B&O PLAY Beolit 12 by Bang & Olufsen

Reviews for B&O PLAY Beolit 12 by Bang & Olufsen

Customer Reviews and Ratings

3.5 out of 5 stars

Based on 33 reviews

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  • 3.0 out of 5 stars

    SOUNDS GREAT, LOOKS GREAT, BUT DROPS CONNECTION

    • Written by from Curitiba

    21 of 23 people found this useful

    As another reviewer, I have connection problems too.
    I have another Airplay gadgets, and was looking for something to put in my garden, to integrate the sound outdoors when I have a party.
    So, I got this B&O to do the job.
    But other gadgets keep connected, steady, and the B&O always drops out.
    Can't find a reason.
    Even when in the same room as the wifi router.
    Sounds fantastic, looks fantastic, but doesn't deliver a steady Airplay connection.
    At least until now.
    Maybe in a future firmware update

    Was this useful? SOUNDS GREAT, LOOKS GREAT, BUT DROPS CONNECTION

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  • 3.0 out of 5 stars

    Nice Speaker but Airplay is virtually non functional

    • Written by from PURCELLVILLE

    24 of 29 people found this useful

    First of all, its very expensive and now made in China. I'm amazed at high end sellers like B&O that move production to China to increase margins but keep their prices the same. No doubt, it takes away from the presage of the brand that it is no longer made in Denmark.

    Second, yes, its a fine speaker. If you directly connect it to your iPhone or other Apple Device, you will not be disappointed. Ergonomics of the device, resembling the old B&O radio, are outstanding.

    Third, No issues with the setup, but no issues working with technology or plugging in an ethernet cable, either. The little setup app worked fine to connect to the wireless.

    Fourth, Airplay is virtually non functional. Well within wifi range there are frequent dropouts.

    So, now you paid a lot of money for a device with brilliant sound and ergonomics, but does not function over the wifi nicely. The brand has lost some prestige and the cost is exorbitant. Is it worth it?

    Hmmmm...

    Was this useful? Nice Speaker but Airplay is virtually non functional

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  • 3.0 out of 5 stars

    Great Sound but Poor Connectivity

    • Written by from Oakland

    21 of 26 people found this useful

    I bought this great little speaker for the form factor and was REALLY impressed with the sound but I returned it.

    I have a small 750sf apartment and I wanted this little speaker to serve dual functions. It replaced the cumbersome speakers in my bedroom I had connected to an airport express and I wanted it to be portable to replace the small Jambox I have.

    It sort of does both but not really well. My complaint is that to travel with it you need a USB or standard audio cord to connect and play music anywhere out of range of your Airplay network. Your phone is always tied to the unit unless it is connected to a wifi network and that is harder than it should be to do. I tried a couple times at a friend's house to connect to his wireless network via the downloadable B&O app on my iPhone but it was pointless. It was complicated and the unit never connected. So you have to keep the phone connected. This is not apparent in all B&O's promotional images. They make it look like a bluetooth cord-free unit. The upside is when your iPhone is connected via USB cable it gets a fast charge. The nice thing is that the charging power source is built in and the cord can be stored in the back compartment so you can always plug it in anywhere your are. No need to carry around an extra charger. If you forget you cord your outta luck. No music.

    In my apartment the unit looks fantastic and sounds great but it is a little too complicated to use as a music source on a daily basis. It seems to have a limited Wifi range. Once I went into another room and there was more than one wall in between the unit and the Airport Express the wifi signal dropped. This either kept the unit from connecting when I turned it on or it dropped the connection. Here is the downside. I had to pick it up and move it around to get it to connect. If it looses it's connection you have to press the wifi button and it searches for the network again. This takes it anywhere from 1-2 minutes. So to play music in my bedroom I had to go turn it on (it shuts down after a period on inactivity) and then wait for it to connect. It didn't always connect even though it sat in the same spot. If it didn't connect i had to go in and move it and wait for it to try again. The airport express I had plugged into the same outlet was always on and ready to play music. The Beolit need to much attention just to have music in the bedroom.

    I did upgrade to the new Airport Express (love it) and that eliminated the dropping music via airplay but the Beolit still had connection problems and like I said my apartment is only 750 sf.

    Love the look and sound but for $800 it should work flawlessly and not be so tempermental. It should also have bluetooth option for truly free traveling capabilities. I took it to a party but then my phone had to be tied to the Beolit to play music. Seems like a step backwards in this day and age of wireless connectivity

    Was this useful? Great Sound but Poor Connectivity

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  • 3.0 out of 5 stars

    Good sound, but...

    • Written by from Muenchen

    13 of 20 people found this useful

    ...wifi range is quite limited, I experienced many drop outs and the wifi router is only 15 feet away (same room). Power consumption is quite high (10,5 Watt with Volume @ 50% on the iPhone 4S via AirPlay). It doesn't shut down when AC is connected and the music is turned off (it does when running on battery). Even shut down and connected to AC is uses 6 Watt. The sound is good for a machine this size. The battery can't be removed so you can't use the Beolit with AC only. Sooner or later this means a new battery is needed (a visit to the service). Also it doesn't like when your WPA2 password has symbols like $ or ?. It takes to buttons (On and then Wifi) to establish an AirPlay connection within 45 seconds.

    I bought this device and two other devices: Loewe AirSpeaker and NAD VISO1 and compared a) the sound b) the handling c) smart power consumption. I ended up with the Loewe AirSpeaker because it delivered the best sound and broadest bass. Very low power consumption excellent design. The NAD VISO1 bass was the best, but the sound was a bit to dark and muted. Not as crisp and clear as with the Loewe. Also the Loewe system was the loudest by far, especially when compared to the Beolit 12.

    If you need portability, go with Beolit 12 because of the battery. I use my device at the office and at home, it works great. I hope multiple speakers via AirPlay will arrive soon on iOS devices so I can buy another Loewe system for the kitchen and enjoy multi-room sound. Works great with iTunes on Mac OS X so far.

    Was this useful? Good sound, but...

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