Love the idea of doing HIFI Bluetooth speakers! Would also love to hear your opinions on the dyna audio line of Bluetooth speakers! The music 3,5&7

I think there are many ways to enjoy listening to music. If I want to hear the best possible sound, I fire up my main system and really get into the music. Other times I just want to put on my headphones and listen privately and not disturb others. I also have a small portable bluetooth speaker to take outside or listen in the bedroom or on my desktop. I enjoy all of these options for different reasons and applications. Thanks for reviewing different options like this. This hobby isn't a one size fits all.

I might consider something portable like this if it was featured on a LL cool J or beastie boys cover. I mean, if it looks stupid when I'm pop locking I'm not taking it with me.

For $1,700 US this thing should be able to function without Google Home getting in the way, or better, without it being enabled at all. Does it work at all if you only connect it to your phone and not the rest of the world? It’s a Bluetooth speaker and you might want to use it at the beach or camping, although there would be the “fear of scratches” factor at that point. Looks like I’m not quite ready to give up on my Klipsch KMC1 or bicep breaking KMC3. They do exactly what it says on the tin. They both ROAR!

Amdrew , do you have interest to review AMP and DAC? We can offer samples

Yes!!!

I yes it all depends on your needs and your listening habits. If you're just using it to stream music at low volumes sure it'll be fine. However, when you want to truly hear music and it's greatest form, there's no replacement for displacement.

@@hemicuda9510 I would say yes and no because high end head phones do sound awesome and are tiny compared to large speakers. But yes because even the head phones need a pretty good sound source which may include turntable, receiver etc.

Glad you like them!

Thanks! And I am going to get back to you (email). We were traveling, but I have ideas on how we can collaborate. Give me a few days but I'll be in touch!

Safe travels Andrew. Very much looking forward to it. Thanks

That would be amazing to see :D

Good evening here in germany. The intro and Video is very great ❤

@@chrischy Hey thanks for tuning in! This one was a lot of fun to document. I wish all of our videos could be done this way.

Better, now! I hope you two had a great vacation. That house was gorgeous!😍

@@VintageVic93 I did not want to leave! Thank you so much for watching.

Good morning Kristi 🌞 Going well and attempting to stay cool. Great review as always. I look at the B&O like a Ducati Motorcycle. Beautiful design and appealing to the eye. You could say almost sexy. To experience either of them you put up with the technical complexity to enjoy the performance.

Correction: I just checked and it defaulted to Bluetooth, so there is a problem connecting to wifi, as indicated by the amber/orange LED.

Update: I did a factory reset and it’s connected to wifi again. There was also an update of the B&O app which corrects the problem of the music stopping when the app opens.

Update 2: The Level will no longer charge through the magnetic charger. I have to remove the rubber gasket thing and plug the usb charger directly into unit. This is after approximately a month of light use.

@@ericfan9149 try to clean the charging pins on the magnetic charger. Its common for these sort of pins connection to lose charging connection when its even slightly dirty

In the last 9 months using a pair of B&O Level I have had to remove the battery and reset them up twice. If taking one of the pairs out of the room with the wireless lan router in it the pairing stops and will not re-establish - full reset after batteries removed. For no apparent reason Google Assistant will respond to a silent room. It will beep/buzz perhaps reconnecting to wi-fi or Bluetooth every now and again. Volume will sometimes dip and fix itself a minute or two later. They don't function correctly as speakers to computer or television due to the lag.

I really hope you like it and that it was worth the wait!

​ @Andrew Robinson finished watching. Thanks Kristi for testing as a desktop speaker, that's 2 of 3 boxes ticked! Really great to hear that a speaker this portable can take so much guesswork out of buying a multi-device setup and still deliver on performance. Hope they release an update to allow you to turn the AI off, although this will replace an Echo for me so I'll probably make use of it.

Will the DSP allow the Edge to work with good synchronisation to the video when used as a TV speaker?

@@andrewrobinsonreviews I had the grey one for review for a looong time. Had to recently give it back as I am starting trip over all the B&O gear I have here lol. I absolutely love the level, another fun fact, the level looks exactly like one of the wings on the Beovision Harmony. Just too bad when I got mine the oak wasn't available yet to match to my Harmony. But now you can order the plain silver one with the oak cover from your nearest dealer! The app was weird for 3 weeks out of the last 6 weeks or so, they've basically fixed it all now. My Stage and others have no issues and the connection is pretty much instant.

