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Boenicke Audio W5 Speakers Review

Written by Terry Ellis April 2020
Not what I was expecting at all 
Boenicke Audio is a company that has interested since my first Munich HiFi End Show in 2017.  Shooting a video in the Boenicke room  their speakers stood out for their unique looks and excellent sound.  It wasn't until a year later at the Audio Video Show in Warsaw 2019 that I had the opportunity to put myself , my camera and recording equipment in a good seat for proper listen to some Boenicke speakers, but this wasn't enough for me I wanted more.
I expressed an interest to Sven Boenicke (Owner) to review the W5 speakers because their form factor is both interesting and fitted a unique criteria of being suitable for desktop use.  Desktop speaker use might seem a little alien to some but for others who spend as many hours working at a desk as I do the prospect of high end sound quality on a desk is very appealing.   The W5 are ideally suited for this because they have a spring suspension system that isolates them from the desk overcoming one of the main problems of using speakers in this manner. 
I was very excited to receive the speakers and thanks to Elite Audio the UK distributor for shipping the speakers to me quickly.  Initially I was very surprised by how small and light the box was that housed the W5 speakers and I was even more surprised by their small physical size and low weight.  Normally installing speakers is a back breaking affair but not with the W5 you can pick them up in one hand and easily move them around needing only your finger tips to adjust their position or toe in which is a welcome change.
In the video below I introduce the Boenicke Audio W5 and tell you more about their design. 
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More surprised in how they sound 
The W5 speakers have a very long suggested run in time of 250 hours, it made sense to get cracking on the task asap.  I did my best to ignore the speakers trying not to actively listen to them during this time but it was impossible with a speaker system this engaging to listen to and on quite a few occasions I found myself stopping work to listen.

By the time 250 hours were up I felt I had a pretty good take on how the W5 were sounding but on Sven's advice to toe them in more aggressively resulted in a significantly better sounding W5 speaker system.  You will see the results of this in the demonstration video below but to summarise the W5 are very open and highly detailed sounding speakers with excellent treble extension and crispness.  The bass quality, articulation and ease in which they deliver punchy bass was a big surprise from such a small speaker.  Its still a small speaker so inevitable laws of physics apply for bass extension and overall output but the W5 deliver more bass than they should for their extremely small footprint.

Compared to other speakers, larger speakers the mid arrange and some vocal can sound a little lean and lacking the same presence, other larger speakers  deliver the bottom octaves of vocals better, however I think correct system component matching could help with this. 

​With certain music styles the treble and upper frequency regions energy was a little forward and little too much but again this could be a system matching situation as I don't think I was using the ideal amplifier with the W5.
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Pulling it all together 
The Boenicke W5 are a very interesting, very beautiful, very clever and very good speaker system and I enjoyed my time with them immensely.   They perform fantastically well in certain areas with the speakers mains strengths of creating a wide and open clean sound stage that is fast and clear across the audible spectrum with the exception of sub bass.

The W5 are not a perfect speakers if one exits and with an RRP of £4895 they wont suit every audiophile because at that price point some will want more bass output and extension, higher spl playback levels and a grander overall sound scale that larger speakers can create.  The W5 are extremely small speakers about half the size of the KEF LS50, but for audiophiles who want a smaller speaker and who are seeking a pair that can create a totally engaging emotional high end listening experience the W5 are an essential audition speaker system. for you.
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Contact Us - terryellis@pursuitperfectsystem.com

