Bowers & Wilkins began in Worthing, England, in 1966, founded by John Bowers. The name comes from the Worthing electrical shop he ran with Roy Wilkins. Its 800 Series monitors have been used at Abbey Road Studios since 1980, Abbey Road says. We carry B&W towers, bookshelf speakers, centre channels and stands. We’ve had more than 200 B&W listings so far. Every used B&W here is inspected, tested and serviced as required, then photographed in-house and covered by our Bumper-to-Bumper Warranty and Perpetual Trade-Back Program. Don’t see the model you want? Tell us on First Dibs and we’ll email you when one arrives.
The Bowers & Wilkins story, 1966 to today
John Bowers founded B&W in Worthing, England, in 1966, after hand-assembling speakers at the electrical shop he ran with Roy Wilkins. Its first speaker, the P1, used B&W’s own cabinet and crossover with bought-in drivers, and the DM1 and DM3 “Domestic Monitors” followed in 1968.
Kevlar and the 801. B&W identified Kevlar as a cone material in 1974, and the DM6 of the mid-1970s used Kevlar cones. The original 801 monitor of 1979 to 1980 made its name in recording studios: Abbey Road says it was the first studio to use it, in 1980, and has used the 800 Series ever since.
Matrix and Nautilus. The Matrix cabinet bracing arrived in the mid-to-late 1980s. John Bowers started the project that became the Nautilus, the spiral-shell flagship, before he died in 1987, and it launched in 1993. The first 600 Series followed in 1995, and diamond-dome tweeters arrived in 2005.
New owners. EVA Automation bought B&W in 2016, Sound United in 2020 and Masimo in 2022, and in September 2025 HARMAN, a Samsung company, completed its purchase of Sound United. The 800 Series Diamond D5, unveiled in June 2026, is built in Worthing.
A Canadian connection. Classé Audio of Montreal was part of the B&W Group from 2001 until B&W closed its Montreal headquarters in 2017.
Which B&W is which?
DM (Domestic Monitor), 1968 onward: from the DM1 and DM3 to models such as the DM6 and DM7. The DM prefix carried into early 600 Series names.
600 Series (1995 to today): B&W’s entry hi-fi line; the 2020 Anniversary Edition was its seventh generation. The 606 belongs here.
CDM (mid-1990s to about 2003): such as the CDM 1, with a metal-dome tweeter and a Kevlar cone.
700 Series (about 2003 to 2006): Nautilus technology at mainstream prices, such as the 703 and 705.
CM Series (2006 to 2017): such as the CM1 and the CM4 towers, replaced by the 700 Series S2 in 2017.
800 Series (from 1979 to 1980): from the original 801 through the Matrix, Nautilus 800, Diamond, D3, D4 and D5 generations.
Nautilus (1993): the spiral-shell flagship, still made in small numbers.
Buying used B&W: what to check
Tweeter domes. B&W used metal-dome tweeters in the CDM, 600 and CM lines, and owners report squashed domes. Inspect each dome closely.
Original tweeters. Some CDM-era tweeters are discontinued, and rebuilt or substitute tweeters change the sound. Ask whether the originals are fitted.
Woofer surrounds. Owners report rubber surrounds that have hardened with age. Press each surround gently: it should feel supple.
1970s DM models. Expect crossover capacitors in a 40-year-old DM to need replacing.
Where it was made. The 800 Series is built in Worthing; the 600 and 700 Series are made in China. Check the label before calling a B&W “made in England”.
Everything we list is inspected, tested and serviced as required here, and comes with our warranty.
Showing 1–12 of 39 resultsSorted by price: high to low
Bowers & Wilkins DM220 3-Way Floorstanding Speakers — Black Ash
Two 200 mm composite fibre cones and a 26 mm polyamide soft dome in a sealed cabinet, crossed at 500 Hz and 3 kHz. Sealed loading gives tight, controlled bass and placement you can actually work with, and at 90 dB into 8 ohms anything from 10 to 100 watts will drive them. Made in England, finished in Black Ash vinyl. Very good condition.
Bowers & Wilkins WM2 Outdoor Speakers, Pearl White, w/ Brackets
On an outdoor speaker the condition is the whole story — these are almost never retired for how they sound, but for sun turning a white cabinet chalky and yellow, freeze-thaw working at the seams, and grilles blooming with rust. Pearl White shows all of it more plainly than black would, and this pair grades Very Good, factory wall brackets included. B&W did not design a weatherproof box and then find a driver to fit it either: a 130 mm woven fibreglass cone crossed at 3.5 kHz to a 25 mm dome, the same material philosophy as their indoor speakers.
High Quality, Well-Reviewed B&W Satellite speakers VM1
A two-way vented-box satellite: 125mm cone bass/mid, 25mm high-frequency unit, crossed at 3.5 kHz, 91 dB into 8 ohms. Magnetically shielded, 20.6 inches tall on a footprint under five inches wide. Each speaker comes with its own all-metal shelf stand for horizontal or vertical placement, no extra hardware needed. They retailed around $600 Canadian.
B&W Solid HCM1 Compact Satellite Speakers with Integrated Stands
A sealed two-way from B&W's Rock Solid series — a 4-inch fibre cone woofer and a polycarbonate dome in a polycarbonate cabinet chosen to kill resonance without adding mass. 90 dB, so modest amplification is enough, and magnetically shielded for desk use. Each speaker comes on its integrated stand bracket. Mark runs a pair as his office near-fields. Cosmetics good, 7 out of 10; tested.
Single Heavy B&W Satellite Speaker w/ Shelf Stand M-1
One speaker, with the adjustable table stand included. A 25 mm metal dome over a 100 mm woven glass fibre cone, crossed at 4 kHz, 85 dB into a nominal 8 ohms that drops to 4. It works perfectly, but the front trim is missing and the tweeter has been creased. The sound is still extremely good, and the price is down from $195 to $125 because of the cosmetics.
Bowers & Wilkins Matrix 804 Floorstanding Speakers – Black Ash
A consecutively serial-numbered pair from B&W’s Matrix era, 1991 to 1998 — the generation that filled its cabinets with an internal lattice instead of building a plain box, so the panels add as little of their own as possible. A 6.5-inch woven Kevlar midrange and a 6.5-inch Cobex bass driver sit beneath a 26 mm metal dome, reaching down to 39 Hz. Black ash, Very Good condition, fitted here with handmade Radique Audio bi-wire bridges.