Hi! Thanks for the experience sharing. I am looking for a portable speaker for very low volumes to use in hotel rooms. I am considering B&O Beosound Level or Dali Katch G2. I usually get uncomfortable with the portable speakers due to the wooomf sound which is I think caused by the bass distortion ar the fake (imitaded) bass. Almost all have this problem. Would you recommend the Level for very low volumes? Or should I get a smaller one like Dali Katch G2? But the sound of Dali Katch G2 is a bit thin and brittle. I am not sure... Thanks.

@@KristiWright thats gonna be in my head all day now Kristi!

Thanks so much Rapheal! Appreciate you watching.

That's cool! Would love to head back for Modernism week some time. Since our trip, we've even looked at buying a house there but the high temps and (likely) future water shortages give us pause.

@@andrewrobinsonreviews the water shortage is a huge issue out here. Sharing between so cal, Vegas, and Arizona is putting a monumental strain on the Colorado River. Escaping the heat is tough but you could look at Joshua tree, yucca valley or 29 palms. There are some mid moderns there and the higher elevation really helps cool summer days by about 15 degrees. Be well, Andrew and Kristi. Thanks for visiting. And thank you for your work.

What is your opinion on the Level?

Hi! Thanks for the experience sharing. I am looking for a portable speaker for very low volumes to use in hotel rooms. I am considering B&O Beosound Level or Dali Katch G2. I usually get uncomfortable with the portable speakers due to the wooomf sound which is I think caused by the bass distortion ar the fake (imitaded) bass. Almost all have this problem. Would you recommend the Level for very low volumes? Or should I get a smaller one like Dali Katch G2? But the sound of Dali Katch G2 is a bit thin and brittle. I am not sure... Thanks.

Thanks Phoenix!

Pretty much like me...... Sold everything and went the streaming route with my iPad Pro and Denon 250. Absolutely brilliant sound and ease of use, may go for the KEF lsx if they make a mkii version

I use these: amzn.to/3j9zAvT

No it’s $1,000

😍

The massive audio cabinet is around to help store all of the equipment we need to have on hand at any given time. It's also stylish and fits our living room and way of life and work load since our home doubles as a film set. That said, it's not always in use and I quite like the simple bench that you see in the background of the A-camera of this video. As far as whether or not I'm "really onboard with a whole lot of gear" - it really depends on the gear. I don't mind having it around but I'd much rather look at something with a little bit of style than a half dozen uninspired black boxes. More often I find myself asking if all the gear is really necessary. There are a ton of options to chose from when it comes to hearing good sound. No longer does one HAVE to have a lot of gear to achieve that mark and I think that's a good thing.

@@KristiWright What do you think of Beolab 28's or Bolab 50's, Kristi? I am really wondering what your opinion is on those :D

@@Mikipedia You and me both! We were all set to get a pair of the 28s but shipping issues may put a long term wrench into those plans. We've asked for the 50s but no word yet on if we'll get them.

@@KristiWright You're welcome to stay at my place (in Europe) now that borders are open and use my pair of 50's :p In all seriousness though, my local dealer also has 28's I am sure I could borrow for a bit. Another dealer close by (european close by, meaning ~25 minutes away) has 90's too. But my 50's/18's/17's/3's etc. are yours to use if you're ever in the area.

@@KristiWright hey , thx Kristi.....must be a busy place...send us a wave

What did you give away, I'm curious.

@@andrewrobinsonreviewsMy brother is now in possession of an NAD M25 amp, NAD T175 HD Processor, a pair of Vandersteen 2Cs, a B&W CMT center channel speaker, a pair of B&W 804 Nautilus, a Mirage and a Paradigm sub, plus a pair of B&W surrounds (the model of which I no longer recall); plus Monster Silver core speaker cables and a Rega RP 1 turntable and an NAD turntable presmp.

@@paulmasella1616 have a look at Beolab 50's or Beolab 90's or even beolab 28's, you'll get amazing sound and no amps and cable nonsense to connect it all.

Hi! Thanks for the experience sharing. I am looking for a portable speaker for very low volumes to use in hotel rooms. I am considering B&O Beosound Level or Dali Katch G2. I usually get uncomfortable with the portable speakers due to the wooomf sound which is I think caused by the bass distortion ar the fake (imitaded) bass. Almost all have this problem. Would you recommend the Level for very low volumes? Or should I get a smaller one like Dali Katch G2? But the sound of Dali Katch G2 is a bit thin and brittle. I am not sure... Thanks.

Thanks for the experience sharing. I am looking for a portable speaker for very low volumes to use in hotel rooms. I am considering B&O Beosound Level or Dali Katch G2. I usually get uncomfortable with the portable speakers due to the wooomf sound which is I think caused by the bass distortion ar the fake (imitaded) bass. Almost all have this problem. Would you recommend the Level for very low volumes? Or should I get a smaller one like Dali Katch G2? But the sound of Dali Katch G2 is a bit thin and brittle. I am not sure... Thanks.

