Beosound A1 Mk2 BT Speaker - Worth the B&O premium?
Here’s my review of a Bang & Olufsen Bluetooth speaker.
I feel a bit of behind the scenes info is needed to frame this one. For the last few weeks I’ve lost pretty much all hearing in my right ear. I’m waiting to see a specialist next month.
As a result of the situation I’ve found using any type of headphones to be unpleasant. I decided that a bluetooth speaker might be better for me to use when listen to podcasts etc….and this is why I bought this Beosound A1 Gen2.
So that’s the story. I just thought I should mention it in order to explain why I’ve ended up reviewing a device from what might be the most uninteresting product category in the world.
On the positive side though - it’s a good speaker and the channel is supposed to review consumer tech new and old, so it seemed appropriate to make a video about it.
I know from recent comments that I’m not the only one out there with a health issue or two at the moment - so if you’re unwell, I hope things improve for you and if you’re doing fine, I hope things stay that way. Take care.
UPDATE - Re-uploaded to add an overlay on the video regarding the A1 battery replacement videos available on YouTube. Thanks for the tip.
Comments (69)
Great video. The last few minutes got me thinking. As good as the speaker seems, we don't have a point for comparison. My suggestion... pit it against something super popular, like the Anker Soundcore 2, it has 100k reviews on amazon! You'll get more search hits, you could use affiliate links and I'll know if I should be spending £200 or £40. Obviously it wont work in retrospect, but next time you have a good speaker to review, search for a budget option on amazon (with max reviews) and have a stand off. You can be kind to both, but as long as you're honest it'll work.
Your dry humour always makes me laugh - I can identify so well with 'soft-touch' surfaces that go sticky after a decade or two. The non replaceable battery seems to just be the way of things. I used to go collect discarded electronics from the civic amenity (recycling) site, repair them and hand them in to charity shops - not allowed to do that any more. Here's how I dealt with my Leowe BT speaker battery failing: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1-L9IpAGNLgztZH47ih3QEY4BOLrcV7m6?usp=share_link
Keep going with the reviews Mat, (as always) your videos are great and supremely watchable. I might never buy another BT speaker after the old H/K one I purchased in 2014, which by the way now has the battery life of a small radio controlled drone. Great vid and thank you
I noticed your CD shaving video is still trucking on the view counts, and the record player boombox and CD demag view counts are quite respectable, too. Bringing in the bacon 🥓! 👍🏻
Yes it’s definitely helped pay a couple of bills. Everything will be returning to normal…the next couple of videos are stinkers.
Agreed with Peter about the Anker speaker Sir Moan of Techshire. Have the very same bought rashly a few years ago and it’s been brilliant. Only for use in the shed and such but it’s been a real trooper. Sound is pretty good and battery life is amazing. Not important at all but when you see something on here that you have yourself….….Had to add a w and a d to it though !
I take the point about stereo separation being distracting. It probably depends on what you're listening to and what else you're doing at the time. For speech it matters very little. Many years ago I had a flatmate with her loudspeakers wrong way round; she hadn't noticed and didn't care. I noticed because if you're listening to an orchestra, it's weird to have violins on the right and double basses on the left.
I'll put it on the screen....LOL. Well done!
I just got a JBL Charge, that seemed a little pricey for a bluetooth speaker but I'm impressed by its sound, especially the bass. It's funny how years ago everything was about stereo and now so many people are listening to content out of these mono speakers. I know you can hook up a couple of them for stereo, but I have yet to see anyone do that. I wonder if phone speakers got us all used to such terrible sound that a decent mono speaker sounds wonderful in comparison.
Not all small speakers are mono. My Anker Soundcore Boost and my relatively tiny (and old) Xiaomi Mi speaker are both stereo and sound great considering their size and price. On the other hand, I also have a Libratone Zipp Mini (expensive when new) and a Huawei Sound X (large and expensive, except as part of a bundle with other Huawei products). Both sound great but they're only mono. It's odd that reviews of Bluetooth speakers don't make more of this.
