when B&O said that their new Bang & Olufsen BeoLab 14 Surround Speaker System has a “competitive price point”, we took a hard look at its $3,995 starting price tag. hmmm. are we missing something here? by average joe’s standard, that number is hardly closed to “competitive”. being ‘just a surround speaker system’ the price is definitely over the top, but think B&O and high end audio, it may not be the case. in any case, we aren’t talking about run-of-the-mill system here. available as a 4.1 setup, as well as a 5.1 version, this ‘entry level’ offering from the Danish firm centers around a sculpted subwoofer which is home to a 280 watts 8″ downward-firing bass driver and contains connections for five 2.5″ active satellite speakers, each with its own 140 watts amplifiers and separate equalizers.
the sub is also where all the electronic wizardry happens and as such it is packed with “a very capable” Digital Signal Processor, Adaptive Bass Linearization, room adaption switch, line sense, Power Link connections for B&O components, as well as an A/V multi-connector for other components. the 16cm circular satellites feature a closed cabinet in milled aluminum frame with interchangeable grille cloth and they can be wall or ceiling-mounted, or set on stands for shelf or floor placements. according to B&O, the 4.1 version is designed for Bang & Olufsen TVs where the onboard speakers will be the center speaker for the surround setup. the 5.1 solution, on the other hand, caters for all other brands of TV and is slightly pricer at $4,395. available globally this June.
