Bowers & Wilkins Formation Wedge

Features

Room-Filling Stereo Sound: The Bowers & Wilkins Formation Wedge features a 3-way stereo driver design with two 1" double-dome tweeters, dual 3.5" FST (Fixed Suspension Transducer) midrange drivers, and 6" woofer. The Formation Wedge utilizes Class D amplification with digital signal processing (DSP) and a Dynamic EQ for optimized sound performance at any volume level. A 40W x 2ch Class D amplifier powers the tweeters, while another 40W x 2ch Class D amplifier powers the midrange drivers. The woofer is powered by an 80 watt Class D amp. Its unique 120-degree elliptical shaped cabinet perfectly angles the speaker to provide room-filling, stereo sound with a frequency response of 35 to 28kHz.

Wired & Wireless Network Connectivity: The Bowers & Wilkins Formation Wedge supports a wired (Ethernet) or wireless (WiFi) network connection. The Formation Wedge is equipped with an RJ-45 LAN jack for a wired connection to your network router. It also offers built-in WiFi (2.4GHz) for a wireless connection to your network router. By connecting the Formation Wedge to your network, you gain access to select online music services, Spotify Connect, Apple AirPlay 2, Roon, and B&W's proprietary Formation Wireless Multiroom Audio Eco-System.

Note: The Music Bowers & Wilkins App (for Apple iOS 12.0+ and Android OS 5.0+) is required to connect your Formation Wedge to your home network and also to establish connection with other Formation Series speakers in your home.

Music Bowers & Wilkins App: The Music Bowers & Wilkins App (for Apple iOS 12.0+ and Android OS 5.0+) provides simple setup and control from your compatible Apple iOS or Android mobile device. Use the Music Bowers & Wilkins app to connect the Formation Wedge and other Formation Series speakers to your WiFi network. The app also lets you access select online music services, while also controling basic functions - such as Source Selection, Volume Up/Down, as well as Bass & Treble of the speaker. In addition, the app lets you create a wireless multiroom audio mesh network with other Bowers & Wilkins Formation speakers for a whole house audio experience. You'll be able to control each Formation Series speaker in your home through this one application on your compatible Apple iOS or Android OS device. Software and firmware updates are also enabled through the Music Bowers & Wilkins app.

Formation Wireless Multiroom Audio: The Formation Wedge is part of Bowers & Wilkins Formation Series of speakers (sold separately - see Accessories Tab) that can be used together to create a wireless multiroom high-resolution audio system. B&W Formation Series speakers wirelessly connect together through a proprietary mesh network, independently from your WiFi network, to ensure 24-bit/96kHz high-resolution audio performance throughout your home. Each Formation Series speaker dynamically chooses the optimal path to route audio-data between speakers, in order to ensure a robust streaming experience with near perfect speaker synchronization (1 microsecond sync between speakers).

• Number of Speaker Groups: You can have up to six Bowers & Wilkins Formation Series speakers on one wireless mesh network. You can group Formation speakers together and play the same audio source through each speaker or have different audio sources playing through each speaker.
• Compatible Sources: Tidal, Tune In, Qobuz, NTS, Soundcloud, Dash, Spotify Connect, and Bluetooth audio are supported by Formation wireless multiroom audio. Roon & AirPlay 2 are not compatible because they are independent and alternative multiroom audio platforms.

Notes: Click here for Bowers & Wilkins Formation Series support page.

Online Music Apps: Within the Music Bowers & Wilkins app (for Apple iOS 12.0+ and Android OS 5.0+) you can access select online music services; including Tidal, Tune In, Qobuz, NTS, Soundcloud, and Dash. You'll also have browsing and playback control, plus song/artist/album information (including album art) from the Music B&W app for the listed online music services. The Music Bowers & Wilkins app even gives you cross-service personalized track and playlist recommendations, plus exclusive access to curated Bowers & Wilkins content.

Alexa Voice Control Compatible: B&W has added support for voice-control via Amazon Alexa to their Formation Series. This new Formation Skill is a convenient way to wirelessly stream music and control the Formation product via an Alexa-enabled device (sold separately) using only your voice. You'll be able to use Alexa to access and control additional online music services such as Amazon Music, Pandora, SiriusXM, iHeartradio, and Tune In (Tidal, Qobuz, NTS, Soundcloud, and Dash are not supported by Alexa). In addition to an Alexa-enabled device (sold separately), you allso need to install the Alexa app (for Apple iOS 11.0+ and Android OS 6.0+) on your compatible smartphone or tablet device.

• Volume Controls: You can ask Alexa to increase or decrease the volume (0-100) on a specific Formation Series product or in a particular room. You can also ask Alexa to mute or unmute your music.
• Playback Controls: You can ask Alexa to playback a compatible online music service, a specific artist, or music genre on a specific Formation Series product or in a particular room. Alexa can also be used to control basic playback functions such as Play/Stop, Pause/Resume, Previous/Next Track, and Fast Forward/Rewind. You can even ask Alexa "what's playing" to be told the song title and artist.

