bang & olufsen

LAS VEGAS--Yesterday CNET reported on Audi's announcement of its concept Q7 featuring 3D Audio at CES 2013. Today I got to listen to it.

How do you describe an audio experience? Inside the Q7, the first word that came to my mind was "bigger." In standard, 2D mode, the audio sounded excellent, mostly due to the Bang & Olufsen hardware making up this system. Having driven to many Bang & Olufsen-equipped cars, I did not detect any degradation in the standard audio.

However, when I switched the stereo to 3D mode, the audio seemed to rise up … Read more

LAS VEGAS--We're huge fans of Audi's Bang & Olufsen ultra-premium audio system, but the automaker is kicking things up another notch at CES 2013 with the announcement that it is developing a 3D Sound system in partnership with audio giants B&O and Fraunhofer IIS.

The automaker will be demonstrating the 3D Sound technology in its booth at the CES 2013 in an Audi Q7 playing a version of the "Iron Man 3" trailer with a sound mix that should highlight the system's abilities. The 3D Sound system features 23 speakers, each of which … Read more

We don't usually talk about beds here on Crave, but we know our readers just had to see the techy Anemone multimedia box spring bed by Lavital. Developed by Dutch interior designer Robert Kolenik, the 35,000 euro ($43,901) sleeper costs as much as a mid-grade Audi car. A perfect gift for the one-percenter in your life!

In all seriousness, the overall frame does sport a few nifty features that you can adjust through an iPhone or iPod Touch app. Yes, you read the correctly -- the bed comes with an app, which for that price it most certainly should. … Read more

I went to the New York International Auto Show with just one thing on my mind: car audio. Like many New Yorkers, I don't own a car, so this was my chance to sample a wide range of premium car audio systems in everything from Smart cars to Rolls-Royces. For the most part, generic car audio or famous name-brand systems like Bose and Mark Levinson sounded thick and muddy. Not one was up to the standards of a decent home hi-fi system. They played loud and had lots of bass, but even the most expensive car systems at the … Read more

Bjarne Sorenson, Bang & Olufsen's Automotive Technology Director, is a very lucky guy. As we sat in the Aston Martin DBS listening to music, he described the approval process for the company's recent work with BMW. As BMW was putting the final touches on its new 6-series, Sorenson got to spend a few days driving the Autobahn at 100 mph in the car, making sure the optional Bang & Olufsen audio system produced the same perfect sound at high speeds as it did at a stop.

Sorenson has also been lucky in launching Bang & Olufsen's automotive … Read more

You know you're an audio geek when you're most interested in the bit of the product demo where you get to hear how it sounds. Well, after about 10 minutes of listening time with the Beolit 12, a new AirPlay-compatible speaker launched under the Danish company's new B&O Play line, we have to say we were impressed.

Listening to a couple of tracks of our own over the 3.5mm stereo minijack (the Bang & Olufsen store we were in was afraid of us hogging Wi-Fi bandwidth for AirPlay), we have to say that this … Read more

A running analogy proved hard for Bang & Olufsen Chief Executive Tue Mantoni to resist.

Mantoni, an ultra-marathoner, described the launch of a new sub-brand of slightly more affordable goods from the struggling luxury consumer electronics firm as the first steps in a long race.

"We've run the first couple of miles in a marathon," said Mantoni, who once ran for 30 hours straight in the 102.5-mile Mont Blanc Ultra Trail Run in France. "In some parts of Europe, there is still a very big hill ahead of us. There's hail, and a very … Read more

LAS VEGAS--Luxury consumer electronics maker Bang & Olufsen is launching a new brand to make gadgets for the rest of us.

The Danish maker of speakers, televisions, and home entertainment systems has created B&O Play, a sub-brand to create "cash and carry" gadgets that consumers can pick up at retailers and set up on their own at home. The first product, launched during the Consumer Electronics Show here and available January 23, is the $799 Beolit 12, a wireless, portable speaker for iPhones, iPads, and other Apple devices.

The company created the new brand, in part, … Read more

These five cars have the best-sounding stereos we've tested all year.

To get good sound in a car, you used to have to visit an installer, who would rip out four tinny speakers and replace them with six-by-nines, a sub, and an amp. But now many automakers are partnering with known audio companies to put high-quality audio components in cars at the factory. These systems are designed specifically for each car by professional audio engineers. We picked out five cars with the best-sounding audio systems we heard this year. These systems produce the kind of sound that will have you driving around the block until your favorite song finishes playing.… Read more