Shocked looking through the for sale section and seeing an avant 28 vcr with no takers at £250. I bought a used 32 avant a few years ago and paid £3k, probably now worth peanuts despite being in as new condition, and still one of the best t.v.'s out there.

The funny thing is this though.....At a few years old B&O t.v's can be had for a fraction of the new price. Take my avant. Probably getting on for 8 years old and worth under 10% of it's original price. Compare with say an 8 year old pair of beosound 8000's, which might be worth 60-70 % of it's original price, and it's a similar story with the majority of B&O speakers. Except the pentas, which were in my view the best sounding of all save the BL5's.    

Why ironic? Well, I think B&O make the best t.v.'s, full stop. I far prefer the look of my avant to any flatscreen, and I think the picture is as good as it gets, and the sound is as good as it gets (for a stand alone t.v.) Yet the value plummets. Compare with speakers. Take the 8000's. OK, they're pretty, but the sound is no more than "OK". Certainly you could spend 30% as much on some "propper audiophile" speakers and get a far better sound. So why do they command such a premium, compared with the truly brilliant products such as the avant? It's not just down to the crt being out of vogue. The same applies to B&O flat screens, although to a lesser extent (although I have to say in my view the premium price of a B&O flat screen can not be rationalised over the mainstream brands in terms of picture quality alone as it could with crt's).

I've owned Lab1's, 8000's, 6000's, and 4000's, and frankly they're all blown out the water by my 30 year old Quad electrostatics, but then most things are. I'd have to say the only B&O speakers I've heard which I'd consider in an audioplile setup would be the BL5's, and in terms of performance, are the only B&O speakers which can justify their pricetag IMHO.    

Funny thing, supply and demand.       

The Avant is a strange one - as a lot of enthusiasts would rate it as the best television B&O have ever made - and yet it hardly costs anything in relation to what it gives you. IMO, as more and more of them begin to 'disappear' (due to tube failures etc... which is inevitable over time), the second hand price will increase, as often the kind of people who are looking for these 'essential items' are also willing to pay huge amounts of money for something with the reliability of a record player in an earthquake...

Also, have you heard B&O's other ALT speakers? I think you'd be impressed by the BeoLab 9s - a stunning pair of speakers IMO!

Ironic indeed!

But on the other hand: I also hesitate for quite some time now to buy a used avant 32 RF DVD to replace my current avant 28 100 Hz VTR. But I have bought demo versions of BL1, BL2 and BL4000 without any hesitation! Somehow it feels like buying to old technology even though your eyes tell you that the picture of all LCD/plasma tv's are of less quality!

Bieele 

In the current economic climate used B&O is going for a song - I was watching a Beocenter 9300 + BL6000 speakers which went for £500 last night. I forgot about the auction otherwise i'd be picking those up!! Also a Beocenter 9300 with a sticky CD mech but in working order went for £205. I just bought a 32" Avant on Wed for £330 (not the RF version) but its immaculate and i just bought some Penta 2's in VGC for...... this amazed me too, £155 the pair and no faults!! The Pentas were a 'freak' buy as you wouldn't get them at that price but look at the value of the other items - amazing!!

it's weird how everyone's been seduced by the hdtv hype

on sdtv i've never seen an hdtv get anywhere near the staggering picture quality of my avant

in fact , i'm not terribly blown away by hd full stop

no wonder blu ray is such a slow seller 

So:

We should all go out and buy loads of Avants, keep them in storage and sell them on in about ten years or so?

 That sounds like a good way to make money. Alternatively, setup our own tube manufacturing plant.

Thanks

Graham

Hi:

Could someone expain to me, if I have decent CRT televisions namely an old Avant and a newsih Beovision 1, should I really consider getting a cheap panel TV - bottom range Pioneer plasma and Blu-Ray for films (PS3)? Or is the difference in quality tenuous?

Graham1982:

Hi:

Could someone expain to me, if I have decent CRT televisions namely an old Avant and a newsih Beovision 1, should I really consider getting a cheap panel TV - bottom range Pioneer plasma and Blu-Ray for films (PS3)? Or is the difference in quality tenuous?

