B&O’s Beoplay M series speakers look good and sound good, though they are pretty pricey. For those who want that irresistible combination of good looks and sultry B&O sound with some compromises and a lower price, the M3 might just be up your alley.
The Beoplay M3 is a fairly basic wireless speaker: there’s no way to pair a second speaker for stereo, and it supports Chromecast, AirPlay, and Bluetooth. It can still be used in a multi-room environment though.
Like its stablemates, the M3 is minimalist, with wires neatly hidden and controls shunted to the back – chances are you won’t be using them anyway. The front grille is replaceable, and if you don’t like the look of the anodised aluminium grille, there’s the signature Kvadrat wool blend fabric cover for extra style points.
Despite its lack of features, the M3 delivers where it counts – sound quality. It may be a small speaker, measuring a mere 112mm by 140mm at its base, but there’s plenty of thick, lush bass in this tiny little thing. So much so that sometimes it may overwhelm your music a tad, but we’re just picky here. No matter, you can always tweak it with the elegant Beoplay app, which also features Tonetouch EQ on top of the regular EQ sliders, which makes it easy to tweak your sound according to moods as opposed to frequency bands. It’s easy to find a point between two of the four attributes: Bright, Excited, Relaxed and Warm, and the sound will be adjusted accordingly.
There’s a lot of tech working in the background here, so suffice to say that you can’t expect pristine, reference-quality sound from the M3. What the M3 can promise you is a lively persona that doesn’t go to pieces when you turn it out loud – however, the cost is some lack in detail and a slightly compressed feel, but for what it is, the M3 works. When its duties are modest, it delivers dutifully.
Verdict
4/5
S$449
www.beoplay.com
The Beoplay M3 is a relatively affordable way to own a multiroom-capable speaker from B&O. While the audio quality suffers a little at higher volumes, it is still excellent and is a pretty decent workhorse. The features may be limited but the looks and its sound should make the M3 a viable candidate for a wireless speaker.
