are the Bang & Olufsen Portal really the perfect gaming headphones?
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Building on the Portal headphones for Xbox consoles released back in May 2021 this new variant is now compatible with Playstation 4 & 5, PC & mobile but it is still a separate product to the Xbox compatible ones.
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Key Specifications
We break down everything you need to know about the Bang & Olufsen Beoplay Portal, outlining updated features for the new PlayStation & PC model.
| Key Spec | B&O Beoplay Portal |
| Price | £449 |
| Colour | Black Anthracite, Navy Blue, Grey Mist |
| Headphone Type | Over-ear |
| Weight | 279g |
| Battery | 19 hours when gaming, 42 hours for Bluetooth & ANC only |
| Noise Cancellation | Active Noise Cancellation |
| Bluetooth | 5.1 aptX Adaptive |
| Weatherproof Rating | N/A |
| Microphone | Virtual Boom Arm comprised of 8 beamforming microphones |
| Dolby Atmos | Dolby Atmos for headphones |
| Wireless Compatability | PS5/ PS4 & PC with Dongle. Shop the Beoplay Portal (Xbox) for Xbox Wireless Compatability. |
Design & Fit
The build quality and design of the Bang & Olufsen Beoplay Portal is one of the most enticing things about these headphones. The earcups are made out of real lambskin leather with memory foam and as such, they’re incredibly plushy and soft.
The adjustable headband is made out of a bamboo fibre textile which was chosen due to its breathability and durability, making it nicely flexible too. The padding on the top helps them to sit comfortably on your head over longer periods meaning they don’t feel too obtrusive on the top of your head.
As a result, we could game for 6 hours non-stop and we could have worn them longer - there was no ear fatigue, no discomfort and no sweat and part of that is due to there being no physical pressure placed on your ear.
They’re also quite light at only 279 grams which is about 100 grams lighter than the Astro A50 wireless 4th gen so we were more than happy to carry these around in a rucksack in its little carry pouch for a day when we were out and about.
You’ll also find convenient touch controls in the form of buttons and sliders which does take some getting used to as there are numerous things you can do with them including powering on and off, Bluetooth, volume up and down to name a few.
Gaming
First things first, connecting these up to your Playstation or PC is really straightforward. You just plug the dongle into the USB on your Playstation, press the pairing button, make sure you’ve powered on your Portals and it will automatically pair.
The first thing you’ll notice when you start a new game like Call of Duty Vanguard, for example, is the sense of immersion and surround sound created by these headphones. When you put these headphones in noise-cancelling mode, particularly when you are playing a game that supports Dolby Atmos, you can hear things coming from above you, to the side of you and right in front of you as part of an excellent 3D portrayal of the content you’re enjoying. Not to mention, this is with near-zero latency thanks to its 2.4ghz low latency connectivity.
Check out the sound quality for yourself, recorded using our specialist Binaural microphone:
The audio experience is made even better with the available gaming presets that you’ll find in the B&O app such as RPG, first-person shooter or create your own manual preset. Whilst in the app, you can also check the battery level, adjust volume, alter the amount of ANC, adjust the gesture controls and more.
You can really block your world out with the Portals as your background noise is almost completely inaudible but thankfully you do have the option of a transparency mode if you want it.
Microphone Quality
When someone mentions gaming headphones, you probably imagine a boom arm attached to the headset but this isn’t the case with the B&O Portal. They actually use virtual beamforming microphones so there is no need for one, which is an advantage if you intend to use these out and about without looking like a hardcore gamer!
To make up for not having a boom arm, the Portals have 8 microphones built-in which ensures smooth reliability and clear transmission. One of the features we love most is that the headphones will actually cancel out background noise as you are talking so your teammates hear nothing but your voice. This worked incredibly well in our testing.
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From a microphone perspective, my teammate Sam reported that my voice was clear almost all of the time although the quality of our voices themselves didn’t really outperform other gaming headsets, particularly those with a separate boom arm.
It’s the same story for call quality as well when on the phone. We were perfectly audible and the noise-cancelling effect worked really well to block outside noise.
On reflection, however, while the microphone is by no means worse than a headset with a boom arm, it is also not better.
Lifestyle Review
The B&O Portal fit into our day-to-day routine seamlessly because they’re lightweight enough to not be a hassle, you can connect to anything via Bluetooth 5.1 and you’ve got multipoint pairing so you can connect to your phone and laptop at the same time for example.
In terms of battery life, you can expect to get about 19 hours of battery life when you’re gaming but that is actually increased dramatically to up to 42 hours when you’re just using its Bluetooth function and noise cancelling and that really is impressive compared with the competition.
You can expect to get a good 2 or 3 days use out of it without needing to reach for the charging cable. It was also about a 2 hour charge time from dead to full which is actually pretty decent.
The only thing the Portals don’t have really is a weatherproof rating so you can only really take these out and about in indoor environments or when it’s dry outside.
Our only criticism is that we needed to crank up the volume to around 80% to get the volume we wanted. Normally, where we’d listen to headphones at 60%, these were at 80% to get the volume we wanted.
We also tested the noise-cancelling abilities when we were out and about. We took them to a busy train station, alongside busy roads, in the office, and we struggled to hear background noise at all, even in between music. We were really glad that the excellent noise-cancelling abilities when gaming carried over to being out and about too.
| ? Test Tracks: When listening to music on the go, the bass was smooth and deep and didn’t overpower the mids and vocals. The highs are clean and not hissy and the mids are warm and emotive. Lane 8's No Captain demonstrated the Portal's impressive grasp over a wide range of audio staples, whilst Moby's Natural Blues really brought out their vocal prowess. Save Your Tears by The Weeknd put the headphone's handle of bass to the test and the B&O Beoplay Portals definitely delivered. |
Listen to our test tracks below:
Watch our Bang & Olufsen Beoplay Portal audio test:
Our Final Thoughts
We think Bang & Olufsen have nailed it with these and for the right customer, these are a very exciting product. So who do we see that target customer being? Well £449 is a pretty tough pill to swallow and if you’re simply looking for a new pair of gaming headphones for just gaming, then there are some slightly more affordable options out there that would do the job for you.
But if you’re in the market for a new pair of over-ear headphones that are a cut above the rest but are also exceptional gaming headphones for Playstation or PC, these are definitely worth considering. We also think the extended battery life (nearly doubled when compared to the original Beoplay Portal for Xbox) gives even more weight to the argument that the Beoplay Portal is worth your attention.
As ever, we're happy to answer any further questions you have. Please reach out using the below channels:
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info@smarthomesounds.co.uk |
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Live Chat on our Website |
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0800 677 1100 |
