Way back in 2010 I bought a small battery operated Bluetooth enabled powered speaker, the Soundmatters foxL v2, based on a few gushing reviews by mainstream outlets, including as I recall Time Magazine, CNN, Macworld, and others.
Though I knew better than to believe the "jaw dropping" sonic assessments in those reviews, I was still curious about Bluetooth audio. More importantly I needed a speakerphone compatible with my Blackberry, easing those longer business calls from the road by eliminating the need to hold the phone in your hand (something I never actually did behind the wheel even when it wasn't illegal). This worked well in the car back when cars had no voice activated Bluetooth stereo integration of their own.
However my healthy skepticism of the praise the foxL v2 had received for supposed audio prowess in those reviews was warranted, it wasn't very good at all with music. Though the 3.5mm analog AUX input was far better than the Bluetooth audio quality, that just wasn't sayin' much. Both pretty much sucked, as you might have expected from a palm sized powered speaker circa 2010:
I quickly assigned the foxL v2 speakerphone duty only, it didn't cut it for music at all despite the review claims to the contrary, I'd much rather just use headphones (that don't suck) for mobile music enjoyment.
Through the years since 2010, various advances in Bluetooth technology have improved things somewhat, but then, there was quite a long way to go too. A few other various listens to Bluetooth speakers owned by friends proved decidedly underwhelming. Was I demanding too much, simply setting the bar too high? Am I just an audio snob of the 1st degree? Perhaps... but I also know "sucks" when I hear it too. Bluetooth sucked.
Fast forward to more recent times and I decided I'd like to give things another try, with Bluetooth now in it's 4.2 and aptX form, and some additional use cases in mind such as summer camping trips, or just taking in the ballgame from a lawn chair someplace, and various convenient Android apps such as Pandora, Spotify, or even video streaming on Netflix, FS1, NBC Sportsnet, etc...
I entered this recent evaluation with very diminished expectation levels, it would only need to not suck for me to be a buyer. After considering the downright dizzying array of choices available at everything from dirt cheap to super pricey, I settled on the Bang & Olufsen Beoplay A1:
I figured B&O's brand reputation and design pedigree gave this unit a fighting chance, as did it's 2x 30 watt Class D amps (one for the woofer and one for the tweeter). It would need to sound good, at $249 I wouldn't be able to keep it otherwise.
And sound good it did, in fact very good, when it agreed to stay powered on. Sometimes for no apparent reason, the A1 decided to shut itself off. Hitting the power button again always turned it back on, but this was disconcerting to say the least. Coupled with an inability to update the firmware via their Android app (simply didn't work) I exchanged it thinking I got a dud, but still impressed with the sound, especially when fed a high quality signal via the analog input (from my Oppo HA-2's line out). Bluetooth audio was also not too bad, a major improvement over my previous experience with it, seemed OK for Pandora, and Spotify.
But when the exchange/replacement arrived, my excitement quickly vanished as I instantly heard a buzzing type of vibration/resonance coming from the woofer or it's enclosure. This sample of the A1 had a real sonic issue, and, it too sometimes just turned itself off for no apparent reason though not as frequently as the first sample did.
I noted there was also a desktop app for updating the A1's firmware, and unlike the Android app, it actually worked. However that did not cure either the buzzing resonance sound or the sporadic auto shut-down phenomenon. It appears B&O does not have a great Asian manufacturing partner or QC program, but in any event, I boxed up the 2nd A1 sample and arranged it's return. It's too bad, it's a nice looking piece design-wise, and the 1st sample actually sounded good, but this model despite being available for a couple of years now, does have issues.
Back to the dizzying array of choices, I considered everything from lesser expensive JBL, Creative, Bose etc... and on up to pricier B&W, Riva, Sony, Aiwa, and Vifa branded units. There isn't anyplace near-by me to actually listen to these speakers, the best I can do there is a trip to B&H Photo in NYC, where they have many but not all of these models on display.
So instead I rolled the dice again, and had Crutchfield exchange that faulty B&O A1 unit for a Marshall Kilburn:
It will arrive early next week, and hopefully it won't suck.
