Hold my Beo… B&O finally wades into the soundbar scrap with the Beosound Stage – predictably expensive and predictably stylish, which is just how we like it from R34 000 / incredible.co.za You can’t rush the Danes – they do things in their own time. This, the Beosound Stage, is Bang & Olufsen’s attempt to bring some of its Scandinavian stylishness to the soundbar… but, like Axl Rose performing live, it’s arrived hideously late. So does the Stage represent Axl solo (rubbish), or Axl with Guns N’ Roses (epic, but possibly not worth the money)? B&O reckons this is a complete audio system, not just a speaker for your TV, and it will be just as happy streaming music as it is putting a rocket up your favourite Dolby Atmos soundtrack. In terms of specs, there’s just one model… but it’s available in four finishes, from this R34 000 aluminium/black sample to the R52 000 oak/grey version. Function dictates form with soundbars, though, so there’s not much scope for B&O’s design magic here. This one is going to have to justify its price almost entirely on how it performs.
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Beo belly At 110cm wide and 17cm tall (1), the Stage is a pretty imposing speaker – it’s going to look too big sitting under a TV of less than 55in or so. And though there are cutaways to aid wall-mounting at either end of the back of the unit, it weighs 8kg – so make sure your plastering is up to it.
GOOD MEH EVIL
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Typically elegant design
Beo taps The frame is formed of a single piece of very lightly brushed aluminium, and at its top left there are touch-sensitive controls (2) for volume, source selection, power on/off and Bluetooth pairing. And, unlike a lot of touch controls, they actually are sensitive.
Chromecast and AirPlay 2 on board
Just the one HDMI input
Beo goggles Physical connections include only one HDMI input, plus a 3.5mm analogue input and an Ethernet socket. The app is predictably good-looking, making setup and multiroom integration easy. It also has listening modes, internet radio access, DLNA support and direct Deezer access.
Bluetooth 4.2 is hardly cutting-edge
Supports Dolby Atmos and Vision Choose ‘pricey’ or ‘very pricey’
