I've just sifted through 10+ B&O A1 reviews and this was easily the most comprehensive and detailed. I made my decision after watching this video, and I appreciate the review coming from a fellow sound nut! :)
Very solid review. Best out of the 5 or so I viewed. I've listened to the Gen 1 version and the sound quality totally blew me away even though I'm no audiophile/audionut. The clarity and crispness of the speaker 2y ago was already superb. Looking forward to getting my Gen 2.
Thanks for the good review. What was not mentioned about the microphones was that they have a very good filter function. For example, if music is playing during the conversation, the music is filtered out and you only hear the person speaking. This is an extremely cool feature for TEAMS or ZOOM conferences.
Thanks really great vid. Bit confused why you didn't do mic test with it in front of you (behind to right??) as most people would have it front and centre using it for teams etc
Thanks for this! You mentioned that you think there is a better sounding and less expensive speaker. I don’t see any other portable speaker videos on your channel. What do you think that/those speaker are?
Unlike my Bose speaker you can't automatically connect to it and it doesn't speak to you when losing charge etc.. Great sound though and love the quality. !
I haveven 1 and have loved it for more than 3 years and love it. Thinking about gen 2 and getting a cool stereo sound using them both How can I get radio with this speaker?
I have one and love it,I have the BeoPlay P2.the sound is outstanding,it has equalizer and Beosonic sound in it which is something Boss doesn't have.this is the only Bluetooth speaker compete with Boss.
A very good detailed review. Esp. you are the only reviewer emphazising the microphone quality. Actually this is the most important feature for me and the reason I actually bought two of theese. If you compare the A1 2.gen with conference speakers like the Sennheiser SP-30 or Jabra 510, the sound quality is at least simular. And the price is quite simular, too. If you use it as conference speaker on your PC, as a single person or maybe with another person. The dedicated conference speakers might be a bit better if you are in a smal conference room with maybe 5 persons. Of course, for bigger conference rooms up to 20 people you might need more special conference speakers like the logitech group system. However, the main feature of conference speakers is to surpress feedback - the microphone should not take sound the speaker just send out and send it back, causing echos. To supress this, digital signal processing (DSP) is used. Also the distance the microphone reaches should be limited to what you need, to reducecathing sound reflections of the walls and the ceiling. This feedback reduction (often refered to as echo chancellation) reduces sound quality. So even a high priced conference speaker can have not so good sound quality as the A1. For example, the Logitech group is made for about 8 people and can be upgraded to 20 people with extra microphones. It has a lot of work to do to chancel out sound reflections, to allow clear communications. This also means to reduce low frequencys. On a single workplace (if you are working at home or have a single room in your office (I have both), the A1 is a better device for communication via Skype or Zoom as a Sennheiser SP-30 or Jabra 510. While the quality the other side hears is the same (or slightly better if he has a good system also), imho the others sound better to me. So in my opinion the B&O A1 2.gen is the best comunication device (exept for headsets of course) for online meatings if you have a single office - esp working from home. Also USB isn't just power supply. If you connect it to a PC, it's of course also an audio card. You can use bluetooth in parallel, audio switches the moment a former silent "input" gives sound. So I hear radio while working using a tablet connected to the A1 by bluetooth, but the moment a call comes in on my office PC the music stops. Quite comfortable. Using the A1 2.gen as a nearly perfect handsfree communication device instead of bluetooth speaker makes the price more competing. Actually even a used Sennheiser SP-30 cost about 75€ on ebay. My A1 (warehouse deal on Amazon, so new but someone has tested it before) was 150€. Actually you barely get a used A1. The prices new whitout special deals are quite simular, but even if I compare a used SP-30 and a (nearly) new A1, the A1 is just 75€ more and a much better speaker for music (the SP-30 isn't bad either, but is a lot smaller). Of course, with one in the main office and one at home office, I could simply take my main office A1 home if 1 want real stereo music at a BBQ on the weekend ;-)
Not a fan of these, I bought 2 along with a A5. Because another “reviewer” said they would connect via multiroom. Nope Anyhow I thought then I can use them for the office to stereo pair. Which they do, but you can only walk like 15 feet away (the Marshall emberton I use, I can walk like 30 ft and behind walls) So in collusion “eh” if you want more bass, place them in a corner. But overall not a fan.
This is a great little speaker! 2 of them, paired in stereo are amazing. One note: When you showed the photo of the Beolit 20 and stated that it was a front firing speaker, thats incorrect. The Beolit 20 has a 360 speaker array, and the only direction it doesn’t favor is straight up! Bang & Olufsen rocks!!!