Hi Graham1982,

It depends on your "watch-TV" behaviour : I own a pair of BV3's and an Avant and will not trade them for any LCD or Plasma but that's all very personal. If you watch many animated DVD's / TV you might slightly prefer LCD/Plasma [but not the cheap ones] if you watch mostly "normal" DVD's / TV the difference is none to nothing and imho not woth any investment towards cheap panel TV's. a pity in your case the BV1 does not do 16:9 though and I'd even consider buying a newer avant instead of a cheap flatpanel.

Hi:

 Thanks, the Beovision 1 is used as my bedroom TV and the Avant is used for movie watching. I do watch a fair amount of anime - Street Fighter and more "pure" anime. However, the majority of things watched on both sets are Freeview broadcasts so I am not going to buy a new plasma if there is no real need.

I am considering getting a newer Avant with a DVD or a Beovision 3. However, I really don't like that stand - it looks (in my opinion) like something out of an Ikea catologue!

Thanks

Graham

Hi,

In my opinion there's no real need for you to perchase a low budget plasma over a newer crt avant [or BV3] the picture of the Avant RF versions [and BV3] are just as good [or better] than the mentioned plasma TV's.

Our Avant moved from our livingroom to the bedroom of our daughter (and she loves it; esp. the sound....:-) we certainly got to get used to the BV3 as a silouet in our living but we got used to it very fast and love it [even the stand] although the sound of the avant is better, but we use it in surround with our BS4 and BL45/Penta III so the sound is ok as well with the bv3.

The sound of a bv3 is pretty good though, because we use one as a stand alone in our bedroom [icw a Beo wheeled furniture]

Graham1982:

Hi:

 

Could someone expain to me, if I have decent CRT televisions namely an old Avant and a newsih Beovision 1, should I really consider getting a cheap panel TV - bottom range Pioneer plasma and Blu-Ray for films (PS3)? Or is the difference in quality tenuous?

I think it depends on the size of the screen.  I don't see much difference with screens less than 40''.  However, (imho) the difference can be great if you're talking 50'' and up... at least this is my experience.  I am occasionally stunned by HD on my 50'' DLP.  On my 37'', the only reason I bother is to get the whole screen to fill up... and the rest of the family doesn't bother.

Stan

Sorry, I agree with the general point but it's not "ironic."  Maybe weird, odd, unfoortunate, a shame, but not ironic.  It's like the song "Ironic" which isn't, clearly Alanis Morissette didn''t get the subtle difference either. Observe Edd Byrne discussing it:

 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bMQ8S2uHTlo

Sorry if I seem a pain, I'm just pedantic about these things

The LX-series TVs are  stunning value too at the moment, you can't go too far wrong at £60 for a high quality 28" TV.

On reason the CRT TV's are going for such low prices at the moment is the finite lifespan. If you buy a set of Beolab speakers at the moment it is a fair bet that you will have a working, usable, saleable set of speakers in 10 years time. Sadly it is highly likely the Avant will not be working in that time frame, and repairs are already more than the replacement costs for anything but fairly minor repairs on older Avants.

Simon 

Calvin:

Sorry, I agree with the general point but it's not "ironic."  Maybe weird, odd, unfoortunate, a shame, but not ironic.  It's like the song "Ironic" which isn't, clearly Alanis Morissette didn''t get the subtle difference either. Observe Edd Byrne discussing it:

 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bMQ8S2uHTlo

Sorry if I seem a pain, I'm just pedantic about these things

There is nothing innapropriate at all in my use of the word ironic in this context.  The same can not be said of your suggested alternatives I'm afraid. It is neither "weird" nor "odd", given that the state of play is governed by market forces which by definition are dictated by the majority rather than the minority, and hence, for want of a more eloquent turn of phrase, constitute the "norm" 

Neither is it "unfoortunate" or "a shame". It is in fact quite the opposite, at least from a personal subjective standpoint as it allows me to own what I consider to be amoungst the best of B&O products at a reasonable price point.

