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  1. Table of Contents
  2. Top
  3. Main Differences
  4. Design
    1. Pictures
    2. Style
    3. Portability
    4. Build Quality
    5. Controls
    6. In The Box
  5. Sound
    1. Frequency Response Accuracy
    2. Raw Frequency Response
    3. Soundstage
    4. Dynamics
  6. Active Features
    1. Battery
    2. Voice Assistant
    3. App
  7. Connectivity
    1. Wired
    2. Bluetooth
    3. Wi-Fi
  8. Comments

Bang & Olufsen Beosound A1 Gen 2 vs Bang & Olufsen Beosound Explore

Side-by-Side Comparison

Products

Bang & Olufsen Beosound A1 Gen 2
Bang & Olufsen Beosound Explore

Tested using Methodology v0.8

Updated Sep 04, 2024 07:31 PM

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Amazon.com

Tested using Methodology v0.8

Updated Feb 04, 2025 12:26 PM

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Amazon.com
Bang & Olufsen Beosound A1 Gen 2 Picture
Bang & Olufsen Beosound Explore Picture

Variants

  • Beosound A1 Gen 2 (Black)
  • Beosound A1 Gen 2 (Gold)
  • Beosound A1 Gen 2 (Green)
  • Beosound A1 Gen 2 (Grey Mist)
  • Beosound A1 Gen 2 (Pink)
  • Beosound Explore (Anthracite)
  • Beosound Explore (Green)
  • Beosound Explore (Grey Mist)

Our Verdict

Bang & Olufsen Beosound A1 Gen 2

Bang & Olufsen Beosound Explore

The Bang & Olufsen Beosound Explore and the Bang & Olufsen Beosound A1 Gen 2 are similar speakers, though they have different strengths. The Gen 2 has a better-balanced sound profile and offers outstanding voice assistant support. However, the Explore has a wider-sounding soundstage and can play stereo content without downmixing it to mono, which sounds more immersive. It also has a longer battery life, though this can depend on your usage habits, so your experience may vary.

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Green
Beosound A1 Gen 2
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Green
Beosound Explore
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Grey Mist
Beosound A1 Gen 2
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Grey Mist
Beosound Explore
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Black
Beosound A1 Gen 2
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Anthracite
Beosound Explore
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Gold
Beosound A1 Gen 2
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Pink
Beosound A1 Gen 2
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Main Differences for
Music

Threshold 

0.10

Music 

6.5
6.4

Frequency Response Accuracy 
 

6.4
5.6

Soundstage 
 

7.4
8.8

Dynamics 
 

5.8
6.5

Full Comparison

Design

Style  

Style Photo  

Bang & Olufsen Beosound A1 Gen 2 Style Photo
Bang & Olufsen Beosound Explore Style Photo

RGB Lights  

No
No
Show Text 

Portability 
 

9.3
9.3

Dimensions Photo  

Bang & Olufsen Beosound A1 Gen 2 Dimensions Photo
Bang & Olufsen Beosound Explore Dimensions Photo

Volume 
 

46 in³ (749 cm³)
50 in³ (813 cm³)

Weight 
 

1.1 lbs (0.5 kg)
1.3 lbs (0.6 kg)

Power Source 
 

Battery & USB
Battery & USB

One-Hand Carry 
 

Yes
Yes
Show Text 

Build Quality 
 

8.3
8.3

Build Quality Photo  

Bang & Olufsen Beosound A1 Gen 2 Build Quality Photo
Bang & Olufsen Beosound Explore Build Quality Photo

Material Quality 
 

Great
Great

Water Resistance 
 

Submersible (IPx7)
Submersible (IPx7)

Dust Resistance 
 

Dust-Proof (IP6x)
Dust-Proof (IP6x)

Impact Resistance 
 

No
No

Floats In Water 
 

Unspecified
Unspecified
Show Text 

Controls 
 

8.9
6.9

Controls Photo  

Bang & Olufsen Beosound A1 Gen 2 Controls Photo
Bang & Olufsen Beosound Explore Controls Photo

Controls Photo 2  

Bang & Olufsen Beosound A1 Gen 2 Controls Photo 2
Bang & Olufsen Beosound Explore Controls Photo 2

Ease Of Use 
 

Great
Great

Feedback 
 

Good
Good

Music Play/Pause 
 

Yes (Physical)
Yes (Physical)

Call Answer/End 
 

Yes (Physical)
No

Volume Up/Down 
 

Yes (Physical)
Yes (Physical)

Track Next/Previous 
 

Yes (Physical)
Yes (Physical)

Microphone On/Off 
 

Yes (Physical)
No

Additional Controls 
 

Yes
Yes
Show Text 

In The Box 
 

In The Box Photo  

Bang & Olufsen Beosound A1 Gen 2 In The Box Photo
Bang & Olufsen Beosound Explore In The Box Photo
Show Text 
Sound

Frequency Response Accuracy 
 

6.4
5.6

Frequency Response Graph  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

Slope 
 

-0.25
-1.20

Std. Err. 
 

