With a brain-melting $2,749 price tag, you’d expect the Beolab 8 to be MUCH more than your average wireless speaker. Spoiler alert, it kind of is…
Once the mind moves past the Bang & Olufsen Beolab 8’s bonkers price tag, it begins to focus on the speaker itself. Ensconced in a combination of wood, metal, and fabric, the Beolab 8 draws from its parent company’s design ethos… but it does more than just that — it dares to innovate. Its design is a harmonious blend of the past and future, with a nod to the classics while pushing boundaries in the world of modern audio tech. Oh, and it also has Ultra-Wide-Band tracking abilities to ensure that you’re always in its acoustic sweet spot… but more on that later.
Designer: Bang & Olufsen
The speaker itself looks less like an audio gadget and more like an otherworldly sculpture with sonic capabilities. Available in multiple variants, users have a choice between going for a fabric clad on the front or having a slatted oakwood grill. Choose wisely because this does affect the overall price. On the inside, it features a 5.25-inch woofer, a 3-inch mid-range speaker driver, and a 0.63-inch tweeter, all meticulously fine-tuned by the acoustic engineers at Bang & Olufsen. The sleek glass interface on the speaker’s top boasts a flawlessly curved design, ensuring that the user’s finger glides effortlessly across its surface.
Equipped with advanced tuning technology, the speaker offers users the ultimate sound experience. With B&O’s narrow and wide beam width control, users can effortlessly switch between two listening modes, ensuring they are always in the sweet spot for an impeccable soundstage. The speaker maps your room’s acoustics to compensate for its sound, but where things get scary impressive is in the Beolab’s UWB technology that can track the listener by figuring out their phone’s location via the Bang & Olufsen app. In short, you’ll have to keep your phone with you to experience the perfect acoustic capabilities of the Beolab 8, but from what B&O says, it’s apparently worth the effort.
Michael Henriksson, Vice President of Product Marketing at Bang & Olufsen, shares, “Our ambition has always been to craft immersive listening experiences. With Beolab 8, we’ve achieved just that. It’s not just a speaker; it’s a testament to flexibility, performance, and innovation.”
The Bang & Olufsen Beolab 8 is expected to go on sale starting October 2023. Prospective buyers will have the choice of four color options: silver, natural aluminum, gold-tone, or black anthracite. Prices for this premium speaker start at $2,749 / £2,199 for the fabric speaker grille cloth version. For those looking for a touch of elegance, the wood grille option is available at a slightly higher price of $3,299 / £2,699.
It’s worth noting that the prices mentioned above are for the table stand option. However, there are additional stand options available, including a wall/ceiling mount option and a highly polished aluminum floor stand option. These alternative stands come at an extra cost of $100 and $200 respectively, although if you’re spending upwards of $2k on a wireless speaker, chances are an extra hundred wouldn’t really pinch.
