Fusing technology with nature, the new Bang & Olufsen Beosound A5 Speaker fuses northern and southern design sensibilities to create a piece that prioritises beautiful design and immersive sound in equal measure. Created in collaboration with Danish-Italian design duo GamFratesi, the Beosound A5 Speaker draws aesthetic inspiration from nature, with the resultant product a masterful embodiment of the principles of Scandinavian design.
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“Beosound A5 is our new high-end portable speaker which combines Bang & Olufsen’s long standing approach to timeless design with our vision on sound for the future,” says Michael Henriksson, VP of product marketing at Bang & Olufsen. “We’re excited to collaborate with GamFratesi for the first time, to create two speaker designs that are rooted in a Scandinavian aesthetic with a distinct design signature on their own.”
The Beosound A5 Speaker takes on a form not dissimilar to a picnic basket; available in two colourways, it’s crafted from woven fibre, oak, and aluminium. A natural aluminium form is encased in a woven string or panelled wood covering, with the speaker featuring a light oak carry handle. Meanwhile, the black anthracite aluminium version is paired with a dark oak wood speaker cover and a handle that evokes the aesthetic of nordic winter woodlands. Each iteration is equally at home on a living room shelf as it is laid out on a towel on the beach or carried through the forest for a welcome dose of shinrin yoku with an auditory element.
“Our inspiration for Beosound A5 came from many places including the iconic Beolit series as well as natural materials synonymous with the colours and textures found in Scandinavian nature,” says design duo GamFratesi. “From the traditional Panama straw hats worn on beaches, to the hand-woven leather accents of Danish chairs from the 1960s, blends of natural materials applied in experimental ways guided our design journey.”
The use of natural materials and the soft, organic curves of the Beosound A5 Speaker reference previous Bang & Olufsen designs. Namely, the Beolit 607, Beolit 800, and Beolit 1000; the former for its silhouette and the latter two for their use of wood.
Naturally, the Beosound A5 isn’t just a pretty face — the Danish brand’s most powerful portable speaker to date, it boasts a four-way driver setup with a quartet of digital amplifiers that are able to fill large rooms with 360-degree surround sound.
The Beosound A5 Speaker is priced at $1600AUD for the Nordic Weave and $1800AUD for the Dark Oak, with both versions available via the Bang & Olufsen webstore and in physical boutiques from the 23rd of May. Both speakers are now available for pre-order.
Words by Theo Rosen
