Subtle yet stunning looks, great sound, and an amazing user experience!
I bought this several years ago and it still brings me enough joy to take time to write a review. I was considering ordering a second because of how this has improved my day to day access to music. I'm a fan for several reasons.
First, the sound quality is excellent. I'm not a fan of every device that B&O releases. The Emerge I thought sounded worse than a speaker that cost less than a tenth of its price. The Explore sounded like (and looked like) audio was coming out of a tin can. This, however, sounds amazing to my ears. I'm not an audiophile, but I know what I like and this has a pleasant warm quality about it. You have the option to tweak the audio signature using the app to match you preferences.
Second, it looks amazing. I'm a fan of audio that doesn't loudly tell you what it does. This fits my space very well and, when standing up, minimizes the amount of space that it takes up. I did not install this onto a wall, but they sell something that allows you to do that.
Lastly, I'm a big fan of the way that you can map the four custom buttons to a wide array of musical sources. You can map them to B&O's radio service to play your favorite station or a Spotify playlist / station. The ability to wake up and either turn on the local news radio or my current favorite tracks is great.
In terms of value for money, ... well this is a very expensive item. If you just want a high quality speaker you can definitely find something for a fraction of the price. If you want something beautiful that changes how you interact with your music... then I would give this some serious thought or a demo.
B
Brian Barber
★★★★★
Not for everyone but if you have a musical ear you may appreciate is refined sound
Definitely a great sounding speaker and this finish is gorgeous with the gold. Not $2400 good though. I found an offer for a new in the box one elsewhere for $1400. It is the silver aluminum finish with black cloth grill. So even though it is not the finish I prefer I saved $1000.
Battery life is fair and gives enough time for an afternoon listening session at a fair volume. When on Bluetooth I find it to be glitchy at times, cutting out. For a speaker at this price point I would not expect this even if listening with WIFI is what B&O probably assumes most will do. That is unacceptable and is not up to par with a lot less expensive speakers with rock solid Bluetooth like JBL.
The app is simple to use and works well with the system.
It is a bit heavy for it size but that is due to the quality parts and components.
Compared to my Devialet Mania priced at $900 before taxes and accessories I find the Mania to be more pleasing at with some music at lower volume but less accurate in certain ranges compared to the B&O Level.
Overall, this is a great speaker, especially for the price that I got it at. I am pretty happy at that price point. That is until I take it outside and try to listen to the Bluetooth then that expensive speaker loses it’s shine not only because of the drop in quality of sound due to listening on Bluetooth versus Wi-Fi, but also because of shotty Bluetooth connection.
Robert H.
★★★★★
Yours may not work with Chromecast
A long time fan of B&O products. I have a home full of them from the A9, Balance, Essence, Stage…even a Beosound 1 and 2 all controlled from their app on iPads or a Halo remote. So I write this mildly critical review with disappointment.
The good bits are the design and build quality. It sounds great considering the form factor, and fills the guest suite well with sound. All the usual B&O niceties like EQ and optimization are present. The gold toned version is eye catching and I could not be happier overall with those aspects. If this were as far as the review went it would be five stars.
But alas…while B&O has come a long way since the Beoplay products in terms of software quality this is a step backward.
No matter what I do it simply will not succeed a complete setup process. So it will not be added as an endpoint for Chromecast. Here I don’t mean google voice assistant, but actually being useful as a streaming endpoint using Chromecast.
I spent 20 hours diagnosing, conversing with B&O support, and trying a multitude of setup approaches (setting up in B&O app first, setting up in Google Home first, setting up on Android devices, setting up on iOS devices, starting in one setup and finishing in the other). No combo works.
So now I can’t add it to my home or use it as a part of my whole home audio. Unless I only use the B&O app (meaning I can only use Deezer streaming) or switch every other part of my home system over to Airplay.
I’m not alone in experiencing this as there are multiple Reddit and forum threads about this. Unfortunately it appears to be very hit or miss as to what devices are impacted. Worse, B&O went totally dark on me after their support failed and I asked for a unit exchange.
So now I have this gorgeous outlier that sounds good but doesn’t work for the purpose it was bought for (and advertised to support). And a bad taste in my mouth for a company I’ve adored since childhood.
