The Beosound Theater that Bang & Olufsen has presented at the IFA in Berlin it’s not just a soundbar. Technically advanced, with attention to design, with top-of-the-range performance and price, it is actually a radical change of perspective both in the way a soundbar at home is considered and in the overall approach to a technological product.
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The value
Normally the soundbar is bought after the TV. First you choose the screen, the brand, the model and then (or at the most at the same time) it is the turn of the audio. That even in the best TVs, it often falls short of the images: and it is inevitable, considering that the luminaires are increasingly thin, or even simple panels only a few millimeters thick.
Sony has in its catalog TVs that use the screen as an audio source, an elegant solution that does not guarantee the best possible performance. In the best cases, the television includes a soundbar, effectively separate but aesthetically integrated into the design (this is the case of Philips, with Bowers & Wilkins). Bang & Olufsen itself has been offering models with an optional soundbar for years, but perfectly compatible from an aesthetic point of view, but this time it adopts a completely different strategy.
The Beosound Theater is a soundbar that comes before the TV. And even after, we could say, since according to the company it is designed to last at least 10 years, a period of time in which it is quite reasonable to switch TV. This is why it is modular, updatable and easily repairable: “We want to change consumer behavior, create a way of thinking that goes beyond the philosophy of disposable”, he explained Miklu Silvanto, Chief Design Officer di Bang & Olufsen.
Reasonable, for a top-of-the-range fixture and that costs over 6 thousand euros: “But price is not synonymous with value – pointed out Silvanto – Value is the ability to last over time, the ability to bring past products into the future as well”.
Don’t grow old
In Berlin there was a practical demonstration of this philosophy: in the same room a 50-year-old turntable, a 30-year-old speaker, a 10-year-old smart speaker and the newborn Beosound Theater worked together perfectly, controlled by an app or a sci-fi remote control. For this to happen, updates and minor technical interventions are required, but many Bang & Olufsen products were already set up to be connected to each other from the start. The rest is done by a software platform called a bit pompously Mozart, which guarantees the immediate connection with all devices marketed since 1986. In this way, those who are fond of the timeless design of the Danish company can continue to use the old stereo system or other components in a modern multiroom system.
The Beosound Theater is also designed with a view to the future: the connection park is as wide as possible, the 12 speakers use the latest technologies, the quality of the materials is above all suspicion, and can be disassembled with a simple screwdriver. The processor that controls digital sound processing it is now used only at 60% of its potential: “Software updates will arrive that will allow it to be exploited more, to ensure compatibility even with standards that have not yet been invented”, was Silvanto’s reasoning. Because the challenge of building a home entertainment product that lasts at least a decade is twofold: on the one hand it must withstand time and daily use, on the other it must not look old. To combat obsolescence, Bang & Olufsen promises to develop software and services that add new functions to the soundbar and other products: “If old means stuck in the past, this device will not become old for many years,” Silvanto explained with some pride.
After a long experience in Cupertino, he has been working for the Danish company for a year: “Steve Jobs was a huge Bang & Olufsen fan, and in certain B&O products from the 1970s you can see the ancestor of the iPod click wheel, for example. With Apple he has brought design to the center of attention of a very wide audience, and his is a lesson that no one today can ignore, ”he told us.
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A new perspective
The Beosound Theater has a decidedly personal style, with a mix of metal, plastic and wood, but it can also be covered with a sober Kvadrat gray fabric. But even so it does not hide that it is a top of the range product, and it is impossible for it to go unnoticed, if only for its imposing size.
As mentioned, this soundbar can be done buy even earlier of the TV. And in fact on the back there is a motorized stand to mount televisions from any manufacturer, as long as they are equipped with the Vesa standard; aluminum fins are also available to modify the width, making it aesthetically compatible with screens of size from 55 to 75 inches. As you’d expect from B&O, there are no cables in sight and everything works flawlessly with just one remote.
It can also be installed on the wall, and thanks to the new Roomsense sound configuration technology it will always sound at its best. The external microphone, placed in the listening positionanalyzes the output signal and adjusts the reproduction parameters of each speaker according to the different positions, calibrating the result on the volume and the sound characteristics of the environment, to avoid unwanted resonances: “And the technology that adapts to the room, does not the opposite”.
Alone and in company
Beosound Theater can become the central element of even a very complex system: it has 7 integrated outputs and it is possible to connect up to 16 external speakers, for a Dolby Atmos 7.1.4 surround setup. Of him, it has 12 speakers, including two 6.5 ” long-excursion woofers. Then there are 12 amplifiers for a total power of 800 watts, which translates into a maximum sound pressure of 112 dB. The solution adopted for low frequencies is original: other systems send the bass to the most powerful speaker, usually the subwoofer, while Beosound Theater uses all speakers and makes them work together as a single unit.
In a short live test, the effect seemed remarkable to us, and perfect even for the most explosive scenes of action films: the bass is well defined, without rumble. The dialogues are very good, the coaxial central channel takes care of it, with the tweeter mounted in front of the midrange to ensure the best sound distribution and emphasize the quality of the voice. The sound stage is also credible and well defined, with sounds that really seem to come from right and left: “Thanks to the full and clean power of the sound, a refined technological platform and modular design we have brought the level of performance, which until now could only obtain with a multi-speaker configuration, in a single device, a soundbar capable of perfectly integrating with different TV models “, was the comment of Kristian Teär, CEO at Bang & Olufsen.