John
Having purchased venerated loudspeaker manufacturer Bowers & Wilkins back in 2016, the now five-year-old EVA Automation has injected their streaming platform into a suite (not a ‘series’) of new B&W models that talk to die-hard audiophiles and the man in the street alike.
The Formation Suite comprises a standalone loudspeaker (Wedge, US$899), a 9-driver soundbar (Bar, US$1199), a subwoofer (Bass, US$999), a network streamer (Audio, US$699) and – of sharper interest to Darko.Audio readers – a pair of active standmount loudspeakers (Duo, US$3999) where “carbon-domed, tweeter-on-top technology and Continuum cone drivers” are juiced by Class D amplification with a 24bit/96kHz interlink keeping left and right channels in sync.
Each Formation unit connects to a home network via Ethernet or proprietary MESH Wi-Fi network. On-boarding and device configuration are executed by the Formation smartphone app (iOS/Android) with music streaming itself falling to third-party solutions: Airplay 2, Spotify Connect, aptX HD Bluetooth and Roon Ready, the latter initially the only route for hi-res audio streaming (via its internalised Qobuz and Tidal).
Further information: Bowers & Wilkins