So if you only want to use the B&O app or Airplay it’s a fine product thet will look lovely in any room. But I’d you want all of what you paid for, be prepared to roll your dice. Awww
D
Derek
★★★★★
Powerful and portable
This Bang & Olufsen Beosound Level Portable Wi-Fi Multiroom Speaker measures 13.7" x 9" x 2.2" and weighs 7.3 pounds. The Beosound Level was designed by Torsten Valeur and was constructed of oak, knitted fabric, aluminum, and polymer. The cabinet of the Beosound Level houses two 4" woofers, one 2" full-range driver, and two 0.8" tweeters. The Beosound Level is powered with 115-watts of amplification with each of the two 4" woofers having a 30-watt amp driving them while another 30-watt amp powers the 2" full-range driver. Meanwhile, both of the 0.8" tweeters are driven by a single 15-watt amp. Combined this system has the power to fill a room as large as 500 square feet, depending on the room's acoustics.
The Beosound Level offers a wealth of features including multiple connectivity options such as a line-in/optical combo jack, an ethernet port, USB-C, and a magnetic easy charge solution. (Disclosure: the review unit I received does not have any ports save the magnetic charger and USB C but the full retail versions should all ship with the ports mentioned.) There are also streaming services available such as AirPlay 2, built-in Chromecast, and Spotify connect. B&O even offers integrated music through Bang & Olufsen Radio.
I put this Beosound Level through its paces for close to two months. The sound the Beosound Level produces is impressive across most musical genres. Out of the box the Beosound Level produces balanced harmonics with an obvious distinction between mids and highs while maintaining deep bass. Speaking of bass, the Beosound Level produces bass that is agile and punchy. Qualifying that statement a bit, when I say punchy, I do not mean the bass is in your face and overpowering to other frequencies. On the contrary, the bass the Beosound Level produces is nimble and moves precisely with the action but when it drops it does so with good heft and weight.
What I liked most about the Beosound Level was:
- Sound. If you're spending upwards of 1500 dollars on a single speaker it better produce uncompromising sound. Bang & Olufsen does not disappoint with the Beosound Level. In fact, one might say B&O has perfected their design with the Beosound Level as the power amplification avoids the harmonic 'smile' (the artificial boosting of lows and highs while sacrificing mids) to appeal to less persnickety listeners. The sound here is spot on. Mids are not just audible, they're articulate and nuanced. Fine details are clear and distinguishable in all genres of music and across all types of audio content from podcasts to feature films.
- Built-in Tech - This Bang & Olufsen Beosound Level comes with Bluetooth 5.0, Chromecast, App Support, Proximity Sensors, an Accelerometer, and touch controls. I didn't read the manual when I first unboxed the Level and thought my eyes were deceiving me when I approached the speaker and it started to light up. That was due to the proximity speakers. There's also an accelerometer inside that allows the speaker to perform differently based on whether it sits flat on its back, sits upright, or is mounted. There are also radio presets out of the box that can be accessed with the tap of a button. All of this makes the Bang & Olufsen Beosound Level a technologically advanced speaker.
Design - The Bang & Olufsen Beosound Level is a well-designed speaker that looks more like a piece of furniture than a speaker. While its aesthetic is great on its own, I do have an HP All-in-One PC that has an integrated B & O Soundbar that is wrapped in the same charcoal-colored knit fabric. Both items look nice beside each other. I just wish they were able to pair with one another to create an even more immersive experience.
What I liked least about the Beosound Level was:
- Review unit limitations. My review unit did not have some of the ports the retail unit has including the line-in/optical combo jack or an ethernet port. I would like to have tried both of these items out but could not.
- Struggles with synthetic, 808-style sub-bass. The Beosound Level handles movies fine, I even listened to mobile games audio through the speaker and was impressed by home much spatial information I could pick up from this speaker. Explosions, rumbling sub-bass in Rap and EDM music pushed the Beosound Level to its limits and sadly, beyond as there was some distortion at high volumes for those synthetic bass sounds. This speaker punches well but it does not seem designed to roar so extended sub-bass tones do not reproduce well with the Beosound Level.
