Bang & Olufsen has unveiled the Beosound Emerge, a new powerful slimline home speaker that is modelled on a book.
Designed in collaboration with Benjamin Hubert of design agency LAYER, Beosound Emerge is a versatile speaker inspired by the compact form factor of a book. Its resemblance to an interior object allows the bookshelf speaker to seamlessly integrate alongside books and other domestic objects, or it can be out on display.
Like the cover of a book, the side panels wrap around the speaker, while the front is marked with Bang & Olufsen’s logo in the same way the spine of a book features the author’s name.
“The vision for Beosound Emerge was to create the slimmest speaker possible that could still deliver full range, ultra-wide sound despite its size through its revolutionary driver configuration,” explained Christopher Poulsen, senior vice president and head of product management at Bang & Olufsen.
“Whether placed on a bookshelf in the bedroom or a tight corner of the kitchen, Beosound Emerge’s slim design allows you to extend your music to a new room or complement an existing speaker in the same area without taking up extra space.”
Hubert, along with Bang & Olufsen’s design team, chose materials that are inspired by interior décor and objects around the home to help it fit in. Beosound Emerge Gold Tone features an oak wood cover that wraps around the woven Kvadrat textile on its spine. Pearl-blasted aluminium, anodised in a gold tone, give the speaker a luxury, aesthetically-pleasing look. The vertical corrugated pattern on the polymer side panels accentuates the slim lines of the speaker.
Customers also have the option of choosing a high-grade aluminium Black Anthracite finish with a pearl-blasted grille.
Hubert, founder of LAYER added: “At LAYER, we believe that technology should enable happiness but doesn’t necessarily need to be an expression in its own right, so it was equally important for us to create a new architectural format with a strong sculptural sensibility and a more domestic material palette that will stand out in the saturated audio market while seamlessly fitting into the home.”
Users have full control of Besound Emerge through the user interface intuitively incorporated into the top of the product. The buttons can be activated through soft touch where users can pause music and change track or easily access favourite radio stations and playlists. The volume adjustment is a unique experience, enabling circular motion to adjust up or down for a smooth and sensory interaction.
Focusing on the slimline design, designers worked with Bang & Olufsen’s acoustic engineers to create a unique loudspeaker driver configuration to enable a full-range sound experience from its slender form.
Ensuring the narrow design, the 37mm midrange is mounted at an angle, emitting sound from the front along with the 14mm soft dome tweeter. The 100mm side firing woofer output is guided to the back of the speaker, resulting in a wide sound dispersion to fill a room. The low frequency range is improved by the built-in active room compensation technology that customises the sound design for the placement of the speaker.
For longevity, the speaker has been modularly designed, allowing access to the company’s new replaceable connectivity module introduced in Beosound Level.
The module has been frontloaded with enough processing power and connectivity technology to receive new performance updates and features in the future. If it becomes outdated, the module can be replaced with the latest technology updates, futureproofing the speaker.
Beosound Emerge can be used on its own, as an additional speaker in Bang & Olufsen’s Connected Speakers set up for multiroom audio, or to simply complement an existing speaker set up. It supports Apple AirPlay 2, Chromecast and also features a built-in radio and microphone for voice control. An over-the-air update in the autumn will add Bang & Olufsen’s proprietary Beolink connectivity to the Beosound Emerge. Google Assistant allows users to have hands-free control.
For an even more immersive experience, two Beosound Emerge speakers can be paired together for stereo sound. This wireless stereo experience is a new technology developed by the company that will soon be available on a range of speakers including Beosound Balance and Beosound Level.