At first glance, the edge-lit LED panel on Bang & Olufsen’s new 55-inch 4K set may seem fairly pedestrian. But once you turn your attention to the BeoVision Avant’s industrial design, automated stand options, and transforming speaker system, you forget all about that.
Among the options for the anodized-aluminum Avant is a floor stand with two rotating components that borrow heavily from Tilt-a-Whirl physics. The stand lets you pivot the TV towards you or anyone else in the room by pushing buttons on its unibody extruded-aluminum remote. There are also a few more stand options for the set: a motorized wall mount, a motorized table stand, and a plain-old wall mount without any motorized components.
While it won’t replace a surround-sound system, the set does come with built-in speakers that should give many soundbars a run for their money. Specifically, the sound system packs in three ¾-inch tweeters, three 2-inch mids, and a 4-inch woofer; one of each is positioned in a center channel that’s dedicated to onscreen dialogue.
The coolest thing about that speaker system is how it moves. The speaker unit expands from the bottom of the panel with a click of the remote: First it slides out vertically, then the left- and right-channel speakers slide out laterally from there. When it’s not in use, the system retracts back up out of sight. The fluid action makes the TV look like a living thing. Or maybe you ate some peyote.
You might have to be on heavy drugs to rationalize buying this TV, too. Beautiful moving components and design aside, 55 inches is mighty small for an Ultra HD TV. And for the price, you should at least get a full-array LED panel with local-dimming, not a lower-end edge-lit panel. The BeoVision Avant costs a whopping $8,000, so OLED would even be a valid option. Plus, that eight-grand asking price is just for the set without any stand options, which start at $900 for the non-motorized wall mount
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