Bang Olufsen Beosound Level Portable Wi-Fi Multiroom Speaker Gold Tone Light Oak

I was tempted to give this four stars because of the app but the app could be easily fixed if they just put the effort into it. But there is nothing at all I would change about this unit I mean nothing. I don’t think I’ve ever said that about anything I’ve ever bought. I’m a huge Audio video fanatic. I love high-end stuff even vintage stuff. This unit is such a wonderful unique piece it reminds me of the 1983 Lamborghini Countach which was perfect in its time but highly unaffordable. Now they’re worth almost 5 times their original price. That’s what I think will happen with this beosound level. You better pick one up, maybe several of them because once they stop making them you won’t be able to find them. This unit has such a rich, warm and expressive tone. It fills my giant living room, kitchen, hallway formal dining. I have 12 foot ceilings and this little guy fills the entire area. It’s amazing! And the sound is wonderful I wouldn’t change anything about it. From bass to mid range and treble, it’s all there and just the way you want it. If you take off the front cover you’ll be amazed at the diminutive tiny little speakers that’s producing such rich warm sound. I know the ice power amps are phenomenal and this has largely to do with its incredible sound. And again it’s portable just charge up the battery overnight have it outside take it to the garage take it to the beach take it wherever. One quick caveat though the app is so bad it’s constantly dropping after you charge up the battery or turn it fully off and back on. Sometimes all it will do is go to the radio stations and you can’t get back to the streaming music that part is super clunky and frustrating. But that’s just a software piece nothing to do with the hardware. Read more

Let’s start by saying this is an expensive device. With that said, it is the most beautiful and ,by far, the best sounding device in its class. It is a luxury to use and listen to and look at, a rarity in this sized sound system. It is built to last a lifetime with easily replaceable parts for when technology takes the next step or if the battery needs replacement. The styling is simple yet elegant, and the build quality is impeccable. Not everyone is willing to spend this kind of money on a sound system this size, but if you can afford it, you will not regret your purchase. Read more

Sound is very good but not worth $1500-2000. Stopped working with 2 weeks. Pretty disappointed. Read more

