Bowers & Wilkins A7

Powered speaker system with Apple AirPlay® wireless streaming

Zoom

Front
(iPhone not included)
A7 in living room
A7 on a shelf
AirPlay lets you stream to multiple A7s simultaneously.
Back
Back
Front view
Left front view
Other
Other
Port detail
Remote
Top view
Wirelessly stream from your computer (laptop not included)
Wirelessly stream from your iPad (iPad not included)
With remote

Photos
Videos

Item# 749A7B

24 people say

In Stock

Free

Crutchfield lifetime tech support

Free

Shipping

Your price $799.99

Add to cart

+ Add to wishlist Email me alerts for this product

Buy this item and earn up to 800 Rewards points

See more offers and ways to save

Special Financing Available

By buying this product you'll earn up to 800 Rewards points.

When you sign up for a Crutchfield account, you’ll be enrolled in Crutchfield Rewards. You’ll earn one point for every dollar you spend on gear from us. You can turn your points into Rewards Cards that you can use toward future purchases. You can sign up for an account now, or after you complete your purchase (you’ll get credit for the points either way).

Get everything right and save time
Contact us with your Connect ID:

1594404721

Our Advisors use Connect ID numbers to direct customers to specific pages on our site. When your Advisor asks you to refresh your browser, you can simply click this link.

1.888.955.6000 Chat

Share this product:

Overview
Details
Customer Reviews
Category Info

Our take on the Bowers & Wilkins A7

by Ralph Graves

The Bowers & Wilkins A7 wireless speaker system uses Apple AirPlay technology to let you stream music from your iPhone®, iPad®, iPod touch®, or computer. And it delivers that music with amazing clarity and accuracy, filling your room with full, natural sound.

Advanced acoustics for extraordinary sound

The system features audiophile-grade electronics and high-performace drivers to reproduce sound far better than what you might expect from such a compact system. A pair of tube-loaded tweeters— an innovation from Bowers & Wilkins' flagship Nautilus™ speaker — ensure the highs remain clean and clear, without sounding strident.

The dimples on the Flowport reduce air turbulance for smoother bass.

The two midrange drivers deliver full, natural detail, while the Kevlar™-reinforced six-inch woofer raccurately eproduces low frequencies. The rear Flowport™ has dimpled holes to reduce air turbulance (much like those on a golf ball), further ensuring that the bass sounds musical, not harsh.

Each of the five drivers is powered by its own amplifier to maximize responsiveness and accuracy. Bowers & Wilkins' propietary Digital Signal Processing circuitry continually analyzes and adjusts the audio signal. This keeps your music balanced, clear and distortion-free at all volume levels — even when you crank it up to maximum volume.

The AirPlay advantage

You can easily play music from you computer wirelessly on the A7 system through iTunes®. You can even stream to multiple A7s (or other AirPlay-compatible systems like the Zeppelin Air) to simultaneously play your music in different locations throughout your home. And you can control the volume levels of each connected player individually or jointly through your computer's iTunes program.

Stream music wirelessly from your computer

With your Apple portable — iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch — you have even more options. Stream music wirelessly directly from your device to the A7. Or use your portable as a remote to control your computer's iTunes library. Through AirPlay you can select songs and playlists, and adjust the volume level of the system as well.

Making the most of other music sources

An Ethernet jack lets you make a wired connection to your home network. Or play music from other portable devices through the system's stereo minijack input. And there's an optical digital inputfor compatible components, such as a CD player. The A7 has a built-in audiophile-quality 24-bit/96kHz upsampling digital-to-analog converter (DAC) that helps this system deliver the best possible performance from wireless and wired digital music sources.

See more info on this item

Highlights:

AirPlay lets you stream music wirelessly from your iPod touch, iPhone, iPad, or computer
two 1" tweeters and two 3" midrange woofers
internal 6" subwoofer
25 watts x 2 for tweeters, 25 watts x 2 for midranges, plus 50 watts for subwoofer
frequency response: 40-36,000 Hz
high-performance Class-D amplifiers
minijack auxiliary input accepts both analog and optical digital connections
USB port allows audio playback from your compute and enables firmware upgrades
Ethernet port for connection to your home network
built-in 24-bit/96kHz upsampling DAC handles wireless and wired digital audio sources
remote control
AC power cable
14-3/16"W x 8-5/8"H x 6-5/16"D
weight: 12.5 lbs.
warranty: 2 years
Our 60-day money-back guarantee

Shop all Bowers & Wilkins High-fidelity iPod Systems

Hands-on research from the Crutchfield Labs (what are the Labs?)

