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B&W Bows XT Series of Stylish Home-Theater Solution (26/9/2005)

The latest innovation from B&W Loudspeakers, the British company acknowledged worldwide as the leader among high-performance loudspeaker manufacturers, is a slim, impressively elegant solution to the challenge of bringing fully cinematic sound to the most carefully designed home-theater installations. With three new models comprising the XT4 left/right towers, XTC center-channel, and XT2 bookshelf/surround-speakers, B&W now offers the arrestingly natural sound quality for which its designs are justly famous from a range of speakers that will be at home in the most modern or most carefully custom-integrated of home theaters.

"The XT series arose from our design team's inquiries to find out just how slim, compact, and visually elegant true B&W-grade sonics could be at reasonable cost," says B&W Loudspeakers Executive Vice President Chris Browder. "This new range of brilliantly accurate speakers gives fans of critical music- and cinema-sound reproduction a combination of sonic and visual-design refinement that previously was simply not available at this level."

There are three members of the XT family. Its flagship XT4 is a notably slim, floorstanding three-way tower intended as a front "main" or stereo pair, with surprisingly deep and powerful bass from a pair of five-inch bass units. The compact XT2 is, essentially, a two-way, bookshelf reduction of the tower's design that is ideal in surround-channel applications, or for all-channels use in smaller set-ups.

The XTC is a horizontal center-channel two-way that complements the XT4 and XT2 both sonically and cosmetically. All three models share the series' striking look and dramatic, six-by-eight-inch cross section.

To achieve such a compact profile the XT series concept began with a family of totally new, extruded aluminum vented enclosures. These high-tech, sculptural cabinets deliver the clean, modern looks so many of today's buyers seek, in combination with B&W's superior acoustical performance. Achieved through sophisticated materials and manufacturing techniques, though just six inches wide, the XT enclosures rival the performance of much larger cabinets, such as B&W's more traditional 700-series designs. All three XT models are supplied with foam vent-plugs, permitting a useful degree of cabinet performance-tuning to placement, room acoustics, and individual preference.

The XT series' transducer set is classic B&W. A Nautilus-derived, 1-inch aluminum-dome tube-loaded tweeter developed specifically for the XTs provides clear, distortion-free response up to 50 kHz in all three models. A refinement of the firm's hallmark, woven-Kevlar(tm)-diaphragm driver in a five-inch format-also purpose-designed-handles bass-midrange reproduction with the exceptional depth and definition that will be instantly familiar to B&W listeners of long standing. The XT4 towers add a pair of paper/Kevlar-composite low-frequency drivers for impressive bass (to 34 Hz). All three models utilize unusually smooth, first-order "minimalist" midrange-tweeter crossover circuitry, a factor that materially contributes to their impressive clarity and definition, and singularly smooth, extended treble.

Satin aluminum exteriors of superb quality, set off by slim black grilles, highlight all three new B&W XT models. The two smaller models, the XTC center and XT2 each include an elegant support adaptable to shelf-stand or wall-mounting use that permits precise angular adjustment and integrates cable-concealment routing. An optional brushed-aluminum floor-stand is available for the XT2.

B&W's XT4, XTC, and XT2 will be available in September 2005, at projected manufacturer's pricing of $2,500 (pair), $800, and $1,000 (pair) respectively. Floor stands for the XT2 will also be available in September, at a manufacturer's suggested price of $300 (pair).

www.bwspeakers.com