Hey Curly, although they're both really nice speakers, in my opinion, sound-wise, the Level wins against the BS1 and given the choice I'd go with the Level for that reason alone. I have 2 BS1s (purchased before the Level came out), and I've actually just ordered a Level (well, 2, but one is for my daughter at college).

If you prefer the design of the BS1, then that's a good enough reason to choose it over the Level. The form factor of the BS1 does make it easier in some cases to place on a counter or tabletop, as it isn't as wide as the Level, if that's what you choose to do. (I'm going to wall mount my Level.)

Another advantage to the BS1 is that it has Deezer built-in, if you use that like I do, and can also take part in a multiroom setup. Multiroom is supposed to come to the Level, but who knows when.

Even though the Level is newer and to my ears sounds better, that doesn't make the BS1 a silly purchase depending on your use, needs and preferences. 

Good luck with the decision, and let us know which one you go with!

It’s a difficult one! You and I should have a discussion face to face :). And you should have a listen at your dealer’s using the same tracks, to compare the speakers in question.

I do like the sound of both the Beosound 1 and 2 more than that of the Level. I remember the time when I heard all 3 for the first time. I felt unsure after having heard the Level (even if it’s good), and was instantly convinced by the BS1 and 2. Especially the 2.

Now, there are many that like the kind of «centered» and mid-range focused sound of the Level and maybe depending on your preferences it does sound better. Maybe the one I listened to at my dealer’s was not set up properly. But how do I describe a feeling you can only feel? To me the BS1 sounds like a flow, a river, there is some magic to music being spread out of that downward-facing tweeter that I didn’t have with the Level. Then again, you might be able to tune the Level more to your liking. That’s where I’m interested in owners who got both and who have got a long-term experience.

My biggest issue is that the BS1 lacks some bass. Which the BS2 fixes easily. My god the BS2 sounds good, and at my dealer’s the Level never seemed to be able to get close. Even more so, the Level seemed to lack on the bass front too. I’d say the BS2 is close to the Balance rather than the Level. Both my dealer and me agreed that the Balance sounded big, and similar to the BS2, but somewhat more capable, while the BS2 had a more pleasing sound signiture. That’s part of the reason why I’m divided if my next speaker should be a BS2 or a Balance.

I own a Beosound 1 in Anthracite, and love the look of this matt dark gray finish and the «floating» top more than the design of the Level. And since I have got one, I’m not sure I’d want the BS2. But I still haven’t decided. I’m in talks about a bespoke-edition Balance with B&O, but even if the Balance is fantastic in its sound, I’d still prefer the sound of the BS2. I honestly had the impression the Level wasn’t that convincing. But it would look stunning next to a Beosound 1/2 if you already had one.

In terms of tech and how future-proof they are, my bet is that the Level is a safer choice. Who knows, maybe an improved next gen of the BS1 will be released at some point. But what with all the confusion around Beolink vs. Mozart I don’t know what to expect. They are working on Beolink for the Level, but  ’m not sure if they are working on a Mozart-BS1.

I’m in a serious trouble myself because my ideal speaker would be the sound image of the BS2, the performance of the Balance, tech that includes both Beolink multiroom, active room compensation and Mozart, and a design that is like a mix between the Level, the BS1 and the Balance.

You’re probably feeling just as confused as I am. I might end up getting both the Level and the BS2 or Balance. But I’m keeping my BS1.

I own the lot: 2 x BeoSound 2's, 2 x Stage, Level, Balance, Edge and a BeoSound 1. 

Level v BS 1? Level by some distance. More rounded sound, far easier to move around, can be wall-mounted. What's not to like?

moxxey wrote:

What's not to like?

1) It looks like just a speaker, rather than an alien artifact.  2) As @BeoWillie points out, it needs a cutoff for the touch buttons when fingers are sensed inside the carry slot.  Could have been done just like person-sensor in the BS1.  3) Assembled in China vs. Czech (both with Dansk-Al pieces).  At least the Mozart firmware is still improving rather than declining.  (If you get a BS1, stick with 7.xxxx and don't upgrade to 10.xxxx because DLNA play-pointer is mis/un-reported to the app and resets to zero (beginning of track) each time you pause it long enough to sleep.) 

Price alert: The aluminum w/grey fabric Level, non-voice assistant, is $1301 rather than $1499 on amazon.com (US) (ASIN=B08SXPH879), at least for one buyer this week...  (Not for @Curly who wants wood grille.)

“It looks like a speaker and not some alien artifact”.

SPOT ON.

trackbeo wrote:

3) Assembled in China vs. Czech (both with Dansk-Al pieces).

My BS1 causes me more issues than the Level. It constantly disconnects from wifi and the only way to reconnect is to reboot the BS1. Audio is good, but nothing special - Level is a, sorry for this, a level above it.

Level is just far easier to move around, too. I wouldn't get a BeoSound 1 if I was going to make this decision now. I'd get a BeoSound 2 - I own two - if portability wasn't the reason for purchasing.

Thanks for this, Moxxey.

I think it's coming down to price. I can get a pre-owned BS1 for about $1,000 but a Level will cost about 70% more. I'm not sure it's worth it when I like the look of the BS1 more, even if the Level has the wood grill.

We will see. I'm not in a rush so I'll hunt for a bit. :)

When the Level first came out, I trialed a Level and BS1, and bought the BS1.  Why?

1)  For all the praise from various sources about the amazingly awesome sound from the Level, I didn't hear it.  It does sound nice, and in a perfect environment, it does sound better than the BS1, but to compare it to rivaling the BS2, to my ears, is flat our hyperbole.  It's not even close (I do own a BS2).  In my kitchen, the BS1 won because it had fuller bass and sounded better "off axis" (where most of my listening would occur).  I spent a lot of time switching the sound back and forth between the BS1 and the Level, and decided I would be very happy with either.  There was no clear winner.

2)  The BS1 supports B&O multi-room.  I have a BS2, Eclipse and Essence that I frequently "join" in one way or another.  Use Chromecast?  I've had so many problems with Chromecast that I have pretty much given up on it.  Whenever I try to use it for some reason, it inevitably involves fiddling - restart the app, restart the phone, restart the device.  This is both with a CC Audio as well as B&O equipment.  In fact, it was poor CC performance that led me to buy a new device since my kitchen already has a BL3500 (connected to BS9000 connected to CCA), but the CCA was (and remains) too unreliable.  Some say that it might be my mesh network or I should run everything at 2.4GHz, but sorry, in my house NL works sooo much better.  It didn't help that at the time of purchase B&O and Google were having some issues with Chromecast working at all on some devices.  Also, it would have been difficult to explain to SHMO that the new device has the same problems as the old device it is replacing/augmenting.

3)  No need for portability so the Level's advantages here didn't help.

4)  Price.  I got a brand-new, recently discontinued "New York" / "gradient" edition BS1 for a great price.

This was my reasoning back in March, and I haven't changed my mind.  The BS1 is a great addition to my kitchen.  At the time, I also though maybe I was making a mistake, buying the "old" BS1 instead of the new kid on the block, but I looked at it more as "tried and true".

Curly wrote:

I can get a pre-owned BS1 for about $1,000

You might want to make sure you're getting a mk2 BS1 because I thought the original BS1 sounded weak (although, maybe they fixed it with the same software as the mk2 BS1).  I'm no expert on this.  However, when I first heard the BS1 when it first came out, I was extremely underwhelmed... yet, now I own one and think the sounds is quite good (for what it is, obviously, it doesn't rival my BS2).  I attribute this to it being a newer version, but, again, it could be software tuning across the entire line, maybe someone more knowledgeable can weigh in.