B&W 805 D5 flagship speakers with diamond tweeter launch for $15,000

After almost five years, the Bowers & Wilkins 805 D4 is getting a successor. At first glance, the design has hardly been revised, but the British hi-fi specialists are continuing a trend that began with the D4. While the 805 D3s were still made almost entirely of wood, Bowers & Wilkins has reinforced the D4's cabinet with aluminum.
In addition to the aluminum frame reinforcement, the 805 D5s also have a completely newly developed aluminum top, which, in conjunction with the improved matrix wood construction, should lead to even less resonance, which, according to B&W, enables a more spacious sound. The dimensions hardly change at 43.9 x 24.1 x 32.2 centimetres, but the speakers are almost a kilogram heavier at 16.4 kilograms.
The highlight of the speakers remains the 25 millimeter tweeter, whose driver is made from a synthetic diamond. The tweeter is mounted in a robust aluminum chassis at the top of the cabinet and thus decoupled from the bass-midrange driver. As with the previous model, B&W uses a 165 millimeter Continuum Cone bass-midrange driver. B&W again advertises a frequency range of 34 Hz to 35 kHz and a sensitivity of 88 dB.
Pricing and availability
The Bowers & Wilkins 805 D5 compact loudspeakers are available for $15,000 per pair, with deliveries due to start in the next few months. This represents a significant price increase, as the B&W 805 D4 were launched in 2021 for $8,500.









