B&W 707 S2

Small speakers have innate limitations; the Laws Of Physics see to that. But these Bowers & Wilkins compacts prove that with enough engineering knowhow those laws can be bent to produce surprising results. Meet the 707 S2s – the small speakers that go loud and dig deep.

Your £800 buys a beautifully made, 28cm-high box. It’s available in three finishes; the gloss black of our review sample, a satin white, or a rather nice rosenut wood option. Whichever finish you choose the result is a classy-looking pair of speakers.

The cabinet feels impressively solid and is finished with crisp edges and classy detailing. Look around the back and you’ll find some sturdy multi-way binding posts – biwiring is an option

– and the company’s distinctive dimpled reflex port. The flared, dimpled design is aimed to reduce unwanted noise as air moves in the port tube when the speakers are playing loudly.

The 707’s tweeter coats its 30-micronthick aluminium dome with a thin layer of carbon and further reinforces the dome with a carbon ring. The result is a rigid, well-damped diaphragm that should produce nice clean highs.

Good material

The 13cm mid/bass unit is just as clever. We first saw the use of Continuum as a driver material in the high-end 800 series, and here it has trickled down into the more affordable end of the company’s products.

Continuum carries on from where Kevlar – B&W’S former material of choice – left off, rather than a move in a different direction (there’s a clue in the name). The aim is still to produce a well damped, suitably rigid cone that performs in a controlled manner, but to do it better than Kevlar.

The FS-700 S2 stands aren’t cheap (£400) but they match the speakers well. They’re intended for use with all three of the 700 range’s standmounters and are available with a black or silver finish.

The 707 S2s may be small speakers but don’t expect to get the best results by placing them right up against a rear wall. The company supplies a two-stage port bung that helps to tune the lows for less than optimal placement, but the results are never as convincing as when the speakers are placed at least 50cm from the rear wall.

You shouldn’t take shortcuts with partnering kit. The rather low claimed sensitivity of 84db/w/m and minimum impedance of 4 ohms suggests a muscular amplifier is preferable.

Authority and power

The 707 S2’s strengths are as obvious as they are surprising for such a compact design. They sound astonishingly authoritative, with a solid, composed presentation that renders bass with plenty of punch and power.

We start off with Hans Zimmer’s Interstellar OST – hardly something smaller speakers tend to excel at – and the 707 S2s respond with enthusiasm. They deliver a full-bodied and refined sound that brims with detail.

They stay in control even when the music gets demanding, keeping a firm grip on instrumental strands without losing cohesion.

These speakers can play loudly too. In fact, they seem to prefer higher volumes, sounding more balanced when used that way. This is something to consider if you tend to listen at lower levels.

In most small to medium-sized rooms we think these standmounters will go as loud as most people could want. That’s saying something for a small 28cm tall box with a 13cm mid/bass unit.

Stereo imaging is precise and stable, though the sound-staging isn’t quite as expansive as the likes of KEF’S new LS50 Metas manage. Overall the stereo imaging remains good though, pointing to well-matched drive units and a carefully designed crossover network. We move onto Nina Simone’s My Baby Just Cares For Me and the B&WS are transparent enough to show up the age of the recording and the more basic production. They also render Simone’s vocals with confidence and power.

It’s not all good news though. We notice a slight lack of sparkle in the sound. Simone’s voice doesn’t quite have its usual passion thanks to the B&W’S inability to deliver subtle nuances when it comes to dynamics and timing, and the same applies to its handling of the song’s jaunty piano. It’s as though the speakers are trying so hard to stay in control that they can’t quite let all of the song’s sense of fun come through.

That impression is reinforced by George Michael’s Fast Love, where the 707s can’t reproduce that undulating bassline with the agility and drive it deserves, so disrupting the song’s rhythmic flow.

The fun factor

The 707 S2s are deeply impressive in the way they deliver a level of authority and power that small speakers normally just don’t. But given a complex rhythm, these speakers are more likely to stand on the side nodding their head than cut loose, Travolta style. For some the compromises won’t matter. But we like a bit more in the way of fun.