If you’re short on time and just want the highlights of this article, here it is:
The Bowers & Wilkins 706 S3 is a great bookshelf speaker with good sound quality, decent connectivity, and a small footprint. The 1″ decoupled carbon dome tweeter and 6.5″ Continuum cone woofer/midrange driver ensure clarity and accuracy in the highs, punchy bass, and a clear-sounding midrange. Connectivity options include up to 120W of amplified power, dual connections for bi-wired setup, and a Flowport for distortion reduction.
This speaker is well-suited for audiophiles who are looking for good sound and don’t require the deepest bass or most dynamic sound. It’s great for listening to music and movies at moderate to loud volumes, and is best for smaller rooms. However, it may not be the best choice for those looking for powerful, bass-heavy sound or those who need speakers for a larger space.
Ultimately, the Bowers & Wilkins 706 S3 is a good speaker with impressive sound quality and decent connectivity options. Those looking for a solid bookshelf speaker with great sound should definitely check it out.
Quick link:
Now let’s get to its bolts and nuts.
Bowers & Wilkins 706 S3 Review: Sound quality
Let me tell you something right off the bat.
The sound quality performance you'll end up getting from a speaker will always depend on your room acoustics - particularly room dimensions and speaker positions.
The impact of the combination of these two is actually so strong that in most cases, it doesn't even make sense to utter a single word on sound quality without speaking of them.
This is also why it's not unusual to see completely different reviews of the same speaker.
In one case the speaker might be placed in a sweet spot inside the room and hence the user might be satisfied. In other cases the same speaker might be ill placed and hence user might even have returned it.
- Check out the great deals at B&H Photo Video: https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/buy/Great-Deals/
The point most people miss here is that it mostly isn't even about the engineering behind the speaker itself. It's about where you place the speaker inside which room.
So, in order to solve this problem, I've partnered with Acoustics and Audio Engineering PhD Andrea Cicero from AC Acustica and created Soundton - a simple, 2D, browser accessible online speaker placement calculator.
With Soundton, now there's a way to figure the sound quality of most speakers before you buy them.
Read more about its working principles at soundton.com.
The end colormap provides you the locations with the best (green) and worst (red) acoustics.