BeoPlay A2
It’s A+ performance from Bang & Olufsen’s Bluetooth speaker
£299 Manufacturer Bang & Olufsen, bang-olufsen.com
Dimensions 4.4x14.2x25.6cm Weight 1.1kg Connectivity Bluetooth 4, aux-in
This is a really expensive portable Bluetooth speaker. Three hundred pounds is a lot to spend on something that probably isn’t even your main sound system, but this isn’t like vanity headphones – the BeoPlay A2 sounds just phenomenal for its size.
Despite being less than two inches thick, it’s perfectly capable of filling a room with music. There’s a speaker on each of its large, flat sides, meaning its designed to blast audio in all directions, giving a lovely open sound. Stick it in the centre of a group when you’re sitting around outside, or on the table in the middle of a room, and everyone gets the same great sound.
It’s thin and stands upright, yet produces a really full sound. There’s plenty of bass – not the kind your neighbours will feel, but great for listening to – and lots of warmth and detail, especially in the midrange, though the treble feels comparatively cramped at the very top end. The A2 can also get really loud without much negative impact on the sound quality.
The design is smart, too. An extruded aluminium core and solid build on the case mean that it feels brilliantly durable without being too heavy – weighing in at just over a kilo and equipped with a chunky leather strap it really is truly portable. There’s even a handy USB port for charging your iPhone from its battery.
It comes in a few colours, too – the plain black is fairly stylish, though the grey and gold isn’t quite as nice in the flesh as it looks here. The green and brown is our favourite. Matt Bolton
Fantastic sound quality for its size justifies its high price tag. Whether you want to pay it is up to you.