The 801 Abbey Road Limited Edition Story: Celebrating a Unique 45-Year Relationship

From our inception in 1966, through to the new 801 Abbey Road Limited Edition, discover the story of the unique professional relationship between Bowers & Wilkins and Abbey Road Studios.

Bowers & Wilkins and Abbey Road’s combined journey began in 1980, but the story of the 801 started much earlier. Fourteen years prior to introducing the 801 to the Abbey Road team in 1980, John Bowers and his engineers were working diligently to develop loudspeakers that could work as both monitors in recording studios and speakers for the home, delivering what he called ‘True Sound’.

To help make his vision of True Sound a reality, John Bowers hired Dennis Ward, an engineer from EMI to bring a new level of studio-focused knowledge to drive unit development at Bowers & Wilkins. Once Ward was on board, Bowers and his team could begin manufacturing drive units in-house, which eliminated the need for outsourcing parts. Instead, they could craft their own, which only contributed further to the ever-improving performance of Bowers & Wilkins loudspeakers.

In 1977, Bowers instructed his team to embark on the development of what would become possibly the most significant product in the brand’s history: the 801, so named because it was the first of what would become a new generation of loudspeakers designed to meet the demands of the 1980s.

The aim for the 801 was characteristically ambitious: in terms of performance, the brief was summed up in four words: the loudspeaker had to meet ‘full professional monitor requirements’. To deliver that performance, the engineering team at Bowers & Wilkins was told to free itself of any constraints or compromises that might be imposed by commercial considerations. Simply put, the 801 was designed to be the best loudspeaker the brand could make – full stop.

How the 801 changed music recording

Three years later in 1980, John Bowers brought the first 801 to Abbey Road to demonstrate its potential. On its arrival, the studio’s engineering team immediately understood its value and soon adopted it as their monitor of choice. This led to Abbey Road becoming the first recording studio in the world to use the 801 full-time, and marked the start of an enduring 45-year relationship. Since that day, successive generations of 800 Series loudspeakers have continually graced Abbey Road’s control rooms, mastering rooms and transfer rooms.

Forty-five years of collaboration and creativity

In that time, Abbey Road has witnessed the creation of some of the world’s most celebrated recordings, many of which were heard first through Bowers & Wilkins speakers, from artists including Amy Winehouse, Lady Gaga, Frank Ocean, Oasis, Adele, Radiohead, Stormzy, Little Simz and countless others.

In addition to helping record exceptional-sounding music, the 801 has been integral to creating iconic film scores. These include Raiders of the Lost Ark, Return of the Jedi, Aliens, The Last Emperor, The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit trilogies, many of the Harry Potter films, Skyfall, The Shape of Water, Gravity, multiple films from the Marvel Cinematic Universe, 1917, Wonka, Baby Driver, Barbie and Wicked.

True Sound evolved

Today, the latest incarnation of the 801, the 801 D4, remains the benchmark by which other high-performance loudspeakers are judged. Its highly revealing, ultra-low-distortion drive units are housed in uniquely designed enclosures that minimize unwanted resonances and ensure the most accurate reproduction of audio possible.

It’s the ultimate expression of True Sound – and ideally suited to its role as the loudspeaker of choice for Abbey Road. 

801 Abbey Road Limited Edition

The 801 Abbey Road Limited Edition is a celebration of this unique 45-year relationship.

It takes the very best loudspeaker Bowers & Wilkins currently makes, the flagship 801 D4 Signature, and reframes it in homage to the home of music making.

The 801 Abbey Road Limited Edition boasts a carefully crafted Vintage Walnut cabinet inspired by the studios’ iconic interiors and the countless iconic musical instruments that have enriched recordings at Abbey Road over the decades.

Complementing this unique wooden finish is a bespoke red Leather by Connolly trim that references both the aesthetic of the control room in Studio Two, arguably the world’s most iconic individual studio space, and the red leather chairs used by generations of performers at Abbey Road.

The design also includes a unique identifying plate on its rear panel, designed to mark its status as one of just 140 pairs of loudspeakers being produced. Buyers will also receive a unique, specially commissioned book that details the history of the two brands and their collaboration, featuring never-previously published photography.