Daniel J SaitNew from Bang & Olufsen is Beolab 8 – the latest speaker to join the brand’s high-end Beolab series.
Whether it’s a sound system in the home or a single point of sound, Beolab 8 can be used as a system speaker to create an immersive home cinema setup using the latest high-end Bang & Olufsen speakers, or even heritage speakers dating back to 1984.
Users can stereo pair two Beolab 8 speakers to create precise stereo sound for a high-fidelity music experience. Beolab 8 is also a stand-alone speaker, delivering depth with impressive bass for its size.
“Our goal is to create powerful and immersive listening experiences for our customers,” says Michael Henriksson, Vice President of Product. “Beolab 8 provides exactly this. It is a scalable speaker that is all about flexibility, performance, and innovation.
“Drawing inspiration from the high-end Beolab range, our aim for Beolab 8 was to distil the acoustic essence of these impressive speakers into a compact offering that maintains the directivity and sound beam control for optimal sound reproduction in any environment. Bringing immersive experiences for every moment.”
Tuned by Bang & Olufsen tonmeisters, listeners can enjoy the sound quality of a Beolab speaker thanks to its three-driver setup consisting of a 16mm tweeter, 3” midrange and a 5.25” woofer. Building on the heritage of the iconic Beolab 17 speaker, Bang & Olufsen tonmeisters carefully selected drivers that maintained the same performance and sound quality of these speakers.
However, the performance in Beolab 8 is significantly improved thanks to the incorporation of beam width control, room compensation, adaptive tuning as well as ultra-wideband technology.
The speaker’s beam width control allows users to switch between two listening experiences. Beolab 8 offers the ability to narrow down with precision audio to optimise the sweet spot for the listener. Alternatively, users can choose to go wide and diffuse sound throughout the room whilst the front LED’s on the speaker display which sound mode status the speaker is in.
Beolab 8’s Room Compensation feature provides an optimised soundscape based on a room’s unique acoustics. The speaker carefully maps its environment to deliver clear quality no matter the size or space of the room. A neodymium motor allows listeners to enjoy a soundscape adapted to their surroundings for full music immersion.
With adaptive sound tuning, Beolab 8 adapts to its own configuration by using sensors to detect the front cover and fine-tune the sound for optimal performance. This is made possible through small sensors in the speaker and magnets within the cover which allows Beolab 8 to detect the type of cover and automatically apply the appropriate tuning.
Utilising ultra-wide band technology, Beolab 8 can also direct the acoustic sweet spot based on a user’s phone location via the Bang & Olufsen app.
With Bang & Olufsen’s Mozart platform at the heart of the product, as a standalone product Beolab 8 can connect through WiFi 6 and Bluetooth 5.3. With Powerlink both wireless and wired built into the speaker, Beolab 8 provides a connection to Bang & Olufsen TVs and sound systems dating back more than 30 years.
The one-piece aluminium body is a fusion of a sphere and cylinder merged into a solid shape. Designed with either Danish manufactured wooden lamellas or a fabric front, Beolab 8 follows the same characteristic design of Bang & Olufsen’s Beolab and Beosound products including Beosound Theatre, Beolab 28 and Beolab 50.