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AliExpress "Bowers & Wilkins" Speakers

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20K views 42 replies 16 participants last post by  Blue SUV  
#1 ·
I'm slowing swapping in BW speakers for the HP ones in my car. In my search for good deals on the BW speakers I saw these on AliExpress:

AliExpress BW Midrange

Do we think these are imitation, or are they from the same factory as the real ones, just without brand name labels?
 
#2 ·
May be like the strut brace that some folks have bought - it's really close but not OEM quality. Would be great if someone has experience with them.
 
#3 ·
Hi, I'm not sure where you got the info these were BW speakers.. Nowhere on the link you supplied does it say B&W, so I would assume that these are cheap knock-offs that I wouldn't go anywhere near, just my thoughts!
 
#4 ·
Oh sorry. Yeah they don’t actually say BW. But that’s either because they are knock offs or they are the real deal but not sold as such. All the BW speakers are made in China. So the hope is you are getting unbranded ones from the same factory that makes the real ones.


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#8 ·
Literally BW's yellow (and now silver) speaker medium is protected like national security. in fact, BW doesn't even allow outsiders to even see the manufacturing process, let alone tell they what's in the materials to make them. If you think BW is going to let their real, proprietary speakers be sold counterfeit on AliExpress you are crazy. These are not just speakers....they are some of the most highly-guarded speaker manufacturing secrets in the world. AliExpress is not selling genuine OEM or they would be sued into oblivion by BW.
 
#9 ·
Literally BW's yellow (and now silver) speaker medium is protected like national security. in fact, BW doesn't even allow outsiders to even see the manufacturing process, let alone tell they what's in the materials to make them. If you think BW is going to let their real, proprietary speakers be sold counterfeit on AliExpress you are crazy. These are not just speakers....they are some of the most highly-guarded speaker manufacturing secrets in the world. AliExpress is not selling genuine OEM or they would be sued into oblivion by BW.


This article seems to refute a few of your points.

Also the car speakers in question are produced in a factory in China likely with other brands. If you want national security like protection for your IP you don’t manufacture in China.

I’m not saying the AliExpress ones are necessarily by any means legit but it’s not outside the realm of possibility they are made to the same standards. They really are just simple Kevlar speakers in the present case.


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#14 ·
Man I've really hit some nerves here... "most highly-guarded speaker manufacturing secrets in the world" and "speaker medium is protected like national security," there's a combination of words I never thought I would hear. We are talking about mass produced 3" kevlar speakers...not patriot missiles.

Anyway, the hope of my original post was that someone had already tried their luck on these speakers and they could respond saying either "yes, these are good" or "no, they are no better than HP paper cone speakers"...not get trolled.
 
#15 ·
Man I've really hit some nerves here... "most highly-guarded speaker manufacturing secrets in the world" and "speaker medium is protected like national security," there's a combination of words I never thought I would hear. We are talking about mass produced 3" kevlar speakers...not patriot missiles.

Anyway, the hope of my original post was that someone had already tried their luck on these speakers and they could respond saying either "yes, these are good" or "no, they are no better than HP paper cone speakers"...not get trolled.
No, the comments are just stupid, so stupid to the level they deserve to be corrected. Bowers and Wilkins is one of the most highly regarded manufactures in the entire world of speakers, one of the pioneers of audio. The speakers specifically referenced by the poster are not made of Kevlar, and actually are kept secret about as much as a national security secret. If you watch the news lately, it’s probably kept better the national secrets. It took them over 10 years to even develop the material used, let alone how they construct the speaker with it. So, when people laugh like some Chinese company is producing replicas that are actually able to replicate the originals. Sound quality the fax point to something otherwise.

The material is highly proprietary as is how it’s constructed and manufactured. That’s not really an opinion that’s just the facts. So I think it’s very clear that the replicas look alike, but don’t sound alike. Bowers and Wilkins absolutely protect their proprietary research and patents like a watchdog and there is no way you can get on eBay and buy their product at a fraction of the price with some Chinese seller. They would sue them into oblivion.

I guess if you’re not an audio file and you’re not reach Milyer with speaker manufactures that sell six-figure systems to customers every day it probably seems pretty silly that a speaker seems to be such a great mystery and a garden secret. The fact is these companies take it extremely seriously into them it is as important as national security and it’s protected as such.
 
#24 ·
LOL. Owning a company and having a licensing agreement with them are two completely different things. It's not semantics, its facts. I didn't realize Volvo service advisors were so privy to the "complex licensing structures" between their suppliers.

Yes, so it looks like B&W was acquired by Sound United in 2020. So I was wrong. I can actually admit that. Not sure what I said incorrectly about B&O though, I never made a statement on who owned them, other than that it's NOT Harman.

You're the one that only comes here to argue and not provide any useful discussion. All one has to do is go to your profile and look at your recent activity. All you do is attack others and throw insults, while never admitting when you're wrong. You'd make an excellent politician.
 
#25 ·
Sigh. Maybe I’ll take one more try at it……

Bang and Olsen audio is owned by Harman. You are WRONG. Apparently you can’t admit that.


if you wanna take a in-depth read about how bowers and Wilkins is tied together through a very complicated licensing in ownership structure with Harman then you might understand why I made the comment I did and why my comment is not correct and your argument is over semantics
 
#26 ·
I already read that article. I'm not wrong, at least not completely ;). They own the automotive business, producing automotive products in the same factories that they produce all of the other brands they license. They don't own B&O as a whole and they're certainly not the ones doing all the R&D, patents, etc for B&O technology. Just like they're not the one choosing which materials B&W is using for its speaker cones, or how its weaved. B&W does the R&D and then tells Harman how to use that tech to manufacture automotive products with their name on them.

I'm ready to put this one to rest though. If I remember correctly my main point was that Bowers & Wilkins does not produce their own automotive speakers and that is 100% a fact.
 
#38 ·
Good point. I think the HP system has 8 ohm speakers. I had to replace one of the full range speakers in the bottom of the door, and if I remember right, I think it had a sticker stating 8 ohms.
 
#35 ·
Kevlar B&W midranges are the same color all the way through, showing a straw yellow color on the front and the rear of the cone. At first glance, from behind, the kevlar of the AliExpress one's cone is evidently black, which can be seen in the front/back pictures. That makes the front painted/dyed yellow, or at least have two layers of material bonded together, making it less likely that it's the same actual unit.

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#40 ·
going to more ohms is fine, but you'll just have less power on tap. Going to lower ohms on the same amp settings is the problem.