Bang & Olufsen’s Beosound Balance Natura Is a Hi-Fi Speaker Made from Quartz and Petrified Wood

I wouldn’t necessarily say that the home speaker space has become boring, but perhaps just predictable. With an increased reliance on these devices as conduits for our personal assistants, products tend to look the part of a utilitarian appliance more than a stylish fixture in our homes. Admittedly, there are a slew of home speakers that do have a sense of style, but these run the gamut of sleek models with more minimalism than character or expectedly yet delightfully vintage-inspired. 

But what if neither minimalist nor vintage is scratching your itch? Well, personal audio icon Bang & Olufsen might have a solution — albeit, a very specific solution — to your problem.

Stone Faced

Blending popular aesthetics with unique designs better than arguably anyone, Bang & Olufsen has outdone even themselves with their latest collaboration, teaming up with Italian high-end stone experts at Antolini for a new take on the top-shelf Beosound Balance speaker that debuted 5 years ago.

Dubbed the Beosound Balance Natura, the new speaker is part of the Danish hi-fi brand’s Atelier Bespoke program and swaps the wooden base on the regular model for either petrified wood or natural quartz from Antolini’s catalog.

For the quartz, you can select from one of three options from the Italian brand’s Exclusive Collection: Cristallo Iceberg or Cristallo Vitrum for a white color, or Cristallo Rosa for a pink hue. As for the petrified wood, it comes from Antolini’s Precioustone Collection, with Retro Grey, Retro Brown, and Retro Fancyblack as your three options.

From the images, you can tell that the Natura is significantly taller than the standard Beosound Balance. This is because, along with the regular base, the unit is placed atop a tall pedestal using your selected stone. The intention here is to allow the speaker to be closer to your listening height, while also showcasing more of the stone.

Together, with custom finishes, there will be 16 unique variants to select from — all of which are made to order.

Sounds Good Too

Being Bang & Olufsen — and being a custom bespoke take on an already-$3,300 hi-fi speaker — the Beosound Balance Natura is designed for sonic perfection as well. Utilizing a 360-degree design, emitting sound around the entire side, the Natura also features the same septet of drivers, including a pair of 5.25-inch bass drivers and a couple of 3-inch full-range drivers.

This is enhanced by the anodized aluminum ring between the speaker and base, which simultaneously “strengthens the harmony between materials, emphasizing both contrast and cohesion.” In other words, the Natura will seem to sound better simply because it looks better — or something.

Also, this is a smart speaker, meaning it can receive voice commands to your Alexa or Google Assistant while also integrating with streaming services like Spotify and Google Chromecast. Wi-Fi setup enables AirPlay 2 from your phone.

Spec Sheet

Pricing & Availability

Debuting at Milan Design Week, the Bang & Olufsen x Antonini Beosound Balance Natura doesn’t yet have a price. But seeing as the standard Beosound Balance costs $3,300, you can expect the Natura to be even pricier.

Bang & Olufsen x Antonini Beosound Balance Natura

Bang & Olufsen partners with Italian stone firm Antonini on these bespoke, made to order versions of the Beosound Balance hi-fi speakers that utilize either natural quartz or petrified wood for its base.