What’s in the box? | In-depth notes

Product Research

What's in the box?

Download owner's manual

AirPlay powered speaker
6.5' AC power cord
Remote control (CR2032 3V battery)
A7 Brochure booklet
AirPlay Setup booklet
Safety Instructions/Warranty
Safety Information
Battery removal/remote control diagram

Our Product Research Team

At Crutchfield, you'll get detailed, accurate information that's hard to find elsewhere. That's because we have our own in-house Product Research team — they open the box, verify contents, check the owner's manual, and record dimensions, features and specs. We stay on top of new products and technologies to help people make informed choices.

Features

B&W A7 Wireless Music System: The Bowers & Wilkins (B&W) A7 is a wireless powered speaker system that employs Apple's AirPlay technology. Apple's AirPlay technology offers high-quality wireless audio streaming from your iPod touch, iPhone, or iPad; as well as your Windows or Mac computer with iTunes. The A7 uses audiophile-grade Bowers & Wilkins audio technology for a high-fidelity sounding music system that can handle the broadest range of frequencies. The Bowers & Wilkins A7 works great in "out-of-the-way" spaces where it won't be noticed, such as on bookshelves or against walls.

High Quality Audio Design: The Bowers & Wilkins A7 wireless music system is equipped with a Class-D amplifier and digital signal processing (DSP). The Class-D amplifier provides 25W x 4ch (tweeters/mids) + 50 x 1ch (subwoofer). The B&W A7 features two 1" Nautilus tube aluminum tweeters, two 3.0" midrange drivers, and one 6" subwoofer. The wireless music system's enclosure is made from glass-filled ABS and feature's Bowers & Wilkins proprietary Flowport technology. The Bowers & Wilkins Flowport technology dramatically improves the system's overall bass performance. The unit's rear-firing port is dimpled to improve air flow, reducing turbulence. The result is less chuffing noise and less compression at high levels; which means better bass no matter how loud you like your music.

Apple AirPlay Technology: Apple's AirPlay technology allows music, downloaded to iTunes, to be streamed (wired or wirelessly) from your Mac or PC to the B&W A7. You can even bypass the computer entirely, and stream high-quality audio directly from your Apple iPod touch, iPhone, or iPad (all without the need to dock the device). The A7 supports Apple Lossless and MP3 audio file transfer. The B&W A7 and your AirPlay audio source must be connected to the same wireless network via a WiFi (802.11g/n) router or hub.

iTunes Streaming: The B&W A7 is able to wirelessly play audio from your computer's iTunes account either wirelessly (WiFi) or via a wired (Ethernet) connection using AirPlay streaming technology. When connected to the same network as a computer running iTunes, the A7 can appear as an output option in the pop-up menu at the bottom of the iTunes window. You can then browse your iTunes collection on your computer and stream music to the A7. To use the AirPlay feature you need a Mac or Windows-based PC running iTunes (10.2.2 or later) connected to the same wireless (WiFi) network as the A7.
Apple Device Streaming: AirPlay also lets you wirelessly stream your iTunes music and a variety of music apps (such as Pandora, iHeartRadio, etc) stored on your iPod touch, iPhone, or iPad to the A7. So there's no need to dock your Apple device. The Bowers & Wilkins A7's AirPlay feature works with iPod touch (2nd/3rd/4th/5th gen), iPhone (3GS/4/4S/5), iPad (1/2/3/4), and iPad mini with iOS 4.4.3 or later; connected to the same wireless network.

Simple Setup: In order to connect your Apple device to the B&W A7 wireless music system, you will need to download the Bowers & Wilkins AirPlay Setup App to your iPod touch, iPhone, or iPad (running iOS 4.4.3 or later). The Bowers & Wilkins AirPlay Setup App is also available to download for your Mac computer or Windows PC from the Bowers & Wilkins Support Site, allowing you to set up and manage the wireless music system from your computer.

