In brief: Known for its uniquely designed and expensive audio hardware, Bang & Olufsen has recently announced a new pair of wireless speakers for the living room --- the Beolab 28. The new wireless speakers come with a slew of features to enhance your smart home system and should turn some heads with their design, but with a minimum price tag of $14,750, this stereo setup might be out of most people's league.
The Bang & Olufsen's Beolab 28 stereo speakers design was inspired by the company's Beolab Penta, Beolab 6000 and Beolab 8000, featuring a column-like shape on top of an adjustable round base that can either sit flat on the floor or be mounted on a wall.
Inside each Beolab 28 wireless speaker, there's a 100W 1-inch tweeter, 3x 100W 3-inch full-range drivers, and a custom-designed 225W 6.5-inch woofer. The speakers also feature beam width control, offering two listening modes (narrow and wide) that change how sound is projected, and active room compensation, which adjust bass according to the environment.
There are various color and finish options available for users to customise the Beolab 28. The aluminum base can be silver, black, or bronze. The external cover has fabric versions available in gray and gray mélange, and wooden versions in light oak, smoked oak, and walnut. As for the internal cover, it comes with the same two gray tones as the external cover.
When someone gets closer to the speakers, a proximity sensor will detect it and the control panel lights up. The control panel allows users to change volume, skip/play/pause tracks, and easily access four of their favorite radio stations or Spotify playlists. Users may also choose to control the speakers through a Bang & Olufsen remote (one included) or phone app.
Jumping on to the speakers' connectivity, the Beolab 28 support AirPlay 2, Chromecast, Spotify Connect, Bluetooth 5.0 and Wi-Fi. Each speaker also features an Ethernet 10/100 port, USB-C and USB-A ports, a 2-channel Powerlink interface, and an analogue/optical line-in connection. Support for Beolink Multiroom is coming, but not until later in 2021.
To ensure the Beolab 28 speakers are as future proof as they can be, B&O introduced its new replaceable connectivity module, offering "enough processing power and connectivity technology to receive new performance updates and features for years to come." In case any streaming or connectivity technology becomes outdated, B&O can promptly update it to the latest standards.
The Beolab 28 pricing depends on the finish. The fabric versions cost $14,750, while the wooden models will set you back $16,500.