Sound stages: the debut of two spatial audio products from Focal and Bang & Olufsen

Two new all-in-one soundbars promise the ultimate in home cinema experience. First up is the new Mu-so Hekla by French audio brand Focal, a slender black monolith that incorporates no less than 15 speaker drivers, with a total output of 660 watts. Designed to fall the largest of cinema rooms, the Hekla integrates with existing Focal and Naim audio ecosystems.

The anodised and brushed aluminium slab can be controlled via smartwatch, voice assistant, existing home automation or the dedicated app. Named for the Hekla volcano in Iceland, it’s a fully Dolby Atmos enabled unit, capable of delivering spatial audio from its carefully placed array of drivers.

Along the front of the unit there are seven speakers, with two on each side and four on top, enabling the Atmos processing to create a spatial sound picture from music, games and movies. Weighing in at a hefty 15.5kg, the 12cm high Hekla is just over a metre long and 30cm deep. Hekla can also be paired with external subwoofers if more bass is your thing. On top, the simple rotary control nob deals with playback with additional controls available through the app.

The new Beosound Premiere from Bang & Olufsen

Also making its debut and aiming straight for the high-end interior market is the newest soundbar offering from Bang & Olufsen. The Beosound Premiere is as plush as its name, with a form factor that deploys all of the company’s expertise with different material finishes and combinations.

Debuting in Natural Aluminium, it’ll also be available in Gold Tone finish in early 2026, followed by a Black Anthracite model in the Spring. Although the speakers form an integral part of the form factor, the company is also offering a range of interchangeable fabric speaker covers and – for the first time – wooden speaker covers in oak and dark oak, both milled from a single piece of wood complete with grain and texture.

On board, the Beosound Premiere marks the debut of Bang & Olufsen’s new patent-pending ‘Wide Stage Technology’, the company’s own take on three-dimensional spatial audio listening. This creates the illusion of additional speakers, bolstering the Premiere’s ten onboard drivers to expand the sound to fill the room. Designed to be wall or table-mounted, the Premiere also has Dolby Atmos.

In addition to the metal and wood finishes, the Beosound Premiere subtly integrates 90 LEDs into the soundbar’s cabinet, making it glow in time with settings adjustment.’ Beosound Premiere is a sculptural masterpiece and a bold expression of acoustic artistry,’ says Kristian Teär, CEO of Bang & Olufsen, ‘Sculpted from our signature aluminium, it embodies Bang & Olufsen’s century long heritage of pioneering audio innovation in harmony with timeless design.’

The aluminium itself was developed in collaboration with B&O’s dedicated works at Factory 5 in Struer, Denmark. At the heart of the soundbar is a tweeter designed for project sound upwards. Finished in turned aluminium, complete with 1,925 perforations to mark B&O’s centenary year, it exemplifies the company’s renewed focus on highly crafted products.

If that wasn’t enough, there’s also a limited run of 25 Beosound Premiere Haute Edition, developed with B&O’s Atelier service. Identified by the flowing pattern that has been milled into the cabinet to evoke sound waves, each Haute edition takes 17 hours to shape on the milling machine before being hand finished. It comes in a presentation box with a limited edition Beoremote One.

Mu-so Hekla, €3300 / $3600 / £3000, Focal, Focal.com, @FocalOfficial

Beosound Premiere, £3,900, Bang & Olufsen, Bang-Olufsen.com, @BangOlufsen

Haute Edition, £11,000, from selected Bang & Olufsen stores