• Hey, guest user. Hope you're enjoying NeoGAF! Have you considered registering for an account? Come join us and add your take to the daily discourse.

The Verge: Bang & Olufsen’s luxurious gaming headset costs as much as an Xbox Series X

Jemm

Member

BIlIcjq.png

Bang & Olufsen has announced Beoplay Portal, its first wireless gaming headset. The product maintains the company’s signature sophisticated look, and it has more features than your average headset.

These were created with the Xbox ecosystem in mind, and with a push of its pairing button, they can connect to the Series X, Series S, Xbox One, or to a PC that has the Xbox Wireless adapter plugged into it. Additionally, they support a concurrent connection via Bluetooth 5.1 for other devices (including other consoles if you supply the Bluetooth adapter). This way, you can take calls without totally detaching from game audio.
This model has adaptive active noise cancellation (ANC) and a gaming audio mode that automatically activates when connected wirelessly to a console or when wired via USB-C to a PC (the port through which the headset also gets its charge). These also have a 3.5mm headphone jack.
Build quality is another area where Bang & Olufsen is trying to distinguish itself from other gaming headsets. The memory foam ear pads are wrapped in lambskin leather, and it uses bamboo fiber textile to cover the headband padding. Elsewhere, there are a few anodized aluminum details on the Portal, like the touch-sensitive discs on the outside of each ear cup that are used to control them. Impressively, the company says the headphones weigh 282 grams, which is lighter than the mostly plastic Xbox Wireless Headset that, until now, I considered to be lightweight at 312g.
Do you need a $500 gaming headset? Probably not. While there are plenty of differences in terms of features and build quality, most people should be suited well by Microsoft’s $100 Xbox Wireless headset. But I’ll be reviewing these to see for myself what five times that amount can get you in a gaming peripheral.
 

M1chl

Currently Gif and Meme Champion
Junk because it is wireless.
If you know the facts you know i'm right and wireless is a fucking joke.
It also have 3.5mm jack, but probably not going to be like wired-only headphones. But bangs most often sounds rather nice, but you are paying more for brand and relative smaller scale manufacturing runs, more than for a sound.
 

Sony

Nintendo
500$ wouldn't be enough to buy proper highend headphones. Question is how much you're paying here for the brand and gaming theme alone.

It's the same headset as the Beoplay HX, which is also 499, but with Microsoft's Wireless protocol.
 
Last edited:
I have some Beoplay HXs and while they make my Sony XM4s feel like cheap tat I don't find them comfortable at all which means they mainly sit in the case looking nice.

Edit: No I don't I have H9. Hopefully these are more comfy.
 
Last edited:

Mr Reasonable

Completely Unreasonable
This'll appeal to the same people buying Apple's high end headphones, I would imagine most people using these will think they sound great. The audiophile crowd won't be looking for these, but as something marketed as a gaming headset, they'll probably be the best thing on the market.
 
Last edited:

Jaysen

Banned
So they are bluetooth headphones as well with ANC and transparency. Tempting to do an Amazon rental when these release.
 

pasterpl

Member
I love bang and Olufsen headphones, got h9i, 2x h8 and 2x e8, I find all very comfortable with more than decent sound, only issues I have got were with e8 that I have to replace 2-3 times because of the charging case failures (but the warranty/replacement process is always very smooth with them), will probably look to get the portal one at later date (Boxing Day sales?), I am already waiting for Xbox wireless headset preorder to be delivered
 

K' Dash

Member
there are a lot of broke and salty people in here.

I like good sound but pretending anyone here can actually make a difference between their medium range $400 headphones and high end ones is hilarious.
 

Spukc

always chasing the next thrill
Pretty ballzy releasing this shit,

when i just returned 4 FUCKING defective elite v2 controllers.
They must be high as a kite at R&D.
 

Bernkastel

Ask me about my fanboy energy!
Do I need to pay a subscription to use its premium features?
None of the Xbox headsets have any "subscription for premium features", so stop spreading FUD just because you feel insecure about browsing these topics.
Dolby requires you to get a one time fee of 15 USD through the Dolby Access app to use Dolby Atmos for headphones across 10 devices. Or you can just use Microsoft's own Windows Sonic, which is free.
 

Spukc

always chasing the next thrill
What does this even mean?
i won't be wanting anything HIGH END xbox related peripheral anytime soon.


designed FOR xbox
 
Last edited:

TBiddy

Member
None of the Xbox headsets have any "subscription for premium features", so stop spreading FUD just because you feel insecure about browsing these topics.
Dolby requires you to get a one time fee of 15 USD through the Dolby Access app to use Dolby Atmos for headphones across 10 devices. Or you can just use Microsoft's own Windows Sonic, which is free.

Of course, Entroyp Entroyp already knows this and is just trolling as usual.
 
Last edited:

20cent

Banned
B&O was making "luxury" marketed products with nice design and OK++ performance decades before Apple; yet one can get away with this ($599 AirPods Max sold out day one) and the other one not... LOL
 

Leyasu

Banned
I would pay 499 for a highend open back headset. I saw that Audeze have a set, but 999 is just too much.

At the moment I am using Audio Technica ATH ADG1s, they are great, but I want even better. Without a separate mic
 

M1chl

Currently Gif and Meme Champion
Pretty ballzy releasing this shit,

when i just returned 4 FUCKING defective elite v2 controllers.
They must be high as a kite at R&D.
I don't understand why are they such faulty shits, I had many classic X360, X1 and XS controllers....I guess women like colors and shit...whatever...I always play with default one, I am not looking at my hands. And never had an issue.
 

Con-Z-epT

Live from NeoGAF, it's Friday Night!
The frequency range is average at best.

So much for detail retrieval.
 
Last edited:
Top Bottom