![]() Thanks to a modular design, it’s possible to swap or upgrade parts should the need arise. The Emerge is another Bang & Olufsen product with an emphasis on longevity. Physical connectivity consists of an Ethernet port, hybrid 3.5mm analogue or digital optical socket, a microUSB service port and USB-C for mains power. Two Emerge can be wireless joined to create a stereo pair, which then puts the B&O into competition with some very capable (and similarly priced) wireless stereo speakers from the likes of KEF and Q Acoustics, of course. The splendid Bang & Olufsen Radio streaming service is also accessible via the app, and it’s possible to integrate your favourite streaming service (as long as it’s Deezer), too. Spotify Connect, Chromecast and Apple AirPlay 2 are available, thanks to dual-band Wi-Fi. Bang & Olufsen isn’t saying which codecs are supported, but if there’s any compatibility beyond SBC and AAC I haven’t been able to access it. Wireless connectivity is via Bluetooth 5.0. To be honest you’re better off with the app, or with the integrated Google Assistant – it’s responsive and reliable. The physical gap between the volume up/down and play/pause controls isn’t sufficient, either, so it’s all too easy to engage one function when intending to use the other. ![]() They’re overly sensitive and altogether too responsive, to the point they’ll make you trepidatious about operations that should be straightforward – adjusting the volume level, for example. The graphic EQ adjustment, for example, is not only pleasing to use but also can make effective, worthwhile changes to the sound of the speaker.Ĭontrol is also available from a touch-surface on the top of the Emerge – this interface, it’s fair to say, is a more qualified success. The app itself is good-looking, stable and useful – three things that can’t automatically be said about the equivalent apps of Emerge’s most obvious rivals. The Beosound has active room compensation and adaptive bass linearisation available in the Bang & Olufsen control app (free for iOS and Android) to help adapt its output relative to its position. A 101mm bass driver is powered by 60 watts of amplification, while the 37mm midrange driver and 15mm tweeter get 30 watts each. ![]() The Emerge features a three-strong complement of speaker drivers, arranged to deliver the widest possible spread of sound. The Emerge is constructed with obvious attention to detail and no little professional pride. It’s a similarly predictable story where build quality and finish is concerned. The brand logo running up the spine of the speaker is a witty touch. ![]() A combination of rose gold pearl-blasted aluminium, natural oak and the ubiquitous Kvadrat acoustic cloth certainly makes for an indulgent look – and there’s a fair degree of tactility about this speaker, too. In terms of materials, the Emerge is appointed about as well as you’d expect from the brand. It’s designed to look like a book (a big, luxurious edition, certainly – but a book nevertheless), and Bang & Olufsen suggests its compact footprint and 180-degree sound dispersal makes it ideal for tight space. Plenty of wireless speakers call themselves bookshelf speakers – but the Beosound Emerge takes the description literally. Bowers & Wilkins, Devialet and Naim, for example, all have speakers at this sort of money – so having got the pricing aspect spot on, all B&O needs to do is nail the performance bit and the Emerge is in business. That’s for the gold tone finish of our review sample – when it originally launched there was a less expensive (£539 / $699 / AU$1199) black anthracite alternative available, but that is no longer an option.įor once, then, here’s a Bang & Olufsen product that isn’t overtly pricier than the products with which it would seek to compete. Customers in America will have to part with $899, while in Australia it sells for AU$1449. The Bang & Olufsen Beosound Emerge is on sale now, and in the UK it costs £669.
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