CES 2013: Phil Spector's "Wall of Sound" finally achieved with Bang and Olufsen's BeoLab 15 and 16 speakers

Bang and Olufsen, purveyors of audio gear for those with gold-plated ears, have revealed at CES 2013 their new BeoLab 15 and BeoLab 16 speakers and Amplifier 1, which sit embedded inside a wall to finally physically deliver Phil Spector’s “Wall of Sound”.

Each BeoLab 15 uses a pair of motorised midrange and tweeter units that can move in and out of their wall placements, as well as a 3-inch midrange and 3/4-inch twetter. The whole unit can be tilted up by 45-degrees mechanically, letting you direct sound to specific parts of the room, though a cheaper alternative may be just to buy some regular speakers and, you know, move them with your hands.

The BeoLab 16 acts as the system’s subwoofer, with four 4-inch woofers, while the Amplifier 1 has six separate amps.

When switched off, the new Bang and Olufsen units look simply like a few UFO toys stuck to the wall, and it’s certainly a snazzy bit of kit. Whether “snazzy” is worth the $4595 asking price however is a question that someone of my meagre means is unqualified to answer.

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