Auxiliary Input: The rear-panel 3.5mm auxiliary input accepts an analog stereo minijack cable or mini-Toslink digital cable from your external analog or digital audio device. The A7 is able to play stereo digital audio up to 24-bit/96kHz resolution (not compatible with surround-sound encoded 5.1 channel digital audio).

USB Audio Streaming: The A7's USB (type-B) port can be used to stream and playback music that is stored or being streamed on your Mac computer or Windows-based PC. It can also be used for firmware updates.

Remote Control: The supplied wireless IR remote offers Power, Volume Up/Down, and Playback controls. Playback controls include Play/Pause and Previous/Next Track. The remote is powered by a single CR2032 3V lithium battery (pre-installed).

AC Power: The Bowers & Wilkins (B&W) A7 operates off of standard household AC current, using the supplied 6.5' AC power cord. The A7 will automatically enter Sleep mode if left inactive for more than 30 minutes.

Review this product

Submit a review and you will be entered to win a $150 gift card

Crutchfield Great Gear Giveaway Official Sweepstakes Rules

Reviews for the Bowers & Wilkins A7

Average Customer Review:

24 people say:

Review this product:

Thanks for taking the time to share your experiences about this product. Please be sure to focus your comments on the product itself. Read our Review Guidelines for more information.

Review title

* Email

Your email won't be visible. Please use the email address that is associated with your order.

Display name

(e.g., JohnD) Your review will be signed using the display name and location

* Your location

(e.g., Charlottesville, VA)

* Your rating

Click on a star to rate the overall product on a scale of 1-5

1500 characters left * Your review

Attach a YouTube Review

Crutchfield Video Review Guidelines

Only submit videos that you made or are authorized to use.
Do not submit videos that contain music, video or visuals that are copyrighted and belong to someone else.
Please see our Review Guidelines for more information.

Submit the URL of your YouTube™ video review or product demonstration. e.g., "http://www.youtube.com/v/o79TWHh598U"

500 characters left Pros

500 characters left Cons

* Agree to Terms By checking this box you agree your review becomes the property of Crutchfield, that you are over 18 years of age, that you own or have owned this product, and that you are located within the United States or its territories. Please see our Review Guidelines for more information. We reserve the right (but are not obligated to) review all submissions and edit or remove any review in any manner which we deem necessary. Your review should be posted within seven days.

Filter by rating:

5 Star: (16)

4 Star: (7)

3 Star: (1)

2 Star: (0)

1 Star: (0)

Sort by:

Showing: 1-20 of 24

View page: 1 2 »

Items per page:

5 out of 5

Fantastically Magical

Written By Bobby W, San Antonio, TX on Sunday, March 24, 2013

I've had this speaker for a little over a month and did an extensive amount of research prior to purchasing. I wanted to free myself of hiding wires and found that Bluetooth, while decent, didn't provide a way of using more than one unit at a time. The A7 is eloquently understated, while sonically very pleasing to the ears. I have purchased two, along with the Z2 and can use them to fill my home with clear, wireless sound. All of the units seem to disappear in the various rooms of my home until I use my iPhone, iPad, or Mac to command them into action. I have received nothing but compliments on their clarity.

Pros:

Beautiful styling

Cons:

Pricey

1 out of 1 people found this helpful

Was this review helpful? Yes | No

4 out of 5

Sounds incredible, looks beautiful, works seamlessly

Written By Scott F, Atlanta, GA on Monday, March 11, 2013

Crutchfield Customer Review (What's this?)

I've owned two different sets of Bowers & Wilkins speakers over the years. We couldn't deal with the wires anymore, so I was excited to find the A7.

I put one A7 in our master bedroom and a second in our main area. It's a gorgeous unit and it sounds incredible. The sound is clean and crisp, easily filling a decent-sized room and with power to spare.

(Side note: I also was pleased to find the Panorama 2, which complements the A7 speakers well and does a great job with surround.)

My only A7 complaint is the use of 2003-era 802.11g Wi-Fi. I live in a loft building, and my neighbors' devices (microwaves, other Wi-Fi networks, etc.) interfere with one of the units, causing sound to drop out frequently. This is a known problem with 802.11g and its use of the 2.4GHz band. It's 2013 and this is an expensive device, so it doesn't seem unreasonable to expect 5GHz 802.11n support.

