Bang & Olufsen clearly likes the public attraction of the smart speaker. And so… they now have their own model in the form of the Beosound Balance.
The new Beosound Balance from Bang & Olufsen is in any case another piece of design. This time designed in collaboration with Benjamin Hubert of the British industrial design studio LAYER. The Balance has seven drivers, including two for the bass. These are positioned opposite each other, so according to the manufacturer there is no annoying driving noise towards neighbors. Acoustic compensation of the listening room has also been considered. You will be guided through the procedure during the first start of the smart multiroom speaker. Internal microphones ensure that no additional parts are needed to make it work.
Google Assistant and Alexa
Of course, the Bang & Olufsen Beosound Balance has a range of hip possibilities. First, there is Google Assistant, to which you can ask questions and give commands. Later this year Alexa should also be added, so there is a choice. Multiroom options allow you to link Balance’s throughout the house. However, the Balance does not support Beolink, so for linking you need to use Airplay2 or Chromecast, for example. According to Bang & Olufsen, the future in terms of multiroom lies in these more or less standardized techniques, hence the choice.
In addition to Google Chromecast and Apple AirPlay2, the speaker can also work with Spotify Connect. The latter almost at least. The support for this appears somewhere in the first half of this year through a firmware update. Remains the price, which falls in the well known spectrum of Bang & Olufsen: €2000. Available in natural oak and black oak.