History

Throughout his lifetime, John Bowers, the founder of Bowers & Wilkins Loudspeakers, strove relentlessly to get as close as possible to transparent reproduction of recorded sound. That pursuit is now the mission of the world’s leading loudspeaker brand.

1960's

In 1966, John Bowers and his lifelong friend Peter Hayward founded a manufacturing company, then called B&W Electronics, in Worthing, on the south coast of England. They agreed from the outset to live modestly and plough any profits back into the business to further research into the quest for the perfect loudspeaker…

John Bowers starts B&W

1970's

Throughout his career John enjoyed a close relationship with recording engineers who provided vital feedback on how loudspeakers could be improved. As a result of this relationship, B&W’s famous 801 was launched in 1979 and soon became the reference speaker in nearly all of the world’s classical recording studios, including EMI Abbey Road, Decca and Deutsche Grammophon…

B&W 801

1980's

B&W had enormous success with the original 801. In typical fashion, Bowers used this success to fund even more research and development, and created a dedicated research facility for his team of engineers in the picturesque village of Steyning in West Sussex…

B&W research and development

1990's

Of the many amazing products that have come from the Steyning Research Establishment, probably the most famous is the Nautilus. Launched in 1993, after 5 years development and to widespread acclaim, the Nautilus has been described as “possibly the best loudspeaker money can buy”…

Nautilus

2000's

The introduction of Diamond Dome tweeters into the 800 Series pushes tweeter technology to new heights and is recognised by the majority of industry commentators as the finest range of loudspeakers ever produced….

Diamond domes

B &W Bowers & Wilkins

1960's

1970's

1980's

1990's

2000's