B&W XT4, The design era

A "VARIABLE" LISTENING POSITION

• Bowers&Wilkins announces a new series of well-equipped loudspeakers with distinctive styling.

• Price: €2,500

• Specialists' rating: 5

• Text: Ramon Sendra

B&W never ceases to surprise us. This time it does so with the launch of a new series called XT which, while aimed at home theater, shows a certain musical ambition. And it surprises with its superb polished aluminum finish, an aesthetic echo of some of its more prestigious series. But not only in its lines. Look at the front of our guests and you will see that they inherit something more, such as the tweeter in a tubular enclosure or the brand's famous yellow cone (whose color results from the material used: an exclusive Kevlar blend). The XT4, the floorstanding model that currently heads the series, also stands out for the design of its enclosure. Beyond a handsome aluminum body, its interior hides separate chambers so that each frequency band (treble, midrange and bass; it is a 3-way design) has its own independent space, which avoids unnecessary coloration. To this we must add a crossover designed for minimal coloration, based on a first-order design using a bare minimum of electrical components. For greater sonic performance, even the midrange and bass have their own bass-reflex ports, both located on the front, which makes speaker placement less critical at the rear. Before turning to our guests, it is worth announcing that the company also offers a bookshelf model (the XT2, at €500 each) and a center (XTC, €800), which, together with the PV1 subwoofer we have already seen (the spherical one), would make a more than worthy surround sound system. In our case, we received a pair of XT4s.

Their slender exterior, bordering on the alluring, demonstrates in itself an impressive constructional strength. In fact, each speaker weighs over 20 kg, which ensures good reproduction of low frequencies.

In all, counting the 1" tweeter, it comes with another 3 small drivers (all 5"), two of them for the lowest frequencies, with paper pulp and Kevlar cones, and the third, with a Kevlar diaphragm, for the midrange. All of them can be concealed by a fabric cover that follows the curves of the enclosure. On the back we find the binding posts (just one pair, which rules out bi-wiring or bi-amping). Both connectors are of high quality, accepting a good gauge of bare wire or dedicated connectors.

According to the specifications, each speaker's nominal impedance is 8 ohms and its sensitivity 86 dB/W/m. This means we will need good current delivery to achieve optimum results.

In our case we used a Denon DVD-3910 connected to a Marantz SR7300, set up in stereo. The question of sensitivity and impedance was borne out by the need for a generous volume level to fill a room of about 25 m2 with good sound, but they are by no means difficult to drive with the kind of power amplifier or A/V receiver we are used to.



LISTENING



During the first hours of listening I was struck by the ease with which they achieve a coherent stereo image. On many tracks where the voice dominates (that of Keiko Lee or Silje Nergaard), I always had it "physically" in front of my head; I could almost touch it. And yet, if I moved away from the ideal listening position, the stereo image did not blur; it holds a more than correct balance quite well. If the image is good laterally, it does not disappoint in depth either. The superb behavior of the tweeters helps create an exquisitely spacious sound, making it easier to place the instruments, especially on orchestral pieces.

Despite the relatively small volume of the enclosure and the small size of the woofers (5"), the bass that comes from these B&Ws is very convincing. In fact, some may weigh up the need for a subwoofer, and they may be right depending on their musical tastes. But in my case, always attentive to good dynamics, I did not miss one. Luis Robisco's demanding Spanish guitar on "Tiempos" convinced me of our guests' equally good midrange performance. Far from tending toward a nasal sound, they masterfully reproduced the delicate strings of the guitar, although I noticed a small dip in the upper midrange, perhaps a consequence of the good treble reproduction. The treble can reproduce any sonic detail precisely but without aggressiveness. I appreciated that supple, smooth tweeter, able to reach the highest sounds without distortion or imbalance. For example, Sting's excellent SA-CD production of "Sacred Love" reaches, with these XT4s, a very believable sonic peak.

The XT4s are much more than an aluminum loudspeaker with exquisite design. They are the result of the brand's experience in its latest developments. B&W has decided to build a speaker that is aesthetically different (in both lines and materials) but that does not give up one iota of the quality that has kept the brand at the top of the market until now.

A "VARIABLE" LISTENING POSITION

These B&W XT4s offer a good sound image both at the ideal listening position and at the positions closest to either side. When I moved a few centimeters to either side of the "perfect" or ideal spot, the stereo image held up quite well. Obviously some focus is lost, but not the entire sonic spectrum of the speaker farther away.

This flexible characteristic is a point in its favor for setting up a multichannel system, whether for movies or music (SA-CD or DVD-Audio). By avoiding a single fixed listening position, using different speakers will make it possible to create a more cohesive and versatile sound environment, even if some focus is lost. If you are only thinking of stereo, it is also good that the speaker's design allows this "variable" sound image, since it will let a larger number of listeners enjoy the music.

B&W XT4, The design era

Specifications

Enclosure: Extruded aluminum. Drivers: 1 x 25 mm aluminum dome tweeter loaded in a tubular enclosure. 1 x 130 mm midrange/bass driver with Kevlar cone. 2 x 130 mm diameter bass drivers with paper pulp and Kevlar composite cone. Crossover: First-order electrical, with minimalist topology between the tweeter and the midrange/bass driver. Sensitivity: 86 dB/W/m. Frequency range: -6 dB points at 34 Hz and 50 kHz. Nominal impedance: 8 ohms (minimum 3.1 ohms). Recommended amplifier power: 50-150 W continuous into 8 ohms.

Dimensions: 310x152x200 mm. Weight: 22.5 kg.

Distributor: B&W Group España (935894722).

Price: €2,500