Overlooking the glass wall on one side of Bang & Olufsen's atelier in Struer, Denmark is a green meadow; as far as the eye can see. Broken only by the occasional car driving by on a street hidden by the grass, the view is refreshing, but to say it is inspiring would be a stretch. Yet, the meadow and the 50 sheep that graze on it (oblivious to the innovations being birthed three storeys above) fire up the 'minimalist' imagination of the designers and engineers that call this clean brick building their workplace.

We can't claim to have been similarly 'moved' after our visit to the facility a couple of years ago. But B&O's designers continue to surprise with their ability to create audio and video products with minimalism and high fidelity at their core. B&O's unique tradition of minimalist design, born right from when the Danish company was founded in 1925, has now taken new direction with the advent of the smartphone and the birth of BeoPlay. On that visit to Struer, we witnessed the Beolit 15 being unveiled. Last week, the upgraded new Beolit 15 was on our test bench. Here is our take about this portable Bluetooth speaker.

Design The design of the Beolit 15 is by now a familiar form. In fact, the purity and simplicity of its design has inspired more audio products from B&O's BeoPlay such as the A2. The Beolit 15 looks like a compact shoe box with rounded edges and a handle. B&O's ability to weave in its class even into a portable speaker becomes more evident when you pick up the Beolit 15 by its leather handle. Featuring a rubberised, silicone-like base and perforated aluminium body panel, what strikes one most is the absolutely seamless integration of metal and rubber. Again, on closer inspection you see the precision drilled holes on aluminium in the Beolit 15 - another B&O design trait. The top of the speaker housing the controls, is shaped like a tray and is made from the same anti-slip, silicone-like rubber. 

Two benefits from the Beolit 15's construction become apparent when you lay it on a smooth surface like a table or counter-top and it literally feels like it is stuck to it. It won't budge even when you try to push it lightly. The other is the tray on top where you can leave your smartphone with out the risk of it moving or bouncing off even if you are playing music that is heavy on the bass. The rear of the speaker has a neat door that pops out allowing the cables to be stored. Controls on the top include the power, Bluetooth activation and volume buttons.

Performance The Beolit 15's base hardware remains unchanged as is the case with the positions of its drivers. Bluetooth 4.0 is the new connectivity protocol and more importantly, it now supports the aptX codec for improved streaming performance. The speaker now remembers up to eight devices and at anytime two devices can remain connected. It's in-built battery is rated to last up to 24 hours at moderate volume levels. Over a week of testing, we had to charge it just twice. 

The addition to the Beolit 15's repertoire is a new True360 sound solution, which we are guessing is a new signal processing algorithm. As for the hardware, four active drivers and two four-inch passive bass radiators work in unison to deliver life-like sound. The speaker's rated output is 240 watts of peak power, but that number doesn't seem right when you crank up the volume of the Beolit 15. Room-filling sound that is loud and yet clear is what you get. If the room is large or you are outdoors and want higher volume levels, you can daisy chain another Beolit 15.

Bottomline The Beolit 15 excels with its reproduction quality, delivering spacial sound across musical genres. It comes at a price though and if you are looking at getting yourself the latest iPhone and this speaker you will need to set aside as much as Rs 1.5 lakhs. Clearly, the Beolit 15 is for the audiophile who is seeking mobility and fidelity. 

Price: ₹34,990

Love: Minimalist design, Crisp reproduction

Hate: Pricey, Heavy (2.7 kgs)

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