the portable bluetooth speaker with high autonomy smart health innovation

Mark : Bang And Olufsen

Category : smart health connected speaker

Sign in : Bluetooth

Price : 250 euros

Availability : Available

Tested with: Lumia 650, Samsung Galaxy S6, Surface 3

(embed) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bMdX7LdTjZU (/ embed) 

Many brands have been trying to get their best speakers out for over five years now. Among them we can count: Bose, AKG, Marshall, behemoths of sound. Some are less known by the general public, but also appear as renowned brands, like Bang & Olufsen. Specialized in health home automation, audio equipment for vehicles, as well as electronics, the Danes present here a high-end model: the Beoplay A1 Bluetooth speaker.

Unboxing of Beoplay A1

Before unpacking the product, we will tell you about the box. It is gray in color, rather sober, square in rigid cardboard. On the latter is written the name of the range at the top left, the product category at the top right, its name at the bottom left as well as the Bluetooth icon at the bottom right.

On the upper edge and the two lateral sides, the product is illustrated in landscape format on a gray background. On the bottom edge, information is written in a foreign language, including Chinese and English.

Once the first box is removed, a foam support protects the Beoplay A1 thanks to a special recess.

Practical: two tabs on the ends allow the foam support to be removed without difficulty. We then discover the charging cable for the battery as well as a booklet containing safety instructions to avoid damaging your device. It also explains the role of different devices and how to use them.

The box contains only the enclosure and its two accessories. Useful for long trips, the user will not have to clutter between different adapters.

Beoplay A1 design and ergonomics

With its flat shape, reminiscent of a larger size ice hockey puck, Beoplay A1 is easy to transport. Thanks to its dimensions of 5 x 13 cm, you can take it either in its box (small, not ideal for long trips by car), or with its strap (useful when changing rooms in your own health home). It is rather light with its 600 grams, which allows it to gain in ergonomics.

There are four colors for this model: green, black, white and burgundy.

Using the Beoplay A1

The Beoplay A1 works with disconcerting ease. It can be used in several ways: either you connect it by wire with the USB C cable, which also makes it possible to recharge the battery of the device, or you activate the Bluetooth to be able to use it without cables of connection. Regarding recharging, it takes between 2:30 and 3 hours before you can use the Bluetooth speaker. We were able to recharge it while using it (which slows down the charging of the device) but the estimates put forward by the company seem to be confirmed.

Regarding the wired use of the device, it is important to note that it is not a simple cable, but a Type C to Type A output adapter that allows you to connect it, for example , to a computer. USB Type A is used on most devices, it is necessary to have one to connect the Beoplay Bluetooth speaker to an external source.

It contains several press buttons, two for the volume intensity, one for switching on, another for the loudspeaker (for calls) and one for the Bluetooth device. Only the new products are compatible, because the Bluetooth version used is 4.2. We were able to Review with a Surface 3 from last year, and pairing was impossible.

By trying out several musical styles like rock and blues, metal and punk, we could see that the equalizer accentuates the bass and makes the whole harmonious even if the studio versions have a better rendering than the concert versions.

You can see a difference in sound quality between the two. This time, we hear more treble than bass, because the volume of a song in its live version is lower. It’s worth noting that the speaker contains two speakers: a tweeter for high-pitched tones, which can reproduce frequencies above 2000 hertz, and a boomer, for transcribing low frequencies.

The two speakers each have a power of 30 Watts and can exceed 140 Watts. Sound can play 360 degrees. The acoustics are of honorable quality. However Beoplay A1, created by Bang & Olufsen, does not transmit stereo sound, even with two smart health connected devices. For the Bluetooth part, just press the button on your speaker and go to the settings part of your phone to find it and then pair it with your phone or computer.

The Danes promise 24 hours autonomy for their product. For the moment, we have been able to try the Bang & Olufsen A1 for a few hours the first day and more than an hour and a half the next day. However, this is not very representative given that we do not know the state of battery at the exit of the product on its base.

Application of Beoplay A1

A Beoplay application is available to configure your audio device on Android. It allows in particular to connect two speakers simultaneously, even the other models of the brand. This allows you to have two smart health connected, useful for watching a movie on your TV for example.

Once installed, the application detects the brand's products.

The application provides explanations regarding its different functionalities. It is then possible to give a name to its device and indicate its color through this app.

After the fitting, you will have access to a player for songs and you can then select which atmosphere you are looking for.

A short guide explains how it works of the application after fitting.

The IoS application is called differently: BeoSetup. However, it is not compatible with the A1 or certain other speakers of the Danish group. It must be configured with the device. Speakers smart health connected to the network are visible on the application. It has a tab for accessing the website and downloading the user manual in digital format. This tab also gives access to the product FAQ available online.

A section leads to a getting started guide. You can find the devices compatible with the application there. Note that the Beoplay app is only available on Google Play and the Apple Store, but is not compatible with Windows Phone. During the Review, we were interested in the application but we could not use it to pair the product for example.

Beoplay A1 against the competition

Among the serious competitors, we can mention the JBL Pulse 2 which works with a dedicated application, called JBL Connect. All for a price of around 200 euros. You can also find Marshall's Kilburn for 270 euros. Note that all three appear in the same price range, to within 50 euros.

By releasing their second model, JBL improves the concept of their enclosure. The first model contained 64 diodes, which made it possible to create animations via its application. Its application is also used to manage the brightness of the product. Like Beoplay, it can be combined with a second speaker. It has more buttons and adds possibilities: pause a song directly by pressing the speaker.

About the Killburn from Marshall, it is certainly more elegant, but is more bulky. Its dimensions are greater (24x14x14 cm) and the sound less powerful, delivering only 25 watts. It still has three speakers, including two tweeters and a boomer. Level autonomy, the product of the British firm offers a lifespan of 20 hours, almost equivalent to that of the A1 Beoplay.

Despite his three kilos, it remains transportable with its strap which surrounds the enclosure and is much more practical than that of the A1. In terms of peripherals, it still has more inputs available than its Danish competitor.

The Killburn includes a 3.5 millimeter cable followed by a jack for connecting a telephone to an input. There is also a decompression system for the bass

Conclusion

Good points

Negative points

Overview

Design and finishes: The speaker has a rather pleasant aesthetic on top of that it is really portable.Application : An application with fairly reduced utility, it is not reliable depending on the range of smartphone used.Features: The product offers a lot for its price. Some are very useful such as plugging in a jack or the speaker for call handling.Use / handling: During our use, we noticed some pairing problems but very few. Otherwise, the product reacts to demand.Value for money: This high quality speaker will deserve its price if it offered stereo. However, it is far from scandalous.

2.96

 2.96 out of 5 

In the average

(Review) Bang & Olufsen Beoplay A1: 360-degree sound wherever you want it 

Reviewed by Matthieu Zouzac  

we 2017-01-23

   Design and finishes: The speaker has a rather pleasant aesthetic on top of that it is really portable.Application : An application with fairly reduced utility, it is not reliable depending on the range of smartphone used.Features: The product offers a lot for its price. Some are very useful such as plugging in a jack or the speaker for call handling.Use / handling: During our use, we noticed some pairing problems but very few. Otherwise, the product reacts to demand.Value for money: This high quality speaker will deserve its price if it offered stereo. However, it is far from scandalous.

Rating: 2.96 

AB SMART HEALTH REVIEW