I "fixed" the problem by buying an Airport Express, setting it to Client Mode, and connecting the unit to it via Ethernet. This effectively converted the device to use 5GHz 802.11n, which is far less interference-prone (and is much faster). It seems to be working, but I shouldn't have had to do it.

I love these units and would buy them again in a heartbeat. However, this review would be five stars, shorter, and sweeter if the Wi-Fi support was better.

Pros:

Beautiful device Incredible sound

Cons:

Use of 802.11g Wi-Fi

3 out of 4 people found this helpful

Was this review helpful? Yes | No

5 out of 5

B&W A7

Written By RKY, Middleburg, Fl on Sunday, March 10, 2013

Crutchfield Customer Review (What's this?)

Nice clean sound & easy to connect (link).

Was this review helpful? Yes | No

4 out of 5

You pay a premium for this wonderful sounding device

Written By layline, New Bern, NC on Tuesday, February 19, 2013

Crutchfield Customer Review (What's this?)

Using the ihpone app, the initial sync was very easy. Bass is a little boomy but can be tweaked with source equalization or stuffing a small sock in the rear reflex port. It's luggable: just unplug, slip your hand in the reflex port, and plug in the power at the new location of your choice. The sound is terrific, but you'll hear the lossage if you have a low-fii source like 128bit MP# or the hackneyed engineering you find on most popular music destined for the car radio. It's great for background music where you'd still like to be delighted by musical colors and nuances. I had little trouble with dropouts when playing sources on my home network. The dropouts I've experienced all occur with internet music sources. But I haven't pushed the range - it works just fine wherever I've wanted to place it within my Wi-Fi network.

Pros:

Wonderful clarity you'll hear every instrument - that's what it's about, right? The music holds together well at higher volumes. The unit is readily luggable and designer handsome.

Cons:

Boomy bass, Airplay lags, the small black remote is readily misplaced and likes to stay hidden. As expected for such a narrow unit, there's no soundstage. A similar great sounding system can be built with an Apple Airport Express and smaller quality monitors for several hundred dollars less. You pay a premium for the designer look and luggability of the A7. There's several seconds of internal buffering so Airplay lags.

Was this review helpful? Yes | No

5 out of 5

I was skeptical at first...

Written By Nick, Bayshore, NY on Friday, February 08, 2013

Crutchfield Customer Review (What's this?)

As I un boxed the unit I asked myself how is this little box going to fill my room with hifi sound. But to my surprise it sounded great! The air play is not so hard to set up as some have stated, just follow the steps and you should be fine. I set my unit up in about 4 minutes . I am truly amazed by the crystal clear audio . If your looking for something with blue tooth this Is not the unit for you. Bluetooth is inferior compared to air play that's why B&W went with air play. You will not find anything at or under $800 that sounds better than the A7.

Pros:

Crystal clear audio, multiple ways to control A7, small foot print, deep bass , long ac cord.

Cons:

None

5 out of 5 people found this helpful

Was this review helpful? Yes | No

3 out of 5

horrible app

Written By Rodriguez, Miami, FL on Saturday, February 02, 2013

The sound is really good, but the fustration of the software / app to connect and control the device is beyond believe. I can not understand how you spend this much on a quality wireless speaker, only to have to set it up every other time you use the device. Is one of the worst users experiences i have ever had. I know the sound quality is really good, but the user experience is horrible. Please, B&W, fixed the software!!!!

Pros:

sound quality

Cons:

app not working, device disconnecting all the time

3 out of 3 people found this helpful

Was this review helpful? Yes | No

5 out of 5

QUITE AMAZING

Written By ELMO, NYC on Friday, January 25, 2013

Crutchfield Customer Review (What's this?)

You must have a working Wi-Fi network and download the B&W app in order to get connected. It took about half an hour of hacking around but I managed to pull it off.

This sound is quite remarkable. It compares favorably with my very expensive living room stereo/hi-fi set up. In fact, I think I will replace my existing speakers with B&W at a later date. It surprised me to find out that I can use the A7 directly from my iPhone/iPad/AppleTV. It really is very handy to keep the iPhone next to my bed and crank up some music before bed and while getting dressed in the morning.

