Bowers & Wilkins

Product brand

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British high-end audio brand known for loudspeakers, headphones, and premium audio systems.

Last updated October 14, 2026

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Overview

Bowers & Wilkins, commonly abbreviated to B&W, is a British consumer and professional audio brand headquartered in Worthing, West Sussex. It is best known for high-end loudspeakers, but its portfolio also includes headphones, wireless speakers, soundbars, subwoofers, streaming products, and automotive audio systems. The brand has built its reputation around engineering-led product development, distinctive industrial design, and close relationships with recording and mastering institutions such as Abbey Road Studios. The business grew out of a radio and electronics shop established in Worthing after the Second World War by John Bowers and Roy Wilkins, former members of the Royal Corps of Signals. The shop expanded into television retail, equipment rental, servicing, and public-address installations for schools and churches. Bowers gradually became involved in loudspeaker design and assembled early products in workshops behind the shop. In 1966 he formed B&W Loudspeakers Ltd., creating a dedicated manufacturing business separate from the retail operation. Early products such as the P1, DM1, DM3, and DM2 established the company as an ambitious British loudspeaker manufacturer. Bowers & Wilkins invested heavily in measurement and research, including anechoic facilities and precision equipment used to calibrate its products. During the 1970s, the company introduced several technologies and design approaches that became strongly associated with the brand: phase-linear loudspeaker layouts, separated tweeter enclosures, Kevlar-reinforced speaker cones, and increasingly sophisticated cabinet structures. The 801, launched in 1979 after several years of development, became one of the company’s defining professional and domestic loudspeakers and was adopted by recording studios. Research intensified under John Bowers and later leaders. The Steyning Research Establishment opened in 1982, and work on active loudspeakers, cabinet rigidity, driver behavior, and acoustic measurement produced the Matrix enclosure concept and the Nautilus loudspeaker. The Nautilus, first shown as a prototype in 1991 and launched commercially in 1993, used tapered tube loading and a highly distinctive shell-like form to suppress unwanted rear radiation and cabinet coloration. Its engineering ideas influenced later 800-series products. Diamond-dome tweeters, Flowport bass-reflex technology, Kevlar and other composite cone materials, and carefully isolated tweeter assemblies became further markers of Bowers & Wilkins design. The brand expanded internationally through appointed distributors and export growth, while maintaining substantial research and manufacturing activity in the United Kingdom and Europe. Its traditional business centered on passive hi-fi speakers, but it later broadened into integrated and lifestyle products. The 2007 Zeppelin iPod speaker system, Society of Sound music initiative, wireless Formation products, headphones, and automotive collaborations helped the company address consumers beyond the specialist hi-fi market. From 2008 to 2012, Bowers & Wilkins supplied a branded audio system for the Jaguar XF. Ownership changed several times. Eva Automation acquired Bowers & Wilkins in 2016. Sound United acquired the brand in October 2020, and Sound United was subsequently acquired by Masimo in 2022. In 2025, Masimo announced an agreement to sell its consumer audio business to Harman International, a Samsung Electronics subsidiary. Bowers & Wilkins therefore operates within a large international audio portfolio while retaining its own brand identity and product heritage. The company remains positioned at the premium and high-end end of the audio market, combining engineering claims, studio associations, recognizable forms, and a broadening range of connected products.

History

Bowers & Wilkins was established in 1966 in Worthing, England, by John Bowers. From its beginning, the company concentrated on high-fidelity loudspeakers and on the proposition that domestic audio equipment should reproduce recordings with a high degree of accuracy. This emphasis placed the brand within the specialist hi-fi tradition rather than the mass-market electronics business. The company’s growth was closely linked to the development of technically ambitious loudspeakers. Bowers & Wilkins became recognized for combining carefully engineered drivers with distinctive cabinet and enclosure designs. Its premium products were sold through specialist dealers and became associated with high-end stereo systems and, later, dedicated home-theater installations. The brand’s reference-oriented 800 Series became especially important to its identity, while the 700 and 600 families broadened the range to additional price and room-size segments. As consumer listening shifted toward digital files, streaming, wireless networking, and mobile devices, Bowers & Wilkins expanded beyond passive hi-fi speakers. The company introduced active and wireless products, connected multi-room equipment, desktop and lifestyle speakers, and personal audio. Zeppelin became one of its most recognizable wireless speaker products. The Formation platform represented a further move toward networked home audio, while the Px and Pi families placed the brand in premium headphones and true-wireless earphones. The ownership of Bowers & Wilkins changed several times during the period in which the audio industry was consolidating. EVA Automation acquired the company in 2016. Sound United acquired Bowers & Wilkins in 2020, creating a larger group of audio brands and distribution capabilities. In 2022, Masimo completed its acquisition of Sound United. Bowers & Wilkins consequently became part of Masimo’s consumer-audio operations, while continuing to market products under its established name. Today, Bowers & Wilkins spans traditional loudspeakers, home cinema, wireless and multi-room systems, headphones, and in-ear products. Its current public identity is built around the “True Sound” proposition: a combination of accurate reproduction, premium materials, recognizable design, and engineering heritage. The brand remains most strongly associated with high-end loudspeakers, but its headphones and wireless products extend the same positioning into more portable and connected forms of listening.

