Bowers & Wilkins

Bowers & Wilkins (B&W) was founded in 1966 in Worthing, West Sussex, England, by John Bowers and Roy Wilkins. John Bowers began hand-assembling loudspeakers in the back of their electronics retail shop.

John Bowers invested all profits into research, establishing a dedicated R&D facility in Steyning in 1976, which became known as the 'University of Sound'.

Between 1970 and 1995, B&W developed world-renowned loudspeaker technology. In 1977, B&W launched the DM7, featuring a tweeter mounted on top of the cabinet. In 1979, they introduced the legendary Matrix-braced 801 studio monitor, adopted by EMI Abbey Road Studios. In 1993, B&W unveiled the radical Nautilus loudspeaker, shaped like a marine shell to eliminate rear wave cabinet resonance.