Bang & Olufsen Beoplay A1 Portable Bluetooth Speaker With Microphone – Natural - 1297846

Bang & Olufsen Beoplay A1 Portable Bluetooth Speaker with Microphone – Natural - 1297846

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• Truly portable Bluetooth speaker for music and calls
• More sound. More bass. Peak power of 2X140 W
• Connect two BeoplayA1s for a wireless stereo experience
• Keeps on playing. Up to 24 hours at normal volume levels. Power consumption:Standby: 0.5 W
• All aluminum dome. Dust and splash resistant

With a1 portable Bluetooth speaker, music lovers can now hold decades of bang & olufsen sound technology and experience in the palm of their hand. This ultra-portable wireless speaker delivers crisp ambient sound in a compact 1.3 lb Package. Grab it and go wherever life takes you; it charges in approximately 2.5 hours and provides up to 24 hours of battery life per charge. Created by award-winning designer cecilie man, this Mini audio powerhouse looks as good as it sounds: a smooth dust- and splash-resistant aluminum dome, double-molded polymer base and rugged leather strap balance cool sophistication with warm accents for a unique tactile experience. The convenient connect button allows you to pick up where you left off, activating your last played music at launch. Users can also take advantage of intuitive tone touch technology via the b&o play app to personalize their listening experience, set up wireless stereo pairing and update products with the latest software. Not just a music speaker, the a1 also lets you make calls on the go with a multi-directional microphone that increases voice recognition for everyone on the call. Lightweight but powerful. When the battery level is below 15%, the battery indicator turns solid red. When the battery level is below 10%, the battery indicator starts flashing red

Buy Now : Bang & Olufsen Beoplay A1 Portable Bluetooth Speaker with Microphone – Natural - 1297846

Brand : Bang & Olufsen
Category : Electronics,Portable Audio & Video,Portable Speakers & Docks,Portable Bluetooth Speakers
Rating : 4.1
Review Count : 2619
Best Sellers Rank : #209,232 in Electronics (See Top 100 in Electronics) #4,869 in Portable Bluetooth Speakers
SalesRank : 209232

Bang & Olufsen Beoplay A1 Portable Bluetooth Speaker with Microphone – Natural - 1297846

