Bang & Olufsen Beoplay Portal

Very comfortable ; Excellent and rich sound performance ; Virtual 3D spacing works well ; Robust yet light construction ; Versatile

Virtual boom arm won't match a physical equivalent for some ; Cloth carry bag doesn't offer much protection

The second-generation Beoplay Portal headset addresses all of the (minor) criticisms of its Xbox-exclusive predecessor. There is longer battery life, better connectivity, and this model now directly supports PlayStation 5, PS4 and PC wirelessly. In...

Xbox Wireless protocol support ; Balanced B&O sound ; Incredibly comfortable ; Great design ; Useful app

Touch sliders are somehow both elegant and fiddly ; No case ; Very expensive ; Can’t merge audio streams from Xbox Wireless and Bluetooth

Not cheap, but the multifunctional Beoplay Portal is easily our favourite Xbox headset – and a pretty great pair of noise-cancelling headphones to boot

Very low latency via Xbox Wireless. Comfortable and well-built. EQ presets available via companion app. Great battery performance. Low latency over wired connection.

Disappointing passive soundstage performance. Leaks some audio. Struggles to isolate against bass-heavy background noise. Not very portable. Not stable enough for workouts. Lacks low-bass.

The Bang & Olufsen Beoplay Portal are adequate for neutral sound. Although they're lacking some low-bass when using Xbox Wireless, if you use them via Bluetooth, their sound profile is a lot more thumpy and boomy. On the downside, this muddies and...

Intoxicating audio performance ; Superb adaptive noise cancelling and transparency ; Premium build, materials, and feel ; Touch Bars for volume and noise-cancelling ; Xbox-specific technologies for gaming enthusiasts

Cannot be used as a passive headphone ; No support for Alexa, Google Assistant, or Siri ; A $500 headphone should come with a carrying case or at least a pouch

The Bang & Olufsen Beoplay Portal is a triple-threat wireless headphone that everyone can love: The discerning music listener, the road warrior looking for sonic isolation on the go, and the hardcore gamer rocking the latest console or PC hardware. The...

By far the most beautifully designed gaming headset on the market. Now with wireless adapter and improved battery life. Wearing comfort at its best. Improved ANC.

Costs way, way too much. Touch controls are elegant, but make operation more difficult.

The lack of wireless adapter was a stumbling block when we tested the first edition of the Beoplay Portal. Because that was just too miserly. With the new edition for PC and PlayStation, this shortcoming has been corrected. And the wind sensitivity...

By far the most beautifully designed gaming headset on the market. Top wearing comfort. ANC. Touch operation.

For Xbox only. ANC too wind sensitive for outdoor use. Costs far, far too much. Touch operation.

Beoplay Portal is an exciting debut for Bang & Olufsen, because it is always interesting to see well-known and experienced manufacturers try their out new product categories. But I must say that I am not convinced by their first attempt.