I also would prefer to see more positive and enthusiastic posts on the forum, but we also have to admit that there may be a reason for this current negativity.

We all have great expectation about B&O, a brand that we all like (including BOBs), otherwise we would not be here. The negative comments we have seen on the forum would not have been posted at another time when the brand was more active and bringing out new good stuff.

The CEO has been sacked and I think that show that the investors are not happy either.

The forum is here is for everyone to express their point of view, as long as it is polite and courteous, it should remain a space of freedom. We should take other people's  comments as their own point of view. You are also free to contradict them.

Other people may currently have expectations that are not met by B&O. Their expectation may be different from yours.

Philippe 

Coolskin:

I don't know what it is. But I'm losing interest. Losing interest in reading forum threads on Beoworld.org

It's way too negative and there are three people that are the same people who are the most negative - all three are not paid up subscribers to this board and their key role is to keep telling us that B&O need to reduce prices, dramatically.

I guess the board has become a little stale as there are few new products. We discussed the new BS3-based BV7-40 for ages, but there's been nothing since! Sure the forthcoming Beomaster/sound 5 has promise, but it's delayed, no solid information and no previews, pictures or anything.

Flappo The Grate:

if we all agreed that bno could do no wrong and all their products were perfect what would be the point ? 

No-one said this. But it's like hearing a broken record over and over again. Let's just see what happens, yes?

re 10% and My arrogance

so you think a company that charges top whack for technically inferior products isn't arrogant ?

a ( now sacked ) ceo who dismisses steve jobs and apple as nothing to woorry about and of little consequence , the same steve jobs that was voted the number 1 most influential person in the world of business by forbes magazine no less ? 

 i'm not the one at fault here , it's bno's continued out of touch attitude that's causing negativity amongst us regulars

a company that builds tv's without built in dvb-t despite the eu making it illegal to sell them , a company that sells samsung mp3 players with a bit of metal on the front and charges 3 times the price , a company that sells rebadged panasonic plasmas and doesn't even take the badge off the tv's when they stick the new bno frame on

the avant was their high point imo , since then it's been a steady downward spiral of failed promises , late products and poorly thought out technical implementation

bno's problem is they have ideas far above their situation in the 'real world'

now THAT'S arrogance 

Flappo

The LP is still stuck in the same groove, please give the needle a nudge!

Simon

flappo the freak please keep going !

Flappo
Don't let them get to you, I always enjoy reading your posts, you make me chuckle.
A little tip for you though...  Just above the 'control' button on the bottom left of your keyboard, there is a key with an arrow on it. If you press it, and hold it whilst pressing the letter  i  , it will become a capital. Watch.....    I  ....   Good, isn't it?

andy t

Steady on now! I'm not the greatest fan of bad punctuation, but I (almost) always enjoy reading Flappo's posts - highly entertaining and his opinion is just as valid as anyone else's.

Alex:

Steady on now! I'm not the greatest fan of bad punctuation, but I (almost) always enjoy reading Flappo's posts - highly entertaining and his opinion is just as valid as anyone else's.

Hear, hear!

BTW Alex, when texting your pals with your mobile, do you use correct spelling and punctuation? Just curious.

moxxey:

It's way too negative and there are three people that are the same people who are the most negative - all three are not paid up subscribers to this board and their key role is to keep telling us that B&O need to reduce prices, dramatically.

The negativity on certain threads realting to current products can make it seem like the whole forum is mired in doom and gloom, but as someone who regularly visits the other sections of the board (i.e. not just the general forum) I can honestly say that Beoworld is a genuinely welcoming and friendly place to be. It's interesting that some of the regular posters in the Vintage/Workbench/Beogram sections very rarely stray into the General Forum and the same is true of some regular posters in the General Forum rarely stepping outside of threads concerning the current product range. I expect that this dichotomy is a fair reflection of whether each individual's collection is comprised of older or more recent products, and thus their needs are met in the forum that serves their particular interest. What I will say is please let's not get too carried away when one or two threads knocking B&O attract lots of posts, as this is truly not a reflection of what is going on in this forum as a whole. It just isn't anywhere near as bad as is being suggested here.

One thing I did find irksome Moxxey, and I'm not wanting to re-hash our previous 'flaming' post, but what on earth has a member's Bronze/Silver/Gold status got to do with either their ability to post a cogent argument and/or their ability to pay for a forum membership if they wish? I let my Gold membership lapse recently, and may or may not choose to upgrade it again in the near future, but if we want the forum to be a welcoming place for all (particularly those discovering Beoworld for the first time) then let's not have any talk here denegrating in any way those that post regularly but do not contribute to the site through membership - it's just not on.

 

j0hnbarker:

One thing I did find irksome Moxxey, and I'm not wanting to re-hash our previous 'flaming' post, but what on earth has a member's Bronze/Silver/Gold status got to do with either their ability to post a cogent argument..

