Bowers & Wilkins showed the 800 Series Diamond D5 at High End in Vienna on 4 June, and it went on sale on 9 September. Yesterday Darko.Audio published a review of the 804 D5, the cheapest tower in the range, at 25,000 dollars a pair.
The Bowers & Wilkins 804 D4 and the 804 D5 that replaces it, at the same scale. Same driver sizes, same 89 dB sensitivity, 9,000 dollars apart.
We now hold both generations in full, seven models each, so I lined them up. The prices come from Bowers & Wilkins own US product pages, read today. The specs come from the same pages.
Quick facts
- The D5 costs 30 to 56 percent more than the D4 model it replaces. The 804 D5 is the biggest jump.
- Six of the seven pairs publish the same frequency response and the same sensitivity as before.
- Every D5 is now rated to 1,000 watts. The 805 D4 was rated to 120.
- B&W still sells four D4 models, including the 801 D4 at 46,000 against the 801 D5 at 65,000.
- Against the 2021 launch prices, an 800 Series speaker now costs 73 to 118 percent more.
What each model costs now
Towers and standmounts are priced per pair, the HTM centre channels each.
| Model | D4, today | D5 | Change |
|---|
| 801 D4 to 801 D5 | 46,000 | 65,000 | +41% |
| 802 D4 to 802 D5 | 34,000 | 45,000 | +32% |
| 803 D4 to 803 D5 | 27,000 | 35,000 | +30% |
| 804 D4 to 804 D5 | 16,000 | 25,000 | +56% |
| 805 D4 to 805 D5 | 10,000 | 15,000 | +50% |
| HTM81 D4 to HTM81 D5 | 10,500 | 15,000 | +43% |
| HTM82 D4 to HTM82 D5 | 8,250 | 12,000 | +45% |
Every 800 Series model at three points: the D4 launch price in 2021, the D4 price on B&W's US store today, and the D5. The percentage is today's D4 to the D5.
The pattern is upside down from what you might expect. The flagship went up 41 percent, and the two models most people would actually buy went up most: the 804 by 56 percent and the 805 by half. The 803, at 30 percent, went up least.
The spec sheets hardly moved at all
This is the part that surprised me. Take B&W's own published figures for each pair, and six of the seven carry the same bass extension and the same sensitivity as the D4.
| Model | Frequency response, +/- 3 dB | Sensitivity | Minimum impedance | Weight each |
|---|
| 801 D4 / D5 | 15 Hz to 28 kHz, unchanged | 90 dB both | 3.0 ohms both | 100.6 to 106.4 kg |
| 802 D4 / D5 | 17 Hz to 28 kHz, unchanged | 90 dB both | 3.0 to 3.3 ohms | 88.1 to 91.4 kg |
| 803 D4 / D5 | 19 Hz to 28 kHz, unchanged | 90 dB both | 3.0 ohms both | 62.2 to 63.7 kg |
| 804 D4 / D5 | 24 Hz to 19 Hz, see below | 89 dB both | 3.0 ohms both | 36.9 to 40.3 kg |
| 805 D4 / D5 | 42 Hz to 28 kHz, unchanged | 88 dB both | 4.6 ohms both | 15.6 to 16.4 kg |
| HTM81 D4 / D5 | 28 Hz to 28 kHz, unchanged | 90 dB both | 3.0 ohms both | 32.2 to 33.4 kg |
| HTM82 D4 / D5 | 45 Hz to 28 kHz, unchanged | 89 dB both | 3.0 ohms both | 25.2 to 26.1 kg |
Driver sizes are also unchanged, model for model. The 804 keeps a 25 mm diamond tweeter, a 130 mm Continuum midrange and two 165 mm bass drivers. The 801 keeps its 150 mm midrange and two 250 mm bass drivers. What B&W lists as new is structural: a space frame brace, a new plinth with tuned-mass damping, an aluminium top plate, more Matrix bracing, an aluminium midrange enclosure on the 804, better crossover parts and wiring, and four new finishes.
