These limited edition Abbey Road B&W speakers will make you gently weep

When two of the biggest British brands come together, you know it's going to be special. Premium audio manufacturer Bowers & Wilkins has produced a limited edition of its flagship 801 speaker to celebrate another icon of the British music industry, Abbey Road Studios.

Abbey Road Studios has recorded some of the biggest artists in the world and is responsible for some seminal albums over its 94-year history, from Pink Floyd to Lady Gaga. It was immortalised by The Beatles' album of the same name (that crossing from the cover is just outside), while it has also been responsible for some of the biggest film scores – from The Return of the Jedi to James Bond: Skyfall – recorded in its giant Studio One.

The studio has used B&W's 801 speakers as monitors in its control rooms since 1980, and still does to this day. To mark this, just 140 limited edition versions of the 801 D4 signature speaker have been created. The cabinet is made from a vintage walnut, inspired by the studio interiors and instruments, and a red Leather by Conolly trim is a nod to the leather sofas and features in the control room of Studio Two – where some of the biggest albums were recorded.

The 801 D4 Signature is an epic floor-standing speaker that combines two 10-inch aerofoil bass cones, a 6-inch continuum midrange speaker and a diamond dome tweeter, all housed completely separately for optimum sound delivery. Having listened to them a few times now, I can confirm they really do sound incredible.

The Abbey Road Limited Editions also feature a unique identifying plate on the rear grill. Each pair of speakers also come with a specially commission book covering the history of Abbey Road and Bowers & Wilkins featuring exclusive images of the two over the years.

It's hard to put a price on this level of exclusivity but in this case its £55,000 / $70,000 / €60,000. Even at this price though, I imagine they won't be around for long.