The scandinavian forum tells that BeoLab 4000 have got ICEpower inside now.

 Its gonna 1,5 kg lighter and have much more bass.

well, actually what's the difference between ICE power and the older amplifer? I do not expect an all-around improve, since if yes, there must be a huge price difference.

Not sure I want more bass! It will be very interesting to hear them side by side. I have a nasty suspicion that they are going to use the amplifiers from the Beolab 4 in these. In my view this may not necessarily be all good!

Maybe it's cheaper to produce

Well they are about to increase in price - but that is just the annual increase which is affecting most of the range.

Peter:

Not sure I want more bass! It will be very interesting to hear them side by side. I have a nasty suspicion that they are going to use the amplifiers from the Beolab 4 in these. In my view this may not necessarily be all good!

Hello Peter,

Why this would not be necessarily good technically speaking ?

Cheers,

Guy 

 

The amplifiers in the Beolab 4 are simplified compared to the other ICE amplifiers and use a novel method of filtering that is more about cost saving and space saving than Hi-Fi. Useful in a small speaker like the 4 but unnecessary in the larger 4000. I have not had a close look at the 4000 to confirm this but the spec of the amplifier seems very similar.

Peter, the beo lab 4 is a surprising speaker! For the price, it is exceptional. They were designed using the same process's as the beolab 9 AND the cabinets are made from exactIy the same materials as the beolab 9. I have bought a pair of yr 2002 BL4000, and listened to the new 4000 instore a couple of times, and i believe the newer ones sounded more effortless and the bass was great, they sound balanced and rich, a little more extensive than the older ones in my opinion. The placement was very similar in both the store and my home that gives you guys a vague idea i hope! :) 

I agree the Beolab 4s are cheap - for B&O! However for £880 one can get some mighty good speakers and a pretty good amplifier! Your review of the 4000s is reassuring though!

Thanks Peter and Philipsmz333,

I should listenen to the new BL4000 to make up my mind on this technical subject.

At this state the BL4000's sound very good especially for their deep bass and good audio retranscription.

Guy 

 

Peter:

I agree the Beolab 4s are cheap - for B&O! However for £880 one can get some mighty good speakers and a pretty good amplifier! Your review of the 4000s is reassuring though!

Agreed. The BeoLab 4s are great as computer speakers, background music, in a kitchen or for quiet music in a link room. However, there are many speakers out there which cost a great deal less than the BeoLab 4s, and outperform them by a pretty big margin. It's a shame though, the BeoLab 4s are a fantastic design IMO, and they're very flexible. They aren't proper hifi speakers IMO though, and I really hope B&O doesn't move the same technology used across to the 4000s. Maybe we might see an improvement though! Would be surprising as the power would almost half, although wattage doesn't normally mean anything...

The power in this case shows what I have been saying for a while! B&O measure the power consumption rather than the output power in the older figures! Thus the Pentas suddenly go from 150W to 300! In this case, the ICE amplifiers are very efficient so a consumption of 30W per  module is actually probably pretty similar to the 59W a module quoted for the older model!

Peter:

The power in this case shows what I have been saying for a while! B&O measure the power consumption rather than the output power in the older figures! Thus the Pentas suddenly go from 150W to 300! In this case, the ICE amplifiers are very efficient so a consumption of 30W per  module is actually probably pretty similar to the 59W a module quoted for the older model!

More impressive when you tell friends. :D I seem to remember you thought the Beomaster 5500 would produce around 55 watts max?

Any changes around the back? Same number of heatsinks?

The thing that has shocked people about my BL4000's is the part when i sometimes take off one of the frets. Far out! The full, rich sound is a hell of an achievement from these speakers regarding their size, and they just look and sound SO fantastic when placed in a prefferable manner. How do i put up the pictures (of our latest setup with BS4 & BL4000) i've shot with my camera (i have safari) on the thread...? 

The site just doesn't work with Safari (It is Microsoft based!!) Use Firefox - it is free and if you are like me you won't look back!

Peter:

The site just doesn't work with Safari (It is Microsoft based!!) Use Firefox - it is free and if you are like me you won't look back!

I now use the Safari 3 beta. Much more reliable than Safari 2, and has some cool new features! Still doesn't work with BeoWorld though, but it's the only site now which gives issues. M$ say they are fixing it with the next Community Server update though...

Seriously - try Firefox. It really is much better and, in my experience, faster. It is my default browser now - I almost never use Safari now.

Oh I am both in delight and disgust. Delighted by the upgrade and disgusted by the total corporate implementation of the upgrade. 35watts from digital amplifiers? Come on..... Isn't the benefit from digital amplifiers suppose to be limitless undistorted power at your disposal? They probably settle on this power rating to fit BL 4000 comfortably in the product lineup. Deep bass from small encolsures with small drivers needs big power. 

wonderfulelectric:

Oh I am both in delight and disgust. Delighted by the upgrade and disgusted by the total corporate implementation of the upgrade. 35watts from digital amplifiers? Come on..... Isn't the benefit from digital amplifiers suppose to be limitless undistorted power at your disposal? They probably settle on this power rating to fit BL 4000 comfortably in the product lineup. Deep bass from small encolsures with small drivers needs big power. 

Watts do not mean ANYTHING. I could deafen you with 25 watts of power, and at the same time, some systems would struggle to get any kind of decent volume with that amount of power. And no, deep bass from small enclosures does not demand large amounts of power. The resonating frequency of the BeoLab 4000s has been pulled down by the way they're tuned, although obviously there will be a certain power requirement. Don't forget though, watts means nothing truly in terms of an amplifier's output. Certain microsystems pop to mind, for example JVC make a (seemingly popular) microsystem with 150 watts RMS per channel, and yet it really doesn't go to a particularly high volume, simply because the amplifier has poor power reserves.

I used to run B&W DM303s (comparable to the BeoLab 4000s in terms of size), with a 25 watt per channel NAD amplifier (my first proper hifi system), and it could play ear-splittingly loud in a moderate room. Honestly, 35 watts on each drive cone is more than you would need in most situations.

Deep bass from small enclosures do mean you need lots of power my friend. You need the bass driver to move a greater distance to create the same amount of bass you get from a larger one. Ever wonder why subwoofers need high power? An amplifier with high output will also mean that it can handle more complex recording better for example an orchestra. Also have you ever wondered whether why speakers used to be way bigger before when amplifiers could only spit a few watts? Watts doesn't mean everything, very often it's the quality that matters. I mean it is always good to have more power. That is one of the reasons why digital amplifiers are invented right? What I meant by active equalisation means equalising the input signal so that it essentially boosts the bass response of a loudspeaker. If like what you said, it just depends on lowering the resonant frequency of Bl4000 then any speakers of similar cabinet volume on the market can go as low as BL4000 without any additional help. Also for extra info applying this kind of equalisation means pushing the bass drivers to the limits, distortion will go up accordingly. So you see there are very little ways to bend the laws of physics.

Not necessarily. Yes of course equalisation requires a much greater output, but just because the measured output has decreased, it doesn't mean you're going to end up with less driving capability.

Either way, the reports so far seem to indicate that the ICE Powered BeoLab 4000s now produce more low frequency (whether this is just more extended, or a greater amount, I'm not sure).