Alex: As it happens I'm not a huge fan of the excessively lumpy midrange response of B&W's 800 range in particular (as fantastic as they are otherwise). Why on earth they're so popular as monitor speakers in studios - goodness knows. BeoLab 5s are far more neutral. B&W's other speakers don't seem to suffer from this as much

BTW do the amplifiers in the Beolabs run in balanced mode? If they do then they will benefit greatly from XLR connections. Most high end components have XLR outputs/inputs because their components are run in balanced mode, meaning amplifying the negative and positive polarity separately which in turn means reduced distortion and noise levels.

Neutrality just points to the flatness of the frequency response of a loudspeaker. Whereas low distortion normally points to the superb engineering of the drivers where they will just be cruising at loud levels showing little stress, coloration usually points to resonances in the loudspeaker enclosure causing the time smearing effect. Why I say neutrality

Hey!!! I have equipments with XLR connectors but I am not into 5.1. But you have to agree that HD-audio compatible processors are the way to go no? I mean with the Blu-Ray and HD-audio downloads etc... it's gonna be dumb not to get one that is compatible with these formats. BTW this is the 2010s, geeks are in. lol

Puncher: wonderfulelectric: Trust me... You wouldn't want that. I am totally regretting my choice of getting monitor grade speakers from ATC over the Beolab 9s. They sound great only with the right material. OK - at what point does a hifi speaker manufacturers "signature sound" become a poor sprectral response? Is the difference in the

Trust me... You wouldn't want that. I am totally regretting my choice of getting monitor grade speakers from ATC over the Beolab 9s. They sound great only with the right material.

Ermm... Doesn't the graph show an elevated treble response, and awfully lacking in ultimate extension too. The Beolab 8000s, 4000s, 6000s, and in fact the latest lines with lenses are meant to be listened off axis. Why do you think they want to make the lenses in the first place? So you don't have to sit right in between the speakers or toe

soundproof: In fact, on the BL5s, the treble goes lower after 6000Hz ... according to a most knowledgeable friend of mine: "Not unusual, in order to reduce possible tape hiss, etc. on non-monitor speakers." Must confess I haven't seen any measurements showing a boosted treble. Do you have links, Wonderfulelectric? Sorry can't find

OMG. After looking at other recent threads regarding B&O surround sound. It is incredible that B&O is still trying to minimize outward compatibilty. It's like as if they are trying to chase potential customers away. What are they thinking? Weird. In my opinion all the active loudspeakers should have XLR and the normal din inputs. XLR being

mfirst: The second hand market in the US is limited to ebay - and I have had several bad experiences, particularly with B&O. I have spoke to Lee about shipping to the U.S. and the expenses are clearly not practical - especially for something like a TV. The B&O TVs in the U.S. are not a reasonable financial option as we have discussed many times