Bang & Olufsen Unveils Beosound A1 3rd Gen Bluetooth Speaker

[AndyMacAndMic]

But here is the problem. Simply put, If the program material is orininally in stereo, when it is summed to mono there are issues of phase cancellation and anything being in the "center" becoming louder as its being doubled up by being combined.

But do you care about phase cancellation in a summed mono signal while preparing a meal in your kitchen and having some background music while doing so? Everything has a right place and a right time.

 

[wbeasley]

“A strap is a strap” shows me everything I need to know about your so-called knowledge about luxury items. As I said, it’s not about whether the strap works or not. A 100$ lamp is not “luxury”. A Tesla is not “luxury”. Whether Apple is “luxury” is debatable.

Sure, luxury items are higher margin products, and sure you can find many examples of overpriced standard products. But GOOD luxury items - which do exist! - are higher quality items, with a “luxury” feel, at often exorbitant price. You may be able to argue that the exorbitant price is not worth the difference, but that there is no difference is something people who can’t afford actual luxury items are telling themselves. It’s not true. You don’t get Bentley quality feel* in a BYD, you don’t get Gucci quality at target, you don’t get Rolex build in a Timex. And you don’t get Bang & Olufsen quality feel in a JBL. Sorry to burst your bubble. If you don’t see the difference, you either haven’t tried them in real life, or you just don’t care. Which is perfectly fine. There’s nothing wrong with “good enough”. Just don’t kid yourself that you are getting the same for less, because you are not. You are getting “good enough for you”.

*Note the difference between whether it works or breaks down, and “feel”. Yes, luxury cars usually are less reliable than a Toyota. And a Rolex is worse at telling the time than your iPhone. That’s not the point.

so now you have admitted there are GOOD luxury items and by inference BAD luxury goods...

not everything at a high price is worth the asking price. and that's the trap many fall for.

the "a strap is a strap" comment was more aimed at the highlighted design feature.
the marketing was it had a leather strap - which contributes NOTHING to the sound function of the speaker. nothing.
a lot of cheaper speakers also have straps. it's not unique.
but a LEATHER strap... well, from experience, leather soled shows wear out quickly, leather watch bands get dirty, dont like water and fail quicker. leather jackets get mouldy easily and soak up odours. i'd bet this unique leather strap would fail long before some woven synthetic fibre strap. and still not one single strap contributes to the sound.

precision milled speaker holes... there's plenty of speaker grills made the same way. what exactly is unique about this one? if they highlighted the layout of the holes and how scientific testing revealed a sonic difference in the layout created an advantage i would give you that point. do the holes follow the curve and allow more sound through? do the hole sizes tune for certain frequencies?

the reviews I have found for v1 and v2 of this device do praise the sonic tunefulness of these devices and praise the volume and clarity. marketing these features perhaps doesnt target the sound ignorant who just want something small and expensive with a brand name.and who will pay a lot of money.

i like most Apple designed items.
but even more important than the unboxing experience is the fact they last well compared to cheaper devices.

two MacBook Airs over 12 years old still work well.
i've had Acer and HP laptops partly fail in a year. and be junk after two.
the price premium for the Apple item was well worth it.

 

[Velli]

so now you have admitted there are GOOD luxury items and by inference BAD luxury goods...

not everything at a high price is worth the asking price. and that's the trap many fall for.

I don’t disagree with that at all. It was you who were trying to generalize across a whole market segment, not me. There are many attempts at luxury products that fall flat, and shouldn’t be bought, just like there are many attempts at creating value products that fall flat, and shouldn’t be bought - but people still buy them.

Inability to properly assess the quality of a product is not unique to luxury purchasers. This happens at any price level. Believing that high price equals better quality is in no way more naive than believing that lower price equals better value for money.

There are literally products in the world that I will pay money not to use.

the "a strap is a strap" comment was more aimed at the highlighted design feature.
the marketing was it had a leather strap - which contributes NOTHING to the sound function of the speaker. nothing.
a lot of cheaper speakers also have straps. it's not unique.

Again, this is where you don’t understand luxury. The fact that it doesn’t contribute to sound does not mean the feature does not add value. Again: It is not about how well the product fulfills the task, it is about the feeling of using the product while doing it.

I’m not saying you have to agree. There is nothing wrong with your approach which seemingly is to buy products that at a good price does the job, and lasts long. That’s what most people should do. But your attempt at ridiculing people who value other parts of the user experience than you, only falls back on yourself.

 

[wbeasley]

I don’t disagree with that at all. It was you who were trying to generalize across a whole market segment, not me. There are many attempts at luxury products that fall flat, and shouldn’t be bought, just like there are many attempts at creating value products that fall flat, and shouldn’t be bought - but people still buy them.

Inability to properly assess the quality of a product is not unique to luxury purchasers. This happens at any price level. Believing that high price equals better quality is in no way more naive than believing that lower price equals better value for money.

There are literally products in the world that I will pay money not to use.

Again, this is where you don’t understand luxury. The fact that it doesn’t contribute to sound does not mean the feature does not add value. Again: It is not about how well the product fulfills the task, it is about the feeling of using the product while doing it.

I’m not saying you have to agree. There is nothing wrong with your approach which seemingly is to buy products that at a good price does the job, and lasts long. That’s what most people should do. But your attempt at ridiculing people who value other parts of the user experience than you, only falls back on yourself.

I notice you skipped my other part of their marketing spiel... the thousands of milled holes in the grill...

Something many speakers have.
And nothing stating why or how this impacts positively on the sound produced.
Sony make a big deal about their X-Balanced Speaker: