Intro
Contents
Bowers & Wilkins has a rich history. The British company that was founded in 1966 by John Bowers has now been around for 55 years. In those nearly six decades it has made many discoveries. The tweeter on top, Kevlar cones and now Continuum as the material for the units, surroundless midrange drivers, the Nautilus tubes and not to forget: the diamond… Reserved for the 800 series. We have the 705 S2 Signature in front of us. No diamond, but it does have a Nautilus tweeter on top!
The Bowers & Wilkins 700 series is not new. It existed before the CM Series, which replaced the 700 Series. Now the CM Series has been replaced again by the 700 Series, making the lineup a little clearer again. And as it should be, the current 700 Series has been named S2, as it is the second generation.
Signature
The new 705 S2 Signature is a further development on the Bowers & Wilkins 705 S2 monitor speaker. Not only has there been a thorough look at the finish; issues in the filter have also been addressed. This should make the Signature sound better than the original 705 S2. Whether the characteristics have changed, we do not know – yet – but overall the quality should be (a) step(s) better.
The cabinet is without a doubt a class higher. This Signature Series looks good! The wood-pattern with the thick layer of lacquer over it looks particularly nice. The – in our case – silver stand underneath looks neat and matches again with the Continuum unit and the grill on the metal dome – with an ultra thin carbon layer – tweeter with double surround (an evolution on the Double Dome in the PM1).
At the back we see biwire connectors. These are pointing upwards, which we honestly do not like very much, because the cable is now really in a considerable bend when we use ‘banana plugs’. This can lead to cable breakage in the long run. This is not the case with spades. Then you can just slide them under. So… be aware.
Specs
If we dive into the specs, we see that the Signature is slightly different from the regular 705 S2. The tweeter is optimized with a carbon finished dome for example. The crossover has slightly better components and the cabinet is finished differently, which may ensure less resonance. After all: types of wood are definately audible. So is the type of lacquer.
The 705 S2 Signature is and remains a two-way speaker of course. With a tweeter on top that is build around the Nautilus tube. And the mid/bass unit is and remains a model of the Continuum. And which – we know – is particularly good in terms of low distortion.
