Beosound A1 (3rd Generation)
Bang & Olufsen · £299
Worth being NRY provisional
Pearl-blasted aluminium, a leather carrying strap and 2,173 precision-milled holes over the driver, which is a great deal of manufacturing for a speaker the size of a saucer. It runs 24 hours between charges and is rated IP67, so it survives both a long weekend and being rained on. At £299 it is the portable speaker to own rather than the cheapest one that works, and it will still look like this in five years.
- For
- Someone who wants one portable speaker, for years, and will notice how it is made.
- Not for
- Anyone who wants the most sound per pound, which a plastic box will always win.
What we checked
- The housing is pearl-blasted aluminium with a leather strap and over two thousand milled holes. John Lewis
- It runs up to 24 hours per charge and is rated IP67 for dust and water. John Lewis
Marked provisional: the justification rests on 1 source(s); two independent ones is the bar. We publish it anyway and say so, rather than waiting for evidence that may never arrive.