Braun has been telling people where to put their speakers since 1963, when it printed a booklet called Basic Rules for Good Hearing. Its new LE speakers are meant to free you from most of those rules. Braun says they spread sound widely instead of aiming it at one narrow sweet spot, thanks to a flat driver called a balanced mode radiator, or BMR, that handles the midrange and treble. Christopher Liauw, who builds his Curvi speakers around the same kind of driver, explained it to StereoNET. At low frequencies it pumps in and out like an ordinary cone, and higher up its surface flexes "in a manner similar to water after a stone is thrown into a puddle." Kob Monney of Trusted Reviews heard a "big, smooth and balanced sound" from the LE02, and Jamie Carter of TechRadar found the LE01's sound "warm and detailed." The LE range suits listeners who stream over AirPlay 2 or Chromecast and want one good-looking speaker they can keep in plain view.

The range comes in three sizes. The little LE03 plays in mono, and Kate of Son-Vidéo suggests it for a kitchen or bedroom. Andy White of Expert Reviews filled his office with one at around half volume. Jay Garrett of StereoNET found a single LE02, the middle model, enough for his medium-sized living room, and adding a second one improved the soundstage and the bass. The flagship LE01 is a wide bar that plays stereo on its own when it lies flat, or one channel of a pair when it stands upright on a floor stand, and Geekanoids suggests about two meters between a pair. Whichever you buy, tell the Braun Audio app where the speaker is, in a corner or on a cabinet against a wall, and it adjusts the sound to suit.

Braun has made products since 1921, and its best-known audio work began in the mid-1950s. From 1956, Braun says, it created a string of audio firsts under the design stewardship of Dieter Rams, including the SK 4 of 1957, which Braun calls the first music system with a plexiglass cover. Then came the LE1 of 1959, an electrostatic speaker designed by Rams. Jay Garrett of StereoNET notes that the original LE1 is featured at the Museum of Modern Art, and Braun says its Atelier stacking system of the 1980s is exhibited there as well. After three decades away, Braun came back to home audio with the LE speakers. Oliver Grabes, Braun's head of design, says "we didn't want to do retro design," and the raised feet on the new models are partly a nod to the original LE1. In the US, TechRadar noted, the LE01 was sold through the MoMA store.