| FEATURE and SPECS COMPARISON | |  |  |
| Model | Bowers & Wilkins 804 D5 | Bowers & Wilkins 804 D4 |
| Speaker Type | Passive Floor-standing | Passive Floor-standing |
| Enclosure Type | Ported | Ported |
| Driver Setup | 3-way | 3-way |
| Tweeter | 1" Diamond dome Tweeter | 1" Diamond dome Tweeter |
| Mid-Range | 5" Continuum cone FST Midrange | 5" Continuum cone FST Midrange |
| Woofer | 2 x 6.5" Aerofoil Woofer | 2 x 6.5" Aerofoil Woofer |
| Frequency Range / Low | 19Hz | 24Hz |
| Frequency Range / High | 24kHz | 28kHz |
| Impedance Nominal | 8Ω | 8Ω |
| Impedance Minimum | 3.0Ω | 3.0Ω |
| Sensitivity | 89dB | 89dB |
| Max Power (RMS) | 1000w | 200w |
| Port Position | rear | rear |
| Grille | Yes | Yes |
| Height | 1101.0mm | 1071.0mm |
| Width | 308.0mm | 306.0mm |
| Depth | 392.0mm | 391.0mm |
| Weight | 40.30kg | 36.85kg |
| MSRP(pair) | 25000USD | 16000USD |
| Check Current Price | Amazon | Amazon |
None of that shows up in a published number, and it is not nothing. Cabinet and crossover work is exactly the sort of change that a spec sheet cannot show and a listening room can. But if you are the sort of buyer who compares numbers before driving to a dealer, be clear that the numbers are telling you almost nothing this time.
The 804 D5 is the one exception, and its page contradicts itself. B&W quotes the response as 19 Hz to 24 kHz while quoting the wider minus 6 dB range as 20 Hz to 35 kHz. A speaker cannot be flat to 19 Hz within 3 dB and down 6 dB at 20 Hz. The same two lines appear on B&W's UK and international pages, so it is not a regional typo. Every other D5 keeps the D4's 28 kHz figure.
Two generations on the same shelf
B&W has not cleared the old range out. On its US store today the 801 D4, 802 D4, 805 D4 and HTM82 D4 all read as in stock. The 803 D4, 804 D4 and HTM81 D4 read as out of stock but are still listed.
The 805 D4 is still in stock on B&W's own store at 10,000 dollars a pair. The 805 D5 that replaces it is 15,000.
So the choice is live. You can buy a new 805 D4 at 10,000 dollars a pair, or the 805 D5 at 15,000, from the same manufacturer on the same day, with the same published response, the same 88 dB sensitivity and the same 4.6 ohm minimum load. Five thousand dollars is the price of the cabinet and crossover work, plus the new finishes.
The D4 had already gone up before the D5 arrived
The 2021 launch prices are worth putting beside today's. The 801 D4 arrived at 35,000 dollars a pair and is 46,000 now. The 805 D4 arrived at 8,000 and is 10,000. So the rise from a 2021 800 Series speaker to its 2026 replacement is bigger than the D5 step alone:
| Model | 2021 launch | 2026 D5 | Change since 2021 |
|---|
| 801 | 35,000 | 65,000 | +86% |
| 802 | 26,000 | 45,000 | +73% |
| 803 | 20,000 | 35,000 | +75% |
| 804 | 12,500 | 25,000 | +100% |
| 805 | 8,000 | 15,000 | +88% |
| HTM81 | 7,500 | 15,000 | +100% |
| HTM82 | 5,500 | 12,000 | +118% |
A 5.1 set of 803 D4, HTM82 D4 and a pair of 805 D4 came to 33,500 dollars in 2021. The D5 version of the same three models is 62,000 today, before the subwoofer.
Where this sits in our database
We list 1,212 passive speakers, and 1,165 of them carry a price. Sixty six cost 25,000 dollars a pair or more, so the cheapest tower in the 800 Series is now inside the dearest 6 percent of everything here. Twenty one are at 65,000 or above, which is where the 801 D5 lands.
