Bowers & Wilkins Prestige Monitor 1 Loudspeaker

The PM1 is much more than the culmination of a shrewd marketplace calculation, though; it is unlike any other B&W speaker in its appearance and in some of its technology. First, it is considerably smaller than the 805 but delivers bass extension similar to that of the 805 Diamond; it also packs considerable dynamic punch for its size. Second, the PM1 has a rubber-covered bottom plate, arched top, and front baffle, whose top edge and sides are more rounded than the 805D's equivalent surfaces, presumably to reduce diffraction. (This also gives the PM1 a softer appearance compared to the more muscular combination of harder-edged and curved surfaces of the 805D.) Third, a new carbon-ring-braced aluminum tweeter—housed in a shorter version of B&W's characteristic tapered tweeter pod on top of the cabinet—makes its debut in the PM1. And, finally, the long-throw 5" Kevlar mid/woofer employs a new stiff, EVA polymer, foam-like center plug to reduce cone resonances better than a traditional dust cap. The cabinet is larger and heavier than I normally encounter for a speaker with a single 5" mid/woofer, which makes B&W's claims of extensive resonance-reducing internal bracing and substantial construction materials plausible. The small size and attractive appearance of the speaker, together with its very nice looking stand, should make the package easy to integrate in a wide variety of living situations. I listened with the mid/bass grilles off, but left the tweeters' protective caps in place.