It’s not often there’s a new product that I’m genuinely excited for, but this new speaker from Bang & Olufsen is one of my most anticipated launches.
And that’s because it’s a sequel to a five-star product I reviewed several years ago that won our best wireless speaker award at the time. Considering its size, it was a superlative performer, so I’m excited to see what the Bang & Olufsen Beosound A1 Gen 3 can do.
At first blush it looks very similar to the Gen 2 model, its circular, sculpted appearance that’s crafted from pearl-blasted aluminium with 2173 precision-milled holes in its surface alludes to its sense of luxury and refinement. The IP67 rating ensures that it’s fully dust- wand waterproof making it ready to take with you on any outdoor adventure.
A few new upgrades
Improvements come in the form of a bigger woofer that delivers deeper bass (2dB more in fact) than the previous model. Bang & Olufsen claim that the larger woofer results in a “rich, room-filling” sound. As always, we’ll be hoping to hear that’s the case once we get out hands on it.
Stereo pairing is possible across 2nd and 3rd gen models, while battery has been eked out to up to 24 hours, six more hours than its predecessor.
Bluetooth support is the slightly older 5.1 version, but there are a couple of other ways of connecting the speaker depending on the source device you have with Microsoft Swift Pair and Google Fast Pair both supported.
There’s a three-microphone array inside so the Beosound A1 3rd Gen could be used to take calls with, and Bang & Olufsen have built this speaker with modular architecture in mind, with a 10-year lifetime mooted for its “first useful lifecycle”. Its modular design means you can replace components over time to keep the speaker going for as long as you want.
A speaker that could last forever
And the Bang & Olufsen Beosould A1 3rd Gen is the first modular Bluetooth speaker to be Cradle to Cradle Certified (at Bronze level), which cetifies that the speaker can be serviced, upgraded and repaired over its lifetime.
Colours include B&O’s classic Natural Aluminium finish and two new one in Honey Tone and Eucalyptus Green
You’ll want to know the price, of course, and this is perhaps the only disappointing aspect about the Beosound A1 Gen 3. Compared to its predecessor, the price in the UK has gone up by £100 to £299, and the same applies to European pricing, which is now €349.
I’d have hoped it was not as much as that, but considering 2024’s best outdoor speaker in the Bose SoundLink Max was £399 / $399, it’s not the most expensive outdoor speaker.
Here’s hoping it lives up to the anticipation. We’ll be looking to give it a test in the coming weeks to see if the Bang & Olufsen Beosound A1 Gen lives up to its promise.
