Bang & Olufsen Beoplay A9

Bang & Olufsen's Beoplay A9 is a speaker shaped like a large disc mounted on 3 conical wooden legs. So committed is the form to being a piece of furniture that most people who see it in a room do not immediately identify it as a speaker. Behind a fabric cover stretching across the 27-inch diameter face, the driver array is hidden. Sound radiates outward in a 360-degree pattern that fills a room without creating a sweet spot where you need to sit for the best experience. CNC-machined aluminum frame and solid oak legs give the speaker a tactile presence that most audio equipment, usually black plastic rectangles, doesn't attempt. B&O has positioned the A9 as a design object that happens to play music, and the $3,400 price reflects that positioning, placing it against furniture brands as much as against audio competitors. A touch-sensitive panel on the front lets you adjust volume and skip tracks with a swipe, and the proximity sensor turns the panel on when your hand approaches. Sound quality is excellent for a single-point speaker, with enough bass extension to handle electronic music and enough midrange clarity for vocals and acoustic instruments. Though audiophiles would note that dedicated stereo separates at the same price would produce a wider and more accurate soundstage. At a showroom I heard one and the warmth of the sound, smooth and full without being boomy, matched the warmth of the object's physical presence. Form and function achieving that coherence simultaneously is rare, and few products accomplish it across both. Via AirPlay, Chromecast, Bluetooth, and Spotify Connect, the speaker connects to most systems, and the app allows per-room tuning that adjusts the output based on placement relative to walls and corners. Front cover comes in multiple colors and can be swapped by the user, so the speaker adapts to room changes over time rather than being locked into a single appearance.