Abbey Road Studios and Bowers & Wilkins announce a new strategic partnership, uniting two of the world's most esteemed audio brands. The partnership sees Bowers & Wilkins named as Abbey Road Studios Official Speaker and Headphone partner. The selection was based on Bowers & Wilkins long-standing commitment to performance audio for studio and home use, as well as their product being the preferred speaker of Abbey Road's award-winning engineers.
The partnership will establish Bowers & Wilkins as the speaker and headphone of choice throughout Abbey Road Studios, bringing best-in-class reference monitoring to the legendary Studios One, Two and Three, as well as The Gatehouse and The Front Room – two new studios opened in 2017. Abbey Road will adopt the Bowers & Wilkins flagship 800 Series Diamond; 800 D3 loudspeakers, which are hailed as delivering the most accurate reproduction of audio to date in these studios.
The announcement reaffirms Abbey Road Studios’ commitment to providing the best possible recording experience, and marks the continuation of a relationship between the brands built on shared values of audio excellence, precision craftsmanship and innovation. The new partnership will see the two brands collaborate on a variety of engineering initiatives, bringing the teams together to further the goal of creating the most accurate recording and listening experiences possible for both studio and home use.
In what is a transformative time for Abbey Road Studios and Bowers & Wilkins, both brands are pursuing exciting growth and innovation agendas:
Abbey Road Studios has recently undergone the biggest transformation in its 86-year history, building new studios designed for emerging artists, opening a Mix Stage for film sound post production, launching Abbey Road Red – Europe’s first audio tech incubator, and creating apps and services to make the Studio’s expertise more accessible to producers and artists across the world. Earlier this month, Abbey Road’s work was recognised with the prestigious 2018 Studio of the Year Award at the Music Producers Guild (MPG) Awards.
Bowers & Wilkins has reaffirmed its long-standing commitment to the highest quality performance audio across luxury home speakers, headphones, custom installation and performance car audio. Within the last year, Bowers & Wilkins has introduced a series of new products to critical acclaim, including the 700 Series for the home, as well as the brand’s first Wireless Noise Cancelling Headphone, the PX. Under the partnership, Bowers & Wilkins products including the world-renowned 800 D3, among others, will be installed throughout Abbey Road Studios to deliver the most accurate sound experience possible to recording artists.
Isabel Garvey, Abbey Road Studios’ MD says: “We are delighted to be embarking on an audio partnership with Bowers & Wilkins, who share our passion for creative excellence, innovation and the highest quality audio. By working with Bowers & Wilkins, our engineers can continue to deliver the best possible studio experience for our clients, and ensure that the passion and craftsmanship that goes into every recording can be translated to the home, just as the artist intended.”