This backbreaking system comprises a pair of 704 floorstanders, the HTM7 centre speaker, a couple of DS7 rear speakers, plus the ‘rather large’ ASW750 subwoofer, which handles the sofa-shaking bass.

Fit and finish, from the wood-veneer curved cabinets of the floorstanders and centre, to the discreet rears, is impressive. Each two-and-a-half-way tower uses B&W’s favoured ‘tweeter on top’ design, and houses a couple of 16cm Kevlar drivers. The HTM7 centre also perches a tweeter on top of its cabinet.

A word of warning, though: that centre speaker reaches stands over 30cm tall, so you need to think carefully about where it’s going to be positioned.

As we said, the 1000-watt, 32kg subwoofer is also a big fellow, but as its sound is less directional, you can position the cabinet pretty much anywhere you like – though it still sounds its best in specific areas, such as near to a solid wall.

The DS7 rear speakers are ideal for wall-mounting and offer regular or dipole operation, the latter aiming to present a more widely spread (though less precise) sound.

A grand-scale sound
Up and running – with the rears in either setting – this system will swathe you in a grand-scale sound. Spin Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie’s Hollywood romp Mr & Mrs Smith and the sound packs the room. Integration is good, too – the various driver arrays work in harmony to deliver a tonally consistent sound.

Given its size, we expected great things from the B&W centre, and it pretty much delivers. Brad and Angie’s voices sound realistic, avoiding the ‘cupped’ sound of lesser centre speakers. A further boon is the level of detail on offer from this conscientious system.

We’ve saved the best feature for last: the subwoofer is an awesome bit of kit. Even with the volume level cranked scarily high, the ASW750 is utterly composed, blasting out deep, taut bass. No doubt, this is one of the best subwoofers around, and if you love big movie bangs, it could help make this package the system for you.

Sadly, when it comes to timing, the B&W system just isn’t quite agile enough, this being most apparent with music (both multichannel and stereo), but also affecting movie soundtracks. And that means the system isn’t quite an all-rounder.

However, if you’re mainly into movies, and like big bangs, then ignore the 704 package at your peril.