The first Braun speakers in 28 years are of an unexpected modernity



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Voice control is also part of the feature list because Google Assistant allows you to manage your orders and queries. A network of four beamforming microphones handles both far-field voice recognition and acoustic echo cancellation. All of these wireless connectivity features are available on all three speakers. You do not have to choose a given size if you want to use voice control and other tools.

Although there is a Braun application for setting up, controlling, and adjusting equalization settings, each LE speaker also has physical controls. There are buttons for actions, play / pause, track skip, volume and Bluetooth pairing. Like many smart speakers nowadays, there is also a dedicated command to turn off the microphones. When they are off, the white lights on the front light up in orange, as does the mute button itself. In this way, you know at a glance if the speaker is listening to your signals. At the back, there is a 3.5mm auxiliary jack if you need to use a wired connection.

Braun LE Speakers

The main difference between the three units is size and power. At the top with the expensive LE01, two 5.25-inch aluminum cone woofers, three 2.5-inch radiator drive units, two 8×4.5-inch quadratic passive bass radiators and three power amplifiers D class. With the smallest speaker, the LE03, there is one of each, and the medium LE02 is in between. A 32-bit multicore ARM digital signal processor is available on all three models for "high accuracy and low noise," and the trio is capable of streaming 96 kHz / 24-bit continuous sound. If you want to buy two of these models, you can use them as a stereo pair with dedicated left and right channels.

The demonstration room here at IFA was set up in a loft mainly made of concrete. It was therefore not ideal to make a definitive judgment on the overall sound quality because of the echo. However, after a few minutes of listening, I can tell you that the audio of the new LE series is very clear and neat. In fact, I was pleasantly surprised by the clarity. The instruments are all autonomous without being condensed into a single drop of sound. And because of that, there is a dimension to audio that many wireless multiroom speakers do not do well. The Braun LE series also offers great bass for stand-alone speakers – the low-frequency radiators do their job well. Overall, the rebirth of Braun Audio makes a good impression, but it is too early to say whether they outperform Sonos without doing further tests. And I'm sure many people will not be happy with the updated design.

The Braun LE series is expected to arrive in October in black and white. The largest unit, the LE01, will cost $ 1,199 (£ 1099 / € 1,199), while the medium-sized LE02 will cost $ 799 (£ 749 / € 799). The smallest square LE03 is the most affordable group at $ 379 (£ 349 / € 379). For comparison, the Sonos One is at $ 199 and the Play: 5, which is closest to the LE02, at $ 499. In other words, if the audio turns out to be comparable to Sonos with these Braun speakers, you pay a premium for the brand and its heritage. Again, we will have to check if we can look at them.

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