What is your opinion on this new B&O speaker?  

Worth it over the years
HI,
I've owned a fair amount of audio gear over the years. The equipment that has stayed with me the longest and I have never sold off has been the B&O stuff. The reason is simple 1. Its really, really well built and provides great sound
2. Its well designed, looks great and anyone can operate it. What this means is that music is always playing in my house/office on B&O. My last system is still running (bought in 93) very well and still sounds great - units have NEVER been serviced or given me any problems.
With regards to the A9 - I have one I'm trying out right now, it sounds great and is super easy to use (best - most reliable - Airplay device I have used). Smooth sound fills my room and the sonic quality is really quite stellar. The only issue is that this isN NOT a speaker if you are looking for detailed imaging.
My only big question/concern is whether airplay will still be a usable medium in 10-20 yrs time (it does however have a line in however). If you buy into the communications medium, I would expect the unit to last 20 or more years - in that
One final comment.. guys who are comparing this to separate components just don't get it. You can get better quality sound for the money, but you cant get sound quality, design, ease of use and power efficiency (if you are eco conscious) in a comparable package - anywhere. Its not that I use only B&O - I have a true somewhat high end hi-fi system in my man cave (none of its B&O) and every year or so I switch out a component - but to be honest, I end up listening to it far less then I do my B&O -the B&O is just so much more accessible and easy and 95% of the time the difference is just not noticed.

Had an opportunity to try...
Had an opportunity to try out one of these new B&O speakers today. My initial impressions were that it looked great and seemed to be well built. Unfortunately it sounded terrible.
There was no stereo imagining at all, low end was distorted and mid range was muddy. Definitely not worth the money theyre asking.