Copyright Pursuit Perfect System © 2017

  • Home
  • ARTICLES
    • Why bother recording the sound from a HiFi System?
    • FREE Dirac Live Calibration with an AVR30
    • How much bass do I need? More than you think
    • Building the Ultimate Audio Music Server.. Again !!
    • Are you DIAMOND WIRING your Speakers??
    • The Importance of Leading Edge Clarity
    • Full system to Review has got me thinking
    • Best Products of 2018 AWARDS
    • Widescreen Weekend – Bradford’s Not-So-Little Secret
    • Festival of Sound Audio and Music Show 2018 Review
    • A week of High End Audio
    • A Special Guest and A/B Listening Session with Tellurium Q
    • Munich High End Show 2018 Review
    • Visit to Henley Audio
    • Building the Ultimate Music Server - Hardware
    • Isolation is a Powerful thing
    • Oppo says Goodbye - Time to Upgrade
    • Does Software Affect Sound Quality
    • Special Listening Session
    • The Dolby Atmos Project
    • Bristol Sound and Vision 2018
    • The Hi-Fi Show Live 2017
    • Indulgence Show 2017
  • EQUIPMENT REVIEWS
    • 432 EVO >
      • 432 EVO Standard Server REVIEW
    • ARCAM >
      • Arcam AVR 850 Review
      • Arcam P49 Review
    • Audio Analogue >
      • Maestro Anniversary Integrated Amplifier REVIEW
    • AUDIOQUEST >
      • Audioquest NightOwl Carbon Review
      • Niagara 7000 & Thunder Power Cable Review
      • Oak & Coffee Cables Review
    • Audiolab >
      • Audiolab M-DAC nano REVIEW - One for the Commuters
      • Audiolab 6000A & 6000N PLAY REVIEW
    • Blue Aura >
      • Blue Aura V40 Hybrid Amplifier REVIEW
    • Boenicke Audio >
      • Boenicke Audio W5 Speakers REVIEW
    • BOWERS & WILKINS >
      • Bowers & Wilkins 705 S2 Review
      • Bowers & Wilkins 603 Speakers REVIEW
    • Canor Audio >
      • Canor Audio AI 1.10 Tube Amplifier REVIEW
    • CHORD ELECTRONICS >
      • Chord Electronics Hugo M Scaler REVIEW
      • Chord Electronics Hugo TT2
      • Chord Electronics DAVE Review
      • Chord Qutest Review
      • Chord Hugo 2 Review
      • Chord Hugo TT Review
      • Chord 2Qute Review
      • Chord SPM 1050 Amplifier Review
    • Cyrus >
      • Cyrus ONE CAST Streaming Amplifier REVIEW
    • Eclipse >
      • Eclipse TD510z MK2 Speakers REVIEW
    • FOCAL >
      • Focal Utopia & Elear Headphones Review
    • FURUTECH >
      • Furutech NCF Booster & Signal Booster Review
      • Furutech FI50 (R) NCF IEC Review
    • German Physiks >
      • German Physiks Unlimited Ultimate REVIEW
    • Gryphon Audio Designs >
      • Gryphon Diablo 300 Integrated Amplifier & DAC REVIEW
    • iFI Audio >
      • iFi Audio ZEN DAC REVIEW
      • Ifi Micro iDSD Black Label Review
      • iFi Audio xCAN Headphone Amplifier DAC REVIEW
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      • JCAT USB CARD XE REVIEW
      • JCAT Net Card FEMTO Review
      • JCAT Signature USB Cable & USB + Lan Grounding Cable REVIEW
    • IsoAcoustics >
      • IsoAcoustics GAIA II Speaker Isolators
    • KEF >
      • KEF R7 Speakers REVIEW
      • KEF Reference 3 Speakers Review
      • KEF Muo Stereo Pair Review
      • KEF M500 Headphones Review
    • Leema Acoustics >
      • Leema Elements Integrated Amplifier
    • LUXMAN >
      • Luxman L509X Review
      • Luxman L505UX II Review
      • Luxman C-700u & M-700u Pre & Power Review
      • Luxman M700 Ultimate Review
    • Mark Levinson >
      • Mark Levinson No.585 Review
    • Melco >
      • Melco N100 REVIEW
    • MCINTOSH >
      • McIntosh MC275 VI Review
      • McIntosh MC152 Stereo Amplifier Review
    • Monitor Audio >
      • Platinum PL100 mkII
    • MUSICAL FIDELITY >
      • Musical Fidelity Nuvista 800 Review
    • NAGRA >
      • NAGRA Classic Integrated Amplifier
    • NAIM >
      • Naim Uniti Atom - Hands On demo
    • OPPO >
      • Oppo 203 Oppo Mod Upgrades
    • PS AUDIO >
      • PS Audio Directstream Dac Review
    • Quadraspire >
      • Quadraspire QPLUS HiFi Supports Case REVIEW
    • REL Acoustics >
      • REL HT/1508 Predator Subwoofer REVIEW
    • Tellurium Q >
      • Tellurium Q Statement Cables
      • Tellurium Q Black II Speaker Cable Review
      • Tellurium Q Black Diamond Speaker Cable Review
      • Tellurium Q Silver / Silver Diamond Cables
      • Tellurium Q Silver Diamond Cables Review
      • Tellurium Q Silver Diamond SPDIF Cable Review
    • Tungsten Grooves
    • Wave High Fildelity >
      • Storm Reference Digital Cable your Chord DAVE will love it
    • Wharfedale
    • Wilson Audio >
      • Wilson Audio TuneTot Speakers REVIEW
    • YBA >
      • YBA Passion Pre 500 & Power 650 Review
      • YBA IA350A Integrated Amp / Dac Review
    • UNISON RESEARCH >
      • Unison Research Unico 150 Hybrid Integrated Amplifier Review
  • Dirac Live Home Calibration Service
    • Dirac Live Calibrations 2019
  • YOU TUBE CHANNEL
  • About Us
  • Freelance Video Production
    • PMC Miles Davis Dolby Atmos Remix Video
    • Photo shoot for UK fastest growing hard surface repair specialist Fixation