B&O BeoPlay A2 Speaker Review

Did I really just spend $399 on a Bluetooth speaker? Yikes. Read on for the full review of the B&O BeoPlay A2 Speaker.

Bang & Olufsen BeoPlay A2 Review

The first thing you notice other than the fact that this is one classy Bluetooth speaker is that it is freaking huge. It is 10-inches long and 5.6-inches wide (and weighs 2.4 pounds). Bigger than many tablets. This large form factor means that the BeoPlay A2 can fit a bigger battery. Bigger battery = longer playtime… 24 hours of playtime.

The B&O BeoPlay A2 has some serious power at 180 watts at peak and is running with dual class D amplifiers. This power is put to your ears via a pair of 3-inch midrange drivers and two .75-inch tweeters (20kHz). The bass gets to 55Hz with the help from two 3-inch passive radiators. I expected the main speakers to be on the same side of this flat speaker but they are separated… one for each side.

My BeoPlay A2 is grey but you have the choice of green and black as well. I usually go for the black color option with my gadgets, but in this case it is the most boring of the bunch. The speaker is made from two sheets of polycarbonate  that is split with an aluminum center. The hardest part to swallow is the price ($399) but once you get over that you realize you have one amazing sounding speaker. B&O is one of the first guys to use the Bluetooth aptX standard which promises CD quality audio. Unfortunately my smartphone doesn’t support this standard yet.

A clever feature that takes advantage of the large battery is a female USB port for sharing power with other devices that need a charge, like your smartphone.

So, how does it sound? Well, it doesn’t sound like any of my other Bluetooth speakers. It sounds much better. Exactly what you would expect from the folks at B&O.