Beosound Emerge vs. Beoplay M5

Beosound Emerge vs. Beoplay M5

Today we have presented a new member of the Bang & Olufsen Family: Beosound Emerge. Given the sound, size, features and price, we would like to compare this new wireless speaker with one of our most popular speakers in the same category, the Beoplay M5. Below we will try to clarify what similarities and differences there are on these two very exciting B&O products.

THE DESIGN

No matter where you place the Beosound Emerge and Beoplay M5, they will stand beautifully and elegantly. But the expression on the two products is very different.

Beoplay M5: At first glance, the Beoplay M5 signals calm elegance. The combination of the warm fabric and the cool aluminum creates a visual expression that adds an element of style to the surroundings. The cover of the M5 is made from a special wool textile created by the acclaimed Danish textile company Kvadrat. It’s easy to switch to a cover in a different color, so the M5 always fits perfectly into your décor. The speaker’s aluminium top has been beaded and anodized, so it has an exclusive, matte expression. The round shape creates a compact visual expression that gives edge and style to the décor.

Beosound Emerge in Gold Tone is designed in warm materials such as oak and woven fabric, giving a warm, soft and at the same time more distinctive expression. The Gold Tone version has an oak cover that wraps around the woven textile from Kvadrat on the back. If you choose the Black Anthracite version in aluminum with pearl compressed air-treated grill, polymer side panels with a vertical wave pattern that accentuates the slim lines of the speakers, you get a cooler and simpler look. Beosound Emerge’s minimalist design is inspired by the compact form of a book. It fits in anywhere and can be stored in a prominent position or discreetly tucked away on a shelf. It is the slimmest speaker with full tone devices on the market, designed to spread the sound in spaces such as kitchens, offices, bathrooms and bedrooms without taking up space.

TECHNICAL FEATURES

The Beoplay M5 was launched 4 years ago in January 2017. Since then, it is safe to say that a great deal has happened in the technological world. Some of these new features have been possible to integrate into the Beoplay M5 via software updates, such as AirPlay 2, which allows to connect the M5 with other AirPlay 2 compatible speakers, and remote control via Bang & Olufsen’s elegant remote control, Beoremote One. But there have also been a lot of new technologies that have not been possible to update via software as they require new hardware. For example, Beosound Emerge has been equipped with an advanced technology, “Active Room Compensation”, which ensures that your Beosound Emerge not only looks good, but also sounds good. The technology comes from the creation of our proudest speaker to date, Beolab 90. Reflections from furniture and wall surfaces affect the acoustic properties of the room and distort the sound of your speakers. Active Room Compensation technology analyzes your room with an internal microphone and creates a set of custom filters that compensate for these reflections. The result is perfect, tailored sound in all your preferred listening positions. Google Assistant has also seen the light of day and is of course integrated into Beosound Emerge, so you can hear your favorite music, turn the volume up and down, and find information about the song you’re listening to— using only your voice. Beosound Emerge also offers stereo pairing,that allows you to pair two Beosound Emerge speakers wirelessly for an audio experience that gives you a true sense of the sound recorded in a professional studio. So all in all, Beosound Emerge is much more technically “loaded” than the Beoplay M5 and offers a wealth of updates and exciting options.

THE SOUND

Beosound Emerge offers a large and rich sound experience – despite its very modest size. In Beosound Emerge, our acoustic engineers have developed a revolutionary configuration of the speaker devices. Beosound Emerge leverages both the speaker’s architecture and its surroundings to create the maximum power and deliver an impressive sound experience.

The music spreads 180 degrees, with deep bass from the integrated basport on the back. The 180-degree sound is optimized by a carefully selected speaker device setup and a masterful setting performed by Bang & Olufsen’s renowned acoustic engineers. The sound is automatically customized through Active Room Compensation technology, and compensates for the product’s position in the room, ensuring perfect listening experiences every time.

The Beoplay M5 also offers an amazing soundscape. The Beoplay M5 has True360 sound, so you get equally good sound 360 degrees around the speaker, no matter where you are. Three tweeters placed all the way around the speaker, a midrange unit at the front and a powerful bass that fires its energy downwards towards the specially designed port at the bottom, ensures a consistent distribution of the well-balanced Bang & Olufsen Signature Sound.

STREAMING

Beosound Emerge is the third product in a generation of products based on a new advanced platform that will change our perception of what an audio product can be. Emerge is a Wi-Fi and Bluetooth-connected speaker that lets you easily stream from your favorite music services via AirPlay 2, Chromecast, or Bluetooth 5.0. Beosound Emerge doesn’t have Bang & Olufsen Multiroom, but can seamlessly interact with the entire portfolio of speakers in the Flexible Living category.

