Bowers & Wilkins 704 S3 Ex-Demo

The 704 S3 is the slimmest floorstanding loudspeaker in the 700 Series — and the one that makes the most sense in a typical British living room. Where the 702 S3 and 703 S3 demand space, the 704 S3 is narrow enough to sit comfortably against a wall without dominating the room, yet tall enough to project a full, coherent sound into it. This is a three-way design, which matters: the midrange driver has its own dedicated enclosure section, separated from the bass loading, and that decision has audible consequences.

This particular pair is ex-demonstration, finished in Mocha, and has been run in properly on our Norwich showroom floor. It is available now at a significant reduction from new.

Carbon Dome Tweeter

Bowers & Wilkins developed the Carbon Dome tweeter specifically for the 700 Series. The move from aluminium to carbon raises the breakup threshold to 47kHz — well above the audible range — which means the tweeter is operating in a region of complete composure across all frequencies that matter. The tweeter is decoupled from the cabinet, mounted on its own plate, which reduces the coloration that would otherwise result from cabinet vibration bleeding into high-frequency reproduction. The result is treble that is detailed and extended without drawing attention to itself.

Continuum Cone FST Midrange

The 130mm midrange driver uses Bowers & Wilkins' Continuum cone — a composite material developed to replace the Kevlar cone used in earlier generations. The key property of Continuum is that its transition from pistonic to modal behaviour is gradual rather than abrupt, which avoids the sudden colouration that conventional cone materials introduce at their breakup frequency. Paired with the FST (Fixed Suspension Transducer) mounting — which eliminates the conventional surround and replaces it with a resin-impregnated foam ring — the midrange output is notably clean through the critical vocal and instrumental range.

The driver is also decoupled from the main cabinet using a Biomimetic Suspension system, which further reduces mechanical interference from the bass drivers operating below it.

Aerofoil Profile Bass Drivers

The 704 S3 uses twin 130mm Aerofoil Profile bass drivers. The Aerofoil cone has variable thickness — thicker at the centre for rigidity, tapering toward the edge — derived from computer modelling to provide the optimal stiffness-to-mass ratio at each point across the cone surface. The cabinet is a vented-box design, with Bowers & Wilkins' Flowport — a dimpled port mouth that reduces turbulence and port noise at high excursion. Bass extension and control are notably good for a speaker of this cabinet volume.

Technical Specifications

Who Is It For?

If you are considering standmount alternatives at a similar budget, this is worth hearing directly against them. The scale and bass extension of a floorstander of this quality is difficult to replicate from a shelf.

Buying from Martins Hi-Fi

Martins Hi-Fi has been in Norwich since 1968. Elizabeth Gould runs the business today, and we stock only brands we have heard properly and stand behind.

Martins Hi-Fi is the second oldest Bowers & Wilkins dealer in the world. This pair of 704 S3s has been demonstrated in our showroom and is available to hear before you buy — we'd encourage it. When you get in touch, you'll be speaking with Dave, Chris and Tim — experienced specialists who can advise on this product and your whole system.

Contact us at info@martinshifi.co.uk, call 01603 627010, or WhatsApp on 07554 687137. You can read more about how we work on our Why Martins Hi-Fi page. We are at 85–91 Ber Street, Norwich, NR1 3EY.