My favorite Bluetooth speaker is down to its lowest-ever price for Prime Day, and so is JBL’s great cheaper alternative – don’t miss them!

Among this year’s Prime Day deals, I spotted an old friend at a great price: the Bang & Olufsen Beosound A1 (2nd Gen) for £159 (was £259) at Amazon UK, which is the joint-lowest price this Bluetooth speaker has been. In the US, you can get the B&O A1 speaker for $188 (was $299) at Amazon US, which is the lowest it’s been with one exception (it fell to around $140 briefly in 2023, but who knows if that will ever be repeated).

I love this speaker: it’s the one I have at home, and use when I’m chilling outside. It’s not a new model, but from what I’ve tested so far, I don’t think anything’s really beaten it for sound balance and detail from a compact speaker, and I think the aluminum design is great.

However, it’s pretty pricey even with this discount. I think it’s worth it for music lovers, but that doesn’t help if it’s outside your budget. So let me recommend the JBL Flip 6 as my favorite alternative, especially because you can get the Flip 6 for just $79 (was $129) at Amazon US right now, which is the cheapest it’s ever been. In the UK, it’s not quite such a blockbuster, but you can get the JBL Flip 6 for £89 (was £129) at Amazon UK, which is only £5 more than the cheapest it’s ever been.

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Among the best Bluetooth speakers, we have the JBL Flip 6 rated as the best mid-range option, despite very hot competition from slightly cheaper brands, such as Tribit and Anker SoundCore. These are all great value, but spending a little more on the JBL gets you a slightly clearer and more full sound that’s worth the extra money, in my experience.

But that also holds for stepping up to the B&O A1 speaker. There’s a clear extra shine and elevation to the treble that helps to make songs feel closer to the original and lifts the whole track away from feeling like it’s coming from such a small speaker. At the same time, the mid-range gets more chance to express itself, and there’s rich bass underpinning it that doesn’t feel over-blown, as it can with many small speakers (again, usually on purpose, because it helps in breezy conditions). The B&O is the small speaker that makes your music sound most like what it’s supposed to sound like, and that’s why it’s the option that lives on my shelf.