The Big 'Bang & Olufsen A1' Review

I love music, and I also love portable speakers. Over the years, I've demoed quite a few to replace my Bose SoundDock which I've had for 10 years now. But I wanted something smaller. (The Bose is about 503 in³ and 5.2lbs) But I needed it to still be loud and sound great.

I decided to try Bang & Olufsen's Beoplay A1. (43 in³ at 1.3lbs) B&O is known for their design and craftsmanship of home entertainment products. Designed by Cecilie Manz for Bang & Olufsen, the A1 doesn't disappoint in the design factor.



Packaging is clean and simple. A bit snug sliding the bottom half out, but the weight of the A1 helps. Inside you'll find the speaker, a USB-C charging cable with the B&O logo, and a quick start manual. That's it. No charging block or case. Very bare. A nice velvet pouch would've been nice specially for $250. But all that aside, the speaker itself is beautiful. Sophisticated, classy, and refined. The aluminum dome is perfectly sculpted and has a very luxurious feel to it. The base is made of a rubber-like material and helps keep the speaker stable when set down on a surface. The buttons are hidden and spread around the base area, along with a 3.5mm input jack and USB-C port. The speaker comes with a leather strap which you can use to hang the speaker on a hook while you're indoors or on a tree branch when you're outdoors.


Pairing the Beoplay with your phone is easy. Turn the speaker on. Press and hold the Bluetooth button til the white power indicator flashes blue. Select the A1 on your phone's Bluetooth list, and you're done. You can also download the free Beoplay app which allows for some basic tone functions. It lists preset EQ curves as 'warm, excited, relaxed, and bright'. There is some benefit to using the EQ, but the speaker naturally sounds good that other than the initial novelty of the EQ, I leave it off most of the time.




I was preparing myself to be underwhelmed by the audio quality. Usually, when a speaker is this compact, the first thing that gets compromised is the bass. B&O claims the A1 can go as low as 60Hz. Your ears will confirm that claim. Not only does it reproduce adequate bass, it does it accurately and cleanly. No muddiness or distortion. No hollow sound. Quite an amazing feat for such a compact speaker. The treble is smooth and controlled. Not harsh or ear grating. Very pleasant. Although the A1 shines with classical, jazz, and ambient tracks, it does justice to rock, electronica, house and even dubstep. With bass heavy tracks, I found that keeping the volume at around half maintains the bass balance of the track. But what if you want more bass at a higher volume level?


Then get a second Beoplay A1!

For true stereo or ambient audio. Adding a second A1 increases its performance dramatically. Pairing can be done via the Beoplay app, but any EQ presets you have will be turned off when paired with another A1. You can also pair two A1s without the Beoplay app, I've found this method more reliable. To pair the speakers without the use of the app:

1. Turn on the first speaker, you'll heard a power on beep and the indicator light will be white.
2. Press and hold the Bluetooth button. Indicator will start flashing blue for about five seconds then it will start flashing white.
3. Wait about 20 seconds for a second beep then turn on the second A1.
4. Press and hold the Bluetooth button on the second A1 for five seconds until the light starts flashing white.
5. Wait a while, then you'll see the indicator lights on both speakers sync up then glow a steady white.
6. Now connect your phone to the first speaker, this will be the Master speaker as well as the LEFT audio channel. The second speaker will be the Slave speaker as well as the RIGHT audio channel.

And how do two paired A1s sound? Like bringing your home stereo system out with you where ever you go! Seriously good portable audio. Although at this price point, you may be asking why not just get the Beolit 15 or 17? It's louder and the bass is a lot deeper. So why choose two A1s over the larger Beolit 15? It boils down to a matter of preference and purpose. Two A1s (100 in³ and 2.6lbs for two) are still easier to pack and carry than a single Beolit 15 (358 in³ and 5.7lbs). Two A1s can be spread out over two rooms to play different music in each room. Two A1s can be stereo paired to give much better imaging and ambient audio. You'll definitely be happy with either purchase, but for my needs, I chose to have two A1s that can be used together or separately.

Now, it's not all party all day and night with the Beoplay A1. There are limitations that come with the compact size, great audio, and relatively low price (low for B&O anyway). And partying all day and night is one of those limitations. To be specific, a short battery life. B&O claims 24 hours of playback at moderate levels. This probably means about 25% volume. Because anywhere close to 50-60% volume, that rating drops to about 6 hours. Crank that up to 70% or more and you're looking at maybe 2-3 hours max.

