Having only been with the B&O sensation for a short time now, I am curious as to why or even how these products elevate themselves to what they have become. I always hear talk about how B&O products aren't up to par with the technology standards of the time. I want to make it plain that I am completely for Bang & Olufsen, I would prefer not to have this post turn hostile. I am purely posting this to clear up possible misconceptions and to better help me understand what makes them tick. I intend for this post to compare B&O products (audio mainly), and its traditions to the audio reproduction standards. Feel free to add any additional input that you may think necessary. A few examples:

-8 pin speaker cables: Why both L and R signals to each speaker? Why is this better than conventional bare wire?

-Is there a noticeable and/or worthy advantage to active speakers when compared to passive?

-When is the price feasible/right/worth it?

- The Design

They become part of the room deco, they often are the best piece of furniture/art that you have in your room. They are not objects you want to hide.

- Useability

You use them without thinking. They operate very logically and easily. One remote controls everything, hifi, tv, DVD, STB, lights...

- Durability

Their design is timeless, it won't look "old fashion in 2 years", and they are usually quite robust.

- System

They work together, as a system, and when you combine products, it is like 1+1=3, if you see what I mean. If you buy a new TV, you do not throw away the old CRT Beovision, you just move it to another room and it would extend your system

- Magic

There is something magic about them, that astonishes. Doors open without noise, TVs are turning ... Seams something that every brand could do, but B&O has to mould their own plastic and develop their own mechanism to get this work so silently.

- Love and Pleasure

You'll love your B&O for a long time. When I go home tonight, looking at my 13 year old Beolab 8000 still makes me happy. When I turn the music on, I am still surpised by the quality. Every time I turn my TV on, I like that it turns towards me, and the the (virtual) curtain is opening, years after, this pleasure does not fade.

p.

Hi evamen !

I must admit very tough question..... I will expound my thoughts as short as I can.

In architecture we say good architecture is correlation between elements and materials that this architecture contain and elements around that architecture. And in every case when you see something that you like is all about this correlation...

B&O sucsess is based IMO on this correlation .... 

People reconised this and just feel this like a natural relation between man and the object.

Sometimes people who liked B&O, just feel connection with all sense's... touch, look, hear !

evman140:

-8 pin speaker cables: Why both L and R signals to each speaker? Why is this better than conventional bare wire?

8 Pin B&O speakers cables are not comparable to other speaker cables as they carry line level, rather than amplified level.

Nearly all B&O speakers are active, that is the reason.

At line level, there is no need for super quality cable with golden connections, it would not make a difference.

You've got left and right in the same cable, as you can run 1 cable from the TV/Hifi to one speaker, and then run the second cable from one speaker to the other. In some case, it makes it easier to hide cables.

evman140:

-Is there a noticeable and/or worthy advantage to active speakers when compared to passive?

-The Amp and the speakers are together, so B&O has tuned the drivers exactly for the Amp.

-You can connect any speaker to any of their hifi or TV. Buy new speakers for the living room, you can use the old one as rear speakers or connect them to the Bedroom TV.

evman140:

-When is the price feasible/right/worth it?

That is up to you to decide... but because B&O products last so long, you can buy second hand Hifi/Speaker that will be as good as new, and will be the same design as the one in store. I would not recommand buying second hand flat screen TV unless you make sure they are the same type (MK I,II, III...) as the one currently in store. 

 

Better?

Well most B&O has it all in one packet.

You are either into HIFI or B&O.

Why chose a Beolab 8000 system from 1981?

To me it looks great and one of a kind compared to everything else. Jacob Jensen desings are most likely like that.

It makes you feel good and if you treat it well you can have it for a few decades still being happy.

The sound is still great after being used for 20 od years if serviced. Not dated but fresh and the same quality as always.

I love my Beovison LX5500. It gives me great sharp picture and great sounds which can still compete with the latest plasma and be just an inch or two better in owerall quality.

The ease of use is another factor. When using the the older stuff you can see how far ahead it really is compared to other brands.

I'm late in discovering how good a Beocord can be. Cassete tape maybe rather obsolete but a tape recorded on a Beocord can give just a great listen as a cd, beogram or radio.

It's the joy of B&O if I should kind of break it down to as simple as I can. 

 

 

PhilLondon:

- The Design

They become part of the room deco, they often are the best piece of furniture/art that you have in your room. They are not objects you want to hide.

- Useability

You use them without thinking. They operate very logically and easily. One remote controls everything, hifi, tv, DVD, STB, lights...

- Durability

Their design is timeless, it won't look "old fashion in 2 years", and they are usually quite robust.

- System

They work together, as a system, and when you combine products, it is like 1+1=3, if you see what I mean. If you buy a new TV, you do not throw away the old CRT Beovision, you just move it to another room and it would extend your system

- Magic

There is something magic about them, that astonishes. Doors open without noise, TVs are turning ... Seams something that every brand could do, but B&O has to mould their own plastic and develop their own mechanism to get this work so silently.

- Love and Pleasure

You'll love your B&O for a long time. When I go home tonight, looking at my 13 year old Beolab 8000 still makes me happy. When I turn the music on, I am still surpised by the quality. Every time I turn my TV on, I like that it turns towards me, and the the (virtual) curtain is opening, years after, this pleasure does not fade.

p.

Perfectly said!

Also, your comment about moving the old TV is exactly correct. In fact as I type this I just finished running a masterlink cable to our Avant which was moved to another room when we purchased a BV7-40mk3.

