When Bowers & Wilkins announced the original four speakers in the Formation Suite of wireless speakers, apart from the soundbar and the subwoofer extension, the choice for a full range solution was between the Formation Duo speakers - a typical B&W design, reminiscent of the 800 Series Diamond speakers - and the Formation Wedge, a portable wireless speaker designed to be more of a standalone option for a bedroom or the kitchen (for those users investing in the Formation range).
In a way, the Formation Flex creates an entry-level option to the range. Designed to be versatile the Formation Flex can be used independently, paired with another Formation Flex for stereo sound, or any other Formation speaker for a whole home audio system including the Formation Bar for an immersive 5.1 surround sound experience.
The Formation Flex speaker features the same decoupled double dome 1” tweeter technology found in Bowers & Wilkins’ 600 series speakers, combined with a 4” woven glass fibre cone bass/midrange driver, offering the same reproduction qualities of those wired speakers. Designed and tuned by the same Bowers & Wilkins engineering team, the Flex benefits from Dynamic EQ processing, which optimizes the performance of the system in real time and allows for a higher level of performance, with less distortion than other wireless speakers.
“The Formation Flex is incredibly quick and easy to set up with our streamlined user interface. It takes just a few minutes to set up and start playing your music,” says Bowers & Wilkins CEO, Greg Lee. “Once again, we’re introducing world class modern design – a product that is purposely built for superior acoustics but designed to fit into your home aesthetic and make a statement. And one of the key features is the full home scalability, the Flex lets the consumer expand through the entire home with additional Formation products that we introduced in the Spring.”
The Formation Flex speaker shares the same Bowers & Wilkins patented wireless technology developed for the series, featuring a robust proprietary mesh network developed to run independently from a home Wi-Fi network, which allows for 1 microsecond synchronization between speakers, and supports high resolution audio streaming at 24-bit/96kHz.
Like the rest of the series, the Formation Flex can be connected to a wired network (RJ45 Ethernet) and connects to all types of wireless devices, WiFi and Bluetooth (v4.1, Class 2) supporting AirPlay 2, Spotify Connect, and Roon, with aptX HD, AAC and SBC codecs supported over Bluetooth. Prices and availability have yet to be confirmed.
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