The other limitation is related to the stereo pairing. The range is extremely short. Bluetooth has an effective range of about 30ft. The A1 can only be about 8ft apart with a CLEAR LINE OF SIGHT. Any obstruction within that 6ft of separation and you will start getting dropouts on the slave speaker. The more realistic distance is about 4-5ft. I'm guessing power to the Bluetooth chip was limited to minimize the effect on the already short battery life. Either that or the beautiful aluminum dome acts as a Faraday cage and shortens Bluetooth range. Either way, this limits how far you can place the speakers from each other when paired. Another limitation of stereo pairing is that it doesn't work if the source is a line-in source. So only Bluetooth streamed audio will work for the stereo pairing.

With regards to the design, my only complain are the buttons. They look great hidden behind the rubber bottom but they're not very easy to press. Now, this can be a good or a bad thing. It does prevent accidental presses but it also makes actually pressing the button quite difficult. Even though there's minimal interaction with the buttons, when you do need to use them it takes a bit of hunting to actually find the right one and press it. The tiny icons make the control surface look clean and very minimalist but the lack of tactile indicators means you have to actually look for the symbols to know which button you're actually pressing.

Are any of these deal breakers? Not for me. I'd rather take the time to memorize the button locations and work around the limited Bluetooth range just to be able to use these wonderful sounding works of art. If you want a Bluetooth speaker that is small and easy to pack for traveling, sounds like a home hi-fi system anywhere you go, and looks like tiny work of art, then the Beoplay A1 is the speaker you've been waiting for.

Not the Sounds of Silence (A Sonos Review)

There are many wireless speaker systems out there. The most recent ones that have been gaining popularity are the Amazon Echo and Google Home systems. These are a new breed of smart speakers that offer more than just music playback. But that's for another blog entry. Today will be for a more traditional wireless audio system, the Sonos. Specifically, the Play 1.

Sonos has been around for quite a while. And their product lineup hasn't really changed much. It offers less functionality than smart speakers, but the multi-room capabilities and the simplicity of the app are what really make it shine. Their app came at the heels of people playing music locally (stored on your computer or local hard drive) mostly through iTunes. But now that streaming services are more popular, smart speakers have become the weapon of choice for most people. Why should you still pick Sonos over the others? Two main reasons. Simplicity and Multi-Room capabilities. Sonos isn't the only one with this capability. Bose would be the closest match, but I didn't like their app interface. Then there's Google Chromecast Audio which can do something similar but not quite and still relies on streaming services.

Playing music in separate rooms isn't a simple task. Wiring up your home to a central amp and music server takes time, planning, and a lot of work. Doing it the wireless way isn't that simple either. Synchronizing playback and centralizing your source isn't for the average user either.

Sonos does this quite simply and elegantly. My main consideration for the Sonos was "How easy would it be for anyone in my home to access my music and playback what they want". I needed something that could easily access my local music library as well as streaming services. Something that wouldn't be crippled if my internet connection went down (this is always a consideration of any tech I invest in). No other system offered ease of use like Sonos did.

And for those that actually care about sound quality, Sonos sounds great. Disclaimer on my statement, it is NOT meant to be a listening room system. It is also not meant to be the solution for just a single room (there are others that can fulfill that need at a lower price point). It is meant for whole house, multi-room music. And it does that job extremely well. Even against larger more traditional systems, the Sonos Play 1 can hold its own. It's very easy to conceal, and it's also moisture-proof if you want music in your bathroom!

Sonos is supposedly working with Amazon to integrate Alexa into their control UI, that would be an excellent combination and one that would bring Sonos back up to the front of the smart speaker pack. But even without it, Sonos is still one of the better multi-room systems available today. The ease of use and audio quality make it perfect for anyone in the home to enjoy great sound. It also helps that they have a wide array of products to suit your specific needs. From the easy to conceal Play1, to the Sound bar and wireless subwoofer for decent movie audio, Sonos is a great product family all around.

Sound Sculpture : Zikmu Parrot by S+arck

Parrot by S+arck: These are one of the nicest looking compact home speakers available.  Technology used are a couple of NXT (now Hi-Wave) panels that handle the high frequencies, and a couple of downward firing subs under each speaker.

The system is wireless and powered.  Each speaker needs to be plugged into a wall outlet to supply the 50watts per channel.  The system does not work individually, since the control panel is on one speaker, and the iPod dock is on the other.

The pair also accepts audio via Bluetooth but reliability drops off beyond 2m every now and then so the iPod dock would really be the way to go.  Wifi audio streaming is much more reliable.

The remote operates over RF so line-of-sight is not critical for operation.

The set comes in a really cool carrying case that looks like a trumpet bag... although I don't really see people lugging this set around after initial setup.  They are light enough to carry around from room to room.

