Custom Theatre
The language of dreams There’s a reason why they call it the movies. And it’s not just to do with what’s happening on screen. Cinema moves you. It transports you to other places: different times, faraway lands, alien worlds. It’s the language of emotions, of dreams. Bowers & Wilkins knows a thing or two about dreams. After all, our company was founded on one. John Bowers always dreamed of building the perfect loudspeaker – one that brings the listener as close as possible to sound as it was recorded.
Where cinema sound is born You’re looking at the place where Hollywood puts music to movies. This is the control room of Skywalker Sound in Marin County California. It’s one of the most advanced audio production facilities in the world, and probably the ultimate multi-channel listening environment. Naturally, it uses the world’s ultimate reference speaker system, featuring B&W 800 Series speakers. For speakers capable of revealing cinema sound as it was meant to be heard, you can trust B&W.
Custom Theatre 800 Imagine blasting into the Death Star with Luke Skywalker. Riding shotgun through the streets of San Francisco with Steve McQueen. Feeling Lauren Bacall’s breath on your cheek. The most thrilling cinema experiences do more than create an impression of reality – they make you feel like you’re there, right in the heart of the action. That’s exactly what happens with B&W Custom Theatre 800 speakers.
Custom Theatre 8.4 and 8.2 Range and versatility. Qualities that all great screen performers have in common. The latest additions to the CT800 range are no exception. The CT8.4 LCRS packs advanced CT800 Series technology into a compact design that performs brilliantly in a variety of different configurations. When space is at a premium, it’s happy to stand in for its larger sibling, the CT8 DS side/rear channel speaker, within a CT800 set-up.
Custom Theatre 700 “It can’t be done.” That was most people’s reaction when we said we wanted to bring a premium Custom Theatre sound system to market at an affordable price. At B&W, that’s exactly the sort of challenge we like. Our CT700 range represents nothing less than a revolution in what’s possible in home theatre sound when space and budget are limited.
Custom Theatre Subwoofer Great bass can be the difference between hearing a film and really feeling it. For the kind of thrilling, physical impact that sets the adrenalin pumping and the blood racing, there’s no substitute for a good subwoofer. So however big or small your custom theatre set-up, you’ll be glad to know we’ve got the sub to match. At the top end of the range, the CT8 SW is a dedicated sub designed specifically for the CT800 Series. For a CT700 system or a set-up featuring the CT8.
Behind the scenes Breaking the rules: B&W’s extraordinary NautilusTM redefined how speakers could be designed and built. We believe our Custom Theatre speaker ranges are the best cinema sound systems you’ll ever hear. That’s thanks to B&W technology and craftsmanship – innovations and techniques that have taken more than 40 years to develop, and that have come to influence how all speakers are designed.
Head With stand-alone hi fi speakers, it’s simple to position them so that the sound travels in the direction you want it to. But what about in a Custom Theatre set-up, where your speakers are flat against a wall inside a cabinet with no space to manoeuvre? Not a problem, thanks to our ingenious adjustable head units. The midrange and tweeter of the CT8 LR and CT8 CC speakers are contained within a single head unit, decoupled from the rest of the cabinet so that it can swivel in different directions.
Tweeter To get round high-frequency distortion and directivity problems common to home theatre speakers, we produced a tweeter of a kind that no-one has ever seen before. Driven by an aluminium ribbon coil and an oversized neodymium motor structure, the new, larger tweeter is one of the loudest in existence. You’ll rarely hear high frequencies captured with such startling precision as you will with our Custom Theatre speakers.
Midrange Some things don’t change. It’s been 30 years since B&W first discovered that Kevlar® makes for ideal midrange cone material, snuffing out the concentric standing waves that blur the sound in conventional cones. Lending support is our fixed suspension transducer (FSTTM for short), a ring of foam around the cone’s edge that soaks up bending waves and allows the cone to move even more freely and responsively. There’s nothing middling about this midrange.
Bass Only a truly rigid driver will deliver the sheer, visceral impact that cinema bass effects demand. Custom Theatre bass drivers use a mushroom diaphragm construction that bonds the cone, dust cap and huge voice coil together in a single girder-like unit. It’s a formidable-looking set-up by anyone’s standards. And it has to be. The bass drivers in our Custom Theatre range are capable of generating physical forces so powerful that only the most solid construction and materials can withstand them.
Cabinet bracing Sound with backbone demands a speaker with backbone. With speakers as powerful as these confined in walls and cupboards, it’s essential that each speaker is as rigid as possible to avoid any unwanted vibrations and resonances colouring the sound. Custom Theatre speakers are given the strength they need by B&W’s Matrix bracing system – an internal grid of interlocking cells.
Customisation Two computer readouts show the results of test signals passed through a Custom Theatre set-up. Adjusting the frequency response helps remove unwanted resonance, demonstrated by the flatter peaks in the second readout. Sound is affected by environment. This is particularly true of home theatre system, where multiple speakers are used in different positions throughout a room.
Society of Sound So, that’s it. Or is it? At B&W, the pursuit of perfect sound continues. For over 40 years, we’ve been dedicated to creating a loudspeaker that neither adds nor takes away from the recorded sound. It’s a passion. Thankfully, we’re not alone. There are others – musicians, technicians, critics, customers – who are as dedicated as we are. And now we’re coming together to share knowledge, insights and our love of sound.
CT8 LR CT8 CC CT8 DS CT8 SW Technical features Adjustable midrange/tweeter head NautilusTM tweeter Kevlar brand fibre cone FSTTM midrange Rohacell® cone bass units Matrix cabinet Active bass crossover Adjustable midrange/tweeter head NautilusTM tweeter Kevlar® brand fibre cone FSTTM midrange Rohacell® cone bass units Matrix cabinet Active bass crossover Technical features Dipole/monopole option with 12V trigger switching NautilusTM tweeter Kevlar® brand fibre cone FSTTM midrange Rohacell® cone bass
CT8.4 LCRS CT8.
CT7.5 LCRS CT7.4 LCRS Technical features NautilusTM tube loaded tweeter Kevlar® brand fibre bass/midrange cone FlowportTM Magnetically attached grille NautilusTM tube loaded tweeter Kevlar® brand fibre bass/midrange cone FlowportTM Magnetically attached grille Description 2-way vented-box system 2-way vented-box system Drive units 1x ø25mm (1 in) cloth dome high-frequency 1x ø180mm (7 in) woven Kevlar® cone bass/midrange 1x ø25mm (1 in) cloth dome high-frequency 2x ø165m (6.
CT SW10 CT SW12 CT SW15 Subwoofer Amplifier SA1000 Technical features Long throw paper/Kevlar® cone bass driver Magnetically attached grille Long throw Paper/Kevlar® cone bass driver Magnetically attached grille Technical features Long throw Paper/Kevlar® cone bass driver Magnetically attached grille Description Dedicated CTSW rackmount single channel 1000W amplifier Description Closed-box subwoofer system with external rackmount amplifier Functions Closed-box subwoofer system with external ra
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