bang & olufsen's wireless beolab speakers + subwoofer

bang & olufsen’s handcrafted wireless beolab speaker system
all images courtesy bang & olufsen

bang & olufsen has launched a series of three new high-end wireless speakers – an all-digital active system which is the first to implement the new WiSa standard for for multi-channel wireless sound, that provides extremely high acoustic performance without cables.

the new cordless line-up includes the compact ‘beolab 17’ speaker; ‘beolab 18’, bang & olufsen’s latest wall / floor sculptural audio columns; and ‘beolab 19’, a re-designed dodecahedron-shaped subwoofer that pumps refined and tight bass. available in solid oak as well as black or white, the ‘beolab 18’ boasts an acoustic lens tweeter and a handcrafted 21-lamella design that wraps lightly around the tower. ‘beolab 17’s wedge-like form makes it convenient to set-up anywhere from bookshelves to walls, and the ‘beolab 19’ draws on the architecture of a 12-faced geometrical form with two-8 inch drivers operating in-phase to eliminate unwanted vibrations.

bang & olufsen’s beolab 17 18 19 wireless speakers
video courtesy bang & olufsen

building on the success of its column speakers, the ‘beolab 18’ design incorporates all-new components, a re-engineered digital sound engine, and an elegant handcrafted 21-panel lamela front panel in nordic oak.

‘beolab 18 is the latest development in our evolution of speaker design,’ says lars fredsgaard, speaker category director at bang & olufsen. ‘now that we have discovered a wireless standard good enough for high-end sound, we decided it was time to replace one of our most successful speakers with something even better — we updated practically everything inside: from new drivers and amplifiers to an enhanced digital sound engine.’

‘beolab 18’ wireless speakers configured on the wall

since the beolab speaker system runs on the new WiSa standard, all you need to do is plug the audio units into any WiSa-compliant transmitter in order to link wirelessly to your TV or blu-ray player.

the ‘beolab 18’ balances on a cone of extruded aluminium that seems barely to touch the floor – either when hanging on the wall or standing on the rock-solid cast iron base. two custom-made 4-inch midrange/woofer drivers run in parallel and are powered by separate 160-watt class D amplifiers. the digital sound engine is custom-tuned to deliver consistent and accurate hifi performance. the all-new engine also integrates thermal protection, adaptive bass linearisation (ABL) and a room position switch.

detail

twenty-one handcrafted wooden lamellas wrap lightly around the speaker

overview the minimalist column of anodized aluminum

created by torsten valeur from david lewis designers, beolab 17’s triangular cabinet is crafted from a single piece of extruded aluminum for added rigidity. the two-way ‘beolab 17’ packs a custom-made 6” midrange/woofer, a 3/4” tweeter, a pair of 160-watt class D amplifiers and a proprietary digital sound engine. with more than 40 times the processing power of analogue circuitry, the new digital sound engine provides big sound in a small package.

‘beolab 17’ wireless speaker

front covers are available with a ‘broken ice’ facade or with fabric panels in white, black or blue

packing two custom-made 8 inch drivers, each paired with its own dedicated 160-watt class D amplifier placed back to back in separate enclosures to minimize interaction, the ‘beolab 19’ uses an ‘acoustic balance principle’, where the drivers operate in-phase to eliminate unwanted vibrations.