Bang & Olufsen has shrunk its high-end Beolab speakers into a stylish compact design, the latest addition to its impressive range of audio and home theater products. Using luxury materials and attention to detail has long been a hallmark of the Danish brand’s approach to audio, with anodized aluminum, fine wood and supple fabric making up its loudspeaker and electronics designs for decades.
The new Beolab 28 is a small, elegant loudspeaker that’s intended to be used as part of a surround sound system or simply as a stereo speaker. The design is sleek, svelte and elegant, with a minimalist aesthetic that takes advantage of the natural acoustic performance of its materials. Its keel-like aluminium base, which is shaped to look like a sailboat and can be covered with either oak lamella or soft fabric, makes the Beolab 28 look almost weightless when it’s sitting on a stand or placed in a room.
Despite its size, the Beolab 28 is capable of producing a rich, bold sound that B&O says is unmatched in this price range. Inside the diminutive exterior, a 5.2-inch woofer and two 3 1/2-inch midrange drivers are powered by class D ICEpower amplifiers. Its mid and treble drivers use audio lens technology developed by Sausalito Audio’s Manny LaCarrubba, which spreads the sound field over a wider area to overcome the directional limitations of typical midrange and treble speakers and prevents floor and ceiling reflections from overwhelming the sound.
Beolab 28 also features numerous smart audio technologies to boost the sonic quality of a user’s listening experience. Its beam width control can direct the sound output towards a specific listener, or it can be set to spread sound evenly across a room for a more spacious and immersive feel. B&O’s “tonmeisters” tuned the Beolab 28’s audio to incorporate a wide-band frequency response for superior low-frequency reproduction, and its adaptive room compensation can adjust bass output depending on how the Beolab 28 is positioned within a space.
A Bluetooth 5.3 wireless connection is supported by a built-in microphone that can automatically detect the location of the speaker and calibrate itself for optimal performance. It also supports multi-room audio with a Beosound Theatre receiver or other compatible devices. Other smart features include a remote app, an HDMI input and support for a wide variety of streaming audio formats, including Dolby Digital Plus and DTS Neural Surround.
The Beolab 28 will be available this summer with a starting price of £2,199 / $2,749 / €2,499. Pricing for the Beolab 5 will be announced later in the year. For more information, visit the Beolab website.