Holy sh*t bro, quickest 20 min of my life. Everything you said was helpful, and i consider myself an audiofile! Fast forward a year and this can be had at mere mortal prices, well under $200. Liked and subbed, looking forward to seeing more reviews!
excellent product sound-wise, a pain in the ass to pair them if you want to have a stereo option, once you pair them, they sound great, but I wish B&O would have made it easier to do so,
I've got one coming Tuesday & I'm stoked! :D Amazon has some colors less expensive (I got pink) for $200 right now. I haven't seen anyone cover accidental drops yet. Can it withstand drops & falls without damaging the speaker or affecting the sound? Also, excellent review!!
I have 1st. gen, bc I wanted AUX input for iPod and other. 2nd. gen does not have it. The battery on 1st. gen is not as bad as described here. From my experience it is about 10 hrs. , which is not bad. I got 5 hrs. on B&O P9, which is the best portable speaker soundwise for its size and u can actually put it in the pocket. I use A1 mostly hanged on the shelf in the kitchen and the sound is great. It is a good thing that u can use 1. st and 2. nd gen together.
I received this yesterday and connected it via Bluetooth to my windows PC as well iphone. When I am playing music from iPhone, the audio pauses whenever I receive a mail on my PC or other such events. Then I have to hit play again. Has anyone experienced this problem? Anyway to fix this?
That’s the multi point Bluetooth protocol which can be annoying as it doesn’t always work well. I would disconnect it from your by turning off PC Bluetooth when you don’t need it
Change the standard audio device on PC. So any sound goes to another audio device (for example the build-in speaker of the notebook). Still, you can select the A1 as audio device on Skype, Zoom, VLC media player etc. It's not a bug, it's a feature. I use it a lot. My buissness PC is connected via USB and the A1 is used as sound device for Skype and the telephony app. It's connected via bluetooth to a tablet to hear music while work. Actually I definitly want the music to stop if I recieve a call...
@@winterheat No. I haven’t purchased it yet. Watching reviews to understand the sound quality. By the way, Verizon is still selling it for $150. I’m going to order it and adjust the sound quality on the app and see if it sounds good.
@@winterheat So I bought it from Verizon and just connected it. Out the box, the sound was muddy. I changed the sound settings to somewhere between Energetic and Bright. I pushed my sound adjustment more towards Bright, however. Once I adjusted the sound, this is nice. Maybe you got a dud. Try again, but pay less ($150) from Verizon and see if you like it. It sounds really good.
@@songokuo5131 You don't need to think - I have this and I'm looking at the spec sheet and it says 2 x Class D 30W. What did you expect Son Goku, Over 9000??
@@winnoe First, when I heard about the B&O Beo-sound a1, I thought it would be just another average speaker but just overpriced for the branding. For the same size, there are a butt ton of speakers out there which are speaker, BUT, they at max, have a power output of 5W, I visited B&O's website to expect the same output, but was astonished to find out that it has an output of 60W! That was a straight-up "sold" for me. Not only that, its also available in my favourite colour, green. Bought the green one the next day, currently, am waiting for it to arrive. Hopefully, lives up to my expectations. How is your experience with it?
@@FourgonLeGrand I bought the Beosound A1 2nd gen Sport version. I loved it so much that when Amazon had the A1 gen2 black anthracite at a massive discount on boxing day I bought a 2nd one and I have them beside my laptop in stereo mode. Been using them in stereo for a while now (3 weeks), love the sound signature so much I am presently shopping for a Beolit 20 as well.
Great review! I wish the 2nd Gen didn’t sacrifice sound quality while improving in other needed areas. I’m the end, sound is most important to me. If 2nd Gen was at least “close” to the original… $250 is a no brainer for me. I doubt there will be a third Gen, but you never know! Thanks again!