Well the expected level of eloquence of this demographic has definitely shown through. I also feel that the many opinions made reflect mine also. Only having owned a B&O product for a few weeks I have definitely experienced the aforementioned "magic". Im really interested in the tech stuff... Keep the comments coming!

Hi Evman,

I don't know if B&O is better. But I know that I love owning, using and even simply looking at audio and video equipment that a company has put so much effort into creating. As you can see from the many posts on this forum, B&O is not always (ever?) at the front line in terms of technology or performance, but I get a huge amount of satisfaction out of owning such beautifully crafted products. I hope you do, too.

I bought my first B&O item in 1986 and have been fascinated and, perhaps, entranced by the company's products ever since - even though I know I could get better technical performance from other producers at less cost. I've even been to the B&O factory at Struer in Denmark. For me it's not really a question of "better", it's just a question of "pleasure".

I think that Bang & Olufsen is better for a certain type of person and probably not even an option for another. 

I think that the Bang & Olufsen customer has to be one who takes into account a wide range of factors and has has the confidence and wherewithal to choose what they like for very personal reasons. 

I often summarize the difference to confounded shop visitors (I run a shop if you're new to the forums) by comparing my love of Bang & Olufsen, to my near total disinterest in fishing. Most of the men in my family are avid fishermen and revel in the type of equipment, crafts, rituals, stories, etc. that surround this favorite hobby. They pour tremendous time and treasure into their pursuit and would likely choose an early Sunday morning by the creek over an anniversary dinner with their wives. I, on the other hand, fish while vacationing with them. That's it. No expensive rod, no lure collection, no appreciation for technique, no interest in the fish tales. The only reason I have any understanding is that I can generalize the feelings from my own passion to theirs. I know that there's more if I look deeper, I simply don't care to.

Bang & Olufsen, unlike almost any other electronics manufacturer, offers something to the AV purchaser who looks at what's on the shelves at a normal shop and thinks, "but what could they be if someone really tried?" There is so much narrative wound up in our brand that it's no wonder passions are so easily stirred. You generally have to look to architecture, art, or fashion to find a clarity of purpose as focused as ours (or any purpose, save profit). We have a distinct point of view and, like all great art, a "take it or leave it" stance on its public reception. We have to in order to maintain integrity. It doesn't mean we're always right; simply that we're always different. For nearly 90 years, that's been enough. 

On a technical, and therefor less eloquent note, the advantage of the active loudspeaker is manifold. The main reason, to my mind, is the ideal match between amplifier and driver that is nearly exclusive to this design. When you think of the necessity to match amplifier to driver in power and performance, and think of all the variables that could affect the final performance, the idea of perfectly pairing them makes a great deal of sense. 

Once we've come to that conclusion, it makes sense to seat the amplifier and driver in the same cabinet so that the signal sent is not as affected by cable property, distance, etc. Cabinet volume is reduced as power consumption is reduced (thanks also to the brilliant Bang & Olufsen ICE Power amplifiers). The end result not only outperforms any close price competitor, but always bests larger cabinets in the peer group.

 

And another thing...

Materials!

I think this aspect deserves its own post simply because it represents an aspect of Bang & Olufsen that, though clearly identifiable, seems to add the most abstract component to its mystique.

I think you'll find that when reviewing negative posts (don't do too much of this!), you'll find that the craftsmanship & materials, while acknowledged as existing in the material sphere, are somehow irrelevant in assessing the "true value" i.e. justifying the price. I find it amazing that these qualities' relevance are so easily discarded when one would assume that any level of appreciation of Bang & Olufsen would almost have to spring principally from the appreciation of its design; and what is our design if not the physical expression of the materials we use and the methods in which we use them? It's readily admitted that our technological cores (like the porridge in Goldilocks and the Three Bears) ranges from too hot to too cold, so why else devote any time to our following if not the qualities that make us utterly unique in our industries?

To me, these qualities are what make Bang & Olufsen worthwhile. What they do or don't do on the day they're purchased is irrelevant, as it will be performing long after its chronological peers have been consigned to the rubbish heap, and almost certainly functioning into what most would consider obsolescence. Bang & Olufsen systems are repaired the way all fine products used to be. In fact, their case design is usually physically larger than it would otherwise be, specifically because it is designed to be repairable. If we expected our products to be tossed in the garbage at the first sign of trouble, imagine how much mass they could shed! 

I look for the same qualities in clothing, automobiles, other less glamorous appliances, etc. I think, will I still like this next year? Will I want to pay to fix this when it breaks? If not, I generally pass. Most things I buy are more expensive than other "competing" products, but also outlast and outshine those supposed competitors. 

Hopefully, when assessing your last question, others will take stock of just how much goes into a Bang & Olufsen product and realize the correlation to how much they'll get back out.   

Hi there,

Phil I also think you have it spot on... its not so much about specs, technical details (altho they are the important things behind the scenes) to the average B&O customer.. its about passion/love for the brand which is the culmination of all the elements that you have highlighted ...  

As you also say its the smile that you get on your face when you hear that soft click followed by soothing, smooth sounds and images...

Laurence 

 

I really think that this overwhelming success of  Bang and Olufsen's styling and fashion sense comes from its break from convention. I think that this abstract styling reputation is what makes it feel so special, or "magical" as one member posted above. This break from the norm ultimately gives us our unique sense of individuality.