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Bang & Olufsen's innovative BeoLab-11 sub-woofer

Bang & Olufsen's innovative BeoLab-11 sub-woofer
Bang & Olufsen's BeoLab-11 uses two opposing drivers to take advantage of the Acoustic Balance Principle
Bang & Olufsen's BeoLab-11 uses two opposing drivers to take advantage of the Acoustic Balance Principle
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Bang & Olufsen BeoLab-11
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Bang & Olufsen BeoLab-11
Bang & Olufsen's BeoLab-11 uses two opposing drivers to take advantage of the Acoustic Balance Principle
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Bang & Olufsen's BeoLab-11 uses two opposing drivers to take advantage of the Acoustic Balance Principle
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Bang & Olufsen BeoLab-11
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Bang & Olufsen BeoLab-11
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Bang & Olufsen has added some serious bottom-end to its speaker line-up with the BeoLab 11 subwoofer. Sporting a small footprint and typically slick design, the tulip-shaped BeoLab 11 unit uses two opposing drivers to take advantage of the "Acoustic Balance Principle" - a first for B&O in subwoofer design.

The BeoLab 11's aluminum outer shell contains a built-in 200W ICEpower amplifier and two 6.5-inch drivers which deliver sounds in the 33-125 Hz frequency range.

The advantage of the tulip-shaped cabinet - apart from the great aesthetic - is that the two drivers are placed in opposition to produce "in-phase" frequencies which "effectively eliminates almost all unwanted vibrations from the unit" according to Bang & Olufsen.

Bang & Olufsen BeoLab-11
Bang & Olufsen BeoLab-11

The design also lends itself to versatile placement options not catered for by most sub-woofers.

“Thanks to its acoustic principle, which reduces to a minimum the vibrations normally experienced from a subwoofer, BeoLab 11 can be placed either on the floor or can be hung on a wall – and it will offer great performance in either position. Hanging a subwoofer on the wall is quite unorthodox. However, in many home environments this may be the preferred placement, as it will be possible to hide the cables and it will free up floor space,” states Michael Jensen, Product Manager Bang & Olufsen.

    BeoLab 11 in brief:
  • Dimensions/Weight: 22.7 x 30.8 x 23.8 cm/7.3 kg
  • Power Amplifier: 200 W, Class D, ICEpower
  • Effective Frequency Range: 33-125 Hz (upper limit determined by setup)
  • Bass Driver: 2 x 6½" cone
  • Features: Adaptive Bass Linearisation (ABL), Input sensitivity switch, Room adaptation switch, Thermal protection, Line sense auto switch on/off, Internal / external bass management.
  • The Beolab 11 is expected to sell for around US$2000 when it hits North American shores in May. The units will be available in silver, white, black, dark grey, red, blue and golden finishes.

    Bang & Olufsen via Ubergizmo.

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    2 comments
    2 comments
    matthew.rings
    Nice design with a higher WAF than a 16\" black box typical of most subs, but the price is outrageous for that sound. Looks like you\'re paying for \"style\" and \"brand\", but not frequency response of dB output.
    For that dough, I would like to see a full range of bass, down to 20hz. For $2000 you can get a KILLER sub in the 1000watt range with earthquake flat response down to 20Hz. Maybe a Velodyne unit would be more bang-for-the-buck.
    Check out the Velodyne 1812 unit: $25,000 for 3000 watts for dual 18\" and 12\" speakers in one cabinet... yowza! Now *that* is overkill!! :)
    Saami Matloob
    looks good