Bowers & Wilkins FORMATION - Streaming goes High-End

The history of the hi-fi manufacturer Bowers & Wilkins is truly impressive. For decades, the British brand has stood for the high art of loudspeaker construction. With the unparalleled Nautilus and the ever-evolving 800 series, they have set the standards in Worthing by which the rest of the hi-fi world must be measured.

Bowers & Wilkins has always kept up with modern developments, new markets, and changing customer interests. Anyone wanting to set up a truly great home cinema will at least consider the Brits; the same goes for those searching for high-quality in-wall or in-ceiling speakers. While many other hi-fi manufacturers didn't take the iPod and iPhone seriously as music sources, B&W suddenly introduced the Zeppelin—a powerful dock speaker with a polarizing design, costing about twice as much as comparable contemporary products, but also sonically far superior. And lo and behold, the premium clientele who were willing to pay premium prices for Apple’s premium products were also ready to spend good money for great sound—who would have thought...

As the world moved towards wireless connections like Bluetooth or WiFi, the Zeppelin logically became a wireless speaker. At the same time, B&W introduced a range of headphones and other products for modern music enjoyment, all excitingly designed, featuring high-quality materials and excellent sound.

B&W Formation – The Revolution Has Begun

But what Bowers & Wilkins announced over the Easter holidays is a major step, even for such an innovation-friendly manufacturer. With the new Formation Suite, the Brits are presenting an entire product world that aims to revolutionize the market for multiroom devices in several ways.

First, there's the promise of sound quality that inevitably comes with the name Bowers & Wilkins. As Zeppelin & Co. have proven in the past—if it says B&W, you get B&W sound. With the new Formation products, the developers leave nothing to chance: they use only self-developed drivers and electronics, and all products are manufactured in their own facilities.

For the active speaker pair Formation Duo (details on the individual products follow below), the Brits even used the carbon tweeter from the 700 series and the Continuum midrange drivers from the current 800 series.

New Streaming Technology

Then there's the Formation technology itself. That’s what Bowers & Wilkins calls the wireless network, streaming, and multiroom technology on which the new products are based. Instead of burdening your home WiFi with streaming data, the Formation devices connect to each other via their own network; connection to existing WiFi is only used for control and for streaming from the internet. This so-called mesh network is extremely robust against interference and can therefore reliably handle high music resolutions—high-res with 96 kHz / 24 bit is standard here. The new technology also allows for playback synchronization of connected devices in a way that was technically impossible until now. B&W is keeping technical details under wraps but promises an astonishingly low latency of just one microsecond—regardless of whether the synchronized devices are next to each other as a stereo pair or in completely different rooms. To avoid misunderstandings: no, that's not a typo, we’re really talking about a delay of only one millionth of a second—which, within the limits of human perception, can be considered "simultaneous."

AirPlay 2, Roon, and More

B&W is pleasantly open and versatile when it comes to connection standards: both Apple AirPlay 2 and Bluetooth 4.1 with aptX HD are supported, and all Formation Suite devices are certified as "Roon ready." Through Roon and its integrated high-quality streaming services (Tidal Masters, Qobuz), B&W truly delivers on the promise of a genuine high-res streaming system.

When Bowers & Wilkins was acquired by EVA Automation in 2016, speculation ran wild about what could emerge from the combination of British audio expertise and the technology of a Silicon Valley startup. We had to wait almost three years, but with the Formation Suite, we now have the answer. If B&W can deliver on all these promises—and after the first demos, we have no doubt—they once again show the industry how modern hi-fi is done. And the full potential of the new Formation technology is not even known yet: regular updates are set to add more features and functions to the products over time. So stay tuned!

The Formation Products at a Glance

For those in a hurry: You can find an overview of the Formation products on the Auditorium website.

Formation Wedge – All-In-One with Style

The Wedge is a smart stereo speaker with a total output of 240 watts and room-filling sound. As with all Formation products, WiFi, Roon, AirPlay 2, and Bluetooth are included, and setup and operation are done via the B&W Formation app. With its curved 120° design, the Wedge is ideal for placement in a corner but also makes a visual and sonic impression when freestanding. Available in black and silver.

Further information about the B&W Formation Wedge is available from Auditorium.

Formation Bar – High-End Streaming (Not Only) for TV

As the name suggests, this is the soundbar of the Formation range. Specially arranged drivers create a wide soundstage, and a high-performance center channel ensures excellent speech intelligibility. The B&W Formation Bass can be added wirelessly if you want your home cinema experience to have even more impact.

Further information about the Formation Bar can be found at Auditorium.

Formation Duo – The Stereo Sound of the Future

With driver technology from the 700 and 800 series, B&W sets a benchmark with the streaming stereo pair Formation Duo. This is not about background music but truly high-quality musical enjoyment worthy of the Bowers & Wilkins name.

More about the Formation Duo can be found at Auditorium.

Formation Audio – Streaming for Any System

B&W has also considered music lovers who don’t want to retire their existing system. With the Formation Audio streaming hub, any hi-fi system can make the leap into the modern streaming world.

More about the Formation Audio can be found at Auditorium.

Formation Bass – Smart Subwoofer

In most situations, neither the Wedge, Bar, nor Duo will really need a subwoofer. But when larger spaces need to be filled or you just want a bit more "punch," the Bass is ready to provide the perfect support—naturally wirelessly connected and fully integrated into the Formation network. At the latest here, the extremely low latency of the new technology will really pay off!

More about the Formation Bass can be found at Auditorium.

Gallery Bowers & Wilkins Formation Suite