Bowers & Wilkins T7 Review – a Portable Bluetooth Speaker with Class

There are way too many portable bluetooth speakers on the market these days, so it takes a lot to stand out. Bowers & Wilkins has managed to do just that with their T7 speaker. The T7 isn’t one of the smaller portable speakers that you’ll find out there, but measuring 4.5” x 8.3” x 2.1”and weighing 2.1 lbs, it’s still plenty travel friendly. It also sports a classy design that instead of being loud, helps it blend in to most environments while also looking very refined. Needless to say, this is not a speaker for the Beats by Dr Dre. crowd.

Speaking of its design, the honeycomb interlocking cell pattern on the speaker isn’t just there to look pretty – but it serves the purpose of keeping the speaker cabinet sturdy and reducing vibrations. Which brings us to another feat of this speaker, and that is that despite the fact that it can offer powerful sonics – it’s very stable and won’t shake and vibrate the surface that it’s resting on.

When it comes to playing music the T7 is brilliant, but it really shines when you’re playing high bit rate files. To that effect, the T7 comes alive on high bit rate files. That is not to say that music streaming services don’t sound great playing though it –  – Spotify comes through loud, powerful, with well balanced highs and mids, and a solid level of bass. But play some high bit rate files on the T7 and the audio experience gets taken to the next level. So go ahead and play a hi-res audio file through it, and you’ll really get to feel an extra level of warmth and body to the music. All in all, the audio experience is top notch on the T7 and it is virtually free of distortion too – even on louder levels.

Our only gripes with the T7 is that for its relatively high price tag, it skimps on additional features and a carrying case. It does however come with international power adapters, so that the T7 is ready for jet-setters right out of the box.

Verdict

When it comes to audio, the T7 is truly the audiophile’s portable bluetooth speaker. Bowers & Wilkins T7 speaker retails for $349.95, and while that might seem pricier than other competing portable speakers – it’s worth it. The T7 is one of the best portable Bluetooth speakers of its size.

The Good: Unique design and great build quality. Excellent balanced audio with no distortion on loud volumes. Solid battery life of around 18 hours.

The Bad: Pricey. No speakerphone or NFC. No included carry bag.