B&O wants its new Beosound level to survive your average paired speaker

Bang & Olufsen’s Beosound Level is the Danish brand’s latest battery-powered speaker. It supports voice control via Google Assistant, Bluetooth, and you can stream to it via AirPlay 2, Chromecast, and Spotify Connect standards. B&O says the Beosound level uses a modular construction that he says will be useful well into the future. This is a welcome feature, considering the speaker’s high starting price of $ 1,499 (£ 1,099).

Although many mid-century stereos and amplifiers can still be used, the average lifespan of modern integrated audio systems is much shorter. If your music system contains a computer, it is inevitable that it will eventually become obsolete. B & O’s hope is that the modular design it uses for the Beosound level will help the company keep it supported longer, and also make it easier to repair if components fail.

Central to this modularity is the Beosound Level streaming module, which includes the speaker’s digital signal processing disk (DSP), wireless connection technology, and antenna array. This is B&O’s first speaker to use it, but the company says it will not be the last; it will be standardized in its future range of home speakers. B&O says there is enough processing space in the hardware provided with the Beosound level to handle updates in the immediate future. But when the hardware reaches its limit, the company plans to offer an upgrade service for users who are willing to send their device to the company to have the power module replaced.

The Beosound level’s battery is also modular, and unlike the power module, it is user replaceable. However, its form factor will not be standardized in B & O’s speakers, and therefore a battery made specifically for the Beosound level will be needed. Battery life is rated at 16 hours, with volumes at moderate levels, and the maximum volume is dropped to four hours.

Other features include a built-in accelerometer that allows the Beosound level to adjust its sound, depending on whether it is hanging vertically, horizontally or on a wall. (A wall bracket is available separately for $ 119 or £ 89.) The speaker has five internal drives: two 4-inch woofers, one 2-inch full-length driver and two 0.8-inch tweets.

The charge is either handled via a USB-C port on the speaker itself, or by attaching a small magnetic plug (powered by USB). The speaker has an IP54 rating for dust and water resistance, touch controls, and is available with wood or material finishes.

We have seen businesses try to follow modular approaches with their devices before, but success has been elusive so far. Modular smartphones have never really gotten off the ground, and Alienware’s promises of a modular future-proof laptop have fallen apart after just one year. Bang & Olufsen says it hopes to support the Beosound level years after it finally stopped producing the speaker. So it may take a while before we see if it can reach its goal.

The Beosound level is available from today.