When you look at a wireless audio solution, you aren’t generally looking for elaborate setups that cost you the hearth-space. This is where Bang & Olufsen’s Beoplay A1 comes in. This simple-looking Bluetooth speaker offers fantastic output and connects with a world of audio services, all at a price of just $292.
It’s as big as your palm, so for starts it doesn’t consume much desk-room. The 13.3mm diameter, anodized silver and muted grey plastic body is great to look at, firstly. A leather leash makes it easily portable. The plastic portion is the base and accommodates buttons for play, pause, volume, pairing and power. It accommodates inputs including 3.5mm aux-in and USB for charging. A cable accompanies the set so that you can keep the 2,200 mAh battery fully charged for a 24-hour performance (albeit at moderate volumes). It does include a microphone too. Other than the vanilla collaboration with smartphones to take and receive calls, the A1 offers other interesting support features too. It syncs with other A1 speakers for fuller, wider sound.
On the downside, there is no Wi-Fi, so no AirPlay and Spotify fun for you. It doesn’t offer frequency response below 60Hz, so no pure bass fun either. It isn’t too loud either. Where the speaker would make its mark is at a part of close friends who are out camping in the woods and wouldn’t like to create a storm to invoke the beasts.
