ISSUE 88 • ANDROID ADVISOR 101B&O’smobileappfeaturesEQpresetsfordifferenttypes
ofgamesaswellasforvoicecallsandmovies.Youcanalso
create your own and save them.
micstopipeyourownvoicethrough
theheadset,eliminatinga common
annoyancewithheadsetsofalltypes.
I did,however,experiencean
occasionalanomalywithmyiPhone
12 thatI couldn’tquitepindown.
Whenlifting/shiftingoneoftheear
cupsoffmyheadandplacingit back
again,peopleontheotherendofthe
callcouldno longer hear me unless I
broke and then restored the wireless
connection to my iPhone.
B&O was not able to provide me
with the latest version of its mobile app,
which has been updated with unique
features for the Beoplay Portal. But I
did get a one-on-one briefing as to
what you can expect from the updated
software. Once you pair the Portal to the
Bang and Olufsen app, you’ll have the
option to activate one of three gaming
DSP modes: Gaming, FPS (first-person
shooter) and RPG (role-playing game).
It was inferred that more gaming DSP
modes will become available down the
road. In the meantime, you can create
custom EQ profiles of your own. In case
you’re wondering, the Portal does not
feature audio head tracking.
The Beoplay Portal headphone
sounds glorious. If you’re a fan of B&Os
voicing – a crisp top end, a pristine
midrange, and a tight bottom end –
you’ll experience it in full here. I used a
combination of high-res music files and
streamed content via Tidal, all played
through my Roon Nucleus media server.
The Beoplay Portal revelled in
creating deep, rich
musical layers that are not
commonly experienced
through headphones.
Going through my endless
Rolodex of female vocalists:
Adele, Alicia Keys, Holly
Cole, Norah Jones, Pink,
Sarah McLachlan, and
Suzanne Vega to name
but a few, I always heard
crisp,clear,andfull
bodiedvocals.
The near sub-sonic bass
lines on Bonnie McKee’s