Bang & Olufsen presents a luxury take on the smart speaker-- the Beosound Balance, a number designed in collaboration with British agency Layer with a look "inspired by interior objects."
The Balance stands 38cm tall, and consists of a typical cylindrical speaker on top of a oak wood base. The speaker is covered in fabric mesh, and carries two 5.25-inch bass drivers, two 2-inch full-range drivers, one 3/4-inch tweeter and two 3-inch full-range drivers acting as "sound enhancers." It also includes Chromecast Audio and Google Assistant support, together with AirPlay 2, Bluetooth and analog line-in connectivity.
Being a B&O device, the Balance readily pairs with other speakers from the company as part of a surround sound or multi-room setup. Like other microphone-equipped speakers, it uses "Active Room Compensation" to adjust the audio according to the specific room setup, and a mic mute switch allows one to simple switch the microphones off. The aluminium top includes basic controls via touch-sensitive buttons, and is illuminated with LEDs that switch off when the speaker is not in use.
The Balance is available from March 2020 in a choice of two colours, natural and black oak.
