears and also allows for the bass to be moved forward in the cabin and adjusted depending on whether passengers are onboard or not. The system includes three experiences: Studio, which Andy recommends, the Individual stage which allows you to alter the level of envelopment and Volvo's request of the Gothenburg Concert Hall, to truly get a feel of Sweden and allow the sound to mimic the space. Andy recommends plugging in versus connecting over Bluetooth as that doesn't compress the audio files played and there isn't any need to fiddle with the equaliser as that has already been perfected.

B&W Volvo option brings 19 speakers

Being associated with multiple recording studios - including Abbey Road - not only takes the speaker to the source of the sound but it also provides the engineers, Andy included, with a vast repertoire of unheard track recordings. Playing Led Zeppelin's The Ocean, the sound of an earlier recording can be heard whilst the track is being counted down. Andy reveals that in the past, studios merely recorded over previous takes and these little nuggets can be found. From Elgar to N.W.A, the Bowers & Wilkins sound system can handle any genre of music with no changes to the equalizer. From the clarity of the orchestra to the thump of the drum beat, the quality remains remarkable.

Even though the clarity and the sense of occasion in this optional sound system are fantastic, dealers have mentioned that many customers don't request the upgraded system. However it does make the car more desirable when up for resale, and if the car is leased more options will push up future residuals. If this visit is anything to go buy, it's absolutely worth the money invested!

[Sources: Gov UK]

Photos: Dafydd Wood

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