Bowers & Wilkins, also known as B&W, is rolling out a new and upgraded M-1 compact Mini Theater speaker as well as an updated round PV1D subwoofer.

The new M-1 only shows subtle design differences on the outside, but inside now boasts full-range performance the speaker company says is comparable to larger bookshelf speakers for both home theater and stereo performance.

The M-1 gets all new drive units, including an in-house designed tweeter, and a bass/mid-range driver that uses the new Anti-Resonance Plug first seen on the high-end PM1 loudspeaker.

The M-1 has also been updated with improved speaker cable terminations. They’re available for $250 each in matte black or matte white finishes. A tabletop stand and wall bracket are supplied, while a floor stand ($150 each) is available as an optional extra.

The round, bowling-ball like PV1D subwoofer ($1,700) retains its acoustically principled “pressure vessel” shape with opposed balanced drivers to cancel cabinet resonance, but now moves to digital signal processing developed for Bowers & Wilkins’ DB1 subwoofer and includes a dynamic EQ circuit.  The company says this provides increased flexibility and performance enhancements that, coupled with new drive units and 400-watt Class D amplification, lead to improved output and frequency response of +/-3db at 7.5Hz to 450Hz.

Bowers & Wilkins says the low cut off gives the PV1D a much greater ability to display a sense of space and scale that is relevant for both movie effects and music.

A new OLED display and touch button array provide access to a number of presets and tuning options, while a custom version of the SubApp PC software provides more advanced set-up options.

Additionally, the ASW608 subwoofer ($500) is now available in the same matte white finish as the M-1 loudspeakers.

The M-1 speakers and subwoofers can be packaged into MT-50 ($1,750) and MT-60D ($2,950) 5.1-channel systems. The MT-50 uses he AS608 subwoofer, while the MT-60D gets the PV1D sub.

Steven Castle - Contributing Writer

Steven Castle is Electronic House's managing editor. he has been writing about consumer electronics, homes and energy efficiency topics for two decades. He is also the co-founder of GreenTech Advocates.