2022
Sound United becomes part of Masimo
[4]Masimo completes acquisition of Sound Unitedinvestor.masimo.com
Masimo completes its acquisition of Sound United, making Bowers & Wilkins part of Masimo’s consumer-audio business.
2020
Acquisition by Sound United
[3]Sound United acquires Bowers & Wilkinssoundunited.com
Sound United acquires Bowers & Wilkins and adds it to a broader consumer-audio portfolio.
2016
Acquisition by EVA Automation
[2]Bowers & Wilkinsen.wikipedia.org
EVA Automation acquires Bowers & Wilkins, changing the company’s ownership while preserving the established audio brand.
1966
Bowers & Wilkins is founded
[2]Bowers & Wilkinsen.wikipedia.org
John Bowers establishes the British audio company in Worthing, England, with an initial focus on high-fidelity loudspeakers.

Products and positioning

Premium and high-end audio, combining British loudspeaker heritage with contemporary wireless speakers, headphones, and connected home-audio products.

High-end loudspeakers
800 Series Diamond
The 800 Series Diamond is Bowers & Wilkins’ reference-oriented loudspeaker family. It includes large floor-standing models as well as matching center and other system speakers for premium stereo and home-cinema use. The range is associated with advanced driver technology, distinctive separate high-frequency housings, carefully controlled cabinets, and an emphasis on detailed, low-distortion reproduction.
Premium loudspeakers
700 Series
The 700 Series is a premium loudspeaker family positioned below the flagship 800 Series. It covers floor-standing, stand-mount, center-channel, and surround-oriented formats. The line brings elements of Bowers & Wilkins’ driver and enclosure engineering to systems intended for a broader range of rooms and budgets.
Home and hi-fi loudspeakers
600 Series
The 600 Series is one of the brand’s more accessible loudspeaker families. It is designed for stereo listening and home cinema, with bookshelf, floor-standing, center, and surround formats. The range provides an entry point into Bowers & Wilkins’ traditional passive-speaker product architecture.
Wireless speaker
Zeppelin
Zeppelin is a premium wireless home speaker with a distinctive elongated industrial design. It translates Bowers & Wilkins’ loudspeaker heritage into a self-contained product for streaming and everyday room listening, rather than requiring a separate amplifier and speaker pair.
Wireless multi-room audio
Formation
Formation is Bowers & Wilkins’ connected-audio platform. Products in the family are designed to work as networked wireless speakers or components in a coordinated multi-room system. The line extends the company’s premium positioning into streaming, app-controlled playback, and distributed home audio.
Wireless over-ear headphones · 2022
Px8
Px8 is a flagship wireless over-ear headphone model with active noise cancellation and Bluetooth connectivity. It represents Bowers & Wilkins’ attempt to carry its premium materials, industrial design, and sound-tuning approach into personal listening.
Wireless over-ear headphones
Px7
The Px7 family is a premium wireless over-ear headphone range offering active noise cancellation and portable listening features. It occupies a position below the flagship Px8 line while extending Bowers & Wilkins’ personal-audio presence.
True-wireless in-ear headphones
Pi7
Pi7 is a true-wireless in-ear headphone family designed for compact, portable listening. It brings the Bowers & Wilkins brand into the fully wireless earbud segment, complementing the company’s over-ear Px products.

Brand decisions

2022
Become part of Masimo’s consumer-audio businessM&A
Background
Masimo acquired Sound United, the parent group that owned Bowers & Wilkins.
Action taken
Masimo completed the acquisition of Sound United.
Aftermath
Bowers & Wilkins became part of Masimo’s broader consumer-audio operations.
Source
2020
Join the Sound United audio portfolioM&A
Background
Sound United pursued the acquisition of Bowers & Wilkins as part of the expansion of its consumer-audio portfolio.
Action taken
Sound United acquired Bowers & Wilkins.
Aftermath
Bowers & Wilkins became a distinct premium brand within a larger audio group.
Source
2016
Accept acquisition by EVA AutomationM&A
Background
Bowers & Wilkins entered a new ownership phase as connected-home technology company EVA Automation acquired the audio brand.
Action taken
The company was acquired and continued operating under the Bowers & Wilkins brand.
Aftermath
The transaction linked the traditional hi-fi brand with a company focused on connected-home technology.
Source

Recent events

2019-11-06
Philips launches OLED934/T3 flagship television in China[5]飞利浦在中国发布OLED934/T3旗舰电视tech.sina.com.cn
Reported: 2019-11-06
Philips TV launched its OLED934/T3 flagship television in Beijing. The television's sound system solution was provided by Bowers & Wilkins.
Unconfirmed
Bowers & Wilkins unveils four wireless headphones[6]Bowers & Wilkins推出四款无线耳机digi.hsw.cn
Bowers & Wilkins introduced four wireless headphone products: PX7, PX5, PI3 and PI4. The article says PX7, PX5 and PI3 were scheduled to go on sale in October, while PI4 was scheduled for January 2020.

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