BOWERS & WILKINS' SOUND SYSTEM

If you were lucky enough to be at Primavera a few weeks ago, you may have noticed something rather special in the form of an igloo-shaped arena taking centre stage at this grand event. To make things a little clearer, this igloo was a specially constructed stage that was home for a rather special sound system that had its first showing at the Primavera Festival.

The sound system in question was Bowers and Wilkins' new custom-built array designed for festival scenarios. It was the first time that this prestigious audio manufacturer had turned their attentions away from top-shelf Audiophile systems to world-beating festival sounds. Why, I hear you ask? To prove a point that even at festivals there is always room for an amazing audiophile quality soundsystem. Its aim is to give festivalgoers a chance to hear the music in its purest form, from a system that can deliver to the highest audio definition — making for a great party, top sounds and top DJs. 

Bowers and Wilkins teamed up with Boiler Room to put on this event and had DJs like Jamie xx, John Talabot, Lunice and Pional headlining the arena across the three days — pushing the sound system to its limits. It sounded amazing! Not only did it sound amazing, it looked amazing too as there was a spectacular 360 visual display to offer a totally enclosed environment that just added to the vibe by delivering an awesome audio and visual display.

The system was made up of the coolest looking matt black stacks that looked as if they could have come from the set of the Dark Knight. Bowers & Wilkins incorporated their trademark yellow colouring into each Sound System stack, which was made up of four mid/high frequency enclosures, incorporating two mid/bass units, an FST Kevlar mid-range driver and four Nautilus tube-loaded high frequency drivers — which made them stand out from the generic all-black speakers you tend to see used at 99% of live events — complimented by four sub-woofer enclosures that delivered a true body-moving punch.

If you want to catch this amazing audio delight, head down to the Womad festival at the end of July to capture it in all its beauty. We’ve been reliably informed it's going to be bigger and better than what was showcased at Primavera.