Beosound Balance is a new creature in B&O's range. The Danes in Struer have a serious number of Wireless speakers in the range, and most of these are placed in lower price ranges. But not necessarily the very lowest, because Bag & Olufsen is known for doing most of their business at Premium range.

Flexible Living

This time we are in a quite different segment than the Beoplay speakers. But then this is also a Beosound speaker, and it is placed in the Flexible Living series. In addition to the TV Beovision Horizon we find the two wireless speakers Beosound 1 and Beosound 2. The smallest of these I reviewed the previous generation of just over a year ago, and it managed to seduce in a rude way. The largest of the two - Beosound 2 is in the same price range as today's newcomer. Both of these speakers are represented in the latest Contrast Collection, which we wrote about a month and a half ago. We also have a review of Beoplay A1 from Contrast Collection in progress - stay tuned!

Beosound Balance

Balance has a concept that is very different from the other two Beosound speakers in the Flexible Living series. Where Beosound 1 and 2 have a design dominated by aluminum with sophisticated details that only Danish designers master (ok, almost only), Beosound Balance has a much softer expression. Here, solid oak and textile apply, but also here we find a great design language with elegant detailing.

This time, B&O went to the English industrial design firm LAYER, wher they engaged Benjamin Hubert. The result has been a new, fresh design, which stands out a bit from most of what the company has done in the past.

But even though the design is in a diametrically opposite direction from the other two speakers in Flexible Living, there are some common ideas in terms of sound philosophy. As with many other manufacturers in recent years, Balance also has a design where maximum sound distribution is the highest priority.

See what designer Benjamin Hubert says about the design:

Construction

Balance has a kind of 4-way construction, although it's probably a little imprecise to call it four-way. If we start at the bottom, there are two 5.25 '' bass drivers working in oposite directions. Or Pull-pull as it is also called. This is a concept that has been successfully applied to other compact HighEnd wireless speaker manufacturers, not least Devialet.

Further down, two 2 '' full tones take over, and are replaced by a ¾ inch in the treble. The fourth element types are two 3 '' full-tone elements located on the back, wherever that is ... The latter should ensure optimum spread of sound.

Active room correction

Beosound Balance uses active room correction. It allows for optimal fit to the room and to the location of the speakers.

They are otherwise full possibilities for configuring two. Balance in a stereo layout. As usual, it involves double the price, but also usually much more than double the fun. And if you want even more fun, the door is wide open for a multi-room layout.

Layout

If you are wondering how to set up Beosound Balance, just take a look at the video below. Then you also get an idea of ​​what opportunities are provided with the speaker. And if this seems a little too complicated, it might be an idea to sit down and listen to Frank Zappa's Yo Mama.

Voice Control

Google Assistant is already present in this speaker, while it is also scheduled for Amazon Alexa. The latter will come as a software update during the year. Wireless connections are maintained with Google Chromecast, Apple Airplay2 and Spotify Connect. The latter comes in the form of software update During the first half of 2020.

Beosound Balance is available from Today, March 5, and comes in black oak and oak nature. The price in Norway is NOK 20,500.

Read more about Beosound Balance at Bang & Olufsen