February 26, 2007 Adding further validity to the “sound systems should be heard and not seen” school of thought is the news that long-term discerner of public taste Bang & Olufsen is to release a passive loudspeaker that can be placed in places where active loudspeakers fall short. Bang & Olufsen has played a leading role in the evolution of entertainment systems and its BeoVox 1 points to the future of home entertainment. Being a built-in loudspeaker, BeoVox 1 fits nicely and discreetly in hallways or rooms where you do not have much space. It can be completely concealed in the walls or in the ceiling. It's extremely well suited for places where the primary activity is not listening to music, but where you'd still like to have music either as secondary entertainment or background sound. Another product from the imagination of designer David Lewis, the two-way passive system includes 1” treble unit and a 6” mid-range/bass unit, delivering a frequency range of 50-20,000 Hz.
The product came from Bang & Olufsen’s internal communications where it was identified that there were many customer requests for a loudspeaker solution that could be used in bathrooms and other wet rooms or outside on the terrace. A lot of customers had asked for a complete Bang & Olufsen solution that integrated with their BeoLink system and Beo4 remote control.
BeoVox 1 has been optimised acoustically for its placement in the walls or ceiling. In its construction, B&O has selected high-quality speaker units and applied a carefully designed cross-over network to attenuate and improve its performance so the sound dispersion in the treble area is optimised. The edges of the loudspeaker units are carefully curved to avoid diffractions which otherwise might have a negative effect on the sound performance.
A small switch next to the treble unit allows you to increase the treble performance to three different levels to compensate for its placement in the room. Treble is typically very directional, and if you place BeoVox 1 very high up, you may want to increase or attenuate the treble performance to get the best experience.
Most in-wall speakers are either round or square, but Bang & Olufsen has chosen an elegant, discrete, oval design for BeoVox 1, applying typical Bang & Olufsen craftsmanship in its execution. The customer can choose between a black and white front grill, so BeoVox 1 matches most wall or ceiling decor. The hole pattern has been designed to ensure optimum acoustic performance, and of course you will see no "half or cut" holes at the edges.
"Another front grill detail is the painting process we apply", explains Acoustic Engineer Jens Rahbek. "When applying paint to the surface, we have chosen to use a rotary atomizer painting system which ensures close spray-pattern control, so paint is only applied to the surface and does not penetrate into the holes. This is done to have full control of the acoustic performance, as the size of the holes has a great effect on the loudspeaker's performance."
Dimensions (H x W x D)Visible size is 25 x 29.5 x 2.3 cmIn-wall depth is approx. 8.3 cm