Lifestyle

Reimagining The Life With Sound

At Berlin electronics fair IFA, Bang & Olufsen unveiled a new powerful wireless Beosound Edge speaker that can be rolled to adjust the volume.
14 September, 2018
The rest of its subtle touch controls are found in smooth aluminium frame. Created in collaboration with world famous designer Michael Anastassiades, this cutting-edge device is claimed to be able to "transform the everyday mundane to musical mastery and add aesthetic value to the home".
Bang & Olufsen describes it as a design object that represents "a divine and unbroken circle of audio clarity, precision and beauty". Inspired by a simple coin standing on its side, the Edge looks like a polished aluminum wheel with a matte black fabric cover the middle part. By the way this fabric is easily exchangeable and the producing company is planning to introduce new on-trend fabric colors over time.

The speaker offers several placement options. It can serve as a centerpiece and a design statement sitting on the floor and blending with other furniture in the area or be mounted perpendicular to the wall as a space division option.

"It looks quite surreal as an object, because of the sudden depth change," said Anastassiades. "A gap between the two materials would have allowed a tolerance to exist. Here, there is no tolerance, and the in-between space does not exist anymore, which is amazing."

Proximity sensors allow this speaker to detect when you get close it. Immediately the aluminium touch interface will illuminate showing that it is ready for work. Adjusting the sound is easy with the device: a person needs to gently roll Beosound Edge forwards and backwards to increase and decrease the volume. The volume changes according to the force of the push— so a soft touch will only slightly increase the volume, while a stronger one will raise it more dramatically.

Image:Youtube
The rolling option of controlling the sound does not mean the Beosound Edge will always change the positioning and occupy the parts of the room where the owner did not want it. As soon as the volume is adjusted, the device itself rolls back into its original position, leaving the sound as it was set.

However, if such controlling system is too extra all the setting can be changed via a subtle touch interface or wirelessly on the phone with the help of an official app. The interface is lasered directly into the aluminium. The holes so minute that they are invisible to the naked eye and only just allow light to shine through.

This item is not just fancy. It also provides a great quality sound. Beosound Edge is surprisingly powerful despite its compact exterior. The device has a huge 10" woofer bass driver on one side, which has an amazing slim design and long excursion, while both sides of the speaker are equipped with a dedicated 4" midrange and a ¾" tweeter.
Images: Dezeen
For sound to stay clear and powerful at high range Beosound Edge presents a ground-breaking acoustical technology named the Active Bass Port1. It combines "closed-box" design and the "ported design" which means that when playing at lower volumes, it is using the closed cabinet principle for the most accurate sound reproduction, and as when the sound is going up the Active Bass Port opens to output more energized bass.

The speaker also claims to provide 360-degree room filling sound, and the new Directional Sound Control allows the owner to define the direction that the sound radiates creating two acoustic fronts. Thanks to this technology, a room can be divided into active and more passive listening areas.

Bang & Olufsen also ensured that their device incorporates industry standard technologies to provide the best streaming experience. It comes with AirPlay 2, Chromecast2 and Bluetooth and supports voice interaction when paired with either a Google Assistant-enabled speaker, such as Beosound 1 and Beosound 2, or an Amazon Echo device.

The Beosound Edge is the first speaker designed by British-Cypriot Anastassiades, who is best known for minimal lighting designs, like the mobile-style thin black metal chandeliers he created under his own brand. He said that to reach the final design for the Beosound Edge, his team pushed themselves to remove "layers upon layers until what remained was a visibly pure and simple object. Because what happens when you experience highly visually complex products is an initial impact, but once the novelty of that impact dies, there is nothing left," Anastassiades said.

Image: The Verge
The Danish electronics brand Bang&Olufsen, founded in 1925, since the 1950's has been pioneering the use of aluminium making it almost synonymous with the brand. According to the company, remarkable craftmanship and attention to detail are required to achieve the perfect circular frame and to polish the exterior to a flawless finish of their new device.

"With Beosound Edge, we are bringing forward a timeless design masterpiece that inspires the imagination with an interaction and experience never before seen in home audio," said Bang & Olufsen concept manager Kresten Bjørn Krab- Bjerre.

"From a distance it is monolithic and discreet, hiding everything that suggests technology, yet it is unforgettable in sound performance, punching above and beyond what you would expect for the size of the speaker."

Beosound Edge (RRP 3,250 EUR)will be available online and in Bang & Olufsen stores from mid-November 2018.
Banner image: Dezeen