Bang & Olufsen Beolit 12 Review | 130 Data compared

The Bang & Olufsen Beolit 12 is a premium, picnic-basket-styled portable speaker offering a highly controlled, dynamically impressive 120W audio performance and a clever cable-management system. While praised for its build quality and design, the review notes significant drawbacks including a high £600 price point and limited battery life, which drops to four hours when using Apple AirPlay.

The Gearburn review praises the Bang & Olufsen Beolit 12 for its lunchbox-style portability, minimalist aesthetic with a leather strap, and its ability to produce loud, high-fidelity sound suitable for large spaces. While offering impressive audio quality, the speaker is constrained by a short four-hour battery life when using AirPlay, a high luxury price point, and the need to keep the expensive unit away from water.

The T3 review of the B&O PLAY Beolit 12 highlights its compact, portable design and powerful, bass-heavy sound, yet ultimately argues that its high £699 / $799 price point fails to compete with rival wireless systems. While the speaker boasts impressive volume for its size, the review notes significant drawbacks, including a subdued midrange and loss of treble clarity at higher volumes.

The Trusted Reviews evaluation of the B&O Play Beolit 12 praises the premium, retro-styled AirPlay speaker for its gorgeous aluminum design and remarkably bright, crisp, and accurate sound signature. While delivering impressive audio performance, the unit is heavily criticized for its high £699 price point and the limitation of focusing solely on Apple AirPlay rather than integrating universal Bluetooth.

In a review on 248AM, Mark shares that initial buyers' remorse for the Bang & Olufsen Beolit 12 disappeared, replaced by appreciation for its sleek aesthetics, easy 5-minute setup, and loud, high-quality audio. While praised for its performance, the speaker is limited by a dependency on AirPlay rather than Bluetooth and a short four-hour battery life when streaming wirelessly.

The Register's review highlights the Bang & Olufsen Beolit 12 as a premium, 120W AirPlay speaker praised for its stylish design, built-in battery, and sublime, detailed audio fidelity. While offering a wide soundstage, the unit is hampered by a frustrating network setup requiring Ethernet cables and a tedious, manual Wi-Fi reconnection process every time it is powered on.

The Tatler Asia review highlights the Bang & Olufsen Beolit 12 as a compact, premium portable speaker featuring robust craftsmanship, an Italian full-grain leather handle, and strong performance via Apple's AirPlay with an eight-hour battery life. While praised for its stylish design and sound quality, the review notes slight sound distortion at high volumes and a steep price point of S$1,195 as potential drawbacks.

In a 2012 roundup of early AirPlay-enabled iPhone speakers, The Verge highlights premium options like the Altec Lansing inAir 5000 and budget alternatives like the JBL OnBeat Air. While key advantages include attractive, high-quality industrial designs with dedicated metal remotes, exceptional vocal clarity, and bright high-end frequencies, the speakers suffer from severe drawbacks. Specifically, models like the OnBeat Air lack bass response and experience significant distortion above 60% volume, limiting their utility to small, personal spaces.