Last week I received my sealed, new-in box A3 from England: £50. Connecting it via an Apple 
What I could think of, is to make a (plywood or alike) insert….
…..something that lets you connect and halfways hide the conversion cable - and then stick your iPad with velcro to that.
I doubt that you can find a way to ‘Dremel out’ in order for the iPad and the cable to fit into the original mould.
But - who knows - maybe you will come up with a solution….to show here.
And yes it is a pity that you can’t use a newer iPad with the A3 - it was a nice idea and quite good sounding.
My own - with the original iPad - still works with Spotify and Radio Paradise/TuneIn (older versions)….at least last time I tried.
Nowadays it works as a clock and stays so…...just for nostalgia.
MM
Location: Flensborg————Danmark
Wow, MM, it is great to hear the iPad One's Spotify still worked as of a while ago! That's good info and augurs well for A3 usefulness for at least a few years. Our iPad 4 plays Deezer and a prior version of the B&O app, but it no longer plays YouTube, for example; this is why I opted to not purchase an iPad 3.
The Dremel project was a success! The B&O switch in the back is in the fully retracted position in the picture below, and the adapter is fully inserted, and the A3 is playing from an iPhone X —works with the iPad Air 2, also.
Following some eye-sight fitment calculations, I've ordered an Apple 30 pin to lightning adapter A1468, should arrive in a week. I expect this will work.
By the way, a final-generation iPod Classic (color screen) charges from the A3, but no sound comes out of it. No sound was expected; charging came as a surprise. Login to view image
Hi XavierItzmann, that is a great idea! I was also very fond of the A3 and I can report that it still runs with an Ipad 3, (the latest one with 30pin connectir) with Spotify app. Also youtube, however, not via app, which stalls but then changes to the browser which is able to run the youtube website content, but yes, it became now very slow. An upgrade to a newer one is a good idea if one wants to keep the A3 device. I use it as handsome looking charger to stream audio via bluetooth.
ps/edit ah now I see trackbeo‘s report on spotify as well :-)
Hi everybody,
At XavierItzmann, Thats a nice project and it will be good that if could upgrade that lovely system and make it life for years more. I'm looking forward what you'll find.
I have two A3's, one has an iPad 1 64Go and works basically as a giant iPod with built in (B&O) speakers. The other one has an iPad 3 and is used as a mobile Beovision: I use it to watch through VLC, movies or tvshows streaming from the main media server.
Honestly I can't say that they are the most useful piece of B&O hardware I use today. Its more like Millemissen said, nostalgia (appart from the giant iPod that is use on vacations).
Nevertheless, I've notice a small issue thought: when the iPad and the A3 are low on battery (you never actually know how charged is the A3 battery…), the touch function of the iPad become erratic. You have to let it plugged for a while before it start to behave like it should again (on both A3's with different iPads).
Location: Paris France
Thanks to all who commented.
Matador: I took the A3 out of its 9-year-old box and immediately connected its power supply and the iPad Air 2. Its behavior was exactly as you describe: «the touch function of the iPad become erratic»; and of course the battery was flat at the time.
After a few minutes, as the A3 charged up, the problem went away. Since the touch function relies on electricity, this points to some poor or ungrounded or undampened electric connection inside the A3 which is exacerbated when the batteries are low.
If this problem did not exist when your A3 was new, then something inside the A3 is aging (a capacitor or somesuch?), regardless of whether your A3 has been in use for a decade or new in a box, like mine.
If the problem existed when the A3 was new, then this is a design defect.
Is there a way of finding out what the software version on the A3 is?
Thank you. I downloaded Beosetup and as you can see, my sw is 1.0.0.0. Alas!, "update product software" asks if I want to check for a new version; after a couple of seconds, it asks if I have internet connection (!). B&O has probably restructured its servers and it could be the old app can't find the repository.
I think I may have downloaded at some point the PC B&O service software but even if I were to gain access to the update file, I don't have a USB to RJ-45 interface cable to update via the connector in the battery compartment of the A3.
One deficiency my A3 has, which may or may not be software related, is that it only wants to charge the iPad if the iPad has less than about 60% battery. If it has more than that, the A3 ceases to supply charging power to the iPad. This occurs whether the A3 is hooked to power or not.
Any other ideas?
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