For all intents and purposes, there’s no need for a dedicated music controller like the BeoSound Moment. Our smartphones have evolved far enough to be able to do everything a device like that can be used for. But, man, I definitely want something like this sitting in my living room all the same.
Made by Bang & Olufsen, it’s a one-stop shop music system that consolidates all your music services, as well as any music stored on your home network (via DLNA) and mobile devices (via Bluetooth). You can control playback for all the tracks from the device’s unified interface, which you can then pipe through your BeoLab 18 speakers (or whatever audio system you currently own).
The BeoSound Moment consists of a hub and a tablet-like device that you can pick up and carry around just like a smartphone. All connectors (Ethernet port, RCA line-in, and a pair of Power Link sockets) are installed on the hub, with which the tablet automatically pairs wirelessly. Up front, the tablet is adorned by a 7-inch touchscreen display (1280 x 800 resolution) and a milled touch wheel (it looks oddly like a blown-up iPod Classic), with the back covered in a gorgeous oak panel that also responds to touch controls (yep, touch-sensitive wood), so you can dock it with either side facing up.
Its onboard sound processor supports lossless FLAC and ALAC file formats, along with MP3, WMA, and AAC, with a built-in bass management system that automatically filters low-frequency content to maximize its output on your speaker system. Aside from traditional navigation, the interface offers a “moodwheel” for choosing songs according to your mood and a PattenPlay feature that adapts automatic playlists based on a user’s listening history.
Slated to go on sale end of the month, the BeoSound Moment is priced at $2,795.