Bang & Olufsen - Beosound A1 2nd Gen (Grey Mist)

I actually tried the Beoplay A1 as a less buggy alternative to the minirigs and ended up returning it but your ears may be slightly different to mine in that regard but the minirg sounded better and made the sound come alive alot more than the A1. That said adding a subwoofer into the mix from minirig really does take things to the next level sound wise, as does having 2 small speakers and running them in wireless stereo.

Beosound A1 3rd Gen (ca. $350), if you want a bluetooth speaker. Forget about stereo separation from any single speaker (not possible, because physics) - buy two A1 Gen 2 (ca. $400 together) instead, they link to form a stereo set. Tonality-wise, they are among the best smallish bluetooth speakers, with some amazing low bass extension for the size, and overall pretty accurate. Else, some small monitors like the Adam Audio D3V will sound superior but are not really portable.

'I' ve been using the [Bang & Olufsen](https://x.com/red_cat1989/status/1953829669045739588) Beosound A1 (2nd Gen) for a couple of months now, and honestly - small size, huge sound. The audio ir crystal clear with plenty of bass for its size, the batery lasts ages (around 18h), and the waterproofing is genuinely useful for summer trips. The design - as always with B&O

I have the Bang&Olufsen a1 2nd gen and it's great, the sound is amazing, battery life is good.

their app is not great tho

I have the B&O A1 (Gen.2) and love it for travel. It replaced my Flex 2 (pair) for music on the go and white noise. Yes, a bit pricey (I just bought another one on sale at Woot for $150), but it sounds amazing, clear, and detailed...in a small package. Not the loudest speaker out there, but I don't listen past 50-60% volume most of the time. That said, I think you'd be very happy with a Bose Flex 2 or Max. I absolutely love mine and think they sound superior to my Sonos Roam 2. I also have a pair of Beats Pills (2024), and they're damned good as well. But as single units, I'd put the Flex 2 first, Beats Pill 2nd, and everything else their size (like a JBL Charge 5) after nothing of them. What's your budget?

I've owned the two generations of B&O A1s over the last decade, and can confidently say they both hold their own against newer speakers twice their size. If I had one criticism, it would be that they don't BLAST sound out, and max output doesn't seem as loud as some other speakers. But the detail in the sound they produce is light-years better than most. I feel that build quality, musicality, detail, etc., is worth their high price. But for less money, you can go with the Flex or Pill and get a very capable sound that is likely "good enough" for most people. But there's a reason I continue taking my A1 for travel...it's the better speaker. When I travel and need louder output, I will often take my Dali Katch 2. Its bigger than the A1, comes with four drivers instead of two (twin woofers and tweeters, on opposite sides, using Blumlein technology). None of my other BT speakers really can compare to the Dali, though. It's a beast.

I can give enthusiastic thumbs ups for the Harmon Kardon Go + Play 3, B&O A1 (Gen. 2), and 1the UBoom X (as a pair) for being the low-budget high-quality-sound boombox style. I’ll say this, though, if I could only have one BT or AirPlay 2 (WiFi) speaker, I’d choose the HK GP3 over every other portable speaker I have…including my Brane X, which is insanely great. The GP3’s sound stage is wider, and more detailed in the mid-bass. The Brane X’s bass overall is deeper, though. I even love what others derisively call “hand purse” style on the HK. I think it looks super-classy. [A smorgasbord of speakers…partial group in my “office:”](https://imgur.com/a/qDnoTlE)

I totally get that…what’s your go-to travel speaker? I usually take either my B&O A1s (paired/single), or my Dali Katch. They also double as my White Noise (well, Brown, actually) generator for sleeping.

Those Pebbles are decent, and I had the 2.1 setup for my Mac Mini years ago. The PowerBook 14 and 16 speakers are better, though. A lot better. But for $100 you can get a pair of Tribit Stormbox Micro 2s to give you small, portable, stereo sound. I have a pair, and they’re great. Or maybe a B&O A1 Gen. 2 for $140 (new) on Woot. Amazing sound for such a small speaker. I have a pair of those as well. Also, I have wayyyyyy too many speakers!

I also uggest adding in the B&O A1 Gen. 2, which can be had for around $150 these days. I have a pair, and they're my go-to travel companions. They're a bit bigger than most pockets, though...unless you're into dad-style cargo shorts. I have the Select 4 Go and a pair of Stormbox Micro 2s that are damned good, so I think all of your choices are going to be okay.

