B&O Tech: The Naked Truth III

#18 in a series of articles about the technology behind Bang & Olufsen loudspeakers

Another busy week – so another set of photos…

BeoLab 2, showing the driver with two spiders to make sure it doesn't rock (or wobble) when it's real moving...
BeoLab 2, showing the driver with two spiders to make sure it doesn’t rock (or wobble) when it’s really moving…
BeoLab 19
BeoLab 19
BeoLab 19, showing the ribs in the casing to improve its stiffness.
BeoLab 19 closeup, showing the ribs in the casing to improve its stiffness.
BeoLab 14 satellite. Note the thermally conductive grease that is put between the back of the driver magnet and the outside enclosure to help radiate more heat out of the loudspeaker and keep it cool.
BeoLab 14 satellite. Note the thermally conductive grease that is put between the back of the driver magnet and the outside enclosure to help radiate more heat out of the loudspeaker and keep it cool.
BeoLab 18 with an early prototype plastic grille.
BeoLab 18 with an early prototype plastic grille.
BeoLab 18 without the grille.
BeoLab 18 without the grille.
BeoLab 18 side view.
BeoLab 18 side view.
BeoLab 18 showing the internal circuit boards (power supply, DSP board and amplifiers). The grey bits are an acoustically absorptive foam that helps to attenuate standing waves inside the enclosure. These are rather strategically placed in order to have the most effect.
BeoLab 18 showing the internal circuit boards (power supply, DSP board and amplifiers). The grey bits are an acoustically absorptive foam that helps to attenuate standing waves inside the enclosure. These are rather strategically placed in order to have the most effect.
BeoLab 18 internal closeup. The entrance to the port is just below the lower woofer, on the other side of the grey foam.
BeoLab 18 internal closeup. The entrance to the port is just below the lower woofer, on the other side of the grey foam.
  1. Hi Geoff,

    Wondering your site, very interesting! Have the beolab 18’s since few months. Just amazing. Now save my money for the Beolab 19 en the Moment to complete the set-up.

    Have a few questions;

    What are the frequency range’s of the 18’s and 19?

    What kind of drivers have the 18 and 19? Meaning, brand/type? Or these developed by B&O them selve?

    Kind regards,

    Bjorn

  2. Hi Bjorn,

    Unfortunately, I don\t know the frequency ranges of either the BL18 or the 19. I expect that the range of the 18 is down to something like 40 Hz or so, and up to roughly 20 kHz, but this is only at normal listening levels and lower. As you increase the listening level, the low-frequency cutoff will increase in frequency due to the ABL.

    However, it’s important to know that no Bang & Olufsen loudspeaker is built to have a flat frequency response (see this posting for detailed information about this). So, the definition of frequency range is also somewhat irrelevant in the case of our loudspeakers. For more information on this, see this posting.

    It’s basically the same answer for the subwoofer. I don’t know the details of the range, but it’s certainly going down to at least 20 Hz or so, and up to about 300 Hz if the LPF is set to maximum. Again, these numbers are variable with level and heat…

    I’ll look into the brand and models of the drivers in the two loudspeakers. They’re certainly not made by B&O, since we don’t make any drivers. However, it is highly likely that at least some of them were modified to meet our requirements for the loudspeakers.

    Cheers
    – geoff

  3. Hi Geoff,

    clear explanation. I agree that the frequency range is a litte bit irrelevant. Just interesting beacause the information on B&O website is some kind of simplistic for the beolab 18/19 in contrast to the other models.

    Just one more question to your explanation, if the ABL cut off the low frequency from the beolab 18 (or some other B&O speaker), is this ‘gape’ filled automaticly (to Beolab 19/11/2 like that) by software (in beosound Moment/ bass managment Beosystem 4) to keep the sound balance in touch?

    Thanks in advance and a great 2016!

    Bjorn

  4. Hi Bjorn,

    If the Moment is connected to the BL18 and the 19 wirelessly via Wireless Power Link, then it automatically “knows” the loudspeaker models and does the bass management. This will mean that the BL18’s are high-pass filtered and the BL19 is low-pass filtered at 120 Hz using a 4th-order Linkwitz-Riley crossover.

    I believe that if you connect the same loudspeakers using wired Power Link, then you will have to manually enter the Speaker Types in the menus and you will get the same result.

    The BeoSystem 4 (and therefore the BeoVisions Avant & 11, and the BeoPlay V1) has an identical system, however, the crossover frequency is adjustable, since there are more advanced menu controls.

    Cheers
    – geoff