UPCYCLE VINTAGE SPEAKERS WITH BEOCREATE
Bang & Olufsen are the quintessential modern HiFi brand. They embrace art and design, push boundaries and think outside the square.
Its latest project is yet another example. Through a partnership with HiFiBerry, they have launched an open-source DIY product that will allow customers to upgrade their older speakers to today's wireless standards.
The newly released Beocreate is a 4-channel amplifier that end-users can install themselves into any loudspeaker, creating an active, amplifier loudspeaker with wireless functionality.
We're a group of people at Bang & Olufsen who do things a bit differently. By looking into contemporary listening patterns, we've seen so many great vintage speakers go to waste.
Cords have been cut, and wireless technology has taken over the way we play music. Our mission is to give these speakers a new lease of life.
The compact circuit board works as a standalone DSP (or can be paired with a Raspberry Pi to become a digital audio player) and is also a 4-channel 24bit/192kHz DAC and 4-channel amplifier (2x30W + 2x60W). Power is supplied by a single external 12-24V source.
Bang & Olufsen are providing comprehensive guides on its website for retrofitting vintage speakers, starting with the Beovox CX100, Beovox CX50, and the RL2000 and RL6000 (coming soon).
The Beocreate will likely give rise to a whole new generation of speaker modding and DIY loudspeakers, and that's a great thing.
The Beocrate is available to purchase from the HiFiBerry website. At the time of writing, it's listed at $0.00, so we expect that's an error that will be fixed soon. The normal price is £149 or 159 euros.
For more information visit HiFiBerry.
Gallery
Marc Rushton
StereoNET’s Founder and Publisher was born in England and raised on British Hi-Fi before moving to Australia. He developed an early love of music and playing bass guitar before discovering the studio and the other side of the mixing desk. After a few years writing for audio magazines, Marc saw the future in digital publishing and founded the first version of StereoNET, known at the time as Planet Audio, in 1999.
Posted in:Hi-Fi Technology
Tags: hifiberry bang olufsen
JOIN IN THE DISCUSSION
Want to share your opinion or get advice from other enthusiasts? Then head into the Message Forums where thousands of other enthusiasts are communicating on a daily basis.
CLICK HERE FOR FREE MEMBERSHIP
Trending
applause awards
Each time StereoNET reviews a product, it is considered for an Applause Award. Winning one marks it out as a design of great quality and distinction – a special product in its class, on the grounds of either performance, value for money, or usually both.
Applause Awards are personally issued by StereoNET’s global Editor-in-Chief, David Price – who has over three decades of experience reviewing hi-fi products at the highest level – after consulting with our senior editorial team. They are not automatically given with all reviews, nor can manufacturers purchase them.
The StereoNET editorial team includes some of the world’s most experienced and respected hi-fi journalists with a vast wealth of knowledge. Some have edited popular English language hi-fi magazines, and others have been senior contributors to famous audio journals stretching back to the late 1970s. And we also employ professional IT and home theatre specialists who work at the cutting edge of today’s technology.
We believe that no other online hi-fi and home cinema resource offers such expert knowledge, so when StereoNET gives an Applause Award, it is a trustworthy hallmark of quality. Receiving such an award is the prerequisite to becoming eligible for our annual Product of the Year awards, awarded only to the finest designs in their respective categories. Buyers of hi-fi, home cinema, and headphones can be sure that a StereoNET Applause Award winner is worthy of your most serious attention.