New meets old: Bang & Olufsen kit can now be connected with the latest Beolink update

Bang & Olufsen: new meets old
(Image credit: Bang & Olufsen)

Bang & Olufsen is rolling out an automatic Beolink software update to its new generation of home speakers and here's why you should care: from B&O loudspeakers, music systems and turntables of the 1980s to its most modern wireless speakers, the new Beolink software promises to make a generation of products across the decades work seamlessly together.

How? Well, Bang & Olufsen has been in the multi-room game for 40 years now, (raise your hand if you remember the Master Control Link launched in the early ’80s?) so if anyone can, it's the Danish high-end audio specialist. The new update promises a simple way to wirelessly connect new Bang & Olufsen home speakers with classic B&O multi-room installations and iconic Bang & Olufsen products, through decades of Beolink innovation.

Fancy enjoying a classic record on the Beogram 5500 turntable from 1986, now streamed wirelessly to the terrace through the latest Beosound Level speaker? How about breathing new life into your Beosound 9000 CD player by pairing it with the recently launched Beolab 28 speakers? According to B&O, the possibilities are endless.

Christoffer Poulsen, senior vice president of product management at B&O said, “Bang & Olufsen first invented multi-room 40 years ago and we’re pleased to announce our continuation of expertise in this field with our new software update that makes products launched decades apart work seamlessly together. Beolink Multiroom is built for the future and enables all our network-enabled products to be seamlessly connected, played and controlled together across rooms."

The Beolink update also brings new features such as 'One Touch to Music' (which lets you simply tap on a speaker to start playing music from a preferred source, or use the remote, ie. no phone required) and 'Touch to Join' (so that by touching the speaker in the kitchen, once you've left your bedroom, your chosen music can follow you). These aim to elevate your multi-room music experience and allow for greater control over your entire entertainment set-up, which can of course grow with you over time. 

The introduction of Beolink Multiroom technology for B&O's latest audio tech platform in Beosound Balance, Beosound Level, Beosound Emerge and Beolab 28 promises Beolink connectivity that bridges the firm’s rich heritage of connected products from 1986, and now spans different technologies and music formats including turntables, CD players, MP3 media, and the latest streaming media and music services. 

And whether you want to use the Beoremote One, Beoremote Halo, or stick with the B&O app, Beolink integration should allow listeners to control all speakers  through their preferred choice of product.

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Becky has been a full-time staff writer at What Hi-Fi? since March 2019. Prior to gaining her MA in Journalism in 2018, she freelanced as an arts critic alongside a 20-year career as a professional dancer and aerialist – any love of dance is of course tethered to a love of music. Becky has previously contributed to Stuff, FourFourTwo, This is Cabaret and The Stage. When not writing, she dances, spins in the air, drinks coffee, watches football or surfs in Cornwall with her other half – a football writer whose talent knows no bounds.