Overall, if you are looking for an impeccable listening experience in a small form factor the Beosound Level is the perfect speaker for you. The sound of the Beosound Level is audiophile quality as it's perfectly balanced with crisp airy highs, nuanced and articulate mids, and nimble, punchy bass. It's loaded with advanced technology, so much so I couldn't cover it all in this review. Finally, there's the design aesthetic. This speaker is crafted from the finest materials and designed to look more like an accent piece than just another speaker. While this speaker was close to perfect my review unit was nerfed a bit so I did not get the full experience those who purchase this device at the full retail price will receive. There's also the issue of sub-bass. Hip Hop and EDM fans are going to notice a fair bit of distortion at high volumes when they push synthetic bass to this speaker. This effect is also present when listening to movies if you listen hard enough for it. The woofers in this speaker do a marvelous job of keeping up with rapid-fire sounds like gunshots or herds of animals stampeding. It's just those protracted tones that tax this unit at high levels. Still, for those who want a premium listening experience for just about any content available this Beosound Level can stand toe-to-toe with the finest audio playback equipment available at this price and in most cases, come out with a convincing win. 4.5 out of 5.0
MOCTODNOZAMA
★★★★★
Magnificent Bang & Olufsen Portable Speaker with a unique design...
THE GOOD:
--------------
* Beautifully crafted high end speaker.
* Built like a tank, it weighs about 7 and a half pounds.
* Three ways to position the speaker: Flat, on it's end, or mount it on a wall (bracket sold separately).
* From what I can tell, it produces beautiful sounds. However, I'm not an audiophile.
* 105 watts, 79dB bass, and 96dB mid-range.
* Awesome charging design. The round object you see in the pictures is the charger. The usb-c goes into this object, it then docks magnetically to a round slot in the back of the speaker. Contrary to other reviews that said you're in trouble if you lose this charging device, the back of the speaker has another usb-c port for charging. So if you lose the round object, you're not in trouble. I think it's there for tactile purpose. Without it, you have to constantly turn the speaker around to look for the charging port. With this magnetic charger, mounting and dismounting is a breeze. BTW, Ethernet and Line In is hidden under the rubber cover of this round charging slot.
* Works with Airplay, Chromecast built in. If you have a google smart home, you'll like this. My wife is an Apple person, I'm Android. She's been taking over the speaker with Airplay.
* 16 hours of play time after fully charged.
THE BAD:
------------
* Not necessarily a bad, but more like a reality nowadays. You have to hunt for the user manual at their website. No user manual is included.
* Bluetooth connection was easy with some of my devices, and was very difficult with others. My MP3 player took forever to find the Level. Not sure if the issue is with the Level or with the player.
* Tested it with my Fire TV Cube. Does not work well. I have to connect/disconnect several times to get audio to the Level. But when I change apps, I lose audio again. To be fair, this wasn't made for TV. But cheap $50 Bluetooth speakers can work flawlessly with media players, why not a $1300 speaker?
* On the speaker, there are 4 touch buttons that are for favorites that you can customize. Such as spotify, pandora, etc. You can also long press to save a Google Voice command for each button like Play some music, what is the weather, etc.. Initially, I thought this meant Google Assistant was built in, but it is not unfortunately. It's only good for four phrases. Upon further research, I realize that they do offer this same speaker on their website with Google Assistant built in. They have an option that you can choose with or without Google Assistant, and it's for the same price. I guess this option is available because some people don't like smart devices listening in their homes.
Even with some of these "BAD" things I've listed and discussed, I still rate this speaker 5 stars because it's the most magnificent speaker I've ever owned.
Hairy Potter
★★★★★
BEST Speaker I Have Ever Owned!
The Bang & Olufsen Beosound Level speaker is unlike any other speaker on the market. The Level is a compact, portable, wireless, and powerful speaker that is loaded with technology. Designed to provide awesome audio in a portable package, it delivers quite nicely. Bank & Olufsen (B&O) is a recognized pioneer and innovator in the high-end audio market. Based in Denmark, B&O has a primarily European and Asian presence, although its US presence is expanding. Aside from home audio systems, B&O provides premium audio systems to many luxury automobile manufacturers including Aston Martin, BMW, Audi, Mercedes and others. Their premium audio systems are also finding their way into upscale US automobiles. This information is not intended to be an advertisement for B&O; instead, it is meant to educate those who may not be familiar with B&O products.
Among the unique design characteristics of the Level is its modular design. Components are designed to be easily removed and replaced, which improves the ease of service and repair and even enables the consumer to easily change out the battery when necessary. One feature that I especially like, and that sets this system apart from others, is its replaceable streaming module. The module includes more than the currently required processing power and connectivity technology, which will enable the Level to be updated with any future performance updates and features that might be developed in the years to come. Additionally, if the current streaming and connectivity technology should become outdated, the module can be easily replaced with an updated version. This means that the speaker may never become obsolete if technology standards change over the years, and possibly decades, to come.
