Bowers & Wilkins 702 S3 Signature

REVIEW
Ed Selley
Mar 20, 2025

The hi-fi industry might tail the automotive sector in enthusiasm for a special edition but some companies do seem keen to make good on that deficit. Bowers & Wilkins has used ‘Signature’ models for quite a while now but, in recent years, has significantly increased the rate at which they appear. The preceding S2 family of 700 Series speakers saw Signature versions arrive a year or so after the ‘cooking’ versions, and the 800D4 models followed the same pattern. Sure enough, twelve months after the S3 range of 700 models launched, the 705 S3 Signature and Bowers & Wilkins 702 S3 Signature have arrived for our edification.

The choice of these two models is not accidental. During the launch event, it was revealed that Bowers & Wilkins feels that only designs that use the company’s ‘Tweeter on Top’ design principle can be tweaked to Signature status (which suggests we will never see a 600 Series Sig model). The 705 and 702 are among the 700 models so equipped (along with the 703), making them the logical choices as the largest of each type of speaker.

Other Signatures

In keeping with other recent Signatures, the fundamentals of the Bowers & Wilkins 702 S3 Signature are unchanged from the standard 702 S3. It’s still a 3.5-way floorstanding speaker with a downward firing port and plinth arrangement closer in design to the 800 Series models than its smaller brethren. The carbon-domed tweeter is placed in its own torpedo-shaped housing at the top of the cabinet, leaving the cabinet itself to house a 150mm woven ‘Continuum’ midrange and three 165mm aerofoil bass drivers.

Turning the standard speaker into a Signature is a series of incremental changes rather than a major modification. The changes to the tweeter are limited to the use of the same mesh that is featured in the 800 Series Signature models.

A detailed change

It’s a detailed change, but Bowers & Wilkins says that it helps high-frequency dispersion. Both the midrange driver and the bass units receive uprated motor systems that focus on the ‘spider’ part of the rear mount and benefitting from data collected in the creation and production of the 800 Series drivers.

In keeping with other Signature models in recent years, a significant amount of effort has been expended on the crossover that ties everything together. Something quite interesting about this is that the standard 700 models, in turn, benefitted from lessons learned in the creation of the S2 Signatures, which means that this S3 Signature crossover is- very loosely- tweaking existing tweaks. The board is heavily revised without changing any of the crossover points or the basic behaviour of the crossover itself. These changes included doubling the polypropylene caps controlling signal to the tweeter and using Mundorf Angelique wiring where appropriate. The bass drivers gain massive new inductors that further help the Signature’s bass extension over the standard 702 S3. Connection is made via a set of upgraded speaker terminals.

Specific finishes

Two specific finishes are offered to ensure that people know a Signature when they see one. The first is the same Midnight Blue Metallic that first appeared on the 800 Signatures, and that could well wind up becoming ‘Bowers & Wilkins Signature Blue’ used on all Signature models going forward, but at the time of the formal unveiling, this had not been decided. This is partnered with the same Datuk Gloss Ebony used on the S2 Signature. In this regard, the 700 Series gets a better deal than the 800s as the Datuk is a truly lovely finish and rather more subtle than the Burr wood option on the more expensive range. One detail change I like more than I thought I would is the use of gold trim rings on the drivers, which combines nicely with both finishes.

Bowers & Wilkins 702 S3 Signature blue finish

Given that the standard 700s are immaculately made, it should not be a huge surprise to find that the Signatures are no less flawlessly bolted together. The size and quality of finish evident on the 702 S3 Signature had me fairly convinced it was more than £7,000 and while I’m guarded about describing any object of the nature as ‘good value’, it looks entirely competitive judged against rivals. My only real bugbear with how the Signature is presented is that the end opening packaging requires higher ceilings than many would-be owners possess.

Impresses from the beginning

Shorn of their boxes, though, the 702 S3 Signature impresses from the very beginning. Placement is hassle-free, partly down to the downward firing port and fixed boundary arrangement that this generation of 702 moved to, and they haven’t presented a significant challenge to the resident Cambridge Audio Edge A. This is very firmly a device that doesn’t require you to suffer for your art, and so long as they aren’t jammed into a corner, they will function effectively, although they will do their best work in a larger space.

With this done, though, the Bowers & Wilkins 702 S3 Signature builds on an ability that the normal 702 already does well. This speaker delivers scale with an imperious ability that borders on the addictive, but it is an oversimplification to say that they make everything sound big. Paul Brady’s The World is What you Make It on Spirits Colliding [Fontana] is a perfect example. Brady himself sounds entirely correct; a believable human adult placed just off-centre. The kick drum that supports the opening bars, though, has effortless heft and scale. It’s more than bass (although be under no illusion, there’s plenty of that); it’s an ability to take a large instrument and give it that genuine sense of scale and impact.

There’s also a consistently impressive presence to the upper registers that has consistently impressed me during testing. Emily Wolfe’s sultry vocals in Medusa on her eponymously titled debut album [self released] grab and hold your attention thanks to a heady combination of scale, tonal realism and out and out energy.

Seamless relationship

The relationship between the tweeter and midrange was already seamless in the standard speaker but here they cease to be two drivers at all. Everything from 500Hz and up simply happens with a cohesiveness that seems to bely anything so base as a mechanical process happening internally.

There’s a large green fly in the ointment here in the form of the Acoustic Energy Corinium that passed through directly before the Bowers & Wilkins. With something built around hooks and engagement like Fields by Junip [City Slang], the Corinium has the upper hand at making the fast flowing Howl something that stops the rational part of your brain listening to the music objectively and simply has you stop taking notes and listen instead. Across a selection of high tempo material, the Acoustic Energy has the edge over the Bowers.

This challenge wilts under the sheer scale and impact that the Bowers & Wilkins 702 S3 Signature can deliver though. The Sunday punch of that trio of bass drivers asks questions that the Acoustic Energy; and indeed most other floorstanders at the price, cannot answer. Whether you are seeking to replicate the swell of a full orchestra or some entirely synthetic electronic bass note, the 702 S3 Signature is able to make good on reproducing it with a combination of clout and control that is borderline addictive at times. No less impressive is that this palpable low end is also something that doesn’t require deeply antisocial levels to achieve. At almost any listening level this is a speaker that will handle the demands of whatever you play on it.

Final part

The final constituent part of the Signature models I’ve tested in recent years is that they also offer a level of fun that their more conventional siblings don’t always manage. The 702 has its work cut out here because the standard model is perfectly capable of being extremely entertaining but there’s still a fluency when you press on with Regina Spektor’s fabulous Live in London [Sire] that appeals as much to the heart as it does the head. This is a superb live album; spacious and able to give a sense of the crowd and venue but above all, it’s joyous and the Bowers & Wilkins captures that joy with every note.

This latest Bowers & Wilkins 702 S3 Signaturee might not have the price point to itself, such is the strength of the competition, but it makes a very compelling argument for itself. This is not a wholesale reinvention of the speaker it’s based on, instead it takes a seriously capable speaker and makes it that little bit better. The result is a heady blend of competence and emotional engagement that is sure to win many friends.