CM1 Company History

Bowers & Wilkins, Ltd. is a well recognized name among audiophiles and classical music aficionados. The B & W 800 series loudspeakers have long been considered preeminent studio monitors for orchestral recording sessions dating back to the launch of the original 801 in 1979. The list of recording labels and studios that have used 800 series monitors includes Philips, Decca Records, Deutsche Grammophon, and EMI's Abbey Road Studios where, incidentally, the latest Star Wars movie, Revenge of the Sith was recorded and mixed using B & W loudspeakers. Because of the prominent use for orchestral recording, the speakers are often favored amongst avid orchestral listeners with the intent of replicating the recording session as close as possible by using the same speakers for reproduction as were used in production.

The origins of the company lie in the back room of John Bowers and Roy Wilkins hi-fi shop in Worthing, England where John began modifying and building loudspeakers due to dissatisfaction with the quality available at the time for classical music reproduction. These custom speakers developed a following that eventually lead to the founding of B & W Electronics, Ltd. in 1966. Since that time, B & W has built a reputation on quality products and a dedicated program of research and development. John Bower's close association with recording engineers who provided feedback on the designs has also lead to the widespread adoption of B & W speakers in classical music recording.

B & W has grown from speaker manufacturer into the current B & W Group. Over the years, B & W has offered amplifiers and other electronics under the now defunct Aura name and currently through such well known brands as Classe Audio and Rotel. The CM1 monitors, with the FS-700/CM stands, are the latest in a long history of loudspeaker designs by Bowers & Wilkins.