Notes:

• The B&W Formation does not feature its own built-in microphone and requires a separate Alexa-enabled device (such as the Echo; sold separately) to use voice control.
• Only music services that have been certified to work with the Formation Series are supported; other services may appear but will not be supported.
• Alexa playback control is music service dependent (the music service must support the same features). Click here for a full updated list of Amazon Alexa Formation Series Skills.

Spotify Connect: The integration of Spotify Connect will enable Spotify Premium users to instantly select and wirelessly stream music to the B&W Formation Wedge from within the Spotify app (Apple iOS or Android). Spotify is a digital music service that gives you on-demand access to one of the largest music libraries in the world (over 15 million tracks and counting). Spotify makes it easier than ever to discover, manage, and share music with your friends. You can browse music by artist, album, track, or most popular; and create your own music library with customized playlists.

Apple AirPlay 2: AirPlay 2 is an advanced and easy-to-use wireless multiroom audio platform for iTunes, Apple Music, and other compatible Apple iOS apps. With AirPlay 2 you can play any sound from your Apple iOS device (running iOS 11.4 or later) or Mac computer (running OS X 10.13.2) on the B&W Formation Wedge and other compatible AirPlay 2 components throughout your home. You will also be able to ask Siri-enabled devices (like your Apple iPhone, iPad, or Watch) to control playback of your Apple Music on the Formation Wedge. You can choose to play audio in one room, play the same audio in grouped rooms, or play the same audio in every room (you can control and group directly from Apple's Music App and Home app on your Apple iOS device). If you are an Apple Music subscriber, you can even play different music in different rooms (you can control and group directly from Apple's Music App and Home app on your Apple iOS device). You can even watch videos and movies from YouTube and Netflix on your compatible Apple iOS device or Mac computer with perfectly synced audio on the Bowers & Wilkins Formation Wedge.

Roon Ready: Roon is a feature rich music library and playback application that compiles all the music files available to your network and makes them easily available to play across all your B&W Formation Series speakers and any other Roon enabled audio devices. Roon manages digital music files (including FLAC, WAV, AIFF, ALAC, and DSD) collected on hard drives and networked storage. It can also watch your iTunes library, and optionally integrate with the Tidal and Qobuz music streaming services. Roon is available for mobile, laptop or desktop devices. When you open the Roon app, it will display your complete audio library together with its metadata and artwork along with all the available Formation and Roon enabled devices. Simply select the music you wish to play and the Formation or Roon device in which you want to hear it on.

Note: To use Roon you will need a Roon Core running on the same network as the Formation Wedge and other Formation Series speakers. The Core is media server software that runs on your computer, NAS, or turnkey appliance (like Nucleus or ROCK - sold separately), located on the network within your home.

Bluetooth Audio w/ aptX HD: The Bowers & Wilkins Formation Wedge features built-in Bluetooth 4.1 with support for wireless audio streaming (A2DP). You'll be able to wirelessly stream stored music, music apps, and other audio content from your Bluetooth-enabled source device (such as your smartphone, tablet, laptop, or desktop computer) to the speaker. You'll continue to use your Bluetooth-enabled source device to control playback functions and view song/artist info (album art).

• Supported Codecs: In addition to support for Bluetooth's standard SBC audio codec, the Formation Wedge supports AAC for higher quality playback from Apple iOS devices, as well as support of aptX HD for 24-bit/48kHz audio playback from compatible devices. aptX HD supports 48kHz/24-bit LPCM audio over a Bluetooth wireless connection for a "better-than-CD" listening experience.
• Multi-Device Pairing: Up to eight Bluetooth devices can be paired with the speaker, but only one can be connected and used at a time. The Formation Wedge does not support auto reconnection with previously paired Bluetooth devices.

Note: The Formation Wedge will require a network connection and the Music Bowers & Wilkins app to complete to complete the pairing process of your Bluetooth-enabled source devices.

Optional Wireless Powered Sub: Add the Bowers & Wilkins Formation Bass wireless powered subwoofer (749FRMBASS, sold separately) for deeper bass from your music soundtracks.

AC Power with Auto On/Off: The Formation Wedge comes with a detachable 6.5' AC power cord that plugs into the bottom of the wireless speaker and into an AC wall outlet or surge protector (sold separately - see Accessories Tab). The Formation Wedge will automatically turn on when it senses a wireless audio source signal. The wireless speaker will automatically power off after twenty minutes of no audio signal and no operation.

Note: The Formation Wedge wireless audio speaker is not battery powered.

Mounting & Placement Options: The Formation Wedge speaker can be placed on a shelf, table or piece of furniture (it does not offer a bracket, threaded-insert, or key-hole slot to wall-mount the speaker). The Wedge radiates sound energy not only forward, but also to the side and rear. Consequently, if the Formation Wedge is positioned close to room boundaries, or particularly in a corner, bass may become over emphasized. If you find that bass from the Wedge is too prominent, moving it to an alternative position may be beneficial, however you can also adjust the bass level via the Music Bowers & Wilkins app on your compatible mobile device.

Note: The Formation suite of products are not moisture resistant, as they are not designed to be used in high-humidity or moisture rich environments. Positioning a Formation product in a moisture rich environment such as a bathroom or sauna, could cause damage to the product that would not be covered under its manufacturing warranty.