Brochure

Morten Warren
Founder of Native Design
What inspired you to start working with
Bowers & Wilkins back in 1988?
They have a unique approach to sound. John
Bowers’ approach dictated that whatever was
recorded, or intended in the recording studio,
is what Bowers & Wilkins is trying to reproduce
authentically within their loudspeakers. If they
were eyewear, they would be the most clear,
most vivid, most transparent pair of glasses
you could possibly wear.
What did the 800 Series Diamond redesign
brief demand?
Everything on this loudspeaker is performance
driven. So every feature, every component is
interrogated to understand what impact it has
on the sound reproduction. There were certain
key points though; Bowers & Wilkins had
engineered a smaller head, one that could be
scaled so that it worked on both the larger and
smaller speakers. We also wanted the head
to be created from an authentic, sustainable
material such as aluminium. There was a vast
amount of work carried out on this.
Explain how you collaborate with the
engineers at the Steyning Research
Establishment.
In 2018 we will have continually worked with
Bowers & Wilkins for 30 years. That has
enabled us to understand each other: we are
almost obligated to dissent with each other
and often great things come from that. We
know from Steyning about shapes and forms
that have a very good acoustic impact.
We were brainstorming and sketching with
the acoustic engineers and new directions
started to appear. For example, as soon as
we discussed a curved fronted cabinet, the
engineers became very excited about where
that could take us.
And what was your bravest decision?
The cabinet being reversed was the biggest
decision. Now it is much more sculptural and
has a more aesthetic appearance.
Why was this reverse wrapped cabinet
so exciting?
Through studies that were done many, many
years ago we’ve always known the less surface
area around the driver the better the accuracy
of sound reproduction. We re-visited some of
that thinking and that in turn triggered more
changes. It literally is just the diamond tweeter
dome that didn’t change. Every other single
component and material that you can see has
been redesigned.
Such a premium product demands
flawless attention to detail, can you
elaborate on how that impacted on
the design process.
The major challenge was getting that crispness
of fit between components normally associated
with high-end, well-engineered and crafted
products. There needs to be a lot of attention
to that fit and finish; to those gaps and those
tolerances that just make a product feel better
and tighter. The original goal was to improve
on that precision on the previous range,
negotiating the minimum of tolerance gaps,
and ensuring that everything fits as well as it
can was really important.
Now, after all the changes, how do you
feel about the new range?
Overall I think this range is very successful
because it has managed to keep key DNA
aspects of the very original Nautilus
™
800
Series whilst being 100% new and improved.
In my mind the 800 Series Diamond is similar
in philosophy to the Porsche 911. It has
evolved over decades, getting better and
better and better - and I think the 800 Series
has grown in a very similar way. And this series
is probably the best expression of any product
Bowers & Wilkins has ever made.