An interesting demo. I think the utility for me isn't so much you doing a "to the consumer" breakdown for those considering a purchase, but rather a demonstration of where the state of the technology is at the moment. Honestly, I have never been in the market for a bluetooth speaker. Headphones have always been my go-to, but I do recall that the early models were pretty rubbishy. It is genuinely interesting to see what is available as of 2022. But what took this video to the next level? Mat, I liked how you seemed to have all the energy and interest in the world to discuss the ins and outs of the device, but then, in the final 45 seconds, came to the rapid conclusion that perhaps this had all been a tremendous waste of your time! "The only thing more boring..." spiel, with it's acceleration towards the end was the most Techmoan moment of the the year in my book! I come for the tech, I stay for the self-deprecation (as well as the occassional off-brand Muppet show... Moanppet?)
Mat, off topic, but today I was watching the VHD in the US video ( https://youtu.be/S8Zt6cB_NPU ) and you mentioned working at HMV in the early 90's. Any fun reminiscent stories from that time? As a young music/media aficionado, that would be a dream come true. Easy access to the newest product brochures, at least? Also, I noticed this odd Ken-A-Vision Readmaster for sale: https://www.ebay.com/itm/334578991977 I found a little information online - it's an educational tool that (I would guess) uses the same magnetic paper tech as the 3M Sound Page system? Also, been thinking about you and your hearing - and I hope it has improved at the very least. 🤍
The HMV job was terrible - I’ll have to tell the story one day. I’m guessing but to me the Ken-A-Vision looks like an assistance device for the visually impaired where a page of text is automatically advanced past an illuminated and magnified window. But I could be way off. As for the hearing there is some hope as it very briefly popped back for a few minutes - so it shows it is there - it’s just the eardrum is stuck down.
Not something I'd buy, but I appreciate your insight because I know people who will. Hope you are able to get some answers on your hearing, for an audiophile losing the ability to hear would be a tragedy.
My son just said your end credit music is so calming, is it available as a track I could download?
It used to be available in the YouTube audio library to download. It seems to have been delisted recently. However if you search for ‘Overtime vibe tracks’ you’ll find it.
Really loved the outro made me laugh so hard that I started crying 😂 Really needed that kinda humour today. Thank you
Great review! Curious that you had a bad experience with the Anker speaker. I have 2 of them that only get occasional use and the battery is NEVER flat-- it seems to last forever in standby mode. I think you have a dud.
I believe that's about as good a video one can make about a bt speaker. So I'll just say Thanks and hope everything works out with the tests.
I really have to stop watching your shows on a weekend night (drunk). That's another £180 you've cost me, Mat.
You always manage to make me laugh, Mat. That was a great review and not boring at all. I hope your hearing can be sorted out quickly. I hate being deaf on one side, it's horrible. Anecdotally, We do presentations to U3A etc about EVs. We used to take a cumbersome PA system for the laptop then we discovered the Bose Soundlink Mini which we DO use to fill a hall! Some people do want that from a Bluetooth speaker. (Every time, someone comes up afterwards to ask "Did all that sound come from that little thing"?) :-)
I've a gen-1 version of this, purchased 5-years ago. Its taken a bit of a beating over the years, used in the garden, garage, hotel rooms and camping. Its a great bit of kit and the cord is really usefull to hang off stuff on the move. Only real downside is the same with the new one, the button use/visablity. I only bought it in the first place as it was £170 and in a specific 'red/pink' colour which I did not mind at the time.
Looks like a lot of people are recommending bluetooth speakers, but just to throw my hat in I think you should check out a boombox that Logitech made back in 2011 (I guess the model is 984-000181), the sound quality was really good, well more specifically the bass was really good (that's why I bought it), and the speaker lasted me for probably close to 7 years (it actually still works, but the battery is completely shot), sadly Logitech didn't keep making it so you have to buy an original one, and the price has gone up much higher than when I bought it.
Was it like this one? https://www.ebay.com/itm/255516408416
Not sure if you are going to keep reviewing Bluetooth speakers and the like. But the Polaroid company ( the one that actually makes the new film, not the half that just licenses the name out ) had tooled up what seems for all the world to be bespoke bluetooth speakers and a radio service thing. They made a whole big deal about it. https://www.polaroid.com/polaroid-music
I don't have a lot of experience with Bluetooth speakers as I have a total of two: a Milwaukee M12 Radio/Charger in the shop, and a JBL Charge 5 at home. The Milwaukee was chosen strictly because it was compatible with other power tools and batteries that I already use, and playing it in a metal building the sound is going to be lousy regardless of what speaker I use - volume is more important than actual sound quality. The JBL Charge 5 isn't horrible and is plenty loud, but very boomy. I have to keep it about a foot from the wall or the bass gets excessive. I think there's an app to tweak its sound settings, but I haven't bothered as yet. Too many apps in my world already!
