Went to the official site, and was assaulted by some truly detestable synthesizer music completely lacking in acoustic temperament (which is a way of describing music played by something that is alive.)

Why does B&O use such execrable music? Can you remember when they launched the BeoSound 3, and made a movie for it, with music that could be used to make Torquemada confess to anything.

B&O should exclusively use music created with real instruments, by real musicians - and on the rare occasions that they do use computer-generated soundtracks, then at least ensure that they are interesting.

http://www.bang-olufsen.com/page.asp 

Is it just me? 

in general i hate the idea of music on websites. Normally I have something on on the site or am at work. So I constantly have to have my speakers switched off ...

they made it using Apple Garageband. I can recognize the loops. So... some one use Apple products in B&O... ;-)

I noticed when working for a VC company and phoning CEOs abroad that the hold music usually had specific themes depending on the geographic location. In Israel for example they had a bad midi rendition of a classical piece of music that I can't remember the name of. Whereas in the Netherlands/Finland or even Austria they always had music that sounded to me like porno loops with a ridiculously stylised voice over the top stating the company's name.

 Don't know what is worse, these two or the UKs eclectic mix of really old power ballads, which have been distorted, and granulised.

 Not that I am a connoisseur of porn. However I have hitherto watched some in my formative years!

Also, Flash websites are not good, they are annoying - why should you have to wait hours for loads of annoying animations to load up and tonnes of stupid music. This is not hyperbole some of these websites were so laden with this nonsense that you could not actually fathom what the company was selling!

They also demonstrate deep-house music on the lab 5's

http://youtube.com/watch?v=ESdPd5rvcy8&feature=related

 
I personally prefer acoustic music, but this kind of music sounds warmer and deeper because of the bass beats.
 

Whatever Soundproof! I'm gonna download that great music onto my BeoSound 6 and rock out! Maybe I'll throw on some Bose headphones so I can cancel out any noise that isn't that great music!

(my browser won't let me insert a smiley face, otherwise you'd see one winking) 

 

All they have to do is play a minute from selected portions of the Salonen/LA Philharmonic Rite of Spring if they want to demonstrate what the BL5s can do -- those bass beats push plate glass windows as if they were balloons.

There's quite a bit of good house and trance -- what they're putting above is home-made. The trouble with generated music is that it rarely sounds as if a human was involved -- the beats are too precise, where a human drummer and orchestra would have slight (and often deliberate) variations that give the music its unique signature.
 

Inserted a wink for you TripEnglish - on the house. It'll cost you a pint next time

 

Chris.

Usually, my PC speakers are turned off. But I turned them on to listen to the music on the Bang & Olufsen site. And turned them off the next second or so. My god, it sounds really awful. I agree with Soundproof on this one.

Terrible music, I agree. Especially for a high-end brand like B&O. Does anyone have that BeoSound 3 movie soundproof was talking about? I would love to see ( and hear ) it.

Beobird:

They also demonstrate deep-house music on the lab 5's

http://youtube.com/watch?v=ESdPd5rvcy8&feature=related

 
I personally prefer acoustic music, but this kind of music sounds warmer and deeper because of the bass beats.
 

I quite like that actually! Sounds very similar to piece by qbit...

I agree about the website music though! They should keep things a little more laid back/ambient if they're going to have music at all (which IMO only works on musicians' own websites, not on company/corporate websites).

Soundproof, I do agree that the music is awful, and the addition of the flash aspect only makes the website more annoying.  However, I still consider a synthesizer a "real instrument".  I think the problem is synthesizers, and to an even greater extent computers now, have made it very easy for someone to slap together some beat tracks, throw a little arpeggio on top, add some effects, loop the thing into a 3 minute track and have a "song" produced by someone who doesn't even know basic music theory.  Whether or not that's a good thing or a bad thing is a different debate though.

While so many people at home are just throwing together tracks with pre-made synthesizer sounds and voices, there are still plenty of groups that use the real power of the synthesizer by doing their own sampling.  The synthesizer is a tool that allows one to effectively create new instruments and therefore express music outside the sound limitations previously imposed by physical instruments.  In turn though, this has resulted in people with the right electronics but no musical experience to be able to take advantage of the sampling and synthesizer work done by others, but just rearrange the notes and beats and call it their own.  This is why so many modern dance artists and indie synth bands sound so similar, while groups like Kraftwerk and Depeche Mode still stand apart, because they were the ones who harnessed what the synthesizer was, rather than using it as a shortcut.  Once again though, this is all just my opinion. 

 Austin
 

I heard a Linkin Park song all the way through today (a new experience for me) and wasn't impressed, partly because all the sounds in it were all presets I recognised . They hadn't even bothered to make patches themselves.

Only falling short of the voice, violin and soprano saxophone, the synth is the most expressive instrument IMO, although only when it's patched and played properly (which is so rarely done).

Alex:

I heard a Linkin Park song all the way through today (a new experience for me) and wasn't impressed, partly because all the sounds in it were all presets I recognised . They hadn't even bothered to make patches themselves.

Only falling short of the voice, violin and soprano saxophone, the synth is the most expressive instrument IMO, although only when it's patched and played properly (which is so rarely done).

Surely not the Korg M1, "House Piano" preset

Good music clips  =  Royalty payments. Each and every time played.

Thinking back to the most recent B&O catalogue, would it not be better to played music clips from the artists featured therein  ?

camshaft:

However, I still consider a synthesizer a "real instrument". 

Austin,

I'm a great fan of the music of Yes, Laurie Anderson, Pet Shop Boys, Kraftwerk, Einstürzende Neubauten ... Which means you can breathe easy when it comes to my opinion on synth's. But I don't like synth tracks that have been mechanically generated and that are monotonously on the beat. And we're in complete agreement.

Don't worry Soundproof, no need to defend yourself.  I figured that's what you meant in your original post anyway.  I realized you likely weren't simply saying that anything electric isn't music.  I was posting partly just for the sake of discussion, and not as a pointed commented just towards you. 

Austin