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Bowers & Wilkins and Abbey Road Studios have announced the 801 Abbey Road Limited Edition loudspeaker, a model that commemorates the companies' 45-year relationship. Production is capped at 140 pairs.

The new loudspeaker starts with Bowers & Wilkins's flagship 801 D4 Signature platform and adds studio-inspired cosmetic changes. Each cabinet is finished in Vintage Walnut and trimmed with red Leather by Connolly, a nod to the control room in Abbey Road's Studio Two. A numbered plate on the rear identifies the run, and each buyer receives a hardcover book documenting the brands' shared history.

According to Bowers & Wilkins, the 801 D4 Signature's drive-unit array and enclosure geometry carry over unchanged, preserving the performance that Abbey Road engineers adopted as a reference monitor. The company calls its design goal "True Sound," a term it uses to describe reproduction that is "uncorrupted and faithful in every nuance to the original."

"I couldn't be more thrilled to bring this story to the market," said Giles Pocock, Bowers & Wilkins's vice-president of brand marketing. "We're immensely proud of our partnership with our friends at Abbey Road and we think the 801 Abbey Road Limited Edition is the perfect way to celebrate that."

Jeremy Huffelmann, Abbey Road's general manager, added, "Abbey Road's relationship with Bowers & Wilkins is a decades-long celebration of sound and technology. I'm delighted we have collaborated to create the 801 Abbey Road Limited Edition together, honouring our shared history with an outstanding representation of the values, heritage and credibility of both our brands."

The 801 Abbey Road Limited Edition is available now to order at $70,000/pair.