I had the A1 gen1 and 2 x A1 gen2. The Gen1 is taller and sounds much bassier at 80% volume compared to the Gen2. Gen1 sounds great on its own, until I compared it with my gen2 side by side. I love the Gen1's bassier sounds at low & high volumes, but I can't use it to watch TV shows on my phone. The lip sync is very obvious with the Gen1. If you just want to listen ONLY to music and do in the garden, or beach in a small group, then just get the A1 Gen1, it's on offer now. But you will have to tag along with a portable charger or powerbank to recharge the device if you are outside - my A1 Gen1 at 80% volume, after using it almost 1-2hrs daily for 1.5 years (I only charge it full when blinking low batt or when I know I am going for a long drive) the battery life is shot. In open environment you need to crank it up to 80% if there is a street nearby. Before I sold it, it only lasted 90-100mins before blinking out. But if you want to use the singular device for watching TVs, taking calls, using it as a conference call device (linked to PC) AND listen to music the Gen2 for most of the day without having to recharge, then go with Gen2. The clarity on the Gen2 is better than the Gen1, and I managed to offset the bass performance on the weaker bass Gen2 by.... buying a 2nd Gen2 whch I use in stereo. I have 2 x devialet phantoms gold at home, but honestly I prefer to use the Gen2 x 2 most of the time.... and I can carry a single A1 in my body pack or on my electronic scooter - I can't do that with the devialet!
This is the best technical review I have heard on this product, but Floss has the most entertaining review.
I've just sifted through 10+ B&O A1 reviews and this was easily the most comprehensive and detailed. I made my decision after watching this video, and I appreciate the review coming from a fellow sound nut! :)
Very solid review. Best out of the 5 or so I viewed.
I've listened to the Gen 1 version and the sound quality totally blew me away even though I'm no audiophile/audionut. The clarity and crispness of the speaker 2y ago was already superb. Looking forward to getting my Gen 2.
One of the best and most informative reviews I have ever watched. Appreciate it very much! Subbed
My job sent me one as a gift for my twenty year anniversary.
Thanks for the good review. What was not mentioned about the microphones was that they have a very good filter function. For example, if music is playing during the conversation, the music is filtered out and you only hear the person speaking. This is an extremely cool feature for TEAMS or ZOOM conferences.
Thanks really great vid. Bit confused why you didn't do mic test with it in front of you (behind to right??) as most people would have it front and centre using it for teams etc
Yes! I was so excited to finally see a mic test on this speaker, but very disappointed that he placed it behind him and far away:(
Thanks for this! You mentioned that you think there is a better sounding and less expensive speaker. I don’t see any other portable speaker videos on your channel. What do you think that/those speaker are?
Bose flex
Unlike my Bose speaker you can't automatically connect to it and it doesn't speak to you when losing charge etc..
Great sound though and love the quality. !
I haveven 1 and have loved it for more than 3 years and love it. Thinking about gen 2 and getting a cool stereo sound using them both
How can I get radio with this speaker?
Best review I’ve seen on a Bluetooth speaker! Thank you, this video was very helpful.
Hopefully with gen 3 they put 5000 man battery in it. Great video.
I have one and love it,I have the BeoPlay P2.the sound is outstanding,it has equalizer and Beosonic sound in it which is something Boss doesn't have.this is the only Bluetooth speaker compete with Boss.
Bose
You said we can get better sounding speakers for less money. Any tips? Thanks.
I noticed that too, and then he don't mention any xD..
2 phones can connect to it at once meaning it can share music, what does that actually mean mean?
Very helpful, thanks :) i have ordered one for me after a lot of research, i hope it’s worth it!
Verizon has the B&O A1 for sale, which makes them super good in the bracket.
Had my eyes on it for quite a while and got one from the same deal yesterday, HAPPY!
A very good detailed review.
Esp. you are the only reviewer emphazising the microphone quality. Actually this is the most important feature for me and the reason I actually bought two of theese.
If you compare the A1 2.gen with conference speakers like the Sennheiser SP-30 or Jabra 510, the sound quality is at least simular. And the price is quite simular, too. If you use it as conference speaker on your PC, as a single person or maybe with another person. The dedicated conference speakers might be a bit better if you are in a smal conference room with maybe 5 persons. Of course, for bigger conference rooms up to 20 people you might need more special conference speakers like the logitech group system.
However, the main feature of conference speakers is to surpress feedback - the microphone should not take sound the speaker just send out and send it back, causing echos. To supress this, digital signal processing (DSP) is used. Also the distance the microphone reaches should be limited to what you need, to reducecathing sound reflections of the walls and the ceiling.
This feedback reduction (often refered to as echo chancellation) reduces sound quality. So even a high priced conference speaker can have not so good sound quality as the A1. For example, the Logitech group is made for about 8 people and can be upgraded to 20 people with extra microphones. It has a lot of work to do to chancel out sound reflections, to allow clear communications. This also means to reduce low frequencys.
