Proving that a great sounding speaker doesn’t need to fill an entire shelf or look like an ugly black box, the Bowers & Wilkins T7 is compact, beautiful, and it sounds amazing. The T7 gives 18-hours playback from a single charge, and it’s compact enough to bring it along for travel.
Available in black or gold, the Bowers & Wilkins T7 has two 50mm drive units, twin bass radiators, advanced audio converters, and high-quality digital processing.
Included in the box are the speaker, a quick start manual, safety instructions and warranty information, an offer for three months of B&W Society of Sound, and a wall charger with interchangeable plugs for the US, UK, China, and Europe.
The Bowers & Wilkins P7 speaker measures approximately 8.3″ long by 4.5″ tall by 2.2″ thick, and it weighs 2.2 pounds. The exterior is wrapped in black matte rubberized plastic. Under that outer rubberized bezel, there’s a plastic honeycomb border that goes all the way around the center portion that holds the speakers and bass radiators.
I thought at first that this honeycomb effect was for visual interest because it is interesting, but no. Bowers & Wilkins calls this a Micro Matrix, which is “a rigid honeycomb of interlocking cells that brace the cabinet and reduce vibration and distortion.” The center of the speaker, the area that houses the drivers and bass radiators, is a perforated metal rectangle that sticks out about 0.3″ on each side.
On the top of the speaker, built into the rubberized casing, there are four buttons: Bluetooth, play/pause, volume down and volume up. The buttons are raised so they can easily be found, but they are super subtle; they don’t detract from the T7’s clean aesthetic.
The power button is on the bottom right side. When you turn the T7 on, a tone will play. Pressing and holding (for two seconds) the Bluetooth button on top will make the T7 show up on your device for pairing. The first device paired with the T7 will be the primary device — you can always connect to it by pressing the Bluetooth button, and you can pair up to seven more secondary devices.
Above the power button, there are five bluish-green LEDs that will progressively glow as the battery is charged; once the battery is fully charged, they will all stop glowing. You can always check the remaining battery life by pressing the Power button; each LED represents 20% battery life, so if all five are glowing, it’s 100%, 3 would be 60%, and so on.
The left side is clean.
On the back, there is a line of ports; the first is power. I’ll admit that I was bummed that it didn’t use USB-C for charging, but it is what it is. Next to the charging port is the Aux-in port, a micro-USB update port, and a reboot slot.
Sound played through the Bowers & Wilkins T7 is incredibly clean. Highs are pure, and while it doesn’t put out anything near bone-rattling bass, what it produces is more than adequate. Midrange is clean and separated without muddying, and the audio is loud enough to fill a larger room. Whether it’s Jay-Z or Sir Sly, the T7 sounds great.
The Bowers & Wilkins T7 pleasantly surprised me. It’s smaller than many of the portable speakers I’ve reviewed, but the sound it produces is bigger than expected. It’s not trying to be a smart speaker, it doesn’t come with an app, and yet it’s enough.
The T7 is the ideal speaker to tie to an Amazon Echo Dot if you plan on keeping it at home, but the long battery life is a plus — making it perfect to bring along almost anywhere. Its compact size means that when traveling I can toss it in my carry-on without worrying that I’ve added something too big or too heavy. I highly recommend it.
The Bowers & Wilkins T7 Wireless Bluetooth Speaker retails for $349.99, and it is available directly from the manufacturer and from other retailers including Amazon [affiliate link].
Source: Manufacturer supplied review sample
What I Like: Beautiful, aesthetically pleasing design; Small size with big sound; Long battery life; Excellent sound; Pairs with up to 8 devices; Great for travel and includes multiple plug adapters
What Needs Improvement: Bass may not be deep enough for some
