Hello.  I have been offered a pair of beolab 1's in mint condition for a bargain.  I cannot listen to them (as they are to be sent by freight), and have never heard them.  What are peoples thoughts on these?  I had a pair of 8000's, they didn't have enough grunt, so I added a beolab 2.  Sounded worse... Almost messy.  the sub is not suitable for music in my opinion.  I then bought 3's. I thought they were terribly lacking in midrange on many recordings, but the top end was fantastic and much sweeter than the 8000's or the 6000's I am using now. (I compared them side by side and everyone agreed with this).  I love great midrange and highs and volume, but cannot afford 9's at the moment.  Any recommendations on purchasing?  Thanks very much. 

Most people on here will describe the BeoLab 1 as bright, shouty, or similar. It probably wont have the upper detail of the 3s however. If you like volume and power, you will probably like them. The amps are a combo of class A/B and class D. The Lab 1s are a very good substitute for 9s, they both have the same amp configuration and make about the same amount of power.

I've never heard them either, hope this helps!

I used to find the BeoLab 1 shouty too, but actually when positioned correctly, they're rather stunning. Huuuuuuuuuuuge open midrange, and yes the top-end is 'in-your-face', but as long as you don't have too many hard surfaces, it's actually just very forward - not over-the-top.

BeoLab 1s seem to play louder than the 9s!

You may want a subwoofer with BeoLab 1s though as they don't go very deep for their size. The low-end is excellently defined and tight, but doesn't shake the room. You've said you're not a fan of the BeoLab 2 for music, and I'm in exactly the same boat. There are loads of other options out there, but I just don't think the BeoLab 11 is beefy enough to keep up with the BeoLab 1s, even if you had two subs!

Don't the Beolab 1s have twin bass drivers? The 9s have a single?

Evan:

Don't the Beolab 1s have twin bass drivers? The 9s have a single?

Yes, but the BeoLab 9s have a larger bass driver which seems capable of going deeper.

I think the BL1 is a pretty good and capable speaker, it's no BL9 or BL5, but as described pretty much MHO too!

 

If the price is right, and you like the design, I wouldn't hesitate, sad they had such a short production run. Would love to own a pair.

As far as the cabinets go, they are very similar (both sealed). The 9 has much more space than the 1, I honestly thought it would be the other way round.

 

The cabinet principle is closed box on the Lab 1, but this looks very port-ish!

Anyway,

I would jump at a chance to own a pair of these and I thin you should go for it!

For my own purposes, I have always preferred the 6000's to the 8000's, as I think they sound a bit crisper/brighter/airier.  This is mostly due to the balance between an essentially identical tweeter and smaller woofers.  The 8000's sounded like little Pentas to me.  If you can follow that logic, then the BeoLab 1's sound like big 6000's.  I always liked them, a lot more than the Pentas, but they can be a little thin sounding in certain situations.  My advice is the same as others here, if the price is that attractive, you simply must give them a chance.

I am exactly in the opposite position, I hate the 6000/1 sound, which I found really clinical and cold , especially at high volumes and in showrooms.

Strange thing however, a friend of mine recently bought a pair of Lab 6000, and in his living room, they sounded awesome.

So it may also be a matter of room size & placement, but overall, and in theory, BeoLab 1 should be superior to all the others (8000/6000/3), and you can always adjust the bass level with either the potentiometers inside the speaker, or the bass settings on your BeoSound.

Exactly, as said Chris you have to adjust them accordinately (bass/treble setting, but position switch as well), and take a good attention to their placement. They are very sensitive to this, and that's right that one could find them a bit cold, but they ARE MADE to run in conjonction with a BL2 subwoofer, otherwise you have to re-equilibrate them with the potentiometers as Chris said, which is not very simple and without risk.

Forget a BL11 to get bass more "punchy", the BL11 is the same low range of frequency than the BL1, but a BL2 (again WELL SETUP, I personnaly put everything on it to get the less bass I could (corner position, and position 3), can add a lot even for music only, which is my own case. I was finding the BL1 standalone very good for music, but definitely a BL2 is adding the last bit missing to get something almost perfect in term of sound in deepest bass frequencies.

BL1+BL2 is simply amazing, this couple cannot be compared to BL9 (big lack of middle range for me, not equilibrated with this boom boom in bass, for me it is the worst beolab ever created by B&O, it's my opinion and I share it with myself :D), but at the top of the range: BL5. I did the comparaison when both were still available with my own CDs and was searching for a new pair of beloab to replace my BL8000. Very franckly, the price difference was not justified to my eyes in term of sound only. I do prefer the column design of the 1, the stereo image is better on the 5, as the bass precision is regarding the 2, but the sound of the combi BL1+2 is very similar to the 5. Recently I was thinking to buy a pair of BL5 for a new home I am about to get in south of France, but in fact I will search for a used pair of Beolab 1, add a Beloab2 to get the same setup than in my flat in Paris !

oli:

the sound of the combi BL1+2 is very similar to the 5. Recently I was thinking to buy a pair of BL5

 

 Oli,  THERE IS A BIGGGGGGGGGG difference in sound. I have them at home and you cannot compare them. Two different technologies.

I love the look of the BL1 and BL2 ( which is the reason I own one pair) but as I mention before, big difference between them. Sound of BL5 is amazing!

With BL5 Bang & Olufsen has acheived perfection!

 

 

Short of a BL5, BL1 combined with BL2 is still a magic B&O combination.

With 2 BL1 setups in two different rooms, I will always treasure BL1, definitely far above BL8000 / 6000 ... Mine are 6 and 5 years old, very sturdy, should last forever, so used ones in mint condition are no risk.

In TV room, BL1 pair front and rear with BL2. Great sound, absolutely sufficient and as I am not a loud listener, BL1 bring very nice sound already at modest volume, nicely supported by BL2... In room 2, a bit smaller, pure audio setup with 1 pair of BL1. Again, sufficient for my taste.

Agree with prior posts that BL1 is a bit sensitive to "good wall / free / corner" setting and correspondingly to "audio" settings. I would welcome a new tall column speaker like Penta and BL1 in the future.