The Bang & Olufsen Beosound Emerge joins the company’s long list of beautifully designed speakers. This bookshelf smart speaker is the result of a collaboration with Benjamin Hubert from the experience design agency Layer and its slim design bears a passing resemblance to a book. While many B&O speakers are designed to draw focus, this one is more designed to slip into the background.
So, the Beosound Emerge is more about being heard than seen, and despite its size it promises ultra-wide sound thanks to a revolutionary driver configuration. It features a 100mm side-firing woofer at the back, a 37mm midrange speaker at an angle and a 14mm soft dome tweeter at the front to allow the demure speaker to fill the room with sound.
The Beosound Emerge Gold Tone is finished in oak wood sides and gold anodized aluminum. It is also available in a black anthracite aluminum finish. Hubert was also responsible for the Beosound Balance design and it’s easy to see the connection between the two.
- DJI Air 2S camera drone leaves Mavic Air 2 in the dust with one-inch sensor
- Google Maps just got a much-requested upgrade drivers will love
- Canon EOS R3: the mirrorless R-series camera goes pro
As part of the Beosound family, the Emerge can link to any of the B&O Connected Speakers, whether it’s a second Emerge, the Balance or the Beoplay A9 to provide multi-room audio or fill larger spaces. It also supports Apple AirPlay 2, Chromecast and Google Assistant with built-in microphone.
While we’ve always been a fan of Bang & Olufsen’s more outlandish speaker designs, the subtlety of Beosound Emerge is certainly appealing and is likely to strike a chord with more reserved audio fans. We’d have these on our bookshelf any day.
The Beosound Emerge Gold Tone is priced £669 and the Black Anthracite is priced £539 with availability in selected European markets from today. The units will be available globally in Autumn 2021, with US and Australian prices still to be confirmed.