I had zero expectations purchasing this. Every handful of years I purchase a bunch of speakers together and run them back to back. This batch I purchased the latest and best reviewed - Naim Muso Qb, Bowers and Wilkins Zepplin, Beolit 20. I own a pair of KEF LS50W IIs with the KC62 subwoofer and have compared those against the KEF LSXs as well as other high-end speakers. I recently moved into a new apartment and was looking for a new bedroom music option. What drew me to the Level was the portability aspect - something that none of these options (besides the Beolit) were able to provide. I would love to get my hands on an A5, but for now I'm very happy with the Level (more on that in a sec). And in practice, the multi-room portability has been very useful and a part of my daily routine, even in the room where my LS50s live. Other portables I've kept are the Devialet Mania and B&O P6. Aesthetics - I have the gray version, I found too good of a deal to pass up. Otherwise I would have been very interested in the wood trim, which looks stunning. The touch bar lights up when you approach it, very slick, and the buttons work well enough. Handling - it's fairly hefty, which is good. It's definitely a well made product. The narrow design and angled base makes it somewhat prone to tipping regardless. The handle kinda sucks. It's sharp and not very contoured, and makes it very easy to press one of the internet radio buttons on the top, which has on more than one occasion changed the vibe entirely, at an entirely new volume level. The magnetic charger is snug. Make sure it's pushed all the way in or it won't charge. Battery life - it's really good. I've definitely placed it and forgotten to plug it in, and it still functions for a couple days before it disappears from Spotify Connect, when I realize I've killed it entirely. Even years down the line when the capacity is diminished I have no expectation of feeling the need to replace the rechargeable battery. Playback - I use it almost exclusively with Spotify Connect, which offers great audio quality. I am not a codec snob as long as it's not bluetooth. It works well but sometimes disappears, but I suspect my aging Apple Airport Extreme would be the primary reason for that - my other Spotify Connect speakers experience similar issues. A router reset and a easy setup process in the app mates it again, and saves my EQ settings. Volume-wise, it effortlessly fills every room in my apartment, even at low volume. It gets loud, too, and can easily fight the sounds of LA traffic and wind on my outdoor balcony. Audio Quality - man, this is what gets me. It's good, way better than its form factor would suggest. But it's absolutely helped by some sometimes very noticeable DSP. Highs - Very B&O, floaty but not harsh. There is levity and detail, beautiful vocals come through Mids - Also B&O, textured but somewhat tight. Not as much separation as I would likely prefer, but detailed. Lows - Detailed, textured, and impossibly low for the size of this product. But this is where most of the digital help comes in, and where I have the biggest problem with the speaker overall. The Bass - The bass this thing can reproduce is very impressive, but from what my ears can tell it does what some modern speakers are doing by putting some of the lowest tones up an octave. The new Macbook Pro speakers do this, but the implementation on the Level just isn't as seamless. You can occasionally hear a "woom" or "wuh" in the low frequencies as it struggles to keep up. As long as you're not listening exclusively to electronic music or cinematic scores you may never hear it! You may hear it all the time. My tastes are all over the place, so it's noticeable maybe a couple songs a day. There are times where I wish I could turn this feature off entirely, because it's the only part of the sound that feels artificial, and the 2x 4" drivers should be more than capable of producing a low enough sound regardless. Stereo/the app - another potential gripe of mine, this does have some sort of simulated "stereo" soundstaging that's mostly done in DSP. You can actually dial this in up/down by changing the SIZE of the ball in the center of the EQ orb B&O seems to love using. Too big and it sounds absolutely garbage. Too small and the soundstage disappears. I prefer it slightly larger than default, and haven't touched it much since the first month of setting it up. Compared to the Devialet Mania - the Level easily offers a much more refined sound. The Mania is all about bass, and offers very little else. What the Mania edges the Level out on is the way they've done so without their own DSP getting in the way. The Level needs some work on the software bass and likely some help on the processing power, otherwise I'm sure they would have addressed some of these issues in updates. In every other way the Level sounds better, fuller, more refined, and detailed. Reparability - something I've neglected to mention until now is the reparability/upgradability the Level offers. Theoretically every component is user replaceable, and B&O have shown that they will continue to support legacy products in the past. I really like the idea that I will be able to use this in 20 years, maybe purchasing a wireless card upgrade at some point for whatever version of WiFi exists then, but factoring that into the purchase price there just isn't anything else like it. Verdict - for casual listening it's been great. I actually carry it as a speaker throughout the home, and it effortless fills the space even at low volume levels. What would make this perfect are some adjustments to the touch bar and handle, and some adjustments of the DSP or the ability to turn it off as it applies to the bass. Otherwise, B&O clearly put some time and effort into this product and it definitely should not be overlooked. 4.4/5 Read more

I love this thing, it travels through the house with me daily / sounds amazing. I replaced some fairly high-end 8” studio reference monitors in my office with it (they were large and not too attractive) I’d like a few more now. It’s air airplay as well as Bluetooth. it moves from my bedroom office linked to my MacBook Pro all day for music and meetings to the living room and then back to the bedroom, bluetooth'ed to the Apple TV and projector - no complaints - it’s nice to have something like this close to you at super low volumes as well as across the room cranked - It automatically adjusts to the room when you move it - it sounds bigger and better than many dual 8” drivers book shelf speakers… does well with house music - it’s really hard to believe something this size can put out this much sound - the super crystal clear high ranges with the wet liquid sonic feeling you get from high-end audio equipment, the mind-blowing low end defies physics.. well done Danish audio engineering guys! Read more

I have a Beosound A9 and purchased this speaker to have them both playing simultaneously. The sound quality of level is far below A9 and in most cases they can't run simultaneously (I could cast to one and only run both via Bluetooth). Read more

Love this speaker. Sounds awesome easy to connect to the B&O app. Not sure why it doesn’t have a higher rating. It is a bit pricey but quality and solid build costs money. Read more