• UPDATED on 2017-08-10 *after about year of usage*Sound quality: 5/5. Still Love the sound signature. Best in class of BT portable speakers.Connectivity: 2/5. Generally ok, but temperamental, fiddly and can be frustrating.Stereo Pairing: 2/5. Very poor. Unstable, prone to interference\'s, not easy, takes too long. They should learn from JBL- one of the best implementations of BT stereo pairing in it\'s class. (I own a pair of JBL charge 3\'s)App: 3/5. Lots of functionality- EQ, stereo pairing, volume control & battery levels. Only thing it lacks is remote on/off switch. It\'s also frustrating that it needs to connect again every time your device goes to sleep.Build & Design: 4/5. Subjective, but I love the design- simple & charming.Battery life: 2/5. Why is it the A1\'s, A2\'s & Beolit17\'s, despite the obvious size & power differences all carry the same sized battery?? Poor design from a tech point of view- doesn\'t last long. Again battery performance pales when compared to the Charge 3 battery or any JBL battery for the matter.I Still like it. I\'m a sucker for sound quality and unfortunately, willing to endure much for that moment of audio bliss. So I\'m really hoping, wishing, praying, that B&O finally get their act together to improve the wireless connectivity/stereo pairing & battery performance for their devices. That will be a marriage made in heaven for sure. Too bad it\'s not the case now. Really looking forward to a major upgrade to battery and radio/firmware.-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------(re-edited on 2016-09-25)Wired: 4 stars. What hi-fi: 4 stars. CNET: 4 stars. All got it WRONG. Clavinetjunkie on YouTube got it right: 5 stars! Validated! Heh, but who\'s quibbling.What\'s Hot: Sound, sound, sound. So sweet: clear, not muddled, detailed with crisp even separation of sounds throughout the frequency range. Bossy base, lush vocals, crystal treble. Large soundstage with the omnidirectional design. Powerful twin 30W drivers ensure it punches way way above its weight. So much comes out of it that it reminds me of a magician\'s hat. I walked around it, lifted it up, it\'s almost an illusion, an aural mirage. It\'s immensely portable; mini form factor, lightweight, inbuilt battery, backpack strap. Get 2 of these units and you\'ll be in stereophonic heaven.What\'s Not: sure battery life isn\'t 24 hours, but at slightly above the 60℅volume level, you\'d squeeze 4-6 decent hours from it. At full volume, not so much, probably half. But I\'m not in the habit of cranking it to full. How many people do? At low levels of volume (<25%), we\'re talking about 8-10 hrs easily. Besides, these days with external battery packs so affordable, and the Beoplay\'s USB-C charging port, you could theoretically keep it pumping till your ears content! Which battery operated USB speaker of similar audio quality, out there, can claim to hold to its stated battery life at maximum volume? Let\'s be real, most do claim to play \"up to\" their started maximum (24 hrs in the case of the A1), but they do also add that or depends on the type of music and the volume it\'s played at.Sure too, it does get warm after playing for a few hours, as inspirational as it sounds, it\'s still not physics-defying, all that energy has to go somewhere! Haven\'t noticed any degradation of sound quality as a result mind you, but not sure if it will be detrimental to the battery in the long run *shrug*. Sure it\'s made of non ruggedized aluminium, but the heat needs to cool off somewhere somehow, so meh. It\'s not waterproof, so look elsewhere, get something else like the JBL charge 3 if you really need to go swimming with it or dancing in the rain. Sounds do not come any better with this degree of portability. Sets a high benchmark, aurally.So overall, despite wanting more from the battery, despite it getting warm the longer you play it, the sound quality in such a portable wireless format, FOR ME at least, overrides all the above shortcomings. THAT\'S why I give it an unreserved 5 stars. You don\'t have to agree. Life will still go on fine. Tastes are subjective. The sound and design quality, they sing for themselves beautifully!UPDATE: 2016/06/08- UPDATING UNIT FIRMWARE! You can go the the Beoplay website and under \"Support\" you can download a PC or Mac firmware updater program that will allow you to update the unit\'s firmware to better the compatibility with the Beoplay App. Not sure if it does anything to tweak the sound DSP, or not. I haven\'t noted any difference to the sounds. Guessing no need to fix what ain\'t broken. Though they should tweak the BASS at higher volume levels, as it has a tendency to lose the clarity of HEAVY BASS at HIGH VOLUME levels. Once you\'ve installed the updater program and fired it up, it will walk you through the process. Have the USB-C cable handy as it will be required to hook up the unit to the PC/Mac. The updating is FAST and efficient. (as of this writing, the latest FIRMWARE Ver is 5.1.1).UPDATE: 2016/08/08- STEREO PAIRING!!!Just took delivery of my second unit! :DThe feeling of being able to create an awesome sound stage, anywhere I go, can\'t be beaten. The sheer satisfaction of having stereo-will-travel is enthralling!Know it: the Beoplay App syncs well with both units in Stereo pair. The way to do it (as per website- tried & tested, yes it works well this way).TURN ON Unit# 1 (Master). (Do NOT turn on Unit# 2 (Slave) yet.)Linkup Master Unit# 1 with phone/tablet via Bluetooth as per usual way. Fire up the Beoplay Go App. Click on Master Unit# 1 icon to link App with Master Unit# 1. Now, TURN ON Slave Unit# 2.In-App, CLICK on STEREO PAIRING icon. You should see Slave Unit# 2 appear in list as discovered device nearby. CLICK ON IT.App will indicate that you have now paired the two devices and ask you to choose between: \"AMBIENT\" mode and \"STEREO\" mode. The former plays the same music through both speakers, the latter plays dual channel stereo-phonics. Voila! Enjoy!What\'s HOT: Stereo sound works as advertised! In my experience, having stereo output actually allows you to play the music at lower volumes which helps to save the pithy battery!What\'s NOT: Know that when paired in Stereo mode, strangely, you LOSE the EQUALISER function! Which kinda sucks. Having said that, it still sounds superb, just no joy for itchy fingers!! I\'ve yet to discover if it will play at the last EQ settings for that unit, or if it defaults back to \"zero\" EQ setting.Also know that every time you bring up the Beoplay App to use again, the stereo sound cuts out for a fraction of a second while the app reconnects with the Master unit. Can spoil the fun a little, but not complaining cos the sound still rules.UPDATE: 2016/08/22- ANDROID PAIRING QUIRK! There seems to be a quirk with Android phone pairing as a result of low energy Bluetooth usage. According to B&O technical advice: \"Android has a bug/limitation which means that scanning for Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) devices only works if the app has the location permission.