Maybe so, but their argument is not particularly cogent. I don't mind hearing something now and again, but not every time there is a slightly negative post. Perhaps we ought to simply wait to see what happens over the next few months. Give B&O until January 2009. By then, we'll see the forthcoming new products, new CEO and perhaps a different direction.

ok , sorry if i come across as a kind of trolling mac zealot nutter

 :)

 

 

naughty flappo , don't do it again ! 

Jandyt:

Alex:

Steady on now! I'm not the greatest fan of bad punctuation, but I (almost) always enjoy reading Flappo's posts - highly entertaining and his opinion is just as valid as anyone else's.

Hear, hear!

BTW Alex, when texting your pals with your mobile, do you use correct spelling and punctuation? Just curious.

Pah, foiled!

Flappo The Grate:

ok , sorry if i come across as a kind of trolling mac zealot nutter

 :)

 

 

naughty flappo , don't do it again ! 

BUT,we all no what happens next---naughty flappo kicks some serious ***!

Hi Coolskin,

I also went through a period o two years where my interest decreased. The frequency of my posts are depending on my interests in buying new equipment. My switch from Beosystem 1 to Beosystem 3 went smooth, so I had no need for questions in the forum.I recently acquired a DVD 2, since then I visit the forum more frequently. 

There is also one other thing that cooled off my enthusiasm for B&O: My unfortunate experiences with the Beo5 and B&O's recent slowdown to keep up with technical innovation. Maybe this dullness in B&O's product portfolio decreased the room for speculations and discussions in this forum. Knowing that B&O's CEO had to go makes me also worrying about B&O's ability to keep up with producing excellent workmanship and design.

But,  never mind. This is only a phase and I'm sure that one or another B&O product in the future will reactivate your enthusiasm for this forum. 

 

Best,

Erg 

I haven't been on the forums much recently because I've been doing exams, but I finished today, so pretty happy. To be fair, there does seem to be a slow down of posting, but there isn't much that can be done. I personally would like to get snippets of info about new products every once in a while, just to keep us all interested. As someone else has mentioned already, you just have to look at the huge forum talk on mac forums when new product information is leaked/made up, and the contribution made to threads by readers. But if that isn't possible here, I'm happy for the forums to just go along as normal, no doubt business will resume after the magalogue launch and the financial statement in august when we hear about the BS5 and other new products.

For Coolskin, I have to say that since I haven't been reading the forums in the past while, it's nice "catching up" so to speak with whats been discussed since I last visited. A break will certainly help. Good luck regardless.

Just my 2 cents,

Robert.

Well im not a full member of this site but I fail to see what difference that makes? Im happy to join and express the same views.

Of course what B&O has relied upon is a certain 'lack of understanding' of technical merits of products ( which of late has been B&O ideal customer- but they  are a diminishing breed!) ,which means some posters repeat the same opinions of a product they own and  want to justify that decision even when the facts dont support it and then take a dislike to any posting that ae deemed to be negative by the poster.

Anyway, more products are on the way-  not from Denmark! and B&O will finally enter a new age- at a store near you within 8 months. Cheaper LCD is a fact not fiction - wait and see

Please dont forget that if it wasnt for the full paid up members there wouldn't be a forum at all. 

If you like it then its worth paying for. 

 

 

Goodness, there is some unpleasantness here. I am not surprised members feel like leaving with some of these posts.

In no particular order:

1. All members are full members, whether bronze, silver or gold. We are very grateful to all those who subscribe to silver and gold but we value all the contributions. Sponsorship actually brings in a lot of money and this relies on good membership figures. If there was no paid membership, there would still be a forum, but no prize draw and a less reliable server.

2. I have no problems with people complaining about pricing levels but the same argument repeatedly is a little wearing. B&O is a luxury product. Luxury products are often 'overpriced' compared to mainstream products. If they are too overpriced or a scam, they won't sell - think BS6. If they are expensive but are clearly a B&O product, they will sell - think BV7.

3. I will not tolerate people making personal attacks on others. We are all here because we either own or aspire to own the products of B&O. We therefore have a shared interest. After that, we may well have little in common. Make the most of this! Many people who I meet on here are fascinating individuals and I have the highest respect for them - even if I don't always agree. I would never deliberately insult them. 

4. I agree that there have been too many negative threads recently - so post some positive ones!  

 

So, please, enjoy yourself on forum but not at others expense. 

Peter :

If there was no paid membership, there would still be a forum, but no prize draw and a less reliable server.

