amazon B&O BeoPlay A1 reviews
GENERAL ASSESSMENT
The B&O BeoPlay A1 is a rare portable speaker on the market today that addresses the problem of ensuring sound quality in a compact body with high mobility.
ADVANTAGE
High-end design, sophistication, excellent finish
Strip bass and impressive capacity compared to size
Built-in USB DAC feature
DISADVANTAGES
Missing NFC connection
Not water resistant as many other competitors
Design
With the Deep Red version we have here, the surface of the aluminum shell is smoothed and painted using advanced anodized coating technology to create a slightly more durable pink color. This is also the source of the cool, metallic feel that you will feel every time you touch.
The entire upper surface area is dedicated to the exhaust openings so that the sound from the bottom drivers can diffuse more easily in the design of a typical 360 degree portable speaker. Users also will not have to worry about the dust that will come inside, B & O has carefully added a thin film underneath to completely prevent this problem.
Meanwhile, the bottom half of the BeoPlay A1 is cast from ABS plastic and is coated with a rather special polymer layer – soft, smooth and gives both color and sensation quite similar to suede. All the lights, buttons and microphone on the side are hidden deep below this material.
It looks like everything seems to be perfect, except for the small problem that the patches between the two halves are not really sharp and sometimes you can see with the naked eye.
In terms of connectivity, BeoPlay A1 can not afford to miss out on wireless connections – specifically, Bluetooth, in order to quickly integrate well with today’s mobile devices.
Similar to all other BeoPlay products, A1 supports and fully complies with the high-quality AptX codecs, which guarantees sound quality when transmitting through wireless protocols such as Bluetooth.
Unfortunately, this speaker is missing NFC. This is a very difficult thing for B & O to have in 2017, but it is still “stubborn” to say no to one of the features that have appeared popular and even, it is almost a benchmark. Indispensable on most other mobile devices today.
If you are a tech-savvy user, or you have never used the A1 before, creating a Bluetooth connection between your phone and your phone will sometimes be a relative waste of time and effort. It would have been NFC just to be able to complete in less than 3 seconds.
In contrast, the BeoPlay A1 is one of the first speakers on the market today to support the new USB-C standard, which is set to become the standard for mobile devices in 2017.
Not only that, users can also use this USB cable to connect the speakers to Windows or Mac OS computers and instantly enjoy high quality music directly decoded through BeoPlay A1’s DAC.
where can you get a B&O BeoPlay A1 online
B&O PLAY by Bang & Olufsen Beoplay A1 Portable Bluetooth Speaker with Microphone (Natural): Buy it now
B&O PLAY by Bang & Olufsen Beoplay A1 Portable Bluetooth Speaker with Microphone (Moss Green): Buy it now
B&O PLAY by Bang & Olufsen Beoplay A1 Portable Bluetooth Speaker with Microphone (Black): Buy it now
B&O PLAY by Bang & Olufsen Beoplay A1 Portable Bluetooth Speaker with Microphone (Sand Stone): Buy it now
B&O Play by Bang & Olufsen Beoplay A1 Portable Bluetooth Speaker with Microphone (Deep Red): Buy it now
Audio rating
Combined with a phone partner, BeoPlay A1 made us really a little surprised and impressed right from the first seconds. Despite being small, this portable speaker has the ability to create sound and energetic sound with striking bass and impressive strings.
To be fair, there are not many other rivals who are able to produce very adult bass and go beyond the size limit of BeoPlay A1. The loudspeaker can perfectly handle the reproduction of the basslines in the EDMs in a clear, robust and powerful way to make the listener irritated.
The midrange of the A1 is quite natural in detail, expressing the singer’s vocal range in the song with a smooth, natural feel that is relatively good, almost without feeling too thin or uncomfortable. The high mid section is pushed up like many speakers of the same range.
Meanwhile, the design uses two separate driver drivers instead of a full range driver on the BeoPlay A1, which makes this speaker shine in its ability to reproduce high frequencies.
Extremely detailed, good internal force and good detail reproduction, but still retain the smoothness as necessary, to feel easy listening and comfortable even when enjoying music continuously for a long time.