The Parrot is perfect for art/design oriented people that want a simple, all-in-one system for a small room or apartment.  Although loud enough for large rooms, anymore than 15 people and the sound gets drowned out quite quickly.  They make great conversation starters and center pieces for room decor.

On the audio quality, they sound ok.  Not bad.  Do not think that these are speakers that happen to look nice... these are decorative pieces of furniture that happen to make sound.  I was disappointed however with their overall height.  When I first saw the pictures, I was expecting them to be at LEAST 1m tall... but they're only .75m and this doesn't really maximize the potential range and dispersion of the sound.

Forget left-right directionality since the natural dipolar properties of NXT panels creates a nice diffused sound field that has a better ambient mood than traditional speakers.  These will most likely be used in a living/dining room or casual area where conversation will take priority over sonic accuracy.  I wouldn't recommend these for listening rooms, or home theaters.

At Php88,000 (or US$1,600 abroad) they're cheap for an art piece, but not cheap for speakers.  If you consider that you're getting 2-in-1 then it's a pretty good deal.

*Audiophiles should stay away!  If you're an audiophile, want decorative speakers and have deep pockets... check out Avantgarde instead.  Their entry level system starts at Php400,000 (US$8,000)*

Pre-blog: 3rd time is not quite the charm for the iPod Shuffle

When I first got the email about the new iPod Shuffle, I was impressed with the design, and the Voice-over function.  But when I finally got to try it extensively, I was very disappointed.

One, it's NOT small.  Well, ok, it's small, but not as small as the pictures depict.  It's slightly (and I mean, SLIGHTLY) smaller than the 2nd generation Shuffle.  But, unlike the previous Shuffle, the new one doesn't have any controls.  Instead, you have this annoyingly retarded button that you click, double click, long click, triple click... and Morse code all day long just to move from song to song.

Which brings me to number two... the crappy earbuds.  Apple has probably THE worst earbuds on the planet... which is usually the first thing to chuck when you buy an iPod... but now, since they moved the controls to the earbuds, the new Shuffle does NOT work without the crappy earbuds.

Granted that most Shuffle owners are not audiophiles (ironic since the Shuffle is the best sounding iPod) it's still annoying since they didn't save any space at all by moving the controls from the iPod to the earbud cable.

But I guess all things have to change.  Apple will probably use this as an interim model before going back to a design similar to the previous Shuffle.

Don't get me wrong, it's a sleek new music player that looks great ... but ergonomics REALLY suck... and it would sound good, if you could use other earbuds, but since you can't, it sounds kinda crappy.  At 2x the price of the previous Shuffle, it isn't really a bargain either.

I'd recommend buying the previous Shuffle instead.

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On a more positive note, I finally got to audition the B&W Zeppelin iPod Dock, and I have to say, it is THE BEST iPod dock I've heard to date.  It's like the Bose SoundDock & the Harman Kardon Go + Play combined... it has the clarity of the Harman, and the bass extension of the Bose.  BUT, it also costs as much as both those iPod docks combined... ringing in at P36k.  Plus it doesn't run off batteries so it's not really portable.

But it does sound great, and it looks just as good.

Pre-blog: Great balls of sound!

The best sounding speaker under P2000, and under 100g! A bit larger than a ping-pong ball, the X-Mini 2 is a great successor to the original X-Mini, and X-Mini Max.

Decent size, price, sound, and battery life... this is a great accessory to have for anyone who enjoys listening to music. Having tried all the other XMI products, I have to say, that you can't really go wrong with any of them, but my personal choice would be the X-Mini 2 over the original or the Max.

The Original is smaller, and cheaper, so go for that if the size is an absolute priority, or if you don't really care for the additional sound quality of the 2. The Max is stereo, but it's larger and has a lot more wires to consider a portable solution. The Max is nice for laptop users looking for an acceptable solution for presentation work.

Specs state a 100Hz cut-off but realistically, it sounds closer to 130-50Hz, but again, for the price, and size, it's great. I haven't heard anything this small, sound this good...period. It won't replace great earphones, but it sounds way better than a lot of generic desktop computer speakers. And even sounds better than a lot of the entry-level JBL On-Stage products.

To get the best audio quality from this speaker, turn the volume on the X-Mini to the max, then half a turn back. Then set your volume on your music player to about 60-70%. This keeps distortion to a minimum, while maximizing bass response... the X-Mini 2 driver is strong enough that anything louder makes this tiny speaker rattle around your desk whenever bass notes are strong.

Go to: http://x-mini.com/ for more info.

I bought mine from http://silienation.com/ Great site, lots of nice accessories, and quick delivery via Air21