Editor's take: The vaccine rollout and reopening of many outdoor locations will likely give portable Bluetooth speaker sales a boost. While the Beosound Explore is expensive, its combination of toughness and sound quality could make it a popular option.
Bang & Olufsen, the Danish audio giant famed for its high-end, pricey products, has added to its portfolio of portable Bluetooth speakers with the Beosound Explore, which is rugged enough to take on all your outdoor pursuits.
The B&O Beosound Explore appears tough enough to survive the likes of hiking and the beach while offering a sound quality that can satisfy audiophiles' tastes. It's protected by a type 2 anodised aluminum exterior that's scratch resistant, so you don't have to worry about cosmetic damage when it's clipped to a rucksack (or something else) using the aluminum carabiner. It's also IP67 rated water- and dust-proof.
The internal specs are impressive, too. The Beosound Explore packs two 1.8-inch full range drivers, powered by two 30W Class D amplifiers, tuned for outdoor use. These deliver 360-degrees of sound through the True360 omnidirectional performance and circular speaker grille while pumping out 59dB of bass. Bang & Olufsen says the frequency range is 56Hz - 22.7kHz, and the speaker can reach 91dB.
Elsewhere, battery life comes in at an impressive 27 hours as long you stick to typical listening volumes, which B&O lists as 70dB. It also features Bluetooth 5.2 connectivity, is compatible with Apple Fast Pair, Google Fast Pair and Microsoft Swift Pair, and you can use two of them for a stereo setup.
The Beosound Explore is available now from Bang & Olufsen online and retail stores for $199. It comes in in Black Anthracite or Green finishes, with Grey Mist arriving in summer.