Well that's me corrected 

It's rare that I make posts, although I don't think the forum has lowered in quality; simply that I don't have money to buy new equipment and if I did, I would be more likely right now to spend it on a car.  My memory of the forum a few years back was that there were fewer members so there were more recognizable 'personalities' and it was maybe a bit more fun because of it, but I realise that that's a terrible thing to say and that it implies a forum with less people would be better.  To be fair though, I was also a student with too much time on my hands when I first got into B&O

Simply, I suspect that a quieter or duller forum is just a reflection of less properly new products and product information being released.  However, I think that because the company is being less radical, there is also less speculation - this is the key point.  4 years ago I might have opened Photoshop and drawn a radical new design for a TV system whereas nowadays, I can (with good reason) expect that B&O's new TV will look the same as an existing product but with a slightly better spec and an extra 1000 on the price tag.  This could be because the best designs already exist, but the truth is more likely to be that the company is more keen on promoting the brand to the super-rich than it is in feeding the grass-roots users

If it's any consolation, I honestly don't blame the company.  It's there to make money, not please internet forums.  If it makes money, albeit by a shifting customer base, then so be it.  As it is, "that's life"

I too feel that the plethora of negative comments is getting a bit depressing especially when they are repeated ad infinitum.  I suppose that my main concern is that, like many people here,I have invested a small?! fortune in B & O products that look beautiful around my house and work seamlessly together so I therefore desperately want the company to survive to protect my investment.  One must trust the financial side of the company to know what they are doing.  They surely have access to market research etc to keep them on the right track.  (Wishful thinking? I hope not!! )  We all think we know how to run a company but can we?I think we as a group are a small demographic compared to their customer base, albeit a very vocal one.  Having said that, the old CEO has made some stupid decisions that probably meant that his demise was inevitable.  Examples are the waste of resources on the BeoSound 6 and his unbelievably stupid comments on Apple that showed he really didn't realise how movies and music will be bought and handled in the very near future.  I think comments on pricing and innovation at this time have been done to death.  Lets wait to see how the new guy is going to tackle things.  Who knows, he may just get things right.  I bet we'll still grumble though!  Cliff

9 LEE:

Just for the record, and to reiterate what Peter said, we (the moderating team) have also noticed that BeoWorld has become a little flat just recently.

Personally, i don't actually thinks it's a fault of BeoWorld as we are an enthusiasts site here to talk (in the main) about Bang & Olufsen.  Therefore, if nothing is really happening with the company, we tend to drag up old issues and people naturally get a little bored.  We really are quite a demanding bunch when it comes to mental stimulation.. probably because we're all so intelligent etc.

Jos - there is nothing like spending time with your children, and you are obviously a devoted father. Why not limit your visits to BeoWorld to a couple of times a week? That way it will be more stimulating as you sift through the threads hunting for the ones that interest you? 

One thing that has really bothered me is that we were promised little scoops and extra news, which have turned out to be total garbage in newsworthy terms.  In return for this promise, we have been sensible with new product rumour releases and have tried not to ruin things for the company.  I admit to feeling a little cheated, but i must stress that this is not the fault of the marketing department in Struer - they have their orders, and they too have alimited supply of info.

It then comes to the question of do we release news as we hear it, having a total disregard for the wellbeing of Bang & Olufsen and therefore becoming 'the enemy' and being ostracised (as the previous owner of BeoWorld was), or do we try and be fair with them and we all get treated to trips in Struer and get boxes of gifts for the draw etc etc.  I thought the perfect balance was to hold back on rumours that could damage the brand and dealers sales in exchange for some genuine scoops and inside info to keep us all interested. This clearly has not materialised.

It's the old case of being between a rock and a hard place...

Lee

 

I think flat is not the correct word.......but you should know it!!!

 

Edit

edwaldo:

I think flat is not the correct word.......but you should know it!!!

Anyways... it is a hard time Jos, I too am struggling for time at the moment and find myself spending less and less time on beoworld.. now, is this because of Beoworld? no its simply a case or priortising what is most important in life and working round it.  Bring up a family has been a challenge and supporting a family through tough times is hard but at least you can pick Beoworld up every now and then and have a nosey instead of becoming apathetic in the direction and politics associated with the brand etc. 

I remember when Beoworld was new and there was very little being discussed other than problems etc and I do believe that we have been spoilt to a certain degree with new products and speculation and maybe we have come to expect more for even possibly less only to find ourselves dissapointed.  Saf has made an excellent point on this in another thread and he is absolutly right, maybe we have been a wee bit naive and its now time to make some important decisions, simliar to what is going on in Struer. 

What is dissapointing is that there are clearly those out there who rather than go about thier business still find the time to come onto the site and be disruptive and petulant trying to stir up trouble.  I find this more concering that we are talking about mature adults who are professionals and have children.. but such is life.

By the way Jos, I am 31 next month!! and we are planning on having another "bundle of joy" so I am sure time will tell very soon! and I feel OLD!