My Brain X will be here this weekend, and I'm thrilled about it. I heard it in person here in San Francisco, and was utterly blown away by the dimension of sound the little box produced. I told the Brane X crew in Austin about my audition, and they were nice enough to send me a coupon for $50 off and free shipping. I've had a number of high-end WiFi/BT speakers, and I'm sorry to hear your A5 was a bust. I have a pair of A1 Gen. 2s, and I love them. I also have a mix of Bowers-Wilkins Formation Wedges and Flex, Sonos Move 2s, Era 300, Beam 2, HomePods, and a Bose Smart Speaker in my bathroom. NO issues with any of them, including the Sonos. I only use the app for setup and tuning, and it's been perfectly fine. That's weird about your Move 2 experience...mine has been just the opposite. Very open, very clear and detailed sound, with very good bass and great mids. Battery life is also excellent. I'm really impressed with my Move 2s (paired up). As for good mid-drivers, I'm with you. I'd like to see more high-end (portable) speaker makers dive into 3-way setups with good crossovers like many of our bookshelf and standard speakers have.

thanks but I found my love : B&O play a1 2nd gen

found B&O play a1 2nd gen; check it out in person. You'll forget everything

B&O A1 is way better than UE Miniroll. I have two A1 Gen 2, they are great for portable audio as long as you don't need very loud sound and can keep them close. Perfect for smaller settings. My favorite speaker for audiobooks, by far. I gave my Miniroll away... For louder volumes and larger settings my B&O A5 is amazing. Portable but a bit bulky. Still very nice to use in the garden/patio/porch or on a picnic. Expensive... For larger prepared outdoor settings / parties my two UE Hyperboom are great! But even more bulky than the A5. Even if they are getting old, they are hard to beat. I think that there is a very strong correlation between size and sound quality at higher volumes or larger settings. If you want something that is loud and also sounds good over a larger area you need to go big. If you want nice stereo you need two speakers that are about as far between each other as from you. Two speakers also helps to cover a larger area.

BT speakers I can recommend personally: B&O A1 g2 or g3. Small. A pair for stereo. Nice for ambience. B&O A5. Expensive. Great sound and pretty. Hyperboom. A pair for off-grid partying.

Gen 3 B&O is out now but, I'm still rocking the 2nd Gen for potable great sound, and it's good enough for under $140 on Amazon renewed, and I'm using my JBL Partybox Club 120 for my whole home theater setup in my Den connected to my JBL Clip 5, and a JBL Go 4 linked in Auracast and it works well all together!

If you wanna hear bass drops with mid and upper elements too from like space laces, hol, ydg the heavy sub 30hz drops: Harmon kardon onyx series for low priced. But if theres no constraints, the devialet mania will have the best bass you are looking for and clarity. B and O A1 is pretty good too but you’ll prolly wanna run a pair. All the jbls megaboom, the regular mainstream brands all run rly muddy bass that bleeds into the mids. Like at lost lands the soundcamp speakers, kinda mid for the vocals and trebles but u feel the wubs

I really don't like the beolit 20. I like the sound of my Vifa Helsinki much more even though it's an older speaker and a lot cheaper now. Check some B&O a1 series,each one has a different sound type,for small portable bt speakers For medium size, Devialet Mania,a reboxed unit was around 500€ in my country just recently. 500 or under it's a good price,not the 800-900€ or how much they ask for it on most sites. For bigger sizes, i dont think you have many options,in a reasonable amount of money. The b&o a5 but it can get quite expensive sometimes. *I wouldn't call these audiophile speakers, high quality Bluetooth speakers would be a more suited name.

What about Bang & Olufsen?

B & O or Sennheiser

I have to say that, for as much as I love the Bose speakers I own, battery drain is far more noticeable than with other brands I own. My Bang & Olufsen speakers have the absolute least battery drain while idle; JBL is great for power retention, too.

You could use the rca outs to a headphone jack and use wired headphones. No pairing required. The soundburger works great and sounds great overall. It seems to pair ok if you hold the bluetooth speaker super close…I haven’t tried AirPods though. I don’t DJ anymore so I’m not out actively mining for gold, but a soundburger would have been handy for that. I used to see some people 30 years ago with junky suitcase players or fisher price set ups to listen on the fly.