Pros:

wonderful sound; connection to wi-fi

Cons:

a bit tricky to set up

1 out of 2 people found this helpful

Was this review helpful? Yes | No

4 out of 5

Written By Carolina, Miami, FL on Tuesday, December 11, 2012

Crutchfield Customer Review (What's this?)

The A7 is a great buy. If I use airplay from my computer I get complete uninterrupted sound. When I use my iPhone I have gotten some skips in the music but only after gently throwing my phone on the sofa. I like that you can have these speakers throughout the house and stream music to all of them at the same time or choose which speakers to stream to. I use a N wireless router.

1 out of 1 people found this helpful

Was this review helpful? Yes | No

4 out of 5

very good but not perfect

Written By tennisfreak, Chicago, IL on Thursday, December 06, 2012

Crutchfield Customer Review (What's this?)

setup can be a little finicky with no real documentation describing exactly what the apps are supposed to be doing (i.e., changing the device ip address to be reachable on your local subnet). i finally got the Windows app to work after giving up in frustration with the iOS version, but even then it took 2 or 3 tries (with at least one paper clip hard reset of the A7) before things worked as they should. amplifier is powerful and the sound is quite good in a large bedroom. airplay now takes a couple of seconds to connect but is acceptably reliable.

Pros:

compact and attractive system, very good sound quality

Cons:

setup glitches, occasional airplay dropouts, lack of true stereo separation

2 out of 2 people found this helpful

Was this review helpful? Yes | No

5 out of 5

Loving It!

Written By Stormy, Pennsylvania on Thursday, November 29, 2012

Crutchfield Customer Review (What's this?)

I really love the B&W A7. It looks great...very stylish and sounds amazing! I've tried it with several genres of music and have no complaints thus far. The only problem I've found is the set up wasn't as easy as I had anticipated and I consider myself technically savvy. B&W could improve on their set up instructions. Other than that, I would highly recommend this product to anyone looking for a nice bookshelf system....though I think it's much more than that.

Pros:

Stylish, amazing sound

Cons:

Set up instructions need more detail.

1 out of 1 people found this helpful

Was this review helpful? Yes | No

5 out of 5

Awesome A7

Written By Jerry L, NOVA, VA on Tuesday, November 27, 2012

Crutchfield Customer Review (What's this?)

Thoroughly impressed by the sound quality and clarity. Everything sounds great through the A7 but instrumental music is amazing. Again, the clarity is beyond anything I have heard through any other wireless or powered speaker option. Currently own a Bose also set in the basement and enjoy it but the B&W is in a different league. The wireless option through AirPlay is the ultimate way to use the A7. With multiple phones and iPads in the house the A7 is in near constant use with just a touch of the screen. Really nice !!

Pros:

Sound style functionality. Amazing. Top of the class.

Cons:

Price.

1 out of 1 people found this helpful

Was this review helpful? Yes | No

4 out of 5

Awsome sound, setup shortcoming

Written By Gabor, Los Altos, CA on Saturday, November 17, 2012

Crutchfield Customer Review (What's this?)

The A7 has an excellent sound! Having the left and right channels in the small footprint close by diminishes somewhat the feel of stereo experience, a price for compactness. The setup has issues thought! B&W currently does not support network passwords containing #,&,@ ... This might become cumbersome and challenging, when you have to change your network password. I strongly feel for the price the setup should not have such shortcomingns. Newertheless the sound quality is awesome...

Pros:

Sound quality

Cons:

Stereo experience is limited with the compact design Software setup has issues due to limited network password character support!!!

4 out of 4 people found this helpful

Was this review helpful? Yes | No

5 out of 5

LOVE IT!!

Written By Skye C., San Francisco, CA on Monday, November 12, 2012

Crutchfield Customer Review (What's this?)

Not sure what all the negative comments are about the airplay....Plugged it in, downloaded B&W app to my iphone, followed the apps instructions, and BAM music was playing. And the sound is beautiful!

Pros:

Sound quality, ease, and beauty

Cons:

None so far

Was this review helpful? Yes | No

4 out of 5

BW great sound, drops sound more than I would like

Written By Bob A, Pittsburgh on Sunday, November 11, 2012

Crutchfield Customer Review (What's this?)

