Bang & Olufsen Beoplay M5 Wireless Speaker - Black

I wanted something smallish, aesthetically nice to look at, with excellent sound quality, and this really is it. The sound is just out of this world and easily comparable to the top-end floor standing speakers on a small but top-end hi-fi system. No expense has been spared on materials, physical makeup and aesthetics, and sound engineering. It is also nice to have such a top piece of kit from a top brand. Pricey, but you get what you pay for in this world. Man, the 37 Hz sub-base is out of this world! :-) The App is OK once you get the hang of it. There are 3 settings for sound delays, and they should be switched off or set to zero. On Bluetooth 4 (which M5 has) you are stuck with a 0.2 sec sound delay, which is noticeable on videos and movies. On some £200 Bluetooth speakers a firmware upgrade will let you have Bluetooth 5 with virtually 0 audio delay. B&O support say that Bluetooth 4 it is, and hardware limitations mean a Bluetooth 5 upgrade isnt possible. Not very good IMHO. Airplay via WIFI means zero delay, but e.g. Iplayer doesnt work on Airplay so you are stuck with the Buetooth 4 0.2 sec sound delay.. Shame...

I don't understand the negative reviews I can read on Amazon. Setting up and updating the speaker was a breeze and the application worked instantly.The sound is simply excellent and is diffused very well around the room. I love the rendition of the lower bass which makes the sound very warm yet clear. I blind-tested this speaker against a traditional speaker system (Yamaha amplifier/streaming and some Dali Speakers) and the B&O was clearly a much much better performer , almost incredible sound considering its size.I would recommend this speaker and plan to add another one to create a more unified wireless speaker in my home. 6 stars if I could !

Firstly, I would like to state that I am not an audiophile or class myself as one. I have never really owned any high end audio equipment due to not being able to afford it. The most expensive speaker I had purchased in the past was a Bose Soundlink III which I have been please with ever since mainly for bringing with me on the go. I had decided to save for a decent audio solution for the house as after spending some money on speaker systems and being constantly disappointed in some way about the product. For reference, I will be referring to the chromecast multiroom function in this review and not the B&O solution which is also built into the speaker as I also own a few other cheaper chromecast speakers.After searching and trawling amazon for a chromecast WiFi all in one sound system I found the M5. It seamed to fit the bill. Compatibility for multiroom so will work with other speakers like my JBL Playlist and Google Home. It was made by a high end respected company and had some pretty good reviews so I bought one.Firstly, this speaker is pretty small. If you have ever seen a small bucket of paint its about that size. The fabric cover is unmistakably wool and is finished with a soft touch plastic base an aluminium volume control panel up top. This speaker oozes a premium build and it has never been so satisfying to change the volume on a speaker (you’ll find out if you decide to buy one). I had read some other reviews complaining that the speaker is not easy to set up but I was ready to start.I downloaded the not recommended app and went straight for the Beoplay app as per other reviews and set up seamed simple until I hit the updates. The updates went wrong on the first setup and I was unable to complete the speaker setup.After a good half an hour of trying to get it set up I decided to go with the trusted wired connection and the setup completed. Great! I would like to state that the setup issues were not caused by poor WiFi but it glitching with the updates.After that though the speaker would refuse to connect to any other chromecast speakers and the skip track function just flat out didn’t work. Confused I resorted to factory resetting the speaker from a bit of googling and finally after 5 factory resets everything then worked.So how does it sound? The 360 sound is actually really good with no major dead spots which I was nervous that there would be with only 3 tweeters, 1 very small forward facing mid range driver and a 5” woofer but the sound was almost the same in any position.The bass is deep and resonating but not overpowering and even has some sub bass to boot. Don’t expect to feel it in your chest though like a high end car sound system or like your at a festival but it is defiantly not skimping. At high volumes it can defiantly make the ground vibrate so make sure its on something that wont rattle with vibrations.The mids are clear and have some warmth. They do not bleed into the bass and are very enjoyable. Not sure how they have done it either but there is a mostly even spread of the mid range around the speaker except at the very back of the speaker but its only slight.The highs sparkle but are not harsh or ear piercing. They are more prominent than the mids however by a fraction giving the speaker a slightly smiley frequency range. Again they are very clear and and do not distort at high volumes.The sound quality I would say is very, very good for the units’ size and for £450 which was the price of the unit when I purchased it. It has deep bass, clear mids and highs and over sounds incredible with all genres of music. Also the multiroom now works very well and the controls work too.I am overall pleased with the speaker however it didn’t give a first good impression and at this price, I can’t really forgive the setup process as not being stellar. It gets a strong recommendation from me as long as you have patience while setting it up.

Outstanding quality in the bass , and in my opinion a king size bedroom is perfect size to use all of the speakers potential! For the price and size of this speaker you cannot complain and after hearing this against an M3 this M5 is far more superior.Also comparing the M5 to the Large Beosound there is hardly any difference only at higher volumes can you tell you have a smaller speaker.

I initially I had problems with the M5 cutting out and poor sound. After a long-winded conversation with both Amazon and B&O rep, I updated the required software to operate the speaker and so far, it has not cut yet. The fact is, this is not a plug and play speaker, for the M5 to function, firstly you need to download the B&O app onto your phone and then link to your Wi-Fi. After all that, the sound is initially rich in sound and room filling (especially when you opt for Party setting on the app). Here is my real issue, once you reach the initial high-volume setting (red zone), the M5 starts to distort, basically bass distortion. Play any Drake song from Hotline Bling, Nonstop, Madonna at relatively high volume setting and listen to the M5's distortion. It's really sad, as I have bought at least 5 B&O BT speakers, this is the first time I have been truly disappointed with their product. Currently seeking either a product exchange or refund.

L'expérience audio bluetooth est un cauchemar, les déconnexions sont fréquentes, le son à des saute. L'enceinte achetée il y a 48h régulièrement arrête d'émettre du son régulièrement, alors que l'appareil émetteur et toujours connecté est toujours en playback.Ces appareils sont markettées comme des appareils bluetooth, mais attention l'application nécessite un point d'accès Wifi pour pour la moindre utilisation. Pas de wifi pas d'options! Exit la portabilité réelle de l'enceinte. D'autant plus que c'est uniquement en wifi que l'audio fonctionne correctement, en bluetooth vous révez.C'est une honte que des appareils aussi chers en 2018 soient aussi dysfonctionnel.

Looks sleek. Good sound quality. Easy to use.