Bowers & Wilkins Formation Bar Review – Soundbar

A bit of a mixed bag is the Bowers & Wilkins Formation Bar. It is undoubtedly well made and has a nice look, which helps to explain the somewhat high cost of a soundbar. Three top-of-the-line speakers and a ton of amplification can be found inside its shapely exterior thanks to the company’s years of experience. The Bar can therefore give an excellent performance with a wide-open front soundstage. With music, it sounds great, and the dedicated center channel ensures focused and clear dialogue with TV shows and movies. Although there is no surround presence and the bass is limited, the handling of effects is also very strong.

Although it is highly expensive, you may add surround channels and enhance the low end by using the optional Formation Flex speakers and Formation Bass subwoofer. The primary issue is that, even if you invest additional money to take advantage of the Bar, there is still no Dolby Atmos, no HDMI hookups, or even a physical remote control.

Price and Availability

The Bowers & Wilkins Formation Bar is available for just under ₹199,000. You can get more detailed information about the Formation Bar price in India and availability by consulting us.

Design

The Formation Bar and Bass were delivered to my house in attractive packaging that both safeguards the goods and makes removal simple. The relative weights of the Bar and Bass modules were the first thing I noticed. Given their size, they are relatively weighty, which suggests a high-quality construction and reliable drives. The very cool modern look is the second item that caught my attention. The Formation is a more cylinder-shaped soundbar with tapering ends than a dull, rectangular soundbar. The end caps are neatly made of a metal that resembles pewter, and the entire cylindrical surface is faceted.

The two 6.5″ drivers on the Formation Bass serve as the end caps instead of metal trim, while having a similar look. Only one button—Formation Connect—is present on the Formation Bass, and four buttons—Play/Pause, Volume Up, Volume Down, and Formation Connect—are present on the top and rear of the Formation Bar. I think both goods look amazing and would work well in a number of settings, especially more contemporary ones.

Sound Quality

Although considering its lack of features and connections, the Bowers & Wilkins Formation Bar’s simplicity of setup shouldn’t come as a huge surprise. Simply set it in front of your TV using a stand or wall mount, whichever works best. If you choose to stand-mount, be advised that the Formation Bar’s height of 10.9 cm may interfere with many modern TV screens. All that’s left to do is use the supplied optical digital connection to connect the Formation Bar to your TV.

That’s all there is to setting up your TV, but you must use the Home app to configure the Formation network. Pressing the Form button on the Bar will initiate the procedure and establish a connection to your home Wi-Fi network. Your Formation Bar will play an audio prompt to confirm successful setup once everything is finished. The Home app can couple the soundbar with Bluetooth devices, and if a firmware update is available, the app will let you know and will also initiate the installation.

Specifications

Conclusion

The Bowers & Wilkins Formation Bar is not the only soundbar that I believe would sound far better with a subwoofer included in the mix. At the end of the day, the pricing feels almost ridiculously exclusive, despite the excellent clarity and lovely design present. There are numerous soundbars available that provide deep bass response, come with a subwoofer, or can be used in conjunction with one. For some excellent choices, take a look at the Sonos Beam, LG SJ7, JBL Bar 3.1, and Philips Fidelio B5. The Formation is stunning and powerful, but it’s being marketed at a pro gear/audiophile price, and that excludes it from that group.