3.95 dB
4.19 dB

Low-Frequency Extension 
 

62.6 Hz
91.1 Hz

High-Frequency Extension 
 

13.5 kHz
12.7 kHz
Show Text 

Raw Frequency Response 
 

Raw Frequency Response Graph  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

Binaural Recording @ 1m 
 

Binaural Recording @ 2m 
 

Soundstage 
 

7.4
8.8

Directivity Graph  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

Directivity Index 
 

1.09 dB
2.22 dB

Stereo 
 

No (mono)
Yes
Show Text 

Dynamics 
 

5.8
6.5

Dynamic Range Compression  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

SPL @ Max Volume 
 

84.2 dB SPL
84.8 dB SPL

DRC @ Max Volume 
 

3.33 dB
2.24 dB
Show Text 
Active Features

Battery 
 

3.2
7.5

Battery Life 
 

4.6 hrs
9.0 hrs

Charge Time 
 

4.9 hrs
3.9 hrs

Power Saving 
 

No
Yes

Charging Port 
 

USB-C
USB-C

Battery Powered 
 

Yes
Yes
Show Text 

Voice Assistant 
 

10
0.0

Alexa 
 

Yes (Requires Smartphone)
No

Google Assistant 
 

No
No

Speakerphone 
 

Yes
No

Siri 
 

No
No

Voice Assistant 
 

Yes
No

Voice Activation 
 

Yes
No

Microphone Mute 
 

Yes
No Microphone

Far-Field Performance 
 

Excellent
No Microphone

Ambient Noise Performance 
 

Excellent
No Microphone
Show Text 

App 
 

6.0
6.0

App Picture  

Bang & Olufsen Beosound A1 Gen 2 App Picture
Bang & Olufsen Beosound Explore App Picture

App Name 
 

Bang & Olufsen
Bang & Olufsen

iOS 
 

Yes
Yes

Android 
 

Yes
Yes

EQ 
 

Presets
Presets

Stereo Pair Mode 
 

Yes
Yes

Party Mode 
 

No
No

Multi-Room 
 

No
No
Show Text 
Connectivity

Wired 
 

Aux Input 
 

No
No

USB Audio 
 

Yes
Yes

Other Ports 
 

No
No
Show Text 

Bluetooth 
 

8.3
9.7

Bluetooth 
 

Yes
Yes

Bluetooth Version 
 

5.1
5.2

Bluetooth iOS Latency 
 

104 ms
6 ms

Bluetooth Android Latency 
 

160 ms
28 ms

Bluetooth Range 
 

334.6 ft (102.0 m)
334.6 ft (102.0 m)

Multi-Device Pairing 
 

2 Devices
2 Devices
Show Text 

Wi-Fi 
 

0.0
0.0

Wi-Fi Version 
 

No Wi-Fi
No Wi-Fi

Wi-Fi Frequency Band 
 

No Wi-Fi
No Wi-Fi

Wi-Fi 
 

No
No

Apple AirPlay 
 

No
No

AirPlay Latency 
 

N/A
N/A

Google Chromecast 
 

No
No

Chromecast Latency 
 

N/A
N/A

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Green
Beosound A1 Gen 2
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Green
Beosound Explore
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Grey Mist
Beosound A1 Gen 2
Searching
Finding store
Grey Mist
Beosound Explore
Searching
Finding store
Black
Beosound A1 Gen 2
Searching
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Anthracite
Beosound Explore
Searching
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Gold
Beosound A1 Gen 2
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Pink
Beosound A1 Gen 2
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Bang & Olufsen Beosound A1 Gen 2

Bang & Olufsen Beosound Explore

Comments

  1. Comparison

Bang & Olufsen Beosound A1 Gen 2 vs Bang & Olufsen Beosound Explore: Main Discussion

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