Mat, have you looked at the Dali Katch? Slightly more expensive and bigger, but absolutely quality sound, they went for fidelity over bass. Although is banging as well. Plus battery is so big you can use it to charge other devices.
No I’m totally unfamiliar with that one.
Get well soon Mat. I have too many Bluetooth speakers. My Anker Soundcore Boost (I think one step up the range from yours) is pretty good but a bit bassy for some. It's a replacement for one that stopped working after 11 months which was replaced by Anker after Amazon intervened. My favourite portable speaker is a Libratone Zipp Mini. There must be a warehouse full of them somewhere as it's a very old model but new old stock ones are often available on ebay. It has Airplay as well as Bluetooth and can operate independently as an Internet radio once you've used the app to choose your favourite radio stations. One dirty secret of Bluetooth speakers is that some are stereo and others aren't. This rarely seems to get mentioned in reviews. As a general rule, anything that promises '360 degree sound' is probably mono.
I'm going to order one of the Libratones while they're still available - thanks for the tip. Oh and my hearing is only mono at the moment - so that's fine.
Right, had my treat on the ward! I assume a company like B&O would be B&O and not some "badge engineering" thing? Certainly not at that price. I just hear "Urban Outfitters" and alarm bells start ringing! They are still going as they always have been? I do like vintage B&O stuff on eBay I've seen. Nice slidey doors.
I hope the issue with your hearing sorts itself out soon!
I've never looked at Urban Outfitters before, I'm not that trendy. They have a colossal amount of tat for sale, you weren't tempted to get the cassette Bluetooth speaker at the same time? They do sell some Crosley turntables with better-than-awful mechanisms like the T150 and though and they have lots of 'reusable' 35mm cameras, so that's something I suppose. I quite like the B&O Explore speaker, it looks like a tin of beans and you could beat a bear to death with it. Also shows Bluetooth 5.2 on the box where yours shows 5.1, no idea what the difference would be.
It's .1
Thanks for another great one. The end was hilariously funny!
If £250 is called "expensive" for "good speakers", I'm really wondering if they are really good quality, or "good quality for the smartphone-speaker-generation of the 21st century"... I'm getting old... I tend to buy second hand speakers only, because what is new in the shops nowadays, I don't care. And 2x30W, yeah right... If that would really be the case, you wouldn't be able to talk over it when it was at full volume! But as always: a good quality video from Techmoan!
Well it's all relative - it's a small mono rechargeable bluetooth speaker. Some alternatives in this category cost much less e.g. Sony sell their SRS-XB13 at £40
Interesting review. I got a Bose Soundlink Mini II after a friend raved about theirs but must admit find it too bassy at times (admittedly I have always favoured a more detailed crip sound to a bass heavy one and Bose has been known for their bass heavy preference so I should have known better). I stopped using headphones after developing tinnitus a few years back. I got some moulded gig earplugs from the local NHS hospital hearing aid centre to hopefully reduce the decline when I go to gigs, musicals at the theatre and sadly the cinema too these days as sometimes the amplification is a bit too loud for hearing safety. I did pick up some ex BBC level limited headphones on eBay so if ever I do need to use them I can safely.
I love my Bose mini had it for years. But I have a like for bass. MIT own Bose, they are pretty much perfect for me. Replaceable battery in the mini too. But I was impressed by he b and o; usually design over substance.
Another great, honest review Mat--you were on fire at the end there. Good work! Your decision to refrain from buying a helicopter this week, however is quite unfortunate. You could provide a great service to the helicopter-buying public if you were to do reviews of them yourself. Naturally as with your other reviews, you would not be getting free samples from the manufacturers to "review" for them, but you would purchase them yourself, use them for a week and produce honest, real-world reviews. One downside is that you may have to get a larger storage unit, but is that really such a great burden when you consider the enormous public service you'll be providing?
I prefer gyrocopter reviews. I need to pre-order my MM2 Road Warrior prototype.
