B&W (Bowers & Wilkins) 704 S2 speakers

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B&W took several features first introduced with its ultra-high-end 800 Series Diamond speakers and incorporated them into the 700 series. The 704 S2 speakers reviewed here don’t get all those new technologies, but they do get a 5-inch Continuum midrange driver, along with a version of B&W’s Aerofoil Profile bass driver (there’s a pair of these airfoil-shaped cones in the cabinet).

Continuum is an all-new woven-metal material that B&W developed in house to replace the Kevlar it had been using in its mid-range drivers. The 704 S2 also feature a 1-inch carbon dome tweeter that’s decoupled from the cabinet to reduce cabinet coloration (the midrange is similarly decoupled). The 704 S2 cabinets are outfitted with a reflex port based on B&W’s Flowport design, which uses hundreds of dimples in the surface of the port at each end to improve airflow in and out of the cabinet.

 

The 704 S2 B&W sent for this review came in a luxurious gloss black finish, but you can order yours in satin white or rosenut if you prefer. To avoid getting finger and palm prints all over the finish, I donned a pair of nitrile gloves. Marketing photos show these 36.4-inch-tall, 41-pound speakers resting on the bottoms of their cabinets, but they come from the factory with plinths that you bolt them to. You can then screw either non-marring rubber feet or metal spikes to the bottom of the plinths. I used the spikes to isolate the cabinets from the floor. The speakers are relatively slim, measuring 6.5 inches wide and 10 inches deep (9.9- and 11.7 inches respectively when mounted to their plinths).

How do the B&W 704 S2 sound with music?

The 704 S2’s will reveal sonic details you’ll miss with lesser speakers, especially in the high- and mid-range. And while you can choose from two new subwoofers in the 700 series, I didn’t find myself craving one—at least not for musical performances. I connected the 704 S2 to an Onkyo TX-NR737 A/V receiver and used that device’s room-calibration hardware and software to correct for my home theater’s acoustics after disconnecting my center and surround channels and my subwoofer.

 

How do the B&W 704 S2 sound with movies?

The 704 S2 are great speakers, but movie buffs will want more than just stereo for their home theater. The action-packed Mad Max: Fury Road just didn’t sound complete without a beefy subwoofer to reproduce the bone-rattling explosions and the sound of crunching metal as the monster trucks and apocalyptic hot rods smashed into each other. As soon as I re-added my beloved—if aging—Boston Acoustics PV500 subwoofer and recalibrated again, I enjoyed the movie closer to the fashion in which I’ve grown accustomed.