1980s
In 1982, the company opened its Steyning research facility[14] and added a PDP11/35 computer, utilizing a building previously owned by SME Ltd.[9] Research into amplifiers and active filters leads to the Active One loudspeaker, branded under the name of John Bowers Active One in 1984.[16]
In the 1980s, Laurence Dickie was hired as an amplifier designer. In a 2025 interview, Dickie said, "I was given the job because I’d been working on active crossovers for fun, as a hobby."[17] Dickie had developed the idea of a 'matrix' construction, after initial inspiration of Aerolam being used by Celestion. His reasoning was to extend the structure of Aerolam to fill the entire cabinet.[9] At the time, B&W wanted to develop active crossovers and active B&W loudspeakers.[17] Dickie presented his ideas to John Bowers, it was tested by the research team, and found to have significant qualities in reducing loudspeaker cabinet colouration. A new range with this 'Matrix' culminated into the first 'Matrix 1,2 and 3' loudspeakers, to much acclaim.[9]
In 1986, B&W's 20th anniversary was celebrated with a Festival Hall concert and classical CD. That same year, the Matrix Series featuring a honeycomb cabinet structure was introduced.[14]
Also in 1986, John Dibb joined the company, later to become responsible for many speaker designs, notably several signature models.[18] Dibb's 1987 'Concept 90' CM1 loudspeaker[14] was the first B&W speaker with a plastic moulded matrix cabinet.
The 800 loudspeaker range was improved into matrix versions with its very rigid cabinet construction in 1987.[19]
In 1987, Bowers died.[14] Robert Trunz, who had been an investor in the company after first buying B&W’s North American distributor, took leadership of the company[20] and asked Dickie to independently complete the work of John Bowers, who was researching a way of producing a speaker with zero cabinet effect. This ultimately became the 'Nautilus' Loudspeaker premiered in its prototype form in 1991.[9]
In 1988, Abbey Road Studios adopted the B&W Matrix 801 into its studios. This relationship continues today, and Abbey Road’s engineers are frequent visitors to the Steyning Research Establishment. The B&W 800D is the reference monitor at Abbey Road today.[10]
In 1989, B&W appointed Morten Warren, and manufactures his Emphasis ‘graduate project’ loudspeaker design. He is responsible for some current B&W product designs, including the Zeppelin and P5 headphones.[10]
