A helicopter’s rotor blades slicing through the air overhead. A thundering bass guitar providing the backbone to a foot-stomping melody. High notes that soar. Whatever you’re listening to, be it a music track or the soundtrack to an engrossing film or TV show, to do it justice demands a quality system.
Comprising floorstanders, standmounts and a unique centre channel speaker, Bowers & Wilkins’ 700 Series S3 Signature has all bases covered for all your music listening and movie watching needs. Not only do they have the sonic chops distilled from Bowers and Wilkins’ 58 years of experience making speakers, they’re sculpted like works of art that deserve pride of place in your living space. Given their pedigree, they have certainly earned it.
Bowers & Wilkins launched the original Silver Signature in 1991. Not only did this celebrate the 25th anniversary of the company’s foundation, it was also a posthumous tribute to founder John Bowers, who passed away in 1987. The 700 Series S3 Signature models do his legacy proud.
Taking centre stage
The HTM71 S3 Signature arrives as a first-of-its-kind Signature centre channel speaker. Designed as the driving force of your home cinema setup – the writer/director, if you like – it delivers exceptional vocal realism to any film, bringing a much-needed clarity to often mumbled dialogue – especially needed during the breakfast scene in Dune.
The HTM71 S3 Signature is a showcase for some of Bowers & Wilkins’ marquee technologies, like its decoupled Continuum midrange drive unit and Tweeter-on-Top. It also has upgraded bass motor systems, improved capacitors, revised speaker terminals and the more open tweeter grille mesh that was developed for the even-higher-end 800 Series Signature loudspeakers. As centre channel speakers go, it’s quite a centrepiece.
Prepare to be floored
The 702 S3 Signature is like the 700 Series floorstanding loudspeaker, but more so. It takes the state-of-the-art flagship model to new heights, evolving it to hitherto unseen levels of sonic brilliance. Not only does it feature optimised versions of Bowers & Wilkins’ most advanced technologies, it introduces a few new ones, too.
Its aim? Studio-quality sound at home. It sets about achieving this via upgraded drive units, enhancement to its crossover, refined capacitors, inductors and brass terminal posts to provide a cleaner signal flow into the speaker. It also takes the more open grille mesh from the 800 Series Signature loudspeakers, alongside upgraded midrange and low-frequency motor systems.
If you really want to give the 702 S3 Signature a workout, fire up the runaway train scene in Extraction 2and take cover.
Without compromise
Perfect for medium-sized spaces, the 705 S3 Signature standmount delivers a sonic masterclass in a more compact form with absolutely no compromises.
Again, the name of the game is evolving the Bowers & Wilkins 705 S3, with the same proprietary and optimised technologies as its bigger brother (Continuum mid-bass drive unit and Tweeter-on-Top, an upgraded mid-bass motor system, improved capacitors, revised speaker terminals, the more open tweeter grille mesh). The result is a similarly engrossing audio experience, from a more diminutive – though no less sculptural – unit. The smaller size also makes it more versatile, to be placed on a shelf or stand as the situation demands.
To really give them a flex, we would recommend the wormhole scene from Interstellar. This Hans Zimmer-scored scene is a real slow burner, with the brooding tension becoming unbearable before the dive into the black hole kicks off the action.
Exclusivity celebrated
The 702 S3 Signature, 705 S3 Signature and HTM71 S3 Signature are finished in lustrous Midnight Blue Metallic paint or Datuk Gloss veneer, with multiple coats of paint or lacquer to deliver a supremely rich and desirable finish. Metal component parts, such as the tweeter body, are finished in Satin Black. Drive unit pods and tweeter grilles are trimmed with a gold colour diamond cut trim bezel, giving them a look that’s unique, but instantly recognisable.
The tweeter grilles adopt the same advanced design and hole pattern found on the recently introduced 801 and 805 D4 Signature models.
On their own, each of these Bowers & Wilkins units provides a fantastic addition to any household looking to improve their home audio game. Put them together, and you’ll have a system for the ages.
Find out more about the Bowers & Wilkins’ 700 Series Signature models
