BeoWorld were this morning invited to the Bang & Olufsen flagship store in Knightsbridge at 8.30am for an advance preview of the new wave of offerings from Struer.
You'll all be seeing plenty of photos of them I'm sure, so rather than pepper you with images I'll just give you a good, honest review based on my experience of Bang & Olufsen products past and present. I hope it will give you a feel for the products before you see them..
The three new products then :
BeoLab 17
Clearly a kind of BeoLab 4000 replacement, but way superior. Designed by Torsten Valeur (the same man who has designed the BeoLab 8000 replacement we've all been talking about) and to be fair he's done a great job.
The fret (called 'broken ice') is basically an insert (which can be interchanged with several plain cloth options by the way) which is easily removable by simply popping the top off the speaker and sliding it out. The tops can be changed for different colours too which offers a degree of flexibility if your colour scheme changes.
The cabinet design isn't the same on both edges either as you look down on it from above, so it's lost that 'almond' shape of the BeoLab 4000 which means you've more options to have them either on their side, top, upside down, on a shelf stand, table stand (comes in the box as standard) or wall brackets - oh, and floor stands which look similar to a BeoLab 3 floor stand with an off-centre pole. The floor stands are pretty short though, so if you've got them as rear speakers and have a high backed sofa it could be awkward!
The speaker is wireless, and the engineers had a bit of a challenge getting a wireless speaker to work whilst it's encased in metal! However, not one but four wireless antennae have been inserted into the speaker casing - which works very nicely thank you.
Sound? You'll want a pair of these. They've a six inch bass driver and what looks like the tweeter from the BeoLab 8000 and with the sound processing technology inside they do sound incredible for their size. They're not much bigger than an actual BeoLab 4000 but seriously, they sound as crisp as a pair of BeoLab 3 and as very nearly as punchy as a pair of BeoLab 8000. High praise for such a small speaker which is really the low to mid range offering of the range in fairness.
I listened to these in a 7.1 configuration using a BeoVision 11-55 and the new BeoLab 19 Subwoofer (more to come on that) and they were gobsmacking! I really didn't expect them to sound so 'grown up' with such detail and depth. These speakers have clearly been tuned to within an inch of their lives and you can listen to them and safely say they really couldn't sound any better than they do. Well done to Geoff Martin here who has clearly worked his dark arts on them.
In conclusion, they sound sharp yet smooth - and whilst they won't rumble your insides they do pack a great punch. Think BeoLab 8000 "Lite" - but not actually that lite at all....
Price wise, they come in at about £2,590 (that's $3,990 or €2,990) which, for the first time in a long time, I can say is worth it. These are definitely worthy of the Bang & Olufsen name.
Next....
The BeoLab 19 Subwoofer
Designed by Jacob Wagner, who was given a free reign to do as he liked - and he certainly did! The outer case design consists of twelve pentagons (a dodecahedron if you're getting technical) and it's actually two separate sections of casing (plastic composite which looks similar to the inner casing of the BeoLab Penta) which are welded together. The effect is actually very pleasing on the eye, and being one of natures five "perfect shapes" it's aesthetically acceptable if you're a design freak too!
Colours will be grey (a metallic finish) and a matt white or Matt black sprayed finish. The metallic grey which I saw looked pretty cool actually. The front and rear driver surrounds are, as you'd expect, aluminium with fine drilled holes and of course anodised. Very smart, modern and neat looking.
Two drivers, one at the front and one hidden away at the rear give a very tight and precise 'boom' compared to the BeoLab 2. Not as rumbly at low levels as the BL2 and not as thunderous when cranked up, but tighter - like the bass from the BeoLab 9. Again, the technology inside allows this sub to process information and react much faster than the BeoLab 2 - and what you get is a lot smoother and precisely delivered. It leaves me questioning if I prefer the lazy rumble of the BL2, and I'm not sure.
The BeoLab 2 has the character of an Aston Martin, and the BeoLab 19 has the precision of a Mercedes SLS. Some people like one, some people like the other. It's personal choice on this one I think, but the BeoLab 19 is a great piece of kit - and the big thing is... It's wireless.
Pricing will be around the £2,195 mark ($3,395 or €2,695) - which is pitched perfectly in my opinion.
next...... the one we've been waiting for....
BeoLab 18 - the BeoLab 8000 "replacement"
Designed by Torsten Valeur, who initially refused to try and emulate the original David Lewis design but after much persuasion picked up his pen and got busy.
First impressions when the black cover was ripped off was "that looks like a Hula skirt!" - but you soon get your head around it the more you study it. The wood kind of works for me, but it didn't wow me. Initially the oak grille will be offered, soon to be followed by Maple and Walnut.
Bang & Olufsen actually approached quite a few companies to make these, and only one company was confident they could do it to B&O standards. I got someone to remove the wooden cover from the speaker and had a good look at it - and the craftsmanship is absolutely amazing. For reference the two outer edge 'fins' are stuck on magnetically, so once these are popped off the grill simply slides upwards and off. Easy and neat.
I'd like to see the walnut personally - I think it would suit the speaker, but the wood is a very expensive option anyway and I can see most people opting for the standard matte finish black or white.
The base is not conical like the 8000 but beautifully sculptured and the big, blocky base is now a very shallow but very slightly larger in area than it's predecessor. It works - and makes it look more elegant than the 8000... less industrial and more artistic if I had to sum it up in one sentence.
The acoustic lens looks suited to them in the flesh. It doesn't look out of place at all, so don't worry too much - the images don't quite do it justice. However, it's a matter of opinion of course.
Sound wise... Wow.... Really. Wow.
These, again, sound beautifully engineered by Geoff and his team - and there's clearly a lot of processing going on here. They are wireless, but you'd never ever guess - and the sound is simply sublime.
Two very well ported bass drivers deliver a very warm, rich and smooth bass response whilst the acoustic lens gives a sharpness and clarity to the music which really brings it to life. The lenses seem just as sharp, if not sharper than the BeoLab 3 or BeoLab 9 yet smoother and easier on the ear. I listened to some Michael Buble at low, medium and medium/high volume and I can honestly say I could listen to these for hours.
The 'feel' of the speakers is just that of precision. They sound tight - very tight, but also smooth as silk. They're bassy but no too so, and I can draw a comparison in the way they handle bass to the BeoLab 17. Note I say handle, not sound like - as these sound more powerful and more serious loudspeaker. If I had to compare them to a speaker in the current range I'd say they were like the BeoLab 9 but without the capacity to boom as much.
They're a very different beast to the BeoLab 9 though, and it's really and genuinely hard to compare them to any of the current range. These are different, not in a far worse or an infinitely better way - just different. They're how beautifully designed speakers will sound in the future, that I'm sure of - and B&O got there first in my opinion.
Price wise, they'll be coming in at £3,990 ($6,590 or €4,790) and again I think they're pitched perfectly. Off the record they are actually much more expensive to produce than the BeoLab 8002 thanks to all the technology packed in them. For the moaners, yes - they still have paper drivers... LOL
The store launch date for these speakers is apparently November 30th, but I don't know that for sure.
So, there we go. I've been typing this sat in the passenger seat of the car as Matt and myself drive back from London, so please forgive if it's not quite as comprehensive as it would have been had I been at my desk. Please feel free to ask any questions and I'll do my best to answer.
In all though, these are three good products. I'm impressed with the wireless, which sounded utterly perfect and never dropped out once, and never showed any signs of doing so. WiSA seem a very professional collective who have worked very closely with B&O for almost two years on the technology. I'm going to stick my neck out and say they've nailed it. Well done guys.
Lee
