ARCHIVED FORUM -- March 2012 to February 2022READ ONLY FORUM
This is the second Archived Forum which was active between 1st March 2012 and 23rd February 2022
i couldn't resist it. The local dealer has a sale and three years late I bought an A3. A quarter of what we were tempted to buy it for three(?) years ago. Very pleased with it after understanding the need to dock correctly.
Beo Century ,Beoplay V1, Beocenter 6, Ex-Beolit 12, Beotime , A8. Beolit 15 , Form 2i , Beolab 2000, Beoplay A3.Beosound 1
I did the same a month or so ago, found one on sale, NIB, on eBay for $115. Love it, amazingly useful little device, sounds great for the size.
Jeff
I'm afraid I'm recovering from the BeoVirus.
Here is mine - playing an old Fairport Convention album.
The A3 is a must for all owners of an old spare iPad - imo.
N.B the small round thingy is a bluetooth remote - quite handy
MM
There is a tv - and there is a BV
Beosound Stage, Beovision 8-40, Beolit 20, Beosound Explore.
Aussie Michael:Does the A3 have an audio out? Or purely for the in built speakers?
No out connections. Tremendous product effectively turning your old iPad into a TV or higher quality audio player.
Drawbacks: must be placed on a very level surface where it can't be accidentally knocked over, and also the gasket tends to expand with age so eventually getting the iPad back into the A3 (if you remove it) can be a bit of a gasket-squeezing struggle.
Graham
Beovision 7 40 mk 5 ,beovision 6x3, beosound 3000, beogram 3300 , 2 x lc2, 2 x beocom 1401, beocom 6000 x 2, 5 x beo4,
, 4 x beolab 4's, form 2, h2, a2,a1 and a beolab 2 😀😀
There are a couple of 3rd party stand solutions for the A3.
the problem however, is to find a dealer for rhese, since you can't buy these direct
http://dk.bosscom.com/products.asp?m1=1950&m2=2683
Note: I have no personal experience with rhese - but I would like to try out the table stand.
I've sent an email to Bosscom to check if they might be willing to sell directly (I anticipate no retailer anywhere near Croatia hahaha...)
Anyway, I like the A3 and thought perhaps of mounting it on bathroom wall for music/video while showering.
p.s. I do agree with others who suggested you don't remove the iPad too often as it becomes a bit of a pain to get it back in properly.
I did a search of Bosscom as I recalled issues http://archivedforum2.beoworld.org/forums/p/10434/90981.aspx
The A3 was a criminally slept on product. Sounds fantastic for it's size and has great portability. The only thing that hurt the A3 when launched was it's price point and the fact that the lightning connection came out just months after the A3 debuted. I have multiples around the house for the kitchen, bath, garage and baby's room. .An under-respected product for sure.
Ah, you know... A little B&O here, a little there
Ouch! Good to know, thanks.
Bosscom - no thanks!
Some of the Bosscom products - yes, thank you!
Would be nice to know, if anyone actually has tried these (stand) products.
we tend to forget there is more to design than designing.
No ir unfortunately but I happened to ask the same question about the A9 at the store and they'd never been asked that before. I suppose the apple product is your remote with that but I still liked being able to use the Beo4 on the Beolit 12 compared to the 15.
The first gen A9 had ir support - the second hasn't.
Open box A3's for under £50 here...
http://homeavdirect.co.uk/bang-olufsen-beoplay-a3-portable-speaker-dock?
great minds Paul, I ordered one a few days ago. Could not say no at this price and intrigued with their terms "open-box"
Hi Mark,
Open box usually means refurbished - customer returns. I guess B&O PLAY got a lot of those especially with the BeoLit12 not really working well (Airplay) so companies like these buy them up incredibly cheaply. Makes you wonder how much these cost to make?
I'd rather buy one that's been in the storeroom at the B&O shop than a returned one that's been kicked around a warehouse and then by some delivery character. It might cost more but you get a proper receipt and a chance to chat with the sales guy. It cost a bit more but it's probably worth it.
Simonbeo: I'd rather buy one that's been in the storeroom at the B&O shop than a returned one that's been kicked around a warehouse and then by some delivery character. It might cost more but you get a proper receipt and a chance to chat with the sales guy. It cost a bit more but it's probably worth it.
watch this space, you might even hear my
Mark: Simonbeo: I'd rather buy one that's been in the storeroom at the B&O shop than a returned one that's been kicked around a warehouse and then by some delivery character. It might cost more but you get a proper receipt and a chance to chat with the sales guy. It cost a bit more but it's probably worth it. watch this space, you might even hear my
Yours will be fine I'm sure Mark, but if it is, don't brag!
