Skip to main content

Bang & Olufsen Goes Wide and Deep

Bang & Olufsen is bringing its BeoVision 8 display to stores this month, and instead of going for the thin-is-in look for LCD displays, the 32-inch flat screen opts for high sound quality with a down-facing subwoofer and front-facing speakers keyed to reproduce human speech. And the display can double as a computer monitor, appealing to folks looking to a one-screen solution to a guest room, den, game room, or other area where a single display can serve multiple functions.

“We have moved the sound forward and up like a proper stage with a real orchestra pit,” said chief designer David Lewis, in a statement, “creating the uncompromised synergy of design and sound quality you would expect from a Bang & Olufsen solution.”

The black-and-silver unit features a 32-inch 16:9 LCD display with a native 1,366 by 768-pixel resolution, a 1,200:1 contrast ratio, a 6 ms response time, and 500 cd/m2 of brightness. The display features two 21-pin Scart sockets for connecting up A/V gear, but phones with more standard connections will appreciate S-Video, VGA, and HDMI inputs, three phono audio inputs, and headphone jack.

Band & Olufsen isn’t known for their budget gear, and the BeoVision 8 is expected to carry a suggested retail price of $3,950.

Editors' Recommendations

Geoff Duncan
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Geoff Duncan writes, programs, edits, plays music, and delights in making software misbehave. He's probably the only member…
Apple Vision Pro brings TV, 3D movies to a massive, 100-foot-wide screen
A person is watching a movie using the Apple Vision Pro.

As expected, at WWDC 2023, Apple unveiled its first mixed-reality headset, the Apple Vision Pro. Among its many amazing features, Apple demonstrated what it will be like to watch TV and movies on the device, and the results look impressive. The headset is expected to be available in 2024, for $3,500.

Apple showed how the Vision Pro will let you open a virtual screen within your field of view that can be as small or as big as you want -- virtually speaking. At its largest size, Apple claims the screen can occupy a relative width of 100 feet.

Read more
Nakamichi’s wild Dragon 11.4.6 Dolby Atmos soundbar goes up for preorder this week
Nakamichi Dragon soundbar with subwoofers and Omni Motion Reference surrounds.

Nakamichi's epic Dragon 11.4.6 Dolby Atmos soundbar, which debuted at CES 2023, is about to go up for preorder starting at 9 a.m. PT on April 26. But instead of the usual preorder process, Nakamichi has decided to make the first Dragons off the line limited editions. Officially, it will be called the Nakamichi Dragon 11.4.6 Home Surround Sound System 75th Anniversary World Premiere Edition, and only 500 will be made.

Nakamichi has set the price at $3,499. That includes free shipping, but apparently only to U.S. residents. In a footnote on the preorder site, it says that Nakamichi initially planned to offer international shipping too, but had to reevaluate those plans after it discovered the logistics company it's using (eBay’s Global Shipping Program, for some reason) has a maximum weight and dollar value threshold, which the Dragon exceeds by almost $1,000. I guess some dragons don't fly.

Read more
Sony goes open-back with the MDR-MV1 studio monitors designed for spatial audio
Sony MDR-MV1 open-back studio headphones.

Sony's Pro division has just released a new set of wired studio monitors, the $400 MDR-MV1, a set of open-back headphones that Sony says have been designed specifically to aid in the production of spatial audio. They'll be available later in April through Sony's Pro website and authorized Sony dealers.

Sony's professional monitors have been favorites of the music industry for years, and have also found a home among discerning audiophiles. But what makes the MDR-MV1 unusual as far as Sony cans go is their open-back design. With almost no exceptions (save for the discontinued Qualia 010 and MDR-SA5000), Sony heavily favors closed-back designs, which it uses on everything from the you can grab at any Walmart, all the way up to its top noise-canceling WH-1000XM5 and wired units that cost north of $1,000.

Read more