Are there any Haven members with experience in this area, do all Bluetooth speakers suck in one way or another?
Though I knew better than to believe the "jaw dropping" sonic assessments in those reviews, I was still curious about Bluetooth audio. More importantly I needed a speakerphone compatible with my Blackberry, easing those longer business calls from the road by eliminating the need to hold the phone in your hand (something I never actually did behind the wheel even when it wasn't illegal). This worked well in the car back when cars had no voice activated Bluetooth stereo integration of their own.
However my healthy skepticism of the praise the foxL v2 had received for supposed audio prowess in those reviews was warranted, it wasn't very good at all with music. Though the 3.5mm analog AUX input was far better than the Bluetooth audio quality, that just wasn't sayin' much. Both pretty much sucked, as you might have expected from a palm sized powered speaker circa 2010:
I quickly assigned the foxL v2 speakerphone duty only, it didn't cut it for music at all despite the review claims to the contrary, I'd much rather just use headphones (that don't suck) for mobile music enjoyment.
Through the years since 2010, various advances in Bluetooth technology have improved things somewhat, but then, there was quite a long way to go too. A few other various listens to Bluetooth speakers owned by friends proved decidedly underwhelming. Was I demanding too much, simply setting the bar too high? Am I just an audio snob of the 1st degree? Perhaps... but I also know "sucks" when I hear it too. Bluetooth sucked.
Fast forward to more recent times and I decided I'd like to give things another try, with Bluetooth now in it's 4.2 and aptX form, and some additional use cases in mind such as summer camping trips, or just taking in the ballgame from a lawn chair someplace, and various convenient Android apps such as Pandora, Spotify, or even video streaming on Netflix, FS1, NBC Sportsnet, etc...
I entered this recent evaluation with very diminished expectation levels, it would only need to not suck for me to be a buyer. After considering the downright dizzying array of choices available at everything from dirt cheap to super pricey, I settled on the Bang & Olufsen Beoplay A1:
I figured B&O's brand reputation and design pedigree gave this unit a fighting chance, as did it's 2x 30 watt Class D amps (one for the woofer and one for the tweeter). It would need to sound good, at $249 I wouldn't be able to keep it otherwise.
And sound good it did, in fact very good, when it agreed to stay powered on. Sometimes for no apparent reason, the A1 decided to shut itself off. Hitting the power button again always turned it back on, but this was disconcerting to say the least. Coupled with an inability to update the firmware via their Android app (simply didn't work) I exchanged it thinking I got a dud, but still impressed with the sound, especially when fed a high quality signal via the analog input (from my Oppo HA-2's line out). Bluetooth audio was also not too bad, a major improvement over my previous experience with it, seemed OK for Pandora, and Spotify.
But when the exchange/replacement arrived, my excitement quickly vanished as I instantly heard a buzzing type of vibration/resonance coming from the woofer or it's enclosure. This sample of the A1 had a real sonic issue, and, it too sometimes just turned itself off for no apparent reason though not as frequently as the first sample did.
I noted there was also a desktop app for updating the A1's firmware, and unlike the Android app, it actually worked. However that did not cure either the buzzing resonance sound or the sporadic auto shut-down phenomenon. It appears B&O does not have a great Asian manufacturing partner or QC program, but in any event, I boxed up the 2nd A1 sample and arranged it's return. It's too bad, it's a nice looking piece design-wise, and the 1st sample actually sounded good, but this model despite being available for a couple of years now, does have issues.
Back to the dizzying array of choices, I considered everything from lesser expensive JBL, Creative, Bose etc... and on up to pricier B&W, Riva, Sony, Aiwa, and Vifa branded units. There isn't anyplace near-by me to actually listen to these speakers, the best I can do there is a trip to B&H Photo in NYC, where they have many but not all of these models on display.
So instead I rolled the dice again, and had Crutchfield exchange that faulty B&O A1 unit for a Marshall Kilburn:
It will arrive early next week, and hopefully it won't suck.
Are there any Haven members with experience in this area, do all Bluetooth speakers suck in one way or another?