( i've also done to support the dealer so they are still there when I want that BS 35. )
my A3 arrived and as mentioned I was intrigued at the "open-box" description, especially when priced at £49.99 including postage and packing.
it arrived in both outer brown B&O box and inner original Play box, the box had been opened at some time as there was creasing around the flap and a few chunks of polystyrene were missing from the internal protective packing, but every thing was neatly wrapped and on examination I cannot tell if this has ever been used before, no marks, chips scratches or finger prints.
rather impressed with its sound as I had bought over the years a few sound bars for my iPad to take when on holiday and this knocks them out of the water.
Over here in the US by law if it's refurbished it has to say it's refurbished in the description, open box means open box, maybe sold and returned but working fine, or opened, used as display and then reboxed, etc. As for refurb, I've had excellent luck with refurbished goods as any infant mortality has already happened to it...unless it's something with a design defect such as the Beosound 3s top plate I'd have no qualms about refurb.
I still enjoy my A3, too bad B&O didn't alter the design to handle the new connector, but maybe they weren't selling well.
Now that these are showing up in the remaindered channel for ~US$100 or lower, I rather suspect more of us will use them to breath new life into older iPads. Certainly quite a change from the original price!
Elephant's original thread, here, was quite useful to me to ensure I hadn't received a knock-off -- always a problem with eBay, and especially so with the BeoPlay line, and a product where it's difficult to tell if a low price means a good deal or a scam. At first I was worried about the non-B&O branded power adaptor, the universal electrical plugs, and the Chinese characters on the regulatory declaration area, but all of these aspects are also present in Elephant's original post.
My two candidate iPads will be the original model, and the iPad 3 -- the same revised form factor as the 2nd gen, but with a retina display. None with Lightening, obviously. Will report back on results!
Right, so first problem discovered: BeoSetup 3.8.5 won't launch on iOS 5.1.1, the last version of the OS that works on the original iPad.
Since BeoSetup 3.8.5 dates to September 2015, I'm guessing it's a case of that app being too new, and having dropped support for iOS 5.
So, the question now is -- did anyone happen to save a version of BeoSetup circa 2012 or 2013, when the A3 was new?
Yeah, the first gen iPad can't run the later OS, but the iPad 2 and 3 can and still have the 30 pin connector. I'm thinking of getting a used 3rd gen one as the interface for Spotify on the old OS is limited in functionality compared with the current one as well as the Beosetup issue.
Update: tried with a 3rd-generation iPad, running iOS 9. Good news: BeoSetup app launches, and knows its connected to an A3. Bad news: Firmware update (mine is still on 1.0.0.0) fails to contact the server. My guess is they have taken down the firmware file for this device.
Anyone happen to know if the app caches the firmware anywhere? If so, there's a remote chance we could recover it. If not, looks like there is no way to flash to the latest version.
Could someone with an A3 verify that they get the same error message?
My A3 is on version 1.0.4.0 and just says "your product is updated with the latest software"
The version you refer to is on the setup app? I haven't loaded any software and the A3 does all I want .
am I missing some functionality from the A3 this way.
( Please excuse the dumb question )
The old IPad we were using for the A3 has died. Solution; buy a low mileage replacement one used.
Such is life ;-)
It's a bit like the tail is wagging the dog but it had to be done.
Mines on the way. All I need now.......is an IPad 3!
You won't regret it. Especially at that price!
the iPad will cost more.
(And I'm sure Samsung don't do a better one)
Brilliantly I've just seen it for £49.99 inc p&p on the same website!
I thought you meant the iPad for a minute!
But you you prefer to pay the extra and "win" the A3.
If I instal the Beosetup app, what does it do? The A3 iPad 3 combo works at the moment, and I don't want to ruin it by updating us unnecessary software.
Chris Townsend: If I instal the Beosetup app, what does it do? The A3 iPad 3 combo works at the moment, and I don't want to ruin it by updating us unnecessary software.
There's an old thread on this problem. The consensus was to leave well alone if it just plugged and played. In fact the update may have been to remove software updating for the A3!