Bowers & Wilkins DB1D Review – High-end Subwoofer

Although many high-end audio items are heralded as revolutionary and groundbreaking in design when they are first released, the majority of audiophile components now on the market have not altered the way we view such products in the same way that the iPad has. A new audio device will occasionally take a step in that direction by giving audiophiles new ways to install and improve their equipment. The last is relevant to the brand-new DB1 subwoofer from Bowers & Wilkins Group: The Bowers & Wilkins DB1D menu-driven controls can be conveniently adjusted from a laptop computer instead of the user having to stretch to reach them on the sub’s front panel. This is in addition to its automated room-compensation system, which samples over a wider bandwidth and compensates for more room modes than does that of the competition.

With the DB1, B&W includes a wonderful collection of accessories. The first component is a soundcard dongle for a laptop, followed by a gooseneck microphone and connecting wires. Owners ought to employ this. I can confirm that, although the sub sounds fantastic when it isn’t adjusted (I tested it that way for a while), what happens once the test tones have been run is fantastic.

Price and Availability

The Bowers & Wilkins DB1D Subwoofer is available for just under ₹625,000. You can get more detailed information about the DB1D Subwoofer price in India and availability by consulting us.

Design

Since the cabinets and available finishes are identical to those in the DB1, they continue to look fantastic. But don’t be misled by the exterior’s similar styling; inside, there have been significant changes from the DB1 design, particularly in the driver designs. Unlike the DB1, which utilized conventional overhung motors, the new DB subwoofers all utilize the same dual-magnet motor design that was also used in the 800 series speakers introduced in 2015.

A significant deviation from conventional subwoofer driver designs is the dual-magnet motor technology (for a description of typical driver design, see: Loudspeaker Drivers: Identifying Legitimately High End Parts). In contrast to conventional designs, the dual-magnet motor system from B&W has two return circuits for the magnetic flux channel. The voice coil is placed in the centre of these magnetic fields by positioning two permanent magnets in a face-to-face arrangement with the same polarity (sB&W SS 805 SUBcetting). According to B&W, this design lessens distortion because it symmetrically aligns the magnetic field surrounding the voice coil.

Sound Quality

The DB1 has its own amplifier, uses equalization to provide powerful deep bass output from a compact enclosure, and includes a self-optimizing setup program, just like the majority of subwoofers today. Buyers have shown that they prefer this method to subs that produce deep bass by using a huge enclosure.

Being an experimenter by nature, the first thing I did after unpacking the B&W DB1D and setting it up in the best location in my listening room was to see if I could improve on the results of B&W’s automated calibration process using a professional real-time analyser, a high-quality microphone, a pink noise source, and the manual equalizer controls built into the DB1D. Unsurprisingly, I was able to… But—and there is a major but—I had to spend a considerable amount of time calibrating my own system for just one position, the sweet spot. The calibration of B&W performed better in both the “room” and “sofa” settings. My overall D1BD experience has been excellent. It has great bass, which I find to be really enjoyable.

Specifications

Conclusion

Despite being well-known, B&W is not well-known for producing premium subwoofers. and this despite the fact that the DB1D’s predecessor (the DB1) was a regular on Stereophile magazine’s list of “Class A” products. The DB1D’s appearance demonstrates B&W’s decision to use every design (and engineering) trick in the book to modify everything. Buy the B&W DB1D if you want cutting-edge deep bass from a sensible-sized, incredibly attractive cabinet: It is a highly feature-rich and excellent-sounding subwoofer.