I appreciate you and your videos keeping my mind functioning while I'm ill and I can't do anything. You're a gem (most likely a sapphire). Have you been using the Sound Card again at 10:52? I detect seamoss wobble from this speaker, exactly like CMOS wobble from a camera sensor. "Oh dear; sign in or sign up," it's a bit irritating to do for a physical product. One benefit - once the battery dies you can use it as a large skipping stone. If your YouTube career fails (not b likely) you can go into hypnotism. And I almost forgot, I have so many unicorn fever dreams to catch you up on! Addendum: I hope your hearing improves in due time. Right now my taste/smell senses are almost nill, so I get a gander what you deal with all the time.
Soap-on-a-rope speaker. Good review. I was looking a few days ago at BT speakers (with 3.5mm input for my retro tech). I decided on an Anker one like yours. Not so sure now, with that battery issue. I have an old no-brand one which has a dead battery, I can easily replace the battery. Save some money, save some e-waste. Make-do-and-mend might make a comeback with the economy and the planet in such a mess.
Mat's list of bluetooth devices on his phone takes seven minutes to scroll from the top to the bottom 😄
I keep reading B&O as B&Q. Have to admit, I was intrigued at the thought of a B&Q speaker! Re: YouTube comments, I'm afraid a generation has grown up believing not only that their opinion matters, on anything and everything and without any qualifications, but that it MUST be voiced at any and every opportunity.
Yes it’s definitely a thing that some people don’t have the filter between internal thoughts that have zero value to others…and things that must be shared with everyone urgently.
"Don't tell me, not interested" had me howling with laughter. You're such a refreshingly honest voice May, don't ever change! Also, hope your health problems get resolved quickly and painlessly.
Might be worth a tiny mention of who B & O are, and their reputation. Some viewers may not know them that well? Good video! I've often wondered if the £200 speakers are worth it.
I perhaps wrongly assumed that B&O are as well known as most of the other audio brands.
Hopefully you'll feel better soon! Me too, been having some issues lately. I wonder if buying a helicopter might help. I have limited experience with these things, we have an ubiquitous jabra speaker for calls at work (we still have it but since home office is a proper thing, not in use a lot). Anyways, it annoys me that a lot of the energy is wasted upwards, so if you have it on a table, you need to increase the volume significantly. Then, if its on a thin tabletop, the table with vibrate too garbling the middle frequency range. I might find it extra annoying because of often speaking foreign languages though
Good video. I added a comment about the ability to repair the sealed unit, following your own in the video; but realised that isn't actually the case when I found teardowns of the first and second generation units: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=phgyWwqaay8 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4nZWVOWuidg
I wonder if B&O offer a battery swap service.
I'll save this for later as a treat, but I'm probably one of those mentioned in the health bit! Just had my second heart-related operation of the week, and am hoping to be home today. Fingers crossed! Won't fix me, no op will, but it'll keep me here a few more years! And best wishes again to you Mat.
…all the best to you too. Take care.
Nice video! About the Anker: I would like to hear more about it, as to why you don’t like it. Is it only the battery, or are there more things you don’t like. Anyways, take care.
I can’t really remember how it sounds as every time I plan on using it the battery is flat. I then have to use something else instead while it’s charging. After it’s charged, it goes back on the shelf - and then a few months later the process is repeated. It’s probably been years since I’ve been able to use it.
Best wishes on your health issues mate!
As a retrogamer I have a Bang and Olufsen MX1500 and MX4000. Not only are they aesthetically the most beautiful CRT tv's I can think of. But they look and sound absolutely phenomenal. The sound they produce blows any standard TV without a dedicated soundbar out of the water. My aunt wants to give me her old B&O record player but I have no where to put it. If you think you would be interested Matt let me know haha
I'm with you on the space issues - I don't have room for most of the things I 've already accumulated.
I've had health problems but get an unreasonable amount of comfort whenever a new Techmoan video drops. I love hearing your thoughts on tech new and old.
Take care Matt!!
Thanks - I'll try. It's more annoying/disorientating than anything.
Love to see you compare it against the Bose SoundLink Flex Bluetooth speaker, the base and sound I think is incredible, and i know it sounds odd but it sounds even better when you hang it from a door handle..
If there's enough interest in this - I may get one of those as well to compare.
Hope you have you hearing sorted out soon. Many people I know have hearing issues at the moment from tinnitus to deafness to balance, so you are not alone.
I hope so too - thanks.
Cool to see a B&O review from you. Cheers from Denmark!
Beosound, hopefully it doesn't smell bad.
It probably stinks.