@@gatila76 B&O Level uses five-driver setup and so the bass is not over emphasized at all. Other B&O Bluetooth speaker such as Beolit 20 is different in the sense that the bass is imitated. For some people bass of Level may be lacking but I like the clarity and definition of the bass.

@@pctricom Thanks. What about very low volume listening? Level or a smaller speaker such as Dali Katch G2?

@@andrewrobinsonreviews no just the speaker Im still new to all this.

@@andrewrobinsonreviews let me know what kind of proamp that i would need & my tv is the LG if that helps! lol

@@andrewrobinsonreviews Wi-Fi, WLAN, Bluetooth, Coaxial, Line and XLR

HaHAA same here. It does seem exquisite, but my little pair of UE Boom 2s will have to continue serving me well though not stellar - they’re tough and waterproof and have survived life all over creation admirably so far.

@@KristiWright Don't get me wrong, I still watch a lot of the longer ones. And for things of less interest, I'll jump chapters. Y'all's production quality is leading in this space, which makes it easy to watch like a TV show though.

Thanks so much!

That's what everyone says and I thought until testing it out for my self. Beoplay S8 and A2 has been a joy. Not highend ofcourse but much better sound than expected. Also bass-performance is top notch on all of them, except A2 when running higher voulmes.

@@joakimkn1 what’s your reference point?

@@Oneness100 are you bored?

@@duranarts I've been actually busy working, but It seems as though you're the bored one.

I used to eschew digital / active loudspeakers. That is until the beolab 90.

I've always been curious about the A9. I love the look of it.

I just reached out to Devialet yesterday because I'm pretty curious about how they sound now. Hopefully they respond. Thanks for tuning in!

@@KristiWright no problem. Your channel is great. Hopefully Devialet will send you 2 an amp. I've only heard the Expert Pro 220 but it was an interesting experience. It sounds great out of the box but the speaker calibration takes it to another level. There's also phono stage calibration. Their calibration & configuration system is memory card based which seems a bit weird in 2021. Some of their DSP tech is similar to the Technics reference amp you demoed so I'd be interested to hear a comparison. Devialet amps tend to have lots of power (220 is 220 WPC) so you could drive even very demanding B&W speakers, and then there's the Devialet remote control which is unique.

@sdemosi We reviewed the Devialet Dione today. You can watch it here: kzfaq.info/get/bejne/h9RjhdyB3dbZf30.html

@@andrewrobinsonreviews thanks. Yes I watched the review. It seems Devialet have produced a soundbar that can trigger an earthquake and turn Natalie Merchant into a walrus. 😁 I suppose this is a bit of the Devialet problem that exists with their speakers and not the amps. Although the house sound is punchy in the amps too. They're not aiming for neutrality. The Phantom 1 is a great speaker so long as you don't actually order it in its most powerful form (the 108dB model). The 103 is more than enough and maybe the 98dB smaller version is fine for most. Devialet clearly have a market niche for those who want floor pounding bass and a stereo Phantom 108db setup makes sense in a concert hall rather than a living room. Seems they applied the same thinking to the Dione. More power, more bass etc. They know a lot about moving huge volumes of air from modest cabinets but maybe took it a bit too far. I don't really see the need for 8 long throw woofers in a soundbar. But they'll probably sell these. There's a market for room shaking bass in a stylish package.

That means a lot to me. Thank you.

@@andrewrobinsonreviews looking forward to review the b&o beosound balance

The Minirig 3 plus subwoofer is so flexible. No worries about finding a spot in a garage by just using one Minirig 3 or a pair for a wider stage. Place on a desk for working with a computer you can also have one or two subwoofers. There is even a backpack for when you go for a picnic or need to carry the set up with you. Long battery life. But it is not "everything in one box" and not water proof to have near a pool.

@@geraldmcmullon2465 absolutely agree! And because they are so small and modular you can place them anywhere you wish, and in the process of positioning them I learned very much about room acoustics

Great to hear!

Hi! Thanks for the experience sharing. I am looking for a portable speaker for very low volumes to use in hotel rooms. I am considering B&O Beosound Level or Dali Katch G2. I usually get uncomfortable with the portable speakers due to the wooomf sound which is I think caused by the bass distortion ar the fake (imitaded) bass. Almost all have this problem. Would you recommend the Level for very low volumes? Or should I get a smaller one like Dali Katch G2? But the sound of Dali Katch G2 is a bit thin and brittle. I am not sure... Thanks.

