Even for a Bang & Olufsen product, the new Beosound Balance speaker is acutely graceful. It was penned by Benjamin Hubert of LAYER—a London-based design firm—and takes its place in the living room of a contemporary home as both an entertainment device and a sculptural embellishment.

Like the Contrast Collection, which B&O unveiled only about a month ago, the Beosound Balance is intended to stimulate the sense of touch as well as those of vision and hearing. The Contrast Collection employed a new anodized surface that would invite tactile discovery.

The Beosound Balance uses textiles and natural wood surfaces for the same purpose. Overall, it is designed to be both an objet d’art as well as a contemporary entertainment necessity, with the former taking aesthetic precedence over the latter, and diminishing its techy presence in this already tech-heavy age.

But, beneath the surface, the $2,250 Balance’s seven drivers deliver the goods via Chromecast, Spotify, and Apple Airplay 2, and take direction via Alexa or Google Assistant.