THE ALTERNATIVES
It also runs active room compensation, so wherever you put it, it will monitor and tweak its own sound, compensating for the materials and locations of objects nearby.
So how does it sound? In the default Optimal mode, what’s immediately clear is that it’s a naturally bright and fairly neutral sound, with upper-mids and trebles standing out from the rest of the soundscape especially clearly.
For music focused on the midrange and up, it’s the best speaker we’ve heard at this kind of size. Strings, horns and vocals elevate themselves so clearly out of the mix, but still stay natural rather than turning harsh to get them there.
However, the bass is surprisingly low-impact, especially for something with two woofers. It’s absolutely there, and it’s rich and slick, but it’s just not very deep. Even after playing with the bass adjustments, we were ready to say that it was just a factor of the speaker...
…But then we noticed the ‘Loudness’ switch.
It was hidden away in a ‘Sound settings’ section, where few people will ever look. And the change was immediate. It still can’t punch quite as low as the HomePod but it finally produced bass that gave you a reaction in your diaphragm, and this is while still keeping that mid and treble just as lifted and clear.
Dapper device
On top of the unit is a slightly concave panel that includes some touch controls, and these light up automatically when you approach, which is always a nice feature.
When you trigger Google Assistant, four lights come up within the row that normally shows volume, which is a neat way of including Google’s little branding touch. It also has Chromecast streaming built in, which isn’t a guarantee for all third-party Google Assistant devices, so it’s good to see it here.
There’s Apple AirPlay 2 support too, which has long been standard for B&O’s Wi-Fi speakers. You can also play to it over Bluetooth 5.0, or plug in via good ol’ line-in.
All things considered, the B&O Beosound Balance is the bestsounding and -looking smart speaker
3.1 (3 full-range, 1 woofer)
HDMI eARC, optical-audio input, USB-A, Bluetooth 5 Soundbar:
980x64x108mm; Subwoofer: 192x387x406mm Soundbar:
3.5kg; Subwoofer: 7.5kg
Dimensions $899, sony.com