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Review on Beolit 17 Wireless Bluetooth Speaker by Bang & Olufsen - Stone Grey - BO1280373 by Brockington Zuniga

Revainrating 5 out of 5

Visit the B&O website and read the specs so you know exactly what to expect before you buy!

After carefully reading the numerous reviews on audio websites and customer reviews here at Revain, I decided to purchase the Beloit 17. Had the negative reviews been representative I could have easily returned it to Revain. BATTERY Battery life seems to be a big controversy when reading the Beloit 17 reviews. Bang and Olafson claim UP TO 24 hours of battery life when the speaker is driven at a moderate volume, which they say is a 14 out of 32. This is clearly stated on their website. Assuming that level 32 is the maximum, level 14 would account for less than half or 44% of the total. There doesn't seem to be a way to pinpoint the volume, so I used the Beoplay app and used the digital volume slider to estimate where 50% was. This level is sufficient for what I would call "normal" listening levels when the speaker is up to ten feet from the listening position in the room. In the first 12 hours of use over three days, my battery went from 91% to 55%, so I'm confident that at my current listening level, I can get close to the advertised 24 hour battery life with a fully charged battery. Obviously your mileage may vary, but my speaker is clearly within specs. I can also tell you that this speaker can output a decent volume at 75% volume and above, but no 2200mah battery can power a 5.5" full-range speaker, two 4" passive radiators and three 1.5" Inch speakers very long drive tweeters. at this level. If you need to run it, plug it in first; Anyone expecting more should head to the B&O website and read (for me) the very clear specs listed in the 'Battery' section there. Know what you're getting before you click the buy button! SOUND I've been interested in music and sound systems all my life. That doesn't make me an expert, but with fifty years of experience I know what I like about my sound systems. I currently use Totem Arro speakers in combination with Totem Storm as my main sound system. All my music is in various high-resolution formats (flac, aiff, etc.). I also use Audeze LCD-X headphones when I want to listen seriously. I plan to use the Beloit 17 in conjunction with my iPhone and iPad for general listening and streaming, and occasionally watch movies on my iPad Pro or MacBook. Obviously this doesn't compete with my main system; For a Bluetooth speaker, the sound is rich and clear with balanced lows and mids. I'd say the bass can be a little heavy, but to my ears it's not objectionable and can be altered/softened using the Beoplay app. Moving audio to the bright quadrant in the app seems to work fine for me. Otherwise, if you're just streaming a service like Pandora for easy listening, it just blends in nicely with the background. Anyhow, this speaker compares very well to my Bowers and Wilkins A7 which I have used for this purpose so far. Bluetooth offers more flexibility than Apple Airplay, so I can also use it with my high-resolution Android-based Sony Walkman. SPEAKER FEATURES Bluetooth is easy to connect and everything works as it should. I haven't tried the special function button yet, but I'll update this review if there's anything worth noting. It loads quickly and works well with the Beoplay app. So far there is nothing to complain about. GENERAL The quality is, in a word, excellent. The packaging was like Apple's. Fit and finish are perfect. Compared to "comparable" speakers, this is (to me) worth a slightly higher price tag. I found it at a Revain dealer for $50. Although this is a "portable" speaker, it weighs over five pounds, so don't take it with you! I like it and plan to keep it. Highly recommended so far, but of course I'll update my review if that changes. Edit 28.08. I have charged the speaker battery and played at moderate (40%) and loud (60-70%) volumes for a total of 24 hours so far and my battery is currently in the 10-15% range (steady red on unit). According to the battery level displayed on my Apple Watch (Apple Watch beoplay app shows the remaining battery percentage) it is now 14%. I plan to get it fully working but I expect to get another hour and possibly more out of it. Bass-heavy music seems to have a slightly larger impact on battery life, but for my use it's a lot more than I expected based on other user reviews. I also downloaded the latest V6.0.3 software with no issues and also connected to my lone Android device (Sony NW-ZX2 High Definition Audio Player) which uses Bluetooth 3.0 with no issues and playback was excellent with no dropouts or interruptions . Based on other reviews I was concerned that the speaker might not work with an Android device, but my Sony with Android V4.2 works great. Connecting the Beolit 17 to my Sony NW-ZX2 with a mini plug instead of bluetooth puts everything on one level. The speaker definitely sounds better and I can use all the features that Sony has to offer (DAC, ClearAudio+, equalizer, volume control, etc.). For those of you who own a high definition digital audio player, this is definitely an improvement. I could even connect my Sony NW-ZX2 to my Sony PHA-3 portable amplifier, which has a balanced output, and then connect the left and right channels to two separate Beolit 17 speakers for true Hi-Res stereo. I already have a very good setup so I'm not going to buy another Beolit 17 right away, but I'd love to borrow one to try! I still love it and am even more surprised by some of the negative reviews. . I was able to run at or above a comfortable listening level for a full 24 hours, so it definitely suits my needs. I'm certainly not pretending not to believe other reviewers, but I also can't believe there could be such a huge difference between the devices. That's still a solid five for me.

Pros
  • Pleasant
Cons
  • Speed

Comments (4)

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April 08, 2023
Beolit 17 review from a real person
March 06, 2023
Great product with the best customer support
March 05, 2023
Amazing sound, upsetting battery life.
February 22, 2023
Go to the B&O website and read the specs so you know exactly what to expect before you buy it!