On a single workplace (if you are working at home or have a single room in your office (I have both), the A1 is a better device for communication via Skype or Zoom as a Sennheiser SP-30 or Jabra 510. While the quality the other side hears is the same (or slightly better if he has a good system also), imho the others sound better to me.
So in my opinion the B&O A1 2.gen is the best comunication device (exept for headsets of course) for online meatings if you have a single office - esp working from home.
Also USB isn't just power supply. If you connect it to a PC, it's of course also an audio card. You can use bluetooth in parallel, audio switches the moment a former silent "input" gives sound. So I hear radio while working using a tablet connected to the A1 by bluetooth, but the moment a call comes in on my office PC the music stops. Quite comfortable.
Using the A1 2.gen as a nearly perfect handsfree communication device instead of bluetooth speaker makes the price more competing. Actually even a used Sennheiser SP-30 cost about 75€ on ebay. My A1 (warehouse deal on Amazon, so new but someone has tested it before) was 150€. Actually you barely get a used A1. The prices new whitout special deals are quite simular, but even if I compare a used SP-30 and a (nearly) new A1, the A1 is just 75€ more and a much better speaker for music (the SP-30 isn't bad either, but is a lot smaller).
Of course, with one in the main office and one at home office, I could simply take my main office A1 home if 1 want real stereo music at a BBQ on the weekend ;-)
Not a fan of these, I bought 2 along with a A5. Because another “reviewer” said they would connect via multiroom. Nope
Anyhow I thought then I can use them for the office to stereo pair. Which they do, but you can only walk like 15 feet away (the Marshall emberton I use, I can walk like 30 ft and behind walls)
So in collusion “eh” if you want more bass, place them in a corner. But overall not a fan.
This is a great little speaker! 2 of them, paired in stereo are amazing. One note: When you showed the photo of the Beolit 20 and stated that it was a front firing speaker, thats incorrect. The Beolit 20 has a 360 speaker array, and the only direction it doesn’t favor is straight up! Bang & Olufsen rocks!!!
Thanks! Do you think Marshall Middleton is better than this B&O A1 2nd gen? Best!,
Thanks for your honest review. Now I know what i have to do!
Ordered a 2nd gen one from Verizon at a hundred dollars off on promo.. do you think it’s worth it at $149?
Absolutely!
@@GadgetryTech awesome, looking forward to it! Also, great video and you gained a new subscriber. 🤙
Holy sh*t bro, quickest 20 min of my life. Everything you said was helpful, and i consider myself an audiofile!
Fast forward a year and this can be had at mere mortal prices, well under $200.
Liked and subbed, looking forward to seeing more reviews!
excellent product sound-wise, a pain in the ass to pair them if you want to have a stereo option,
once you pair them, they sound great, but I wish B&O would have made it easier to do so,
why will it not play when i turn on bluetooth
I've got one coming Tuesday & I'm stoked! :D Amazon has some colors less expensive (I got pink) for $200 right now. I haven't seen anyone cover accidental drops yet. Can it withstand drops & falls without damaging the speaker or affecting the sound? Also, excellent review!!
I have 1st. gen, bc I wanted AUX input for iPod and other. 2nd. gen does not have it. The battery on 1st. gen is not as bad as described here. From my experience it is about 10 hrs. , which is not bad. I got 5 hrs. on B&O P9, which is the best portable speaker soundwise for its size and u can actually put it in the pocket. I use A1 mostly hanged on the shelf in the kitchen and the sound is great. It is a good thing that u can use 1. st and 2. nd gen together.
Great review, far and away the best one I've seen. What is the more premium product?
Got it for $70 at verizon at a huge discount
Explore or a1, what is it your recommendation?
Very impressed with the review. The guy really knows his stuff.
Top of top
You didn't play anything on it
60 wats of power in total?
great review, thank you ! it can also be connected to a computer via USB-C and detected as a microphone, right?
Yessir
Great review,
It’s B n O
It’s quality stuff
Superb review sir.
I received this yesterday and connected it via Bluetooth to my windows PC as well iphone. When I am playing music from iPhone, the audio pauses whenever I receive a mail on my PC or other such events. Then I have to hit play again. Has anyone experienced this problem? Anyway to fix this?
That’s the multi point Bluetooth protocol which can be annoying as it doesn’t always work well. I would disconnect it from your by turning off PC Bluetooth when you don’t need it
Change the standard audio device on PC. So any sound goes to another audio device (for example the build-in speaker of the notebook). Still, you can select the A1 as audio device on Skype, Zoom, VLC media player etc.
It's not a bug, it's a feature. I use it a lot. My buissness PC is connected via USB and the A1 is used as sound device for Skype and the telephony app. It's connected via bluetooth to a tablet to hear music while work. Actually I definitly want the music to stop if I recieve a call...
$150 right now from Verizon.
Did you cope it?
@@FourgonLeGrand I bought two
@@jamesdukes4401 Nice!
250 thought it was 150
does the app allow you to take the bass off?
No
İt is just expensive.
I just bought it... the sound is so fake... it is not even as good as my 1st gen UE Boom. I am returning it. What a waste of time
Wait, I’m buying it o replace my 1st gen UE Boom. Did you play around with the sound profile in the app before you returned it?
@@jnelly3426 i tried and tried and the sound seemed “made up”. The setting vocal was better but still not as good as my UE Boom
@@jnelly3426 so did you already use it and find it not bad? I bought from Amazon and wonder if I got a fake one too
@@winterheat No. I haven’t purchased it yet. Watching reviews to understand the sound quality. By the way, Verizon is still selling it for $150. I’m going to order it and adjust the sound quality on the app and see if it sounds good.
@@winterheat So I bought it from Verizon and just connected it. Out the box, the sound was muddy. I changed the sound settings to somewhere between Energetic and Bright. I pushed my sound adjustment more towards Bright, however. Once I adjusted the sound, this is nice. Maybe you got a dud. Try again, but pay less ($150) from Verizon and see if you like it. It sounds really good.
Power output please
2x30w Class D.
60 watts a small speaker I don't think so
@@songokuo5131 You don't need to think - I have this and I'm looking at the spec sheet and it says 2 x Class D 30W. What did you expect Son Goku, Over 9000??
@@winnoe First, when I heard about the B&O Beo-sound a1, I thought it would be just another average speaker but just overpriced for the branding. For the same size, there are a butt ton of speakers out there which are speaker, BUT, they at max, have a power output of 5W, I visited B&O's website to expect the same output, but was astonished to find out that it has an output of 60W! That was a straight-up "sold" for me. Not only that, its also available in my favourite colour, green. Bought the green one the next day, currently, am waiting for it to arrive. Hopefully, lives up to my expectations. How is your experience with it?
@@FourgonLeGrand I bought the Beosound A1 2nd gen Sport version. I loved it so much that when Amazon had the A1 gen2 black anthracite at a massive discount on boxing day I bought a 2nd one and I have them beside my laptop in stereo mode. Been using them in stereo for a while now (3 weeks), love the sound signature so much I am presently shopping for a Beolit 20 as well.
Great review! I wish the 2nd Gen didn’t sacrifice sound quality while improving in other needed areas. I’m the end, sound is most important to me. If 2nd Gen was at least “close” to the original… $250 is a no brainer for me. I doubt there will be a third Gen, but you never know! Thanks again!
You didn't mention, that gen 1 sounds better.
I had the A1 gen1 and 2 x A1 gen2. The Gen1 is taller and sounds much bassier at 80% volume compared to the Gen2. Gen1 sounds great on its own, until I compared it with my gen2 side by side. I love the Gen1's bassier sounds at low & high volumes, but I can't use it to watch TV shows on my phone. The lip sync is very obvious with the Gen1.
If you just want to listen ONLY to music and do in the garden, or beach in a small group, then just get the A1 Gen1, it's on offer now. But you will have to tag along with a portable charger or powerbank to recharge the device if you are outside - my A1 Gen1 at 80% volume, after using it almost 1-2hrs daily for 1.5 years (I only charge it full when blinking low batt or when I know I am going for a long drive) the battery life is shot. In open environment you need to crank it up to 80% if there is a street nearby. Before I sold it, it only lasted 90-100mins before blinking out.
But if you want to use the singular device for watching TVs, taking calls, using it as a conference call device (linked to PC) AND listen to music the Gen2 for most of the day without having to recharge, then go with Gen2. The clarity on the Gen2 is better than the Gen1, and I managed to offset the bass performance on the weaker bass Gen2 by.... buying a 2nd Gen2 whch I use in stereo.
I have 2 x devialet phantoms gold at home, but honestly I prefer to use the Gen2 x 2 most of the time.... and I can carry a single A1 in my body pack or on my electronic scooter - I can't do that with the devialet!
@julius2014 te gusta?
If you have no roof you’re meant to hang it up