BeoLab 5
A floor-standing active loudspeaker by Bang & Olufsen, the first with its Acoustic Lens Technology, made from 2003 until 2017.
- Designed by
- David Lewis
- Made by
- Bang & Olufsen
- First made
- 2003
Pictures © Bang & Olufsen, from bang-olufsen.com.
Why it is renowned
The BeoLab 5 was the first Bang & Olufsen product with Acoustic Lens Technology, and the company invented Adaptive Bass Control for it.1 Reviewers compared its cone shape to the Daleks of the British series Doctor Who.1 In 2005 a car sound system based on it, with 1,000-watt amplifiers, became available in the Audi A8.2 When Bang & Olufsen planned the BeoLab 50, its team asked whether the new speaker should replace the BeoLab 5, which the company's own account calls its most successful speaker ever.3
The story
The BeoLab 5 was Bang & Olufsen's first all-digital loudspeaker, and it drew on the Archimedes research project of the early 1980s, which found that reflections from floor and ceiling disturbed the sound in a room.1 David Lewis designed it after a listening test with a rough prototype: he set the bass unit at the base, firing downwards, which gave the speaker its cone, and placed the acoustic lenses in the upper half to lighten a speaker that weighed 61 kg.1 The lenses spread the high and middle frequencies over 180 degrees, so it sounded right from several places in front of it.1 To set the bass, a microphone came out beneath the 15-inch bass unit, sent out a tone and measured the room, and the speaker calibrated itself to where it stood.1 Four ICEpower amplifiers gave each speaker 2,500 watts, and it was launched in a concert hall.1 It was made from 2003 until 2017.4
Sources
- The History of Beolab, Bang & Olufsen. bang-olufsen.com, read 7 October 2026.
- Bang & Olufsen, Wikipedia. en.wikipedia.org, read 7 October 2026.
- Behind the scenes: Beolab 50, Bang & Olufsen. bang-olufsen.com, read 7 October 2026.
- Beocentral - BeoLab 5. beocentral.com, read 7 October 2026.
Last checked 7 October 2026, against the maker's own pages.