The Level comes with the speaker, magnetic charge module, USB-C wall adapter, and USB-C to USB-C charge cable. The speaker is battery operated, and it can be charged with either a direct connection to the USB-C connector on the rear of the speaker, or by using the magnetic charge module. The charge cord is plugged into the module, and the module magnetically attaches to the rear of the speaker. This is a very simple method of charging the device without the need to directly plug in a charge cord. The stated battery life is 16 hours if operated at a moderate volume. There are indicator lights that advise the charge level and an audio warning when the level drops to 20%. The recharge time is three hours. Multiple inputs can be used: USB-C, Ethernet, or optical combi-jack. A Bluetooth connection is available when using mobile devices.
A unique feature of the Level is that it can be positioned standing up, laying down, or mounted on the wall, and the speaker will adjust its output based on the position to provide the best audio. Anytime that it is moved, it will evaluate its position and adjust the audio accordingly. To further improve audio, the Bang and Olufsen app has a Room Compensation feature that evaluates the room conditions and further adjusts audio for optimum performance. This feature can only be run if the Level is plugged into direct power. I do not know why this is so, but I found it inconvenient after moving the speaker to have to plug it in to run Room Compensation. Being a portable speaker, it should be possible to be run while on battery power. For those wanting a wall mounted option, there is a wall mount available for $119 from B&O. The mount is designed so that the speaker hangs from the mount, but it can be removed easily for portability.
The Level is IP54 dust and splash certified. This means that the speaker is protected from dust intrusion and water splashes from any direction. This does not mean that the speaker is waterproof, but it can be used in environments where water might splash onto it or where it might be caught in the rain. This is great for when the speaker is being used around the pool or otherwise being used outdoors.
There is a total of 105 watts of output: two 4” woofers, one 2” full range, and two 0.8” tweeters. The system delivers 79dB bass capability and 96dB mid-range loudness. I am very impressed with the audio quality. Although a compact system, the Level generates high-quality audio with its deep and pronounced bass, clear treble, and crystal clear audio at full volume. I am very pleased with this system.
Aside from the controls on the speaker itself, most of the options and settings are controlled by the Bang & Olufsen app. The app has a variety of settings available, including a myriad of audio options, programming channel presets, system options, etc.. For more details, the included video walks through the app’s features. The app requires that it be connected to a WiFi network in order to communicate with the speaker. Setup and configuration of the app was easy and intuitive. I especially like that there are hundreds of available streaming channels available within the app that can be selected. Any of these channels can be noted as a favorite, and up to four channels can be programmed as a preset.
For those who might be interested, the B&O Level speaker is the only electronic item, worldwide, to be Cradle to Cradle (C2C) certified. The (C2C) certification is a recognition of a product and company’s reduction of waste and hazardous chemicals, efficient use and reuse of resources, energy efficiency, and social responsibility.
Although the Bang & Olufsen Level speaker has a high price tag, it is worth the price. The audio quality is great, it is portable, it is attractive and unobtrusive, and it has years of useful life beyond its current technology.
G
Gary
★★★★★
Beautiful Clear Sound and Solid Bass with New Update(Jan 18, 2024)
Very expensive, but worth it. Top tier quality construction and a beautiful simple subdued design. The sound is amazing, and with Bluetooth 5.0, and Airplay 2 built in connectivity is easy. The internal components are modular, so Bluetooth and WiFi can be upgraded for future proofing. I’ve owned my unit for 4 months and am totally happy with it. The ability for the speaker to analyze your room acoustics and adjust the sound output is really cool. Must be connected to main power and in vertical position to do the analysis.
After daily use for the past several years and reading all of the unbelievable negative reviews, I have concluded that a lot of the negatives are bogus, or the owners know nothing of high quality portable music systems. My system has worked perfectly from day one and Google Assistant works flawlessly. I don’t use Alexa. The sound quality of my Sound Level has greatly improved after significant hours of listening to a variety of music genres. I am still blown away by the clear sound, solid bass, and the ability to hear all of the music without it being muddled, or altered by the DSP. Bang & Olufsen really did a bang up job creating a finely crafted, upgradable music system, and I have listened to the Naim Muso 2, McIntosh 150, and others. There is only one clear winner IMO for audio clarity and music reproduction. B&O Sound Level. The battery still holds a long charge too.
