Bang & Olufsen's new portable Bluetooth speaker is rugged, powerful, and quite pricey

[midian182]

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.

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https://www.techspot.com/news/89753-bang-olufsen-new-portable-bluetooth-speaker-rugged-powerful.html

 

[QuantumPhysics]

I do love having a portable speaker in the bathroom while I'm in the shower, or outside while washing my car, but if I'm dropping $199, it's gonna have to be on a large, floor standing speaker like a PartyBox

 

[captaincranky]

, it's gonna have to be on a large, floor standing speaker like a PartyBox

"Party Box", huh? Oh how the mighty (JBL), have fallen..

JBL's "Century 100", (aka 4310 studio monitors), were released at $273.00 a pop.. Crutchfield can hook you up with a pair today for only $2,000.00 a pop.

JBL L100 Classic (Blue Grille)

Vintage-styled stand-mount speaker

www.crutchfield.com

 

[mountains]

Thank you for at least telling us what Bluetooth version this has! It is frustrating how many articles about Bluetooth products don't mention the version. BT 5.2 allegedly starts to have low enough latency to be useful for additional tasks like (maybe) gaming headsets, etc.

 

[captaincranky]

Thank you for at least telling us what Bluetooth version this has! It is frustrating how many articles about Bluetooth products don't mention the version. BT 5.2 allegedly starts to have low enough latency to be useful for additional tasks like (maybe) gaming headsets, etc.

I've heard it said, (and I've come to believe), that plain old speaker wire has zero latency.

 

[wiyosaya]

Personally, the last thing I want to hear when I am out in nature is blaring music coming from anything much less an over-priced B&O Bling box. I go outdoors to get away from the crap coming from any technological device.

So, No thanks, B&O, in no case, would I touch any of your overprice bling machines. You've got about as much to offer as Dyson in vacuum cleaners or hand driers that blow bacteria all over public rest rooms, or for the matter the other company that relies on marketing to dummies - Bose.

EDIT: Besides, toting this thing is likely to make any police officer think you have a smoke grenade attached to your belt.

 

[Ravey]

I would say that price tag is quite reasonable in all honesty. But I'm like one or two others on here. If im at the beach or out hiking, I'm there to chill out.. not to listen to other peoples tastes in music!

 

[p51d007]

LOL, heck for that price, I could get two of my Anker Soundcore Boost speakers! And still have some change left over. Water resistant, LOUD and plenty of base.

 

[RudyBob]

They have always designed the ugliest stuff

 

[captaincranky]

They have always designed the ugliest stuff

Dude, you just don't understand how Scandinavian post modern, (and way overpriced) design, affects the Yuppie mind.

Simplified: "It must be elegant, look at the hurting it put on my credit card".

 

[captaincranky]

Personally, the last thing I want to hear when I am out in nature is blaring music coming from anything much less an over-priced B&O Bling box. I go outdoors to get away from the crap coming from any technological device.

It's products like this that start, "cycles o sonic violence". Remember how "boom, boxes", grew from having two small 5" (?) speakers, to dual 10" inchers, and were finally outlawed.

EDIT: Besides, toting this thing is likely to make any police officer think you have a smoke grenade attached to your belt.

Dude, everybody knows you put your bear spray inside a half gallon water jug.

(Images not to scale) Or are they?

 

[wiyosaya]

It's products like this that start, "cycles o sonic violence". Remember how "boom, boxes", grew from having two small 5" (?) speakers, to dual 10" inchers, and were finally outlawed.

Dude, everybody knows you put your bear spray inside a half gallon water jug.

(Images not to scale) Or are they?

Well, I do own a can of bear spray, and it definitely seems small enough to fit in a half-gallon water cooler.

 

[captaincranky]

Well, I do own a can of bear spray, and it definitely seems small enough to fit in a half-gallon water cooler.

I guess it's off to the Capitol with you then....

 

[RudyBob]

Personally, the last thing I want to hear when I am out in nature is blaring music coming from anything much less an over-priced B&O Bling box. I go outdoors to get away from the crap coming from any technological device.

So, No thanks, B&O, in no case, would I touch any of your overprice bling machines. You've got about as much to offer as Dyson in vacuum cleaners or hand driers that blow bacteria all over public rest rooms, or for the matter the other company that relies on marketing to dummies - Bose.

EDIT: Besides, toting this thing is likely to make any police officer think you have a smoke grenade attached to your belt.

I will never understand music in the great out doors

 

[captaincranky]

I will never understand music in the great out doors

I had to take a course in view camera use toward a degree in photography. I never felt so vulnerable as when I'd be standing out in the street, with the focusing cloth draped over my head, all the way down to my waist.. Headphones aren't anywhere near that "risky".

Does "music outside" count if you're in a car? Because I like to blast symphonic metal when I pass, "the drug gang of color", on the corner.

 

[RudyBob]

I had to take a course in view camera use toward a degree in photography. I never felt so vulnerable as when I'd be standing out in the street, with the focusing cloth draped over my head, all the way down to my waist.. Headphones aren't anywhere near that "risky".

Does "music outside" count if you're in a car? Because I like to blast symphonic metal when I pass, "the drug gang of color", on the corner.

In car is always appropriate