So, the package arrived at ‘BeoWorld HQ’ from Struer via UPS.  I have to confess it didn’t quite occur that it contained the BeoSound 1 as the box was so small.  For some reason I was expecting something the size of the Subwoofer part of the BeoLab 14, so to get something so petite was quite a shock!  

Anyway, out of the box it came after some frantic parcel tape cutting and behold!

It stands exactly 32.7cm high, and the widest part (the base, as it’s conical) is just under 16.2cm.  It’s quite a chunky little lump too, weighing in at 3.5kg – which feels quite heavy once you’ve gritted your teeth and decided to pick it up by the throat (you kind of feel like the right thing to do is pick it up from above, then wrap your fingers around the top section, hoping you won’t pull the top off).

If you do flip it upside down for a look there’s an Ethernet port, which is only there for software updates – and a figure-8 mains connection.  I also noted three female screw holes, so there’s wall bracket coming for sure if it’s not already been announced.  I also think a floor stand of sorts could work visually, but possibly not practically.

If you look closely through the gap at the bottom you can see a bass driver, firing downwards. To my untrained eyes it looks like a single driver from a BeoLab 18. I'm probably wrong, but it doesn't look far off the size physically....

I’ll post the press release of everything it can do, how powerful it is or isn’t, which formats and so on later.  This is a laymans review, of sorts – in as plain a language as I can muster.  I’ll also try and avoid the old hi-fi review clichés if I can!

Back to my immediate thoughts though. When I pulled off the inner cover my initial reaction was “got to be careful with this.. it’s aluminium”.  It screams expensive, and certainly looks and feels premium/luxury – but if this is going to be portable and/or live in busy kitchens and so forth it’s going to look like crap pretty quickly when it takes knocks, dings and scratches.  However, hopefully the owner will be a little more precious about it after paying almost a thousand pounds for it…  

It unnerves me though.. Aluminium is soft – and a portable speaker is the last thing I’d want to completely shroud in immaculately machine turned Aluminium.  Still, it’s a B&O ‘trademark’ so let’s rejoice in its brushed alu-ness…. And be v-e-e-r-r-r-r-y careful.

Here's a close-up of the etched logo at the bottom, which gives you an idea of the surface brushing too...

As you would expect, after a quick nose around, the first thing I did was check to see if the battery had some juice in it.  It did indeed, so naturally I whipped out my iPhone, instinctively jabbed at the top of the unit and held down my finger, waited for the familiar ‘bur-dink’ and hey presto it appeared on my iPhone Bluetooth list.

It was paired literally in seconds. I like that. Simplicity.

A little play with the rotating top section, which adjusts volume. It's a TINY bit laggy if you twizzle it super-fast - but not annoyingly so. We're talking fractions of a second.

So, there it was, the all-new BeoSound 1 – in the middle of a 5,000 square foot warehouse, sitting on a scruffy yet faithful old trolley which we use for testing and cleaning smaller B&O products, looking all pretty and shiny.  Time to shine in the audio department then.

Well, I immediately cranked it right up… and wished I hadn’t. 

It sounded awful.  🙁

Shrill and messy.  Lost in a cacophony of midrange. For those who have ever heard the BeoLab 1’s turned right up, where the super strong midrange and super-sharp top end totally leave the bass behind and they get all ‘shouty’ – this is it.  This is not a unit to be played L-O-U-D.  

I turned it down, pretty quickly.  This clearly isn’t meant to impress your friends at a house party, nor is it made for a circle of drunken ladies to dance around waving glasses of wine in the air.  I assume this is the BeoSound 2’s remit. It’s definitely not the BeoSound 1’s.

After turning it down to what I’d call a reasonable listening level (loud talking?) it sounded way, way better.  Much more balance – and the acoustic lens really does sound lovely. Crystal clear, crisp and sharp – very much like a BeoLab 3 but not quite as strong. Still, impressive all the same.  

In the warehouse it still sounded a bit ‘lost’ though.  I don’t feel I’m being too harsh on it though as I’ve had the Play products of  similar size sound better in the exact same space…

Power down then. It failed the warehouse test. Not failed miserably though…  Let’s take it home.  In you go little fella, buckle up!

I parked it on the corner of my large Oak dining table in the corner of the kitchen and at various intervals theatrically waved my arm, presenting it to anyone who walked in, like a magician who had just pulled three doves, a rabbit and a Ford Escort from a small top hat…… and waited for the responses.

“Dad, why have you bought a big flask – are you going camping or something?” asked my 16 year old Son, straight faced and completely serious.  That went well.

Exit my Son, then a few minutes later entered my 17 year old Daughter. “What’s THAT?” she said…  After a quick demo she admitted “actually it’s pretty cool” then added “but don’t you think it looks like one of those Thermos Flask things?” and walked out.

Then, the big one… (well, not literally – she runs 20-30 miles a week, sadly not all in the same direction) my dear wife walked in 10 minutes later.  I pointed at it, smiled. I started to play a dance track she knew and liked, and smiled again – and pointed at it again, and smiled, and gestured my theatrical arm towards it….

“HA!!  It’s a musical Flask!!! HA HA!!!”

Well, it would appear the BeoSound 1 will be an immediate hit with well heeled backpackers, ramblers and campers. Great…

In fairness though, each and every one of them agreed it sounded good.  My Daughter has a BeoLit 15, my wife has an A2, and my son a BeoPlay A6 – so they all know what decent sound is.

With my family of partially sighted, design blind luddites out of the way I preceded to access my Deezer account and skip through a few tracks with it still sat on the kitchen table, with the volume at just a tiny bit above loud talking volume hoping for the best…. And… you know what? It sounded SOOO much better!!  

At ‘normal’ listening levels (I’d say talking to loud talking) with the right track it sounded SUPERB!!  Rich, deep, rolling bass perfectly matching the crisp acoustic lens. Properly balanced. It sounded like a completely different unit to the one I’d cranked up in the warehouse and it became immediately apparent the BeoSound 1 is made for slightly smaller rooms and slightly lower volumes to really shine. 

Kitchen, perhaps?!

What I’m going to say may sound odd, but bear with me. If you get to own one this will make perfect sense..

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‘In a large space, the BeoSound 1 very much sounds it’s size.  In a small space it sounds three or four times bigger than it really is…”

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Quote me on that.