Good to mention: this youtuber review is very great:
Write at the beginnings: I am really a B&O play A1</a>(https://www.beoplay.com/products/beoplaya1) buyer. I buy two of them at B&O stores in HK. Trust me!
Guide on stereo pairing B&O play A1 to Windows/MacOS/Android/iPhone
Hi, boys and girls. After reading so many reviews (https://www.amazon.com/PLAY-Portable-Wireless-Bluetooth-Speaker/product-reviews/B01DO9KW38/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_viewopt_srt?ie=UTF8&reviewerType=all_reviews&showViewpoints=1&sortBy=helpful&pageNumber=1)about horrible Bluetooth (stereo) pairing(1. Poor in-app connections 2. No aptx No aptx No aptx</font>, so important that I have to say this three times, not to mention aptxhd, which affects the details and dynamics of the music 3. No stereo pairing to computers, including MacOS/Android), I decide to try a 3.5mm stereo breakout cable which helps break stereo sound into left mono sound and right mono sound. In other words, the cable bypasses the stupid and user-unfriendly b&o play software(https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=dk.beoplay.app), ignores any Bluetooth codec limitation and takes advantage on the 3.5mm analog output to 2 speakers (left speaker: left mono; right speaker: right mono). And the cable works! Not only does this cable works on Android/iPhone(including iPhone 7*), it also works on Windows and MacOS. Please refer to my document: Buy the folowings and get stereo sound from computers(!) and smartphones for your (B&O play A1) 3.5mm aux in speakers</a> (https://drive.google.com/file/d/0BytFM0YY6w76TTVKbmNMRVQtSmM/view?usp=sharing)”
Here are the steps:
1. Plug the “ "https://www.amazon.com/Hosa-YMM-261-Stereo-Breakout-Cable/dp/B000068O5H?th=1" "Hosa YMM-261 3.5 mm TRS to Dual 3.5 mm TSF Stereo Breakout Cable“ into Android/Windows/MacOS/iPhone with 3.5mm phone jack or
Android/Windows/MacOS/iPhone with DAC (Refer to my “DAC & AMP comparisons” doc (https://drive.google.com/file/d/0BytFM0YY6w76Z0VsaTl5RXFFQmc/view?usp=sharing))
2. Plug two “iXCC 6-Feet 3.5mm Male to Male Universal Aux Audio Stereo Cable for Smartphones, Tablets and MP3 Playerhttps://www.amazon.com/iXCC-Tangle-Free-Auxiliary-Connectors-Smartphones/dp/B00V99I38M/ref=nav_signin?ie=UTF8&qid=1474947541&sr=8-5&keywords=3.5mm%2Bmale%2Bto%2Bmale&th=1 cable*2 (front sides) into the black and red 3.5mm phone jacks respectively. Note that the black and red represents left mono and right mono sound respectively
3. Plug the two back sides (opposite of front, actually it doesn’t matter which is front, which is back) of the cables into two B&O play A1
4. Switch on the two B&O play A1 and play music from the source
5. Enjoy terrific music with your Android/Windows/MacOS/iPhone!
*: As there are no 3.5mm headphone jacks on iPhone 7 or iPhone 7 plus, you can use a lightening to 3.5mm cable or directly use an external dac for better music playback quality with lossless music-16 bit, 24bit and even dsd (Refer to my “DAC & AMP comparisons” doc (https://drive.google.com/file/d/0BytFM0YY6w76Z0VsaTl5RXFFQmc/view?usp=sharing))
*2 Mono cables or other stereo cables also work well but I suggest you buy this cable (two) because of the good customer feedbacks and amazing sound quality!
Bonus: you can buy two "https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01GVEM5TW?th=1" target="_blank">Pushingbest Storage Case for BeoPlay A1 B&O PLAY A1 Portable Speaker Hard PU and EVA (Black</a>" and cut holes so that you can play music with the protective case!
Score
Sound quality (just my opinioin)-64/80
Bass: two modes-
mode 1: you hang it somewhere, the bass is less, the vocal is clearer;
mode 2: you put it on a desk, thanks to the bass reflection on the desk, the bass is stronger. The bass is natural, unlike the Bose SoundLink Mini ii (https://www.bose.com/en_us/products/speakers/wireless_speakers/soundlink_mini_ii.html) which has artificial bass. However, the bass is not very tight and clear, so you can hear “dum dum dum” sound easily. So, I prefer hang the 2 speakers around somewhere to put them on the desk.
Mid: front and very great (the vocal is very clear!)
Treble: the high is not clear enough and the sound characteristics of B&O play A1 is cold. Also, when I play Memory (cats), the treble screeches. It is glitch and I don’t like it. Maybe you like it. I prefer warm sound to cold one. So I am going to buy Chord mojo(http://chordelectronics.co.uk/mojo/)to tune the sound characteristics of B&O play A1 from cold to warm. You can also PM me for better opinions.
Dynamics: No complain for speakers in this price (i.e. its ok)
Soundstage: No complain for speakers in this price (i.e. not very wide)
Buttons-1/5
To compensate for the beauty of physical design, you need to press every button hard. To be frank, this is not a wise design. A design which is not user-friendly is not a good design.
Battery life-4/5
You can charge your B&O play A1 while playing music. Just be reminded that the A1 will be a little bit hot.
Connectivity-0/5(Bluetooth);5/5(wired)
Bluetooth connection really sucks, no matter you connect 1 B&O play A1 or two B&O play A1 with Android or iPhone. The B&O play app sucks. However, once you try my guide and connect two B&O play A1, the wired connection will bring you the best music ever (Want better music playback? Buy a DAC!)
Price-5/5
As a Danish luxurious brand, $249USD or under $2000HKD is a good bargain for people who would like to taste B&O products
Total score: 79/100 (SUGGESTED PURCHASE)!
Compare to other speakers:
1. Boss soundlink mini ii (https://www.bose.com/en_us/products/speakers/wireless_speakers/soundlink_mini_ii.html): Apart from artificial bass, this speaker turns a song which should be treble to mid. Crazy.
2. JBL Charge 3 (https://www.jbl.com/bluetooth-speakers/JBL+CHARGE+III.html): this is a party speaker. If you would like to play very loud music outdoor, this may be a good one, regardless of the music quality. Don’t get it wrong, B&O play A1 can also be an outdoor speaker as it also has great peak power. However, it is best to use B&O play A1 indoors. The indoor music with B&O play A1 is superior than using it in outdoors.
3. UE boom 2 (http://www.ultimateears.com/en-us/ueboom2#adventure): well, there is distortion with high volume. One funny thing, when I watched youtube comparison between JBL charge 3 and UE boom 2, I 100% like the latter more than the JBL. But when I compared them at a store, the UE boom 2 sometimes outperform JBL charge 3 in sound quality. Strange. Isn’t it? Anyway, the B&O play A1 outperforms these two at a large percentage.
4. UE roll 2 (http://www.ultimateears.com/en-us/store/ueroll2): just sucks
So, how do I play music now?
LG v20(https://www.lg.com/us/mobile-phones/v20) 24bit or dsd64 musicsource>>>internal 32 bit ESS ES 9218 Quad DAC>>>3.5mm stereo breakout cable>>>B&O play A1 or
iMac 24 bit or dsd64 musicsource>>>Astell &Kern XB10>>>3.5mm stereo breakout cable>>>B&O play A1
And very soon, ultimatelyL
LG v20 or iMac 24 bit or dsd64 source>>>Chord mojo>>>3.5mm stereo breakout cable>>>B&O play A1
發表於 2016-11-6 09:30
