Bang & Olufsen designer, Øivind Alexander Slaatto, tapped into the history of the Danish electronics company's storied industrial design past when he created the BeoPlay A9, a wireless audio speaker which transcends the typical shape and presence of home audio...sure to elicit curious queries of, "What is that!?"

The beautiful tripod-legged DLNA and AirPlay compatible BeoPlay A9 is priced at $2699.00, typical of B&O's boutique brand catalog. But I personally would love to see the company offer a miniaturized desktop version priced for smaller spaces and smaller budgets, as I'm in love with tripod stand and unique circular art canvas form factor (or as some note, an archery target). For now, we can all just scan the specs and hope audio companies follow suit and break the mold in similar fashion.

SPECIFICATIONS Dimensions on stand Diameter x height x footprint 70.1 x 90.8 x 41.1 cm Dimensions on wall diameter x depth 70.1 x 21.3 cm

Weight
14.7 kg (incl. legs)
14.0 kg (without legs)

Power consumption
Typical 19.5 watts
Standby 0.4 watts

SOUND OUTPUT
Power amplifiers
1 x 160 watt class D for bass
2 x 80 watt class D for midrange
2 x 80 watt class D for treble

Driver units
1 x 8" woofer
2 x 3" midrange
2 x ¾" tweeters

Effective frequency range
33.1 - 25.000 Hz

Cabinet principle
Bass-reflex

Room adaptation
Manual position switch, wall, corner and free standing

SOUND INPUT
Network connectivity
Ethernet or wirelessly via WiFi:
· Apple AirPlay
· DLNA wireless streaming

Audio playback via line-in

USB iPod/iPhone/iPad connector (Charging your device while playing music)

Remote support
Beo4 or Beo6 remote or via digital device

On-device controls
Swipe hand across the top sensor to turn volume up or down. Rest hand on the top sensor for a few seconds to mute sound.

DESIGN & CUSTOMISATION
Base colour
White

Included cover
White

Additional cover colors
Silver, red, green, brown and black

Legs and Wall bracket
Choose from beech, oak or teak legs. Wall bracket will be available soon

(Images: Bang & Olufsen)