Every so often, I come across someone selling a pair of Lab5s. Although this is extremely rare, its happened before!

The price for one of these is usually: £6,000 lets say.

A new pair of Lab9s cost approx: £5,0000

What do you guys think?

New 9 or Used 5?

Used 5.

Not much into buying used, but I could stand a used BL2 or a pair of BL5. They feel indestructable.

If it were a decision based on price, i'd go for the BL5's....HOWEVER it really does depend where and what your going to use them. I chose BL9's because BL5's in my living room would be a ridiculous overkill in both size and sound.

Hi!

My choice would always be the used Beolab5, simply the best speaker B&O ever made.

Concerning room sice: Yes Belab5 can be quite imposing in a smaller room but I could live with that. I think that with the calibration option of Lab5 the room size is less an issue than with the rest of the B&O speaker range.
I know the problems of powerfull speakers is small rooms as my Pentas are in a room were Lab4000 would largely be sufficient.

my two cents

Foxtrott 

Used Lab 5s especially if the price difference is 20%.

Good Luck, and please post pics for those of us who can only dream of owning a pair, and have to live vicariously through this forum!

-Sal

Thanks guys,

Sal, tell me about it, I used to be normal, but now im going crazy! The funny thing is that b+o dont have too many products, but they are so hard to obtain! haha

In terms of value for money I'd have the used 5's. I trust the calibration option will take care of the room size issue. I'm not entirely sure about that as I've only listened to them in a rather large room.

Foxtrott:

Concerning room sice: Yes Belab5 can be quite imposing in a smaller room but I could live with that. I think that with the calibration option of Lab5 the room size is less an issue than with the rest of the B&O speaker range.

 

I love this qoutation! I'll use it whenever I want to justify buying another B&O-speaker!

The ABL will handle any issues in a smaller room with BeoLab 5s. In fact they can really work in a room smaller than the BeoLab 9s can, which is quite something...

I too would go for BeoLab 5s...

I'd always go for the 5's. However, whether this is practical depends on your situation. The BL9's are overpowering even in medium sized rooms. As I've posted before, the guys in the apartment two floors below have complained - twice - about the bass.

If the BL5's can handle this better (as Alex says), then the BL5's. However, I think they'd dominate my living room - they are much larger than the 9's!

Used BL5's, if they have been lovingly cared for. At 6,000 pound, you'll have to check very carefully as it's a hard to believe bargain.

I own a pair of BL9's, but that's a different story.

No contest!
Used Beolab 5s.
Lucky you to be in a position to chose.

Andy T.

Jandyt:

No contest!
Used Beolab 5s.
Lucky you to be in a position to chose.

Andy T.

hehe, no position yet i must admit... but its a target to work up to ;)

Dear All:

No news here: BL 5.  However, make sure the tweeter dome is not damage; as usual tested out with your known music selection; double check the calibration...Enjoy & post some pictures if you go for it.

 

Dario 

 

thank you guys, i will whenever the opportunity arises to go for it. Currently, they wold completely make a meal of my lounge, completly dominating the decor, but i believe speakers are for life, so its a matter of surviving now, and when/if i get a bigger place, in the middle of a no-where, they i guess i will truely appreciate what the lab5s have to offer!

Hi

Let me ask you this; what is your intention with the new speakers? I can tell you this if you love music then they are great and opens a lot of opportunities to have many hours of enjoyment, but I will give you a warning (if you can call it that)  and of course it's all up to you. You will fast discover that your CD collection or what ever you have, will shrink big time and you suddenly what to go out a buy new music (music recorded in good quality) now why is it like that, it simple the BL5's is so transparent that they will reveal any bad recorded music - there is simple no mercy what so ever this is of course great if you know this and this is what you want, but if you just use them in any other case you might want to think about again. But if you think like me, it’s the best of both worlds; both sound and style then go for it!

Now I have tons of CD that I don't like to play any more, and I always search for new CD, other types of music, music style that I didn't liked before, but after I got the BL5''s it have opened up to a new world of music, and all the music from your collection that is left, maybe that would be like having a lot of new CD’s, though they are still the same as before, but now they suddenly sound better or just different.

And I will pass this advice on to you that I got from Tom!

Tom:

If you use you setup for music, then go for the BL5, you will never regret it. If not, then you don't need them.

Good hunt

 

i guess it is music... most my music is on my pc, quite a few with high bit rates...

I really like the 5s, and for some reason believe that once i get them, there shouldnt be that B&O drive to buy everything else... i know its hard to resist, but both my audio and visual wants will be covered...

At that price, go for the used Beolab 5.

An argument is that once you will have the best, you will not look for upgrading your speakers for a long time... If you go for 9's, you will quickly start thinking again "why not upgrading to 5's?"...

mbee:

At that price, go for the used Beolab 5.

An argument is that once you will have the best, you will not look for upgrading your speakers for a long time... If you go for 9's, you will quickly start thinking again "why not upgrading to 5's?"...

Yep good point. So our BeoWorld recommendation is a pair of BL5s and a BV9! 

Henry:

Yep good point. So our BeoWorld recommendation is a pair of BL5s and a BV9! 

 And a Lamborghini Murcielago

ThePriest:

Hi

 I will give you a warning (if you can call it that)  and of course it's all up to you. You will fast discover that your CD collection or what ever you have, will shrink big time and you suddenly what to go out a buy new music (music recorded in good quality) now why is it like that, it simple the BL5's is so transparent that they will reveal any bad recorded music - there is simple no mercy what so ever

Now I have tons of CD that I don't like to play any more, and I always search for new CD, other types of music, music style that I didn't liked before, but after I got the BL5''s it have opened up to a new world of music.

Good hunt

I've edited the priest's post, but he's right. The risk with BL5s is that they will turn a sonar on to your collection of music. Things that the producers get away with for compact sound systems just fall short through the BL5s. And once you experience truly well produced music through them you'll go shopping for more.

BTW - ECM Records is a really good bet if you are looking for excellently produced music that will reproduce brilliantly. (And I have no shares in their company, should have!)

http://www.ecmrecords.com

 

Used lab 5s all day long, subject to inspections etc given the outlay.

Let me put it this way: I bought a pair of new BL5s a few years ago and now I have a pair of used BL5s. I can't hear a difference. Frankly, if I'm to buy an additional pair in the future, I'll probably go for a second hand one - from a reliable source. Unless, of course, they add (as someone suggested here) an ultrasonic tweeter on the top of the new version ...

...Hmmm...bought Bl9 and was very satisfied...untill i had the possibility to buy a pair of used Bl5´s. Even though the Bl9´s are superb speakers, they are not even close to be compared to Bl5´s. One can argue what the speakers is to be used for but i have not regret switching to Bl5´s even though the 9´s did a very good job in my flat. Bl5´s are by far my best investment in the B&O range...

 

Go for bl5´s !!! 

I would always go for the Beolab 5s. The best speaker I have ever listened  to. I have had them now for almost 3 years and would never give them back.