Bang & Olufsen Beoplay Portal Review

Gaming headsets have been very popular from the last decade till to current. Many headphone and audio manufacturers are turning to the play in this field. Even Bang & Olufsen, a premium brand from Denmark, which has a long-established reputation for audio equipment has also started to enter the competitive gaming headset market. The Beoplay Portal is the first model of gaming headset from Bang & Olufsen. And surely, Bang & Olufsen must be quality work and quite a high-end level. How about these wireless gaming headphones? Let’s go to the Bang & Olufsen Beoplay Portal review, now.

There are two versions of the Beoplay Portal, one is compatible with PS/PC, and another compatible with Xbox.

Bang & Olufsen Beoplay Portal Review – The Design

At first glance, I don’t think this is a gaming headphone. With the external looks and feel not like gaming headsets. Even the earcup shape, headband, and overall style do not look like headphones for gaming as well. The Beoplay Portal is true wireless over-ear headphones. They provide up to 12 hours of playtime when connected to the Xbox via Bluetooth/wireless and activating ANC. The maximum playtime is about 24 hours when not used for gaming.

The design of the Bang & Olufsen Beoplay Portal gaming headsets does not look like general gaming headsets. There is no protruding microphone shaft from the earcups. There are no detachable or undetachable microphones. It’s not that Beoplay Portal gaming headphones don’t have microphones. But with the virtual boom microphone technology, there are built-in boom mics in the internal.

The overall design of these wireless gaming headphones is like other Beoplay wireless headphones, it is a similar design to the Bang & Olufsen Beoplay H9i, HX, and H95. They come with high-end designs with premium materials and luxurious looks and feel. These wireless gaming headphones are supremely comfortable headphones. With a weight, of 279 grams is not too heavy and it doesn’t make you feel heavy on your head.

There is a logo “B&O” on the outward of the earcup looks elegant and outstanding. All panel control stays on the right earcup. There is a charging port (USB-C), a 3.5mm audio port, power on/off, and connection to Bluetooth button, as well as the panel volume control which is a touch system. The left earcups have a dongle button for connecting to Xbox.

When it comes to portable, these over-ear headphones are quite big and bulky. Also, it can’t be folded, just swivel the ear cups to lay flat. So the Beoplay Portal gaming headphones are not ideal for taking on the go.

Beoplay Portal Wireless Gaming Headphones – Comfortable fit

The Beoplay Portal’s earcups cover all my ears (I’m small ears) and the soft ear cushions give the softest and most comfortable ears. There is quite thick foam padding on both earcups and the headband, which makes you feel comfortable when wearing it, even using it for hours. The headband does not put any pressure on the head and temples even wear for a long time. The headband is extendable to fit any head size. The clamping forces are adequate and not too tight. It securely stays on my ears and is not easy to fall off during casual gaming sessions.

The Bang & Olufsen Beoplay Portal is designed to be porous to reduce heat, this makes it possible to wear continuously for hours. They trap some heat under the earcups that why they are not great for working out. Including should not make sweat more than normal if you wear them for hours while gaming or listening to music.

The Bang & Olufsen Beoplay Portal is designed for gaming, so it is not ideal for wear during work out. Because they are not sweatproof and may fall off while you strongly shake or move your head.

Beoplay Portal Review – Build Quality

When it comes to the build quality, the Beoplay Portal gaming headphones are very impressive. They are made of high-quality materials. These are a combination of aluminum, leather, fabric padding, polymer, and rubber materials. The overall materials feel quite premium and durable. It is probably durable and will last a long time. However; there is no mention of an IP rating and I think it doesn’t resist water, this is normal because most gaming headphones are not waterproof either.

How to control the Beoplay Portal gaming headphones?

The Bang & Olufsen Beoplay Portal combines physical control buttons and smooth touchpad control, which accurately respond to your function. The default controls are easy and intuitive. For example

• Double tap either earcup – play/pause your music or mute the mic while calling or gaming
• Left slider – adjust ANC/Talk-Through (Bluetooth mode) or control channel mixing (Xbox wireless mode)
• Right slider – adjust the volume

The controls are easy to use and good response. Most commands have beep feedback but all of the responses are the same sound, which is a beep.

Bang & Olufsen Beoplay Portal – Battery Life

The Beoplay Portal comes with a strong battery with a quite large capacity of 1200mAh. If you connect to Xbox wireless and turn on both ANC and Bluetooth, these cans last for over 11 hours and 30 minutes to 12 hours for a single charge. As per their specs, they can provide up to 24 hours if just turning on ANC and Bluetooth but not connecting to Xbox wireless. However; the hours of playtime are just estimates and not exact, it’s vary depending on usage, volume level, and many factors. So your playtime will vary.

Beoplay Portal Review – Bluetooth

These wireless gaming headphones can connect two Bluetooth devices at once. But if you are connected to an Xbox console or PC, you can’t connect to any Bluetooth devices. However, you can switch between Bluetooth connection and Xbox via the app easily, but connecting to one Bluetooth device and Xbox or PC at the same time is not possible.

The Bang & Olufsen Beoplay Portal has low latency when used with iOS and Android devices and you will get a great experience when watching movies with these devices. But when connected to the PCs I found that they have a bit higher latency and the atpX HD codec that they support doesn’t improve the better latency. I still feel some delay between audio and picture while playing games with the Xbox and PC. But I know that there is some amazing app that can compensate for latency differently, so the real experience while playing a game will vary.

Compare Be0play Portal to Other Gaming Headphones

Bang & Olufsen Beoplay Portal Review – Pros & Cons

Beoplay Portal Review – Connectivity for Gaming

Connect to PC

There are three methods for connection: wireless connection via USB Dongle, USB-C connection, and connection via 3.5mm audio jack. Both USB-C and 3.5mm audio jack connections provide standard sound performance. But a USB-C connection will enable the microphones and also is charging itself. A disadvantage of both methods (USB-C and 3.5mm audio) is they can’t use the Dobly Atmos feature. The great powerful method for connectivity is, USB Dongle, you will get all the features including using the Dobly Atmos feature as well.

For gaming, the Beoplay Portal does very well in terms of separating the sound direction as well as catching a feeling of the distance of the sound. This makes it possible to get an exciting experience in playing games. Especially if you play competitive games, this will give you a huge advantage over other players.

Connect Console or Xbox

Simple and easy connection, just press the broadcast button on the front of the Xbox along with pressing the connect button on the left earcup. Two devices will automatically connect. You need to turn on the Dolby function on the Xbox to use Dolby Atmos for the best results. From our testing, playing game while listening to music, the Beoplay Portal do very well for both. They can separate sound direction very well and the sound quality of the music is very good too.

Connect via Mobile

Connect to mobile, the Bang & Olufsen Beoplay Portal can connect to both iOS and Android. But iOS is more easily and quite automatic while connecting to Android is more difficult but it can connect.

Bang & Olufsen Beoplay Portal Review – Final Verdict

All in all, the Bang & Olufsen Beoplay Portal review might be not perfect information but I will try to write as I can. The Beoplay Portal is a wireless gaming headphone and luxurious in the style of Bang & Olufsen. If you are looking for the best wireless gaming headset for Xbox/Playstation, the Beoplay Portal is one of the exceptional choices albeit they come at quite expensive. Personally, the Beoplay Portal is one of the best wireless gaming headphones.

Where to buy Bang & Olufsen Beoplay Portal

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