The Beoplay M5 is also a wi-fi and Bluetooth-connected speaker that allows you to stream via AirPlay 2, Chromecast or Bluetooth 4.0, but unlike Beosound Emerge, the Beoplay M5 also offers streaming via Bang & Olufsen Multiroom that allows you to use the Bang & Olufsen app to start your music via Deezer or radio via TuneIn, as well as touch to join if you have multiple Bang & Olufsen multiroom products in your home installation.

Only Beosound Emerge offers Voice Assistant through Google Assistant.

PRICES

Beosound Emerge retail price from 600€
Beoplay M5 retail price 600€ – DISCONTINUED PRODUCT

Below you will see a comparison of the technical figures on Beosound Emerge and Beoplay M5:

FACTS / NUMBERS

B&O Beosound Emerge Gold Tone - Multiroom - Produktbillede
Beosound Emerge - From 699€

DESIGN & DIMENSIONS

DESIGNER
LAYER – Benjamin Hubert

WEIGHT
Gold Tone: 1.30 kg.
Black Anthracite: 1.38 kg.

DIMENSIONS
W 25.5 x H 16.5 x 6.7 cm

MATERIALS
Oak tree
Woven fabrics
Aluminum
Polymer

DESIGNER
Cecilie Manz

WEIGHT
2.54 kg.

DIMENSIONS
16.5 x 18.5 cm. (dia. x H)

MATERIALS
Aluminum
Fabric
Plastic

CONNECTIONS

BLUETOOTH VERSION
Bluetooth 5.0

WI-FI
Wi-fi/WLAN 802.11 b/g/n/ac (2.4GHz and 5GHz)

STREAMING SERVICES
Apple AirPlay 2
Chromecast built-in
Spotify Connect

INTEGRATED MUSIC SERVICES
Bang & Olufsen Radio

INPUTS AND OUTPUTS
1 x Ethernet 10/100 Mbit
1 × line-in/optical combi jack
1 x power input: USB-C
1 x service port via micro-USB

VOICE CONTROL INTEGRATION
Built-in Google Voice Assistant

REMOTE CONTROL
Bang & Olufsen app
Beoremote One BT

BLUETOOTH VERSION
Bluetooth 4.0

WI-FI
Wi-Fi/WLAN 802.11 a/b/g/n (2.4GHz/5GHz)

STREAMING SERVICES
Apple AirPlay 2
Chromecast built-in
Beolink Multiroom
Spotify Connect
QPlay 2.0 (China only)

INTEGRATED MUSIC SERVICES
Spotify
Deezer
TuneIn (Internet radio)
QQ Music (China only)

INPUTS AND OUTPUTS
1 × connection to mains
1 × Ethernet 10/100 Mbit/s
1 × line-in (3.5-mm jack, analog/optical)

VOICE CONTROL INTEGRATION
No

REMOTE CONTROL
Bang & Olufsen app
Beoremote One BT
Beosound Essence Remote

THE SOUND

RECOMMENDED ROOM SIZE
5-30 m²
50-300 ft²

DRIVER DEVICES
1 x 4″ base unit
1 x 1.45″ midrange unit
1 x 0.6″ treble unit

POWER AMPLIFIERS
Class D 1 x 60 watts for base power
1 × 30 watts, Class D for midrange unit
1 × 30 class D watts for treble unit

FREQUENCY RANGE
45-22,000 Hz

MAXIMUM LOUDNESS @1M (SPL)
92 dB SPL

BASS CAPABILITY
72 dB SPL

ADVANCED AUDIO FEATURES
Stereo pairing
Active Room Compen.
Tone Touch
Adaptive Bass Linearization
Thermal Protection

STEREO PAIRING
Pair to Beosound Emerge, and get great sound in stereo. Set up stereo pairing through the Google Home app.

ACTIVE ROOM
COMPENSATION
Technology analyzes your room with an internal microphone and creates a set of custom filters that compensate for reflections from furniture and wall surfaces

TONE TOUCH
Customizable Audio EQ. Your personal audio settings directly in the Bang & Olufsen app

RECOMMENDED ROOM SIZE
10-30 m²

DRIVER DEVICES
1 x 5″ base unit
1 × 1.5″ midrange unit
3 x 3/4″ treble units

POWER AMPLIFIERS
1 x 40 watt Class D base power amplifier (160 watt max power)
1 x 30 watt Class D midrange unit amplifier (120 watts max power)
1 x 30 watt Class D amplifier for front treble unit (120 watt max power)
1 x 30 watt Class D amplifier for rear treble units (60 watts max power)