\" So that explains the location/GPS nag screen on Android devices.It does get to be mildly annoying. I\'ve found that it\'s not necessary to have location turned on for Android phone/tablet under most circumstances to be able to hook up app with the unit. But the nag screen needs to be dismissed. So I\'m not sure why it\'s a nag screen to begin with. Wish B&O would clarify this.UPDATE: 2016/09/25- iPAD BEOPLAY APP released!Just found the app that was previously only available for the iPhone, now made available for the iPad on the Apple App store. I was redirected from the Beoplay website- SWEET! That means audio & stereo pairing control is now possible using the iPad in all it\'s fullness.It looks like the app has been ported direct from the iPhone app and so the scaling/resolution hasn\'t been \"naturalised\" for the tablet screen. But heck, it works just as well and opens up new possibilities, so no complaints! Enjoy!
• I\'ve tested a great many bluetooth speakers (non-portable, portable and ultra-portable) and headphones over the years. Although I\'m clearly not an audiophile, I do enjoy the best sound - in the car, at home, in the office - and I have a lot of side-by-side listening to provide solid A/B feedback. I tend to test them out, return the ones that aren\'t good, keep those that are. And so I have.In the bigger bluetooth speaker area I like the Polk Woodbourne and Aiwa Exos-9 best. In the portable area I like the B&O Beolit 15 and absolutely LOVE the Klipsch KMC-3. Unfortunately, all of those except the Aiwa are discontinued. The ultra-portable category has been dominated in sound quality by the Bose Soundlink Mini / Mini II for more than 4 years - and that\'s for having tried a number of high-end competitors, including the Bowers & Wilkins T7 and KEF Gravity One, both of which were, frankly, abysmal in comparison to the Bose.Now, to the point: The B&O Beoplay A1. The biggest engineering challenge in a speaker this size, in my evaluation, is the ability to articulate bass. Many reviewers gravitate towards \"it gets very loud\" or \"it doesn\'t get loud enough\". I notice that - but frankly, don\'t care. I\'m not buying a tiny speaker like the Bose or B&O to fill a gym or crank it out for a block party. It\'s a personal speaker - I use it on my desk, put it on the dresser in a hotel room while on business travel. Listen to music or movies at moderate volume. What I care about is, almost to the exclusion of everything else, the quality of sound, especially bass reproduction. Secondary considerations are construction quality and aesthetics, battery life, volumeB&O did a Good to Very Good job with this. It\'s small, it\'s pretty. You probably want to keep it in a pouch before you throw it in your backpack or suitcase, but it\'s definitely in the same volume/mass category as the Bose. See in the attached pics, different form factors but similar total size and weight. Both are naturally very well designed and executed, with attractive metal bodies / grille. Sound quality?Bose has the edge. Although their ostensible low-end frequency response is comparable, the Bose delivers much flatter, articulate bass right down to about 60Hz. You can easily defeat it - you\'ll hear sub-bass tones drop off, and at higher volumes the little bitty woofer and passive radiator just can\'t keep up with the mids and treble. I don\'t notice the bass fade at higher volumes on the B&O A1. But, at moderate listening levels, the Bose simply creates a more compelling delivery, surprising \"oomph\", warmth, \"voice\" at low tones. Additionally, perhaps due to the metal grille and somewhat unusual hockey-puck form factor, the B&O also does not reach the crisp highs as does the Bose - sparkling, precise treble well into the 15+KHz range. The B&O comes off a bit muffled, rounded off, maybe above the 8-10KHz range. I have docked the Bose half a notch for a very narrow sound stage, and to a degree, room placement; to get the most absolutely brilliant listening experience from the tiny thing, it is best situated 6 to 12 inches from a vertical corner, and you have to be almost directly in front of the unit. The treble is a bit \"laser-like\" in that respect - GOOD anywhere you stand, but mind-blowing when you\'re situated right within the soundstage. The B&O has a bit of oddness around treble as well. It\'s intended to be \"360 degree\" sound, and it is, but there are angles around the hockey puck that have a bit clearer treble than others.While the B&O clearly delivers good sound, and easily earns a long-in-coming, and hard-earned #3 slot in my ultra-portable stable, and is clearly the better of offerings from other esteemed names in the business (Bowers & Wilkins and KEF units named above), side by side, the Bose wins on sheer sound quality, and the A2 gives more kick, but at a larger size. I still would recommend buying this speaker if you want top-tier sound, in an extremely cool, swanky Scandinavian package. You would be doing very well in this category (littered with crummy product failures to deliver decent sound from a tiny package) with the Bose Soundlink Mini II, Soundlink Revolve+, B&O Beoplay A1 or B&O Beoplay A2. These are the only Very-good-to-great-sounding speakers I\'ve tried to date. Among those, the Soundlink Mini still leads, but by a much narrower margin than before!

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