The sound is great and they are very pretty. Set up is easy and naming intuitive For some reason, however, Airplay does go in and out more than I would expect given the price. It may be that I need to move the router around but there are not great instructions bout how to do this and it is as common for the zepplain in the next room as the speakers downstairs. I think that is the biggest downside

1 out of 1 people found this helpful

Was this review helpful? Yes | No

1-20 of 24 >>

For a more in-depth review and enhanced detailed information on the Bowers & Wilkins A7, please visit the Crutchfield website product page (/S-y6urWnFyQPM/p_749A7B/Bowers-Wilkins-A7.html ).

Recommended Accessories See more accessories

Your featured item

Bowers & Wilkins A7

Powered speaker system with Apple AirPlay® wireless streaming

$799.99

In Stock

Power Protection

Monster GreenPower™ HDP 900G PowerCenter™

Power line conditioner and surge suppressor

Save 10% with select home A/V gear

$129.95

In Stock

Stereo Mini Patch Cables

Monster MusicConnect™

Stereo mini-to-RCA adapter cable

$19.95

In Stock

Protect your gear with an extended warranty

Add 3 Year Warranty

Square Trade Warranty

$94.99

In Stock

add spill/drop protection for...

Accidental Damage Handling

$55.00

In Stock

Add selected to cart

Find the gear that's right for you

Ask an expert

Your Crutchfield Advisor knows the gear inside and out.

Call 1.888.955.6000

Chat

Compare with other Bowers & Wilkins models

Bowers & Wilkins A7
Enjoy even fuller sound
4.5 out of 5: IN STOCK
The Bowers & Wilkins A7 features 5 speakers — 2 tweeters, 2 mid/woofers, and a 6" low frequency woofer for bigger, more natural sound.
View All Product Information
$799.99

Bowers & Wilkins A5
5 out of 5: IN STOCK
- The Bowers & Wilkins A5 offers:
  - AirPlay lets you stream music wirelessly from your iPod touch®, iPhone®, iPad®, or computer
  - auxiliary stereo minijack input for other portable players
  - frequency response: 47-22,000 Hz
View All Product Information
$499.99

Bowers & Wilkins A7
4.5 out of 5: IN STOCK
- The Bowers & Wilkins A7 offers:
  - AirPlay lets you stream music wirelessly from your iPod touch®, iPhone®, iPad®, or computer
  - high-performance tweeters, midranges and subwoofer for exceptional sound
  - minijack auxiliary input accepts both analog and optical digital connections
View All Product Information
$799.99

Bowers & Wilkins A5
Compare with
$499.99

You are here

Bowers & Wilkins A7
Get details
$799.99

Get live, personalized service from an expert

Crutchfield Advisor: Hi there.

Crutchfield Advisor: We're happy to answer questions or provide additional info about this item.

Chat now
No Thanks

Advisors also available at 1-888-600-3963

Front
(iPhone not included)
A7 in living room
A7 on a shelf
AirPlay lets you stream to multiple A7s simultaneously.
Back
Back
Front view
Left front view
Other
Other
Port detail
Remote
Top view
Wirelessly stream from your computer (laptop not included)
Wirelessly stream from your iPad (iPad not included)
With remote

Free Shipping on Everything

Bowers & Wilkins A7

Powered speaker system with Apple AirPlay® wireless streaming

Item# 749A7B offer details

Review Summary

By buying this product you'll earn up to 800 Rewards points.

Our take on the Bowers & Wilkins A7

by Ralph Graves

Advanced acoustics for extraordinary sound

The AirPlay advantage

Making the most of other music sources

Highlights:

Shop all Bowers & Wilkins High-fidelity iPod Systems

Hands-on research from the Crutchfield Labs (what are the Labs?)

Product Research

Our Product Research Team

Features

Product Reviews

Reviews for the Bowers & Wilkins A7

Average Customer Review:

Review this product:

Crutchfield Video Review Guidelines

Filter by rating:

Fantastically Magical

Sounds incredible, looks beautiful, works seamlessly

B&W A7

You pay a premium for this wonderful sounding device

I was skeptical at first...

horrible app

QUITE AMAZING