The 1,000 watt rating is unusual too. Of the 1,056 passive speakers here that publish a maximum, only 25 accept that much amplifier power, and eight of the 25 are Bowers & Wilkins 800 Series: the seven D5 models and the 801 D4. In practice it is a statement about how much abuse the drivers will take, not advice to go and buy a 1,000 watt amplifier. Our amplifier and speaker matcher works from the sensitivity and the impedance, which is what actually decides whether your amplifier is enough, and those have not changed.
The 801 D5, the flagship, at 65,000 dollars a pair. Only 21 of the speakers we list cost that much or more.
Where the D5 is hard to justify
The published gain is nearly zero. On six of seven models, B&W's own figures for bass, treble, sensitivity and impedance are identical to the D4. You are paying 30 to 56 percent more for construction changes that neither of us can measure from a web page.
The 804 is the worst value of the seven. It went up 56 percent, from 16,000 to 25,000, and it is the model whose spec page is internally inconsistent about its own bass.
The old one is still on sale, and cheaper. Four D4 models are in stock at B&W right now. If a dealer is discounting the rest of the D4 stock, the gap gets wider still.
Weight is the one honest tell. Every D5 is heavier than the D4 it replaces, by 0.9 kg on the 805 and 5.8 kg on the 801. That is consistent with more bracing, and it is the only D5 claim that shows up as a number.
Being straight about our own data: all eleven 800 Series rows carried placeholder dates, 1 January 2021 and 1 January 2025, which is what our importer wrote when it had no real date. They now say 1 September 2021 and 9 September 2026, the two actual on-sale dates. We were also missing the 804 D4, the 805 D4 and the HTM81 D4, so half the comparisons in this post had no page to link to. All three are now in the database.
Bowers & Wilkins 804 D5 Passive Floor-standing Speaker Key Specs
- 3-way Bass Reflex Design
- 1" Diamond dome Tweeter
- 5" Continuum cone FST Midrange
- 2 x 6.5" Aerofoil Woofer
- 19-24k Hz Frequency Response
- 89 dB Sensitivity
- 8ohms Nominal Impedance
- Power Range: 50-1000watts RMS
- Weight:88.85 lbs / 40.30 kg
- Dimensions (H x W x D): 43-3/8" x 12-1/8" x 15-7/16" / 1101.0 x 308.0 x 392.0mm
- Read the Review
Questions answered
How much does the Bowers & Wilkins 800 Series D5 cost?
In the US: 801 D5 65,000 dollars a pair, 802 D5 45,000, 803 D5 35,000, 804 D5 25,000, 805 D5 15,000. The HTM81 D5 centre is 15,000 each and the HTM82 D5 is 12,000 each.
What is the difference between the 800 D5 and the 800 D4?
On paper, very little. Driver sizes, sensitivity, impedance and frequency response are the same on six of the seven models. B&W lists structural changes: a space frame brace, a new plinth with tuned-mass damping, an aluminium top plate, extra Matrix bracing, upgraded crossovers and wiring, an aluminium midrange enclosure on the 804, and four new finishes. Each D5 is 0.9 to 5.8 kg heavier.
Can you still buy the 800 Series D4?
Yes. On B&W's US store the 801 D4, 802 D4, 805 D4 and HTM82 D4 are in stock. The 803 D4, 804 D4 and HTM81 D4 are listed but out of stock.
Which D5 model went up in price the most?
The 804 D5, at 25,000 dollars a pair against 16,000 for the 804 D4, a rise of 56 percent. The 805 is next at 50 percent. The 803 went up least, 30 percent.
When did the 800 Series Diamond D5 go on sale?
Bowers & Wilkins unveiled the range at High End in Vienna on 4 June 2026 and put it on sale on 9 September 2026.
So here is the question I cannot answer from a spec sheet: would you pay 5,000 dollars more for a D5 805 over the D4 that is still in the shop, or spend that money on the amplifier driving it?
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