Bowers & Wilkins is a British audio equipment manufacturer founded in 1966 by John Bowers and Roy Wilkins in Worthing, West Sussex, England. The company initially operated as a small electronics retail shop before transitioning to loudspeaker manufacturing. In 2020, Bowers & Wilkins was acquired by Sound United (now part of Masimo Corporation) after a brief period under the ownership of the Eva Automation group. The company continues to manufacture many of its premium products at its Worthing facility.
The product range includes floor-standing loudspeakers, standmount monitors, in-wall and in-ceiling speakers, wireless speakers, headphones, and automotive sound systems. The flagship 800 Series Diamond loudspeakers have been the reference monitors at Abbey Road Studios since 2005. Other product lines include the 700 Series, 600 Series, the Formation wireless range, and the PI headphone series. The company also produces custom installation products for residential and commercial applications.
Bowers & Wilkins has developed several proprietary technologies over its history, including the use of Kevlar cones for midrange drivers (introduced in 1974), Nautilus tube-loaded tweeters, Continuum cone material (replacing Kevlar in flagship models), and diamond dome tweeters machined from synthetic diamond. The company's Steyning Research Establishment conducts in-house research and development on driver materials, cabinet design, and signal processing.
The brand has established automotive audio partnerships with Volvo Cars, McLaren Automotive, Maserati, and BMW. Bowers & Wilkins products range from approximately $200 for entry-level headphones to over $30,000 for flagship loudspeaker pairs. The 800 D4 series, introduced in 2021, represents the current top of the range and is widely used in professional mastering studios globally.