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Forbes

Technology

Mark Sparrow, Contributor

New SPACE Speakerphone From Beyerdynamic Reviewed

beyerdynamic

German headphone manufacturer beyerdynamic has been striking out lately and testing the water with some new products other than headphones. The latest to come from the German company that was founded in 1924 is the all-new beyerdynamic SPACE. This Bluetooth speaker is both a music speaker and a speakerphone for phone calls and video meetings.

The SPACE is a stylish-looking speakerphone available in three colors – Nordic Grey, Charcoal and Aquamarine – and is covered in a hard-wearing material that looks incredibly stylish. The top of the speaker features a ring LED that changes color to reflect a range of functions including volume level and battery charge. Inside the ring is a circle of touch buttons that are used to do all the important stuff like turning up the volume, ending calls, Bluetooth pairing, etc.

SPACE is designed to be used almost anywhere thanks to its built-in lithium-ion battery that offers up to 20 hours of use on a single charge. Charging is via a USB-C cable and takes around two and a half hours. As well as being suited for life on the road, SPACE is great for working from home or the office and means you don’t have to wear a headset or hold a warm smartphone to your cheek all day.

beyerdynamic's SPACE can work for up to 20 hours on a single battery charge. It can connect to two devices at the same time and will remember up to eight Bluetooth devices. beyerdynamic

The high-performance speakers inside the beyerdynamic SPACE consist of a main 1.5-inch speaker driver and a couple of passive radiators to provide heft to the lower frequencies so the speaker can play music nicely. Equipped with Bluetooth 5.0, SPACE can pair with two Bluetooth devices at once and remembers the last eight Bluetooth devices paired.

In addition, the device can be connected to a computer using a USB-C cable and it’s even possible to have two devices working at the same time. For example, you could have SPACE plugged into your desktop for a Zoom call as well as pairing it to a smartphone for taking calls. Switching between the two in seamless thanks to the multipoint function.

When playing music, beyerdynamic SPACE performs well although I should point out it only supports the basic Bluetooth SBC audio codec, so there’s no support for aptX Adaptive or AAC, as used by Apple. Nevertheless, it reproduced a well-balanced sound regardless of the musical genre. The speakerphone automatically switches between Voice Mode for intelligible speech reproduction on phone calls and Music Mode for more detailed music playback.

There's a ring in the middle of the beyerdynamic SPACE which has touch-sensitive controls and an LED status ring light. beyerdynamic

Thanks to True Wireless, it’s possible to pair two beyerdynamic SPACE devices to create a spatial stereo reproduction of music and sound, which makes it ideal to play immersive music or use for a convincing business presentation.

Built into SPACE is 360 Smart Mic Technology using four MEMs microphones to ensure maximum speech intelligibility and to enable the person speaking to move around when making phone calls. Thanks to the four microphones, SPACE can handle calls with up to six people around the table and offers more clarity and volume than putting a smartphone on speaker mode. It’s also ideal for Zoom or Microsoft Teams meetings. The four MEMS microphones can automatically detect the difference between voices and background noise and suppress any unwanted reverberation, echoes or interference.

The volume of the voice is adjusted automatically and with full-duplex audio, all participants on both ends of a call can speak and be heard at the same time, without experiencing dropouts or cut-off voices. This creates a flow of conversation that isn’t interrupted, assuring a more flowing conversation, even with multiple participants.

The SPACE speakerphone from beyerdynamic has four MEMS microphones for 360-degree pickup. beyerdynamic

Whether at the home or office, beyerdynamic SPACE works well for meetings in individual offices, huddle rooms and small meeting rooms. There’s an integrated Kensington Lock to stop SPACE from going missing. There are also a few modes built into the speaker including Business Mode, which prevents the speaker from making an unintentional connection with surrounding Bluetooth devices. SPACE can work with a wide range of Bluetooth devices and connects to laptops, smartphones or tablets via USB or Bluetooth.

Inside beyerdynamic SPACE is a 1.5-inch driver with two passive radiators. beyerdynamic

For extended remote compatibility between speakerphone and communication apps, beyerdynamic will be selling an optional USB Bluetooth adapter that plugs into a computer or meeting system. Most speakerphones on the market already come with these useful Bluetooth dongles so I was a little surprised to see it wasn’t included. To give SPACE full marks, I think I’d like to see that dongle bundled like Sennheiser and Jabra do with their speakerphones.

Verdict: The beyerdynamic SPACE is a handsome-looking speakerphone with good battery life and a clear speaker. The microphones are brilliant at picking up voices and suppressing background noise at the same time. The support for better audio codecs is slightly disappointing but on a speakerphone, it’s not essential. I would also like to have seen a Bluetooth dongle included. That said, SPACE is a gorgeous-looking speakerphone. This is worth a look and would be ideal for both home and office workers making video and phone calls.

Pricing & Availability: The beyerdynamic SPACE is available as of today for a recommended retail price of $179 / £169 / €179 from the beyerdynamic online store and Amazon, as well as from selected retail partners.

More info: www.beyerdynamic.com

Specifications: