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Few loudspeakers are as revered as B&W's 800 Series, andthe British loudspeaker brand hasan awful lot to live up to with the announcement of its new D3 lineup revealed at a September press conference. Fans of B&W's long-standing 800 Series will know that it all started some 35 years ago with the now iconic 801 floorstander, which quickly found its way into the homes of audio fans with large listening rooms and deep pockets as wellas becoming a studio-standard monitoring loudspeaker in recording studios around the world – including the legendary Abbey Road Studios. The new 800 D3 Series is the distillation of the 800's 35-year success story and the culmination ofa seven-year project with dedicated research and development, advanced engineering as well as endless hours of committed listening by a team of experts put into the new nine-strong loudspeaker line. Even its manufacturing plant in Worthing, West Sussex had to be redesigned specifically for the production of the new series, and as B&W's head of research Martial Rousseau says: "This is not a product update.

Following on from the success of its P5 headphone (reviewed back in HFC 333), Bowers & Wilkins has unveiled a newly updated Bluetooth model, fittingly called the P5 Wireless. Adopting the same Bluetooth aptX technology that’s found in the company’s wireless T7 speaker (HFC 393), the P5 Wireless is easy to sync to compatible devices such as portable music players, smartphones, tablets or computers at the touch of a button. Intuitive controls allow users to play/pause and skip tracks, while those that opt to use their phone for listening can also answer calls, thanks to a pair of built-in microphones. The P5 Wireless features a rechargeable battery, which is claimed to provide up to 17 hours use and it can be replenished using the supplied USB cable.

Late summer is the time of year that Worthing-based Bowers & Wilkins likes to make announcements about changes to its loudspeaker lineup, and this year is no exception. In last year's October issue (HFC 428) we brought news of the then all-new, mid-priced 700 Series that replaced the company's long-running CM Series. Fast forward 12 months and summer 2018 sees another announcement, this time with the unveiling of the sixth iteration to its 600 Series entry-point range. The updated seven-strong loudspeaker range has adopted a similar model-naming structure to align it with 700 and 800 Series offerings.

A brace of new earbuds from B&W

Since we all miss an issue of Hi-Fi Choice from timeto time it’s good to know that you can plug any gapsin your collection by making use of our Back Issues service, which has recently found a new home. The website at mags-uk. com is where they’re at and finding them couldn’t be easier. Sign in on the home page, then select Hi-Fi Choice via the Titles or Publishers (MyTimeMedia) listing on the menu bar.

Seventies icon reborn thanks to restoring initiative

Turn B&O speakers into streamers...