This review first appeared in February 2017 on HifiKnights.com. By request of the manufacturer and permission of the author, it is here syndicated to reach a broader audience. As is customary for our own reviews, the writer's signature at review's end shows an e-mail address should you have questions or wish to send feedback. All images contained in this piece are the property of Dawid Grzyb or Boenicke Audio - Ed.

Reviewer: Dawid Grzyb
Amplifier: Trilogy 925, Sanders Sound Systems Magtech + preamplifier 
Sources: Lampizator Golden Gate (Psvane WE101D-L + KR Audio 5U4G Ltd. Ed.)
Speakers: Boenicke Audio W8, Xavian Perla 
Transports: Asus UX305LA, Lumin T1
Speaker cables: Forza AudioWorks Noir Concept, Audiomica Laboratory Celes Excellence
Interconnects: Forza AudioWorks Noir, Audiomica Laboratory Erys Excellence
Power supply: Gigawatt PF-2 + Gigawatt LC-2 MK2 + Forza AudioWorks Noir Concept/Audiomica Laboratory Ness Excellence
Rack: Lavardin K-Rak
Music: NativeDSD
Retail prices of reviewed components in EU (excl. tax): standard CHF 6'880/pr, SE CHF 10'018/pr, SE+ CHF 16'336/pr, SwingBase CHF 1'434/pr

Switzerland's Boenicke Audio loudspeaker manufacture is't decades old yet. Hence to assume that they haven't already arrived at a safe place of grand recognition is understandable but wrong. With his work, main man Sven Boenicke has very clearly marked his presence on the audio map. His products are pleasantly different and very surprising. On the menu today are his W8 floorstanders. Each and every time this journalist visits a room with Boenicke Audio products, his attention is focused not only on their speakers and complementary electronics but also on the gathered crowd. One might ask why pay attention to other listeners' behaviour if the sound to our ears is the most important? Of course performance is key. That goes without saying. But at times the faces and commentaries of visitors to Sven's rooms are simply priceless. Here's why. Despite exceptional inconspicuousness, his speakers deliver a grand experience like there's no tomorrow. This applies to both his W5 monitors and W8 floorstanders. Very small sizes are followed by utterly huge impressive sound right off the bat. It's what they do very easily. If one hasn't yet had the pleasure to witness their performance, prepare for a shocking eye opener, of an off-the-rails ratio of box to imaging.

The typical upshot is that these create valid reasons to be stunned and question how such big sound can come from such small packages. One hears "damn, these are legit", "impressive!", "we need a bigger room". As a happy W5 and W8 owner myself, I can only smile when remarks like these occur. They probably make our Swiss gent even happier. In my case, the W8 model was acquired because of its very impressive yet linear nature. It perfectly fulfilled the needs of a journalist and enthusiast and the paragraph above merely describes the getting-to-know-and-want-them process. Three years ago, during the 2014 Warsaw Audio Show, I heard the W8 for the very first time.


Back then the shock was on me. People were asking themselves how a speaker of its size could so effortlessly fill a 100m² space with sound. Heck, I wondered about the very same thing. Somewhere along the road, not as a punter but already well-aware consumer, I obtained Sven's W5 monitors. These puppies are still part of my home setup and not going anywhere soon. The reason is simple. I haven't been able to find a subjectively better replacement even amongst much costlier products. The switch from the great and very popular KEF LS50 to the W5 was nothing short but liberating. The full story can be found here.

Getting back on track, right after the Polish event in 2014 I knew that the Swiss experience wouldn't let me forget about the W5's bigger brother. Forward several months. At the High End Munich show of 2015, the W8 showed again, this time with Nic Poulson's Trilogy 925 integrated amplifier. At least to my ears, the outcome was even better than it had been in Poland. To call the sound subjectively great would be a major understatement. The decision to ask for an invoice from both Nic and Sven was made after a mere 30 minutes in the room they shared back then. More information about Nic's gear can be found here. This ends my rather personal introduction of the W8 to segue into the technical part.

Again, the Boenicke Audio W8 floorstanders are very small. One could even say compact as an adult won't have any issues lifting their 10 kilograms with one hand. The W8 model measures 79 x 11.6 x 26cm HxWxD. That's tiny and makes a perfect domestic addition to even small rooms at least visually. But make no mistake, Sven's most affordable floorstanders are very serious. Their enclosures are made of solid wood and not veneer-covered MDF. Should one fancy Oak, two such solid pieces of wood get CNC-milled by a specialized sub contractor. The same goes for Walnut, Ash and Cherry. Each cabinet consists of two almost mirrored halves bonded perfectly. The seam between them is visible yet undetectable to the touch. The 'W' in any Boenicke model denotes wood, the figure next to it the biggest driver diameter in inches. Catchy and intuitive, yes? The specs aren't unusual: 4Ω nominal impedance, sensitivity of 87dB and 25Hz to 25'000Hz bandwidth aren't scary, at least in theory.


This is a four-way design and rather special on top of that. The W8's profile is not only slim but also slightly tilted back. Add sidefiring woofers. This should ring bells of individuals aware of the Audio Physic brand, say their Tempo VI model. Familiar looking, isn't it? It's not for me to say whether Sven Boenicke knows Joachim Gerhard [he does – Ed.] yet I wouldn't be surprised at all if these two gents crossed paths at some point in the past [they have – Ed.]. Boenicke's W8 are exceptionally well made. They scream quality and it's very obvious that the person responsible for their looks has great taste. The overall design is minimalist, sleek and very Scandinavian in general, wood merely sanded down smooth and then oiled, therefore almost raw to look exceptionally pleasing. Sven uses wood for its natural resonant properties by the way.