Beoplay Portal Xbox long-term review: Premium sound held back by connection issues

My audiophile background

Before we dive in, some context: I’m not new to headphones. Over the years, I’ve owned more than 20 pairs ranging from entry-level cans to studio-grade open-backs and luxury audiophile models. I pay attention to build, soundstage, frequency balance, and comfort. When I received the Beoplay Portal, it wasn’t just as a gamer… it was as someone who wanted to see whether Bang & Olufsen could deliver a headset worthy of both music and play.

First impressions: Premium through and through

Right out of the box, the Beoplay Portal impresses. The leather earcups, memory foam padding, and lightweight frame all scream premium. This headset is designed to look good not just in a gaming room, but alsoon a commute or in a coffee shop. Compared to plastic-heavy gaming headsets, the Portal feels like a lifestyle product that just happens to connect to your Xbox.

The controls are sleek, the app integration is clean, and active noise cancellation (ANC) gives it a modern edge. For daily use — streaming music, taking calls, or travelling — it checks nearly every box.

Dolby Atmos: The Beoplay Portal’s defining strength

Here’s where the Beoplay Portal shines. With Dolby Atmos enabled on the Xbox Series S, the sound is nothing short of spectacular.

As someone who has lived with headphones that specialize in expansive soundstage, I was floored by how immersive Atmos felt on this headset. Forza Horizon 5 became more than just a racing game — it became a sensory event. Engines roared past with precise positioning. In Halo Infinite, footsteps, gunfire, and environmental echoes had a cinematic realism that standard stereo could never match.

Dolby Atmos on the Beoplay Portal isn’t a gimmick. It’s the reason I kept giving the headset another chance, despite the frustrations. For an audiophile, it delivered moments of brilliance that few gaming headsets can match.

The harsh reality: Only ten successful connections in four years

And now we get to the problem — the deal-breaker. Since its launch in 2021, I’ve only managed to successfully connect the Beoplay Portal to my Xbox Series S about ten times. Not ten times in a month. Not ten times in a year. Ten times total, across more than four years of ownership.

For a headset carrying the official “Designed for Xbox” badge, this is unacceptable. Xbox Wireless should mean plug-and-play simplicity. Instead, I often find myself stuck in connection loops, troubleshooting menus, or simply giving up.

The inconsistency strips away the joy of using the product. I never know if the Beoplay Portal will connect today or sit idle while I reach for a backup headset.

Why reliability matters more than luxury

Headsets live or die by one thing: reliability. I don’t care how good the aluminium feels, or how balanced the mids are, if I can’t depend on it to connect when I turn on my console. The Beoplay Portal makes me feel like I own a luxury sports car that only starts once every tenth attempt. Yes, when it runs, it’s exhilarating. But no one buys a car — or a headset — that fails at its most basic function. At $499, reliability isn’t negotiable. It’s expected.

Comparisons: What $500 could have bought instead

This is where the Beoplay Portal’s flaws become glaring. The following headsets are far cheaper and more reliable.

SteelSeries Arctis Nova Pro Wireless: Coming in at around $191, this headset offers dual-audio (Xbox + Bluetooth simultaneously), hot-swappable batteries, strong Dolby Atmos performance — and consistently reliable connections.

Xbox Wireless Headset: At just $108, Microsoft’s own model offers reliable Xbox Wireless integration, decent audio, and support for Atmos. It may not be luxury, but it works every time.

When stacked against these competitors, the Beoplay Portal feels like a $500 gamble on whether you’ll even get to use it that day.

Long-term ownership: Four years later

This isn’t just a launch problem. I expected firmware updates to fix the connectivity issues. I expected Bang & Olufsen to recognize that reliability was hurting its gaming reputation. But more than four years later, the issues remain.

Every time I try to use the Portal with my Series S, I brace for disappointment. It’s a headset that has become more of a shelf piece than a daily driver.

Dual-purpose use: Great, but not enough

To be fair, as a pair of Bluetooth headphones, the Beoplay Portal performs admirably. ANC is effective, the sound is refined, and for music or calls, it could easily replace a set of Bose or Sony wireless cans. That’s the irony: the Beoplay Portal works better as an everyday set of headphones... rather than the premium Xbox accessory it was marketed to be.

But for me, and for most buyers, that’s not enough. I didn’t spend $499 for “pretty good Bluetooth headphones.” I spent it on a Beoplay Portal Xbox headset that should have delivered on its promise.

The bigger picture: Can luxury brands handle gaming?

The Beoplay Portal raises a larger question: can high-end lifestyle audio brands succeed in the gaming space? Gaming is unforgiving. Reliability trumps refinement. Features matter more than luxury materials. Gamers expect plug-and-play functionality, not occasional brilliance.

Bang & Olufsen brought prestige to the table, but it feels like they underestimated how critical stability is in this market.

Verdict: A love-hate relationship

The Beoplay Portal Xbox is one of the most frustrating pieces of tech I’ve ever owned. As an audiophile, I loved what it delivered when it worked: Dolby Atmos immersion, premium build, and sound quality that made other headsets feel ordinary.

But those highs were drowned out by its fundamental flaw. Ten successful connections in four years isn’t just a bug — it’s a failure.

For audiophiles who want a headset that occasionally doubles as an Xbox accessory, the Beoplay Portal has its place. But for gamers who demand reliability, it’s a $499 lesson in how even the most beautiful products can get the basics wrong.