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
Summary:
Let me start with the end of the review…..this is a great speaker! I have compared it to a number of other wireless, Apple Airplay compatible speakers in the price range of $700-$2500 and it came out on top every time.
Review:
A long time ago I was an audiophile. I used to run VR 4 GEN III SE speakers, an EMM Labs front end, BAT VK 51SE Pre-amp, Nordost Valhalla Cabling, and a variety of hi-end amps. I also use to hang out with a reviewer from Stereotimes where I gained some real insight into true state-of-the-art audio…yada, yada, yada. My point being, I have had the opportunity to experience great sound systems. However, I now live in an apartment and have been searching for years for a speaker that was small, dynamic, musically pleasing, and easy to operate. Keep in mind I was specifically looking for a wireless, Apple airplay compatible speaker….so right off the cuff that limits the market. Everything I will discuss from this point forward falls into that realm. Also keep in mind I was looking at a single source speaker between $500 & $2500 (although through the process I did try a few wireless stereo pairs). Finally, I only tested speakers using Airplay and DLNA. I prefer both of these to Bluetooth as I do not run into distance limitations and I can generally stream audio at full resolution. All music was streamed wirelessly from a Late 2013 802.11 AC compatible MacBook Pro via an 802.11AC Apple Airport Extreme Router. I use an Apple iPhone 6S as the remote (via either Apple remote app or the speaker manufacturers app). Also, when a speaker is compatible the streaming occurs over a 5 GHz network. I will try to do some comparisons so that you can understand why I so greatly prefer the A6.
B&W Zeppelin Wireless:
Starting with the B&W Zeppelin wireless. The Zepplin was by far the most closed in sounding speaker. It did have inner detail but did not present much of a soundstage and sounded the most like audio was coming from the speaker and not from the area around the speaker. It was not a very airy sound. I would almost describe the sound as dark compared to the other speakers. It sounded a bit rolled off in both the upper and lower frequencies. I would generally described the speaker as tight sounding and closed in….kind of like a big boom box but with finese. It was my least favorite of the speakers tested.
Bluesound Pulse 2:
Next up was the Bluesound Pulse 2 (I also tried the Pulse Mini but won’t comment on it here). If I take price into consideration the Pulse 2 came in second place. The Pulse 2 is an open sounding speaker, it resolves inner detail well, and it sounds fairly musical. I enjoyed the speaker and would have kept it had I not found the A6. As good as the Pulse 2 performed, it was not as open sounding as the A6, did not throw as large a sound stage, did not display the midrange beauty of the A6 (the A6 does amazing things with human voice), and did not go quite as low. Also, although the Pulse 2 was a dynamic sounding speaker, the A6 is even better.
24/192 using DLNA:
I also want to mention at this point that of all the speakers tested, only one of them could stream 24/192 wirelessly without any hiccups using DLNA. That was the A6. Every other speaker I tested, including the NAIM Mu-So, would constantly drop in and out when running high resolution music to them wirelessly. The A6 was rock stable in this area and only took two to three seconds engaging when streaming very large, high resolution audio files wirelessly. As a side note, when using Apple Airplay across most of the speakers, and including the A6, there was little to no delay in streaming. That may simply speak to the quality of the 5GHz AC connection between the Mac Pro and the Airport Extreme.
Naim Mu-So:
OK, lets go to the Naim. The Naim MU–SO is $500 more then the A6, and does not sound quite as good. It is the second best sounding speaker in the lot tested, but I did not find it as dynamic as the A6 (the A6 is able to start and stop its 5.5 inch woofers at lightening speed) and did not seem to go as low on the low end or as high on the high-end. As for sound stage The Naim presented a soundstage that is just as wide as the A9 but not as deep. I would credit that to the A9’s rear firing, full range driver. Also, again, I could not wirelessly stream 24/192 to the Naim without dropouts and delays where the A6 performed without a hiccup.
BeoPlay A9:
Finally, the surprise of the lot…the B&O Beoplay A9. I like the A9. However, it also did not seem as dynamic as the A6. That 8 inch woofer on the A9 simply sounded slower and a bit muddier sounding then the 2, 5.5 inch woofers on the A6. The A9 presented a larger soundstage that filled the room a bit more, but I was surprised how well the A6 keep up in this regard. Just like A9, the A6 will get very loud and although the A9 went a little deeper then the A6, I found the A6 sounded more transparent than the A9 (or any of the other speakers tested).
Some Caveats:
Neither the A6 nor the A9 live up to their potential when placed near a wall or hung on a wall. They need room to breathe. I believe this is because of the rear firing drivers on both speakers. When you put them near walls or hung on walls the depth of performance is lost. The sound becomes flatter and less dynamic. My recommendation for the A6 is to place it on a piece of furniture and have the rear of the speaker about a foot and a half away from the wall. I did try the A6’s stand but found that it actually removed an ever so small amount of bass (which would make sense since the speaker is floating). I preferred the sound of the A6 without the stand.
Nitpick:
If I have to nitpick the A6 it is this… The cover on the speaker, although beautiful, muffles the sound. You have to take the cover off to really appreciate what the A6 is capable of in terms of high frequency and transparency. Fortunately the cover is easily removable. I am giving serious consideration to trying to find (or create) a replacement for the cover.
That quadrat fabric and its automotive-style carrier obviously obscure some output but that's the price of the lovely curved shape. Perhaps a perforated metal grille option would have been good but not as domestic? Good write-up
thanks.
Beo Century ,Beoplay V1, Beocenter 6, Ex-Beolit 12, Beotime , A8. Beolit 15 , Form 2i , Beolab 2000, Beoplay A3.Beosound 1
Simonbeo:Good write-upthanks.
BeoNut since '75
What format is your 24/192 autio files? I have some AIFF 24/192 and 24/96 and neither will play on my A6 or Essence. They will play on my BeoSystem 4 though. I hope someday this will be fixed and I will be able to play them!
Great review! I very much enjoyed reading your experiences!
Mark-N
I did testing on a number of file types and had Bang & Olufsen confirm my results. The A6 will play WAV, FLAC, and ALAC (Apple Lossless) up to 24/192. However, for AIFF it will only play up to 44/1. This is not what the documentation would have you believe and is somewhat inconvenient for me given that I use AIFF predominately as I live in the Apple ecosystem. I use an app called XLD on my mac to convert high resolution AIFF files to other formats if I want to stream them via DLNA to the A6. I do hope that they give us a software update that allows for 24/192 AIFF files to be played on the A6. However, this may simply be a limitation of the built in DAC. I do not know.
Thanks drsht20!
I recently obtained XLD for another test and thought about converting them, but haven't gotten around to it yet. I submitted this issue to B&O several months ago, and they had me submit some sample files, but I haven't heard back from them, and never told that high-res AIFF was not supported.
I am also stuck in the Apple ecosystem. Since Apple Music, or maybe a little before, I've been feeling like a neglected user! It feels like they just don't care for users with their own library any more!