@@gatila76 just replied to you on Reddit. Feel free to message me with any questions

Thanks, Bradley! In Wall and In Ceiling speakers are not likely to be a part of the channel any time soon b/c that would require permanent installs which don't quite work with our home/film set.

Im 60. I had an Apple2 in 1980; my schoolmates asked WHAT IS THAT? I’d use the level on my bedroom work table and the P6 in the bath. But in an obviously compromised great room, I turned on the BeoLab set the speaker to omni, queued keith don’t go. A compromised setting in a compromised room _ streaming from an iphone, not really knowing what to expect, and after the 1st lick, Iooked at it ~ looked at the iphone. A Nothing system, and setting compromised. If this is what a wireless Active System can do? We’re all good.

We haven't really talked about that reviewing that one but I can ask for it.

@@andrewrobinsonreviews It's not overpriced, especially compared to a Beosound 1 or 2 and how good the Level is. The Level is amazing and kind of a home run! p.s. the app issues seem to be fixed now.

$1500 - $1700

beolab 7.2 sound bar second hand with a bluetooth adapter

Interesting as Christie favors it as a her Desktop PC speaker, and she mentioned watching KZfaq. I wish we could look into this a bit more as I was thinking of using it as a PC speaker🤔

@@NekoSmash Someone has suggested using Apple Airplay.

I have a pair of Beosound Level speakers. At only 4.5 litres they have a surprising good bass. They can replace full size speakers in a hi-fi stereo set up. There is no hope that a future update would enable them to be used in a surround sound system or as a pair of computer speakers. The problem being the long delay when watching video possibly due to the DSP processing in them. Other manufacturers including many at a lower price point have been able to use their speakers with both computers and television with acceptable lip sync. They are marketed as a life style speaker. They are for stereo audio only. Audio over wifi (no compression) is clearly better than it is over Bluetooth. It will work using Windows Music Player but with limited audio only codecs. Watching KZfaq over Bluetooth has a 300ms delay. The Chrome browser extension to cast does not adjust the delay - at least I have not got it to work. Using VLC has some control but not easy to adjust and when seeming okay at the start of the film drifts out soon after. I don't have a television to cast to using Apple TV 4K or Chromecast TV. The B&O Level has the potential to work everywhere and keep the costs, even at this price, lower because of that flexibility. You could go to a stereo pair, use the app to separate them and take one speaker out into the garden or garage. Returning it back to it's position and pairing up with the other Level. You could bring in a Emerge or Level from other rooms to enjoy surround sound with 5 speakers (if the app were to allow it) over wi-fi, Bluetooth, fibre optic or 3.5mm analogue but for the issue of lip sync. It could replace portable radios, boomboxes, computer speakers, stereo hi-fi systems and surround sound set ups. Unlike the equipment we might have doing those tasks these are portable, wireless just needing plugging into a wall socket and setting up on the app. They already work perfectly in multi-room set up so why not in surround? The lag from video sources and set up is software. The lip sync not a hardware limit when other Bluetooth and wifi speakers can achieve that at a lower price point. I know that issues with Wi-fi was the reason for WiSA to use a different wireless protocol. Perhaps they should use WiSA electronics and not Wireless lan. I wrote to B&O support and this is the response:- "Connection to Windows computer: · Only able to playback via wireless through Chromecast but only works for single speaker option. · If you would like to play from stored files from PC to your Beosound Level, it can only be done via Bluetooth and Lip sync issue will be present as this speaker is intended for music source. Connection for surround setup: · These speakers are not designed for surround setup." Alternatives, yes, but with other limitations or issues : Any speakers with WiSA but Beolab 28 are 18litres and cost many times as much. KEF LSX II (6.7litres) and LX 50 (19litres) wireless as stereo to computer and television work. Still don't upscale to 5.1. Devialet Phantoms originally had poor lip sync but an operating system update eventually reduced that to an acceptable level. No user upscale to 5.1 (5.5, possible and some owners have added components to achieve that). B&W Formation Flex can be used as rear speakers to the B&W Bar and Bass for surround (not the Formation Duo due to lag) but possibly need the box Formation Audio.