The irony, in a nutshell, (and excuse me if it appears that I am spoon feeding you) is that the better the product, the higher the depreciation.     

If I may be so bold, a word of advice; If you are going to attempt to be publicly pedantic by criticising someone else's grammer and use of the English language, it's probably best to ensure you have a pretty solid understanding of these things yourself.  One might go so far as to say that your post, given it's content, is a somewhat ironic one. Or maybe it's just weird.    

You're right about one thing though. You do seem a pain.

Flappo The Grate:

no wonder blu ray is such a slow seller 

Hey Flappo, do you happen to have any sources for that?  I'm just curious because I understood it to be the opposite.

Calvin, I don't really understand what you were saying about using the word "ironic."  How was it misused? 

demonell:

Calvin:

Sorry, I agree with the general point but it's not "ironic."  Maybe weird, odd, unfoortunate, a shame, but not ironic.  It's like the song "Ironic" which isn't, clearly Alanis Morissette didn''t get the subtle difference either. Observe Edd Byrne discussing it:

 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bMQ8S2uHTlo

Sorry if I seem a pain, I'm just pedantic about these things

 

There is nothing innapropriate at all in my use of the word ironic in this context.  The same can not be said of your suggested alternatives I'm afraid. It is neither "weird" nor "odd", given that the state of play is governed by market forces which by definition are dictated by the majority rather than the minority, and hence, for want of a more eloquent turn of phrase, constitute the "norm" 

Neither is it "unfoortunate" or "a shame". It is in fact quite the opposite, at least from a personal subjective standpoint as it allows me to own what I consider to be amoungst the best of B&O products at a reasonable price point.

The irony, in a nutshell, (and excuse me if it appears that I am spoon feeding you) is that the better the product, the higher the depreciation.     

If I may be so bold, a word of advice; If you are going to attempt to be publicly pedantic by criticising someone else's grammer and use of the English language, it's probably best to ensure you have a pretty solid understanding of these things yourself.  One might go so far as to say that your post, given it's content, is a somewhat ironic one. Or maybe it's just weird.    

You're right about one thing though. You do seem a pain.

demonell:

    

If I may be so bold, a word of advice; If you are going to attempt to be publicly pedantic by criticising someone else's grammer and...

ooooh, a shocking faux pas.. of all the words to mis-spell 

Back to the subject though, it does seem the best products are undervalued at present! The BeoVision 3 is the bargain of the century at the moment, as are MX4200's and RF Avants as you mention.

The high-end bargain is without a doubt the BeoVision 5 - a superb TV and now at bargain basement money for the eralier versions!

Lee 

9 LEE:

demonell:

    

If I may be so bold, a word of advice; If you are going to attempt to be publicly pedantic by criticising someone else's grammer and...

ooooh, a shocking faux pas.. of all the words to mis-spell 

 

 

Lee, you're quite correct.  

The question though; was this a faux pas or a deliberate attempt at lightly veiled irony?

What do you think Calvin? Or do you have to consult Edd Byrne?

Hey such a good point to raise!

Well, thats technology for ya isn't it. Speakers havent changed, but tv's have, i guess it's good for us who aquire a used beovision and love it, because it is storming good value WOW, i look down on those who think a $2k lcd screen is just as good, if not nicer than my BV3-32 which cost me $2k. Because that is just silly. NO!  I just moved house and MON DIEU that thing was awkward to move up the stairs. A death defying thing to do, and i wouldn'r wish it upon even an enemy... hehehe!

Flappo The Grate:

it's weird how everyone's been seduced by the hdtv hype

on sdtv i've never seen an hdtv get anywhere near the staggering picture quality of my avant

in fact , i'm not terribly blown away by hd full stop

no wonder blu ray is such a slow seller 

Flappo, I agree 100% with your post. Recently I was thinking of going over to HD and getting a BV8-32. Now I have decided to stick with my BV3-32. As the picture is just superb.

Craig