FREQUENCY
RANGE
37-22,000 Hz

MAXIMUM LOUDNESS @1M (SPL)
96 dB SPL

BASS CAPABILITY
79 dB SPL

ADVANCED AUDIO FEATURES
Tone Touch
Adaptive Bass Linearization
Sound Position Settings
Thermal Protection

TONE TOUCH
Customizable Audio EQ. Your personal audio settings directly in the Bang & Olufsen app

B&O Beosound Emerge Gold Tone - Multiroom - Produktbillede
Beosound Emerge - From 699€
Beoplay M5 - Multiroom højttaler - Produktbillede
Beoplay M5 - RCP 600€

DESIGN & DIMENSIONS

DESIGNER
LAYER – Benjamin Hubert

WEIGHT
Gold Tone/Light Oak: 1.30 kg
Black Anthracite: 1.38 kg

DIMENSIONS
W 25.5 x H 16.5 x D 6.7 cm

MATERIALS
Oak
tree
Woven fabrics
Aluminum
Polymer

DESIGNER
Cecilie Manz

WEIGHT
2.54 kg

DIMENSIONS
16.5 x 18.5 cm. (dia. x H)

MATERIALS
Aluminum
Fabric
Plastic

CONNECTIONS

BLUETOOTH VERSION
Bluetooth 5.0

WI-FI
Wi-fi/WLAN 802.11 b/g/n/ac (2.4GHz and 5GHz)

STREAMING SERVICES
Apple AirPlay 2
Chromecast built-in
Spotify Connect

INTEGRATED MUSIC SERVICES
Bang & Olufsen Radio

INPUTS AND OUTPUTS
1 x Ethernet 10/100 Mbit
1 × line-in/optical combi jack
1 x USB-C power input
1 x service port via micro-USB

VOICE CONTROL INTEGRATION
Built-in Google Voice Assistant

REMOTE CONTROL
Bang & Olufsen app
Beoremote One BT

BLUETOOTH VERSION
Bluetooth 4.0

WI-FI
Wi-Fi/WLAN 802.11 a/b/g/n (2.4GHz/5GHz)

STREAMING SERVICES
Apple AirPlay 2
Chromecast built-in
Beolink Multiroom
Spotify Connect
QPlay 2.0 (China only)

INTEGRATED MUSIC SERVICES
Spotify
Deezer
TuneIn (Internet radio)
QQ Music (China only)

INPUTS AND OUTPUTS
1 × connection to mains
1 × Ethernet 10/100 Mbit/s
1 × line-in (3.5-mm jack, analog/optical)

VOICE CONTROL INTEGRATION
No

REMOTE CONTROL
Bang & Olufsen app
Beoremote One BT
Beosound Essence Remote

THE SOUND

RECOMMENDED ROOM SIZE
5-30 m²
50-300 ft²

DRIVER DEVICES
1 x 4″ base unit
1 x 1.45″ midrange unit
1 x 0.6″ treble unit

POWER AMPLIFIERS
Class D 1 x 60 watts for base power
1 × 30 watts, Class D for midrange unit
1 × 30 class D watts for treble unit

FREQUENCY RANGE
45-22,000 Hz

MAXIMUM LOUDNESS @1M (SPL)
92 dB SPL

BASS CAPABILITY
72 dB SPL

ADVANCED AUDIO FEATURES
Stereo pairing
Active Room Compensation
Tone Touch
Adaptive Bass Linearization
Thermal Protection

STEREO PAIRING
Pair to Beosound Emerge, and get great sound in stereo. Set up stereo pairing through the Google Home app.

ACTIVE ROOM COMPENSATION
Technology analyzes your room with an internal microphone and creates a set of custom filters that compensate for reflections from furniture and wall surfaces

TONE TOUCH
Customizable Audio EQ. Your personal audio settings directly in the Bang & Olufsen app

RECOMMENDED ROOM SIZE
10-30 m²

DRIVER DEVICES
1 x 5″ base unit
1 × 1.5″ midrange unit
3 x 3/4″ treble units

POWER AMPLIFIERS
1 x 40 watt Class D base power amplifier (160 watt max power)
1 x 30 watt Class D midrange unit amplifier (120 watts max power)
1 x 30 watt Class D amplifier for front treble unit (120 watt max power)
1 x 30 watt Class D amplifier for rear treble units (60 watts max power)

FREQUENCY RANGE
37-22,000 Hz

MAXIMUM LOUDNESS @1M (SPL)
96 dB SPL

BASS CAPABILITY
79 dB SPL

ADVANCED AUDIO FEATURES
Tone Touch
Adaptive Bass Linearization
Sound Position Settings Thermal
Protection

TONE TOUCH
Customizable Audio EQ. Your personal audio settings directly in the Bang & Olufsen app