I was able to see Emerge and Level speakers used with Apple Airplay. My daughter has an iPhone. Selected Airplay a list of devices appears, the two pairs of speakers. Select a KZfaq video and a film clip and no lip sync problems at all. No Bluetooth as the iPhone has that switched off. From both PC and Windows laptop Windows media player and Chrome browser can cast to the speakers but have a 330ms latency. Adjustments do not make a difference. I can't move to a Apple MAC OS and iOS as some of my hardware would not work and there are not equivalent software packages. Besides that move would cost more than the B&O speakers. I have no idea what Airplay is doing that is not available in some form for a Windows based computer to do. I can't test out if an Airplay system could transmit surround sound to two pairs of speakers. For Windows PC users the program TuneBlade provides Airplay features. It immediately finds the speakers and everything played on the PC is sent to the Beosound Level and Emerge. Google casting works from Chrome browser and Windows Media player but I have yet to get synchronization with video and the speakers keep disappearing as options to cast. TuneBlade has an adjustment for buffering, anything below 300ms breaks up the sound. Leave at 2 seconds. It also has a slider for system latency but does not appear to get closer to lip sync. Using the audio track synchronization of VLC set at 2.000 seconds works. It is reset at the end of every film. I have the feeling that TuneBlade/Airplay is not as good as DNLA using the same source (audio file) or over Google Chrome casting.

In March 2024 the update to the software enables the selection of low latency in the 3.5 mm analogue input. Selecting this means the speakers can't be used in multi-room or even wirelessly paired. It only works for a single speaker. The Beosound Level is a stereo speaker (as is the A9) although with limited sound stage compared to a pair of speakers. Using a 3.5 to 3.5 mm stereo cable to a single Beosound Level speaker on a number of talking head videos and movies the lip synch is okay. However the channels are swapped over (solved by using a cross over cable). I feel the sound quality is not up to the room correcting optimum that I am more used to but what ever it is the difference is not great. Some films do seem a little off but still acceptable. I tested using a laptop so the 3.5 mm headphone socket has limited output. There is scope on the speaker to still get loud but you are having to adjust both the computer and the speaker separately. I wired up a 3.5 mm to two RCA phone sockets (Y cable) and used a cable with a 3.5 mm stereo with both channels wired to a single RCA plug. When plugged into the speakers (two Beosound Levels) they take a few seconds to switch over inputs and adjust to the volume level but are then in synch with each other. The low latency is low enough that they do work correctly as stereo in this dual mono mode. Being battery powered I now have hi-fi quality stereo without mains running from my Windows laptop. Apple owners don't have this issue as Airplay 2 handles the lag. The low latency of Mozart now means that you can wire up Beosound Emerge, Levels, Balance, A5 and A9 for use in a surround sound set up. Once set in the app or balanced on the volume control of each speaker the source (e.g. desktop computer or televisions) will control volume on all the speakers together. This is not seamless and a bit of hassle but it works and works very well as these speakers are all very capable. With Emerge having risen from £604 to £899 (Oak, gold) in two years and expect further price rises in August 2024) even using Beosound Emerge (the least expensive of the Mozart speakers) as surround speakers is expensive. But now, at long last, they can be recommended for use with all desktop and laptop computers and not just for Apple owners. Airplay 2 is stereo but with the low latency analogue input these can now be used in 4.0 and other surround sounds set ups (yeah maybe still too much hassle as no single control app or computer to cover every need).

I can't make that decision for you, but full disclosure, I routinely stalk ebay for a 2nd hand pair of Beolab 5s as I WANT THEM SO BAD. I love that speaker so much and would buy a pair in a heartbeat if I could find a pair in good condition under say $8K.

Yes they are still a very good buy, providing you adhere to a few rules. not technically speaking there are mk1 mk2 and mk3's, the latter two are fine(post ~2004). The chassis' on those (they're the pcb boards) can still be fixed if needed. Make sure the serial numbers are relatively close together, over time several pairs got mixed and matched(not really an issue but for peace of mind). Check if the chassis' have been repaired before or not, they tend to last about 10-15 years depending on how they are used. the 15'' driver on the bottom kicks so hard that over time it can wiggle capacitors loose :p either of you can also email me for more info if you like. All the people I know that have 5's absolutely love them and don't want to let them go, they're iconic but also sound absolutely fabulous!

Pretty expensive surround speakers

No immediate plans to review the Emerge - though it looks sharp! TBH, the only other B&O products we are interested in reviewing right now are their 2 channel/home theater speakers.

Bang olufsen have a quite stereotypical “good sound” in that they always deliver clean highs and solid lows, many b and o fans utilise this by purchasing older products originally designed for b and o products like the beolab 7.2 sound bar originally designed for the beovision 7 tvs . The 7.2 sound bar 0riginally retailed for about 3k plus but can now be picked up for about 300 /400 dollars purchase an external bluetooth adapter or wiring adaptors 50 dollars makes a very outstanding tv soundbar . The reason they sound good is they pretty outstanding specs and tech that is not immediately apparent . 750 watts in built amplifier ,solid aluminium enclosure ,active cross overs ,2 small downward firing subs .