Listening to music is now as easy as turning on the lights. Bang & Olufsen launches a luxuriously simple new sound system.

Bang & Olufsen announces the launch of BeoSound Essence – a new sound system offering the simplest way yet to add more music to your life -just by one touch.

LAS VEGAS, Jan. 7, 2014 — 2014 International CES —

The conflict of opportunities
Most of the digital music that we can access from cloud-based music services or have stored on our phones and tablets stays there. We’re often too busy to find it, turn on the sound system and connect. So we never really listen to anything new or as much as we would like to because it gets too complicated.

A game changer
BeoSound Essence changes the game. Now, one touch, and one touch only, is all it takes to start enjoying more of your favorite music in premium quality every day.

The latest launch from Bang & Olufsen is a radically simple approach to accessing the ever-expanding panoply of digital music possibilities, whether they’re in the cloud, on your computer, NAS, mobile phone or tablet.

Place a BeoSound Essence Remote wherever it’s convenient, for example on the wall next to the light switch, and start listening to your favorite music when you walk into the room. Or put another one next to your toaster to add wake-up tunes to your morning menu. A simple touch is all it takes. Another touch lets you skip between playlist tracks or internet radio stations. You can also mute the music and adjust the volume – and that’s it.

It’s all about access
Over the last couple of years Bang & Olufsen has made significant investment to map out how people live with digital music and how music consumption has changed since the arrival of digital music and streaming services. In addition to conducting ethnographic and behavioural research projects in Europe, China and the US, Bang & Olufsen’s annual Innovation Camp, dedicated to conceptual design and development of innovative products, has been leveraged to pioneer new innovation within sound and design.

“BeoSound Essence is all about giving people easy access to their favorite music in Bang & Olufsen quality,” explains Bang & Olufsen CEO Tue Mantoni. “By applying our behavioural and ethnographic studies of how people live and live with music we have developed the simplest user interface available in the market for people who do not accept a compromise in terms of quality and performance. BeoSound Essence builds on Bang & Olufsen’s heritage of understanding user behaviour and technology and breaking new ground to make things simple.”

The BeoSound Essence sound system consists of two components: an aluminum BeoSound Essence Remote with true Bang & Olufsen touch and movement, and a hide-away box that contains everything you don’t need to worry about to make the magic happen. The box is the center for AirPlay streaming, DLNA streaming, Spotify Connect, QPlay and thousands of global internet radio stations.

The Bang & Olufsen sound
Combine the BeoSound Essence sound system with any pair of Bang & Olufsen active speakers and achieve an outstanding acoustic experience that is instantly accessible now and ready for the future

BeoMusic App
In connection with the launch of BeoSound Essence, Bang & Olufsen also introduce the BeoMusic app, which makes it easy controlling the music from both iOS and Android devices. The App is the perfect companion for intuitively browsing and playing music from the mobile, PC or NAS device, as well as accessing global internet radio stations.

Availability and pricing
BeoSound Essence will be available at Bang & Olufsen stores worldwide this spring. Recommended retail price: USD 995 for a sound system consisting of a wall-mounted BeoSound Essence Remote and hide-away box, and USD 200 for additional wall-mounted or table top BeoSound Essence Remotes.

Discover BeoSound Essence at bang-olufsen.com/essence.

Note: AirPlay pending final certification.

Bang & Olufsen was founded in Struer, Denmark, in 1925 by Peter Bang and Svend Olufsen, two innovative, young engineers devoted to high quality audio reproduction. Since then, the brand has become an icon of performance and design excellence through its long-standing craftsmanship tradition and the strongest possible commitment to high-tech research and development.

Still at the forefront of domestic technology, Bang & Olufsen has extended its comprehensive experience with integrated audio and video solutions for the home to other areas such as the hospitality and automotive industries in recent years. Consequently, its current product range epitomizes seamless media experiences in the home as well as in the car and on the move.

For more information on Bang & Olufsen, please visit www.bang-olufsen.com.

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SOURCE Bang & Olufsen