Bang & Olufsen is known worldwide for their slim and elegant speakers with built-in amplifiers, and now it’s time for a new member of the Beolab family: the compact Beolab 8.
Despite its size, Beolab 8 delivers a powerful and rich sound. They can be used individually, as a stereo pair or as surround speakers in the ultimate B&O home cinema setup. Specs and price indicate that this could be a potent but compact beast.
“Our goal is to create powerful listening experiences for our customers, and Beolab 8 does just that. It’s a scalable speaker with a focus on flexibility, performance and innovation,” says Michael Henriksson, Vice President of Product Sales at Bang & Olufsen, and continues: “Inspired by our high-end Beolab series, our goal with Beolab 8 was to create a compact speaker that delivers the same great sound quality and sound beam control as the impressive Beolab speakers. We want to create amazing sound experiences wherever you are.”
Beolab 8: Powerful sound from a small package
Beolab 8 is a three-way active speaker with a 16 mm tweeter, 3″ midrange and 5.25″ woofer. The configuration is inspired by the classic Beolab 17, but the performance of the Beolab 8 is said to be significantly improved thanks to built-in features such as Beam Direction Control and room correction.
Beam Direction Control, familiar from Beolab 28 among others, allows users to seamlessly switch between two listening experiences. Beolab 8 can direct the sound to a precise position in the room, or you can choose to spread the sound widely. The LED lights on the speaker indicate which sound mode the speaker is in.
Beolab 8 is also part of Bang & Olufsen’s Mozart platform and can be connected for music playback via WiFi 6 and Bluetooth 5.3. It also supports both wireless and in-built Powerlink, so it can be connected to older Bang & Olufsen TVs and audio systems.
B&O also emphasises that the Beolab 8 is designed to stand the test of time with the use of quality materials and a replaceable streaming module to ensure it can adapt to the latest technology standards.
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Build quality in familiar B&O style
Beolab 8 is designed to look beautiful from every angle, with a cylindrical shape clad in polished aluminium from Bang & Olufsen’s Factory 5. The speaker is clearly inspired by the floorstanding Beolab models, and the front can be covered with a fabric cover or Danish-made wooden slats or a fabric front that matches Beosound Theatre, Beolab 28 and Beolab 50.
Between the outer aluminium shell and the inner core of the speaker, the interplay of light and shadow creates a visually light appearance. In line with Scandinavian design, where form follows function, the shape of the speaker creates both an aesthetic object and improves the acoustics of the speaker.
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Price and availability
In keeping with tradition, Beolab 8 is available in a variety of colours. You can choose between Silver/Natural Aluminium, Gold Tone or Black Anthracite, and combine with speaker covers in Oak, Light Oak, Dark Oak or Fabric.
Beolab 8 costs from €4998 for a pair.
In the video below you can watch Casper Christensen, Senior Global Product Manager at Bang & Olufsen, give a more detailed presentation of Beolab 8.