Do you think B&O have gone mad with their prices? I think the prices of TV sets are much to high. Also price increase every year is very big for the same product (no improvements included, for instance BS9000, BS 3200, BS 4, BLabs).

I am aware B&O is a luxury brand but they simply don't offer enough for the money at the time. This was quite different in Avant/MX aera.

When I am buying B&O now I have to think much more, also products are very quickly outdated, MKI, MKII, MKIII ... this happens so quickly, but there is no possibility to update from MKI to MIII or so.

 

I'm afraid I have to agree on this.

I totally understand some price increase based on certain facts, however this is not justified in this case.

Being luxury product does not mean high end tech. e.g. Beosound5, nothing more than a nice looking media player. Why priced almost 5.000 Euros?? I just can't understand it.

it is a shame this question keep coming  up,and discussed so many times in different ways &forms and shapes this forum full of nice&knowledgeable people but due to lack of luster from b&o behalf becoming like the BBC full of repeats,or discuss old products and  reminisce the good old days ,due to lack of judgment of b&o and short-sightedness their products a part from speakers become so ridiculous /outdated

yes they are over-priced to what in them!!!

I agree too

But surely they have to rethink their price strategy now. They have had some seriously bad salesfigures during the holiday season and I bet they have to start doubting their ridicoulusly high TV prices. Or at least I hope...

I think it's ok if B&O want's to be expensive, but they have to match the performance too. If you pay for the best, you just want the best or at least something that's near the best, and not the medium ! The top of the line products are very good at the moment I have to say, but it's the rest of the line that doesn't. What they can also do is just making art like they did with the bs9000 and bl8000 etc. Those products don't perform like the best, but you love them when your eyes catch those beautifull designed lines, but that's something that I'm also missing in the current line.

The Beosound 5 looks acceptable, and if they asked 3k's for it I would have thought about it. Now they ask almost twice, and I can't even stick my cd's/dvd's/blu-ray's or sacd's in it ! Why should I pay so much for something that looks "acceptable" ? The only thing that will be left is the performance. If it performs like a high-end media player in the same price range I will think about it twice, but I'm afraid that it will not.

 They're just losing customers. In the past we had a MX telly, and now we have a Panasonic. We had a pair of Beolab 8k's, and now we have some Sonus Faber speakers. In the bedroom there was also a MX telly, and there's now a Loewe. I still love the brand, but the products that give me that special B&O feeling are becomming less.

 

I think you're very brave starting this thread - no matter what you say or any evidence you can produce to support your case

Ferrari's are in my opinion far too expensive, it's just cars.

Martin

Dillen:

Ferrari's are in my opinion far too expensive, it's just cars.

Martin

that maybe true but you do not get a hyundai engine/chassis with the trimming!!!

Beobird's last paragraph say's it all. Yet B&O wont alter their view or product range, not for any reason other than they are too used to making a vast amount of profit on under spec'd over priced jewellery !  It's back fired on them. Back in the days, before the current management, when a TV was an Avant and a Hi-Fi was an Ouverture with Lab 8's people knew what they were getting and were happy to pay for it and the service from dedicated dealers, not the Franchise robots we now have. Now many of the loyal customer base (like Beobird) have voted with their feet. It's too late for B&O and I suspect they know it!   You can fool some of the people all of the time... 

The comparison to cars is not a good one in my book. Besides four wheels and a steering-wheel a Ferrari hardly compares to my car at all, both looks and performance, its in another league all together. As for other luxury products, say bags from i.e. LV, they don't get outdated, they will last you a lifetime if taken care of. A B&O television might be outdated next spring.. sadly

There is no doubt in my mind that B&O has out-priced themselves. It is obvious that they do no longer reach that critical mass that they need to be in the market at the moment. The lack of volume makes them to vulnerable to changing demand, and just look at what happens.

I'm dying to go out and buy a new B&O setup where a BV7-40 would be the central hub for a stb and appleTv, but come on, with that price it might never happen. I know a lot of well off people that just does not go into B&O stores anymore because of the general perception that the prices are just not to live with. Having said that i know people that bought too, but apparently they are to few.

IMO prices of the Beolabs are correct except from the beolab 2 sub

 Landline phones are acceptable but the beocom 6000 is just getting old 

The beosounds are priced right :-) but then again the 3200 is getting old again and the Beosound 4 and their stands just don't look the part.

And for the televisions: a BV4-50 at 11000 euros, BV7-40 at 8000 BV 7-32 at 6000 BV6 and bv8 the same price could boost sales.  

And please please pleassseee keep up with the evolutions in technology. B&O does not have state-of-the-art but a HDMI socket on every beovision could do a world of good. 

 

Hmmm, well, i could buy:

• a 4.000,00 € Loewe Individual 40"
• DVD / BluRay player (about 800,00 €)
• a 2.000,00 € ROTEL surround sound processor
• a 3.000,00 € pair of B&W speaker (700 series)

about 10.000,00 € for a top but wired/unintegrated/unupgrdable system.

Or...:

• BV7-40":
• 40" Full HD screen
• DVD (BluRay)
• Surround Sound preocessor
• 750 W stereo sound
• Upgradable
• Efficient Seriferical Unit Controller 
• MasterLink
• Cinema Control
• Universal Remote (Beo5)
• Hand made
• Magic
• ...

12.000,00 €... Expensive??

The question is: do we really need all this things in our TV setup??

A bv 7-40 will need an stand or wall bracket adding another 600-1500 euros 

Masterlink is outdated: your bluray dvd player will only serve the bv7-40

Upgradable? Maybe once but since you allready have the Blu-ray player.

Beo 5 has many problems (and yes I do own a BEO5) 

Magic? Maybe when you tell people the price of it ;-) 

 

Beobird:

I think it's ok if B&O want's to be expensive, but they have to match the performance too. If you pay for the best, you just want the best or at least something that's near the best, and not the medium ! The top of the line products are very good at the moment I have to say, but it's the rest of the line that doesn't. What they can also do is just making art like they did with the bs9000 and bl8000 etc. Those products don't perform like the best, but you love them when your eyes catch those beautifull designed lines, but that's something that I'm also missing in the current line.

The Beosound 5 looks acceptable, and if they asked 3k's for it I would have thought about it. Now they ask almost twice, and I can't even stick my cd's/dvd's/blu-ray's or sacd's in it ! Why should I pay so much for something that looks "acceptable" ? The only thing that will be left is the performance. If it performs like a high-end media player in the same price range I will think about it twice, but I'm afraid that it will not.

 They're just losing customers. In the past we had a MX telly, and now we have a Panasonic. We had a pair of Beolab 8k's, and now we have some Sonus Faber speakers. In the bedroom there was also a MX telly, and there's now a Loewe. I still love the brand, but the products that give me that special B&O feeling are becomming less.

 

I can't agree more...

I'm not really up to date gadget and hi-fi geek, therefore for me is enough just to own old b&o tv or speakers, and I still have bs2300 and bc1in my living room and I think I will never change it.

But I remember 7 years ago when i put in my project (I'm an architect) B&O equipment all of my clients just ask " what is this? how much is it? and ok"

Now is totally different situation.... I need to justify - defend price tag and it is a really long process.... Then after a so many meetings in 85% they say I will buy something else cos I will get more for less money and the design of others is not so bad whatsoever. Note this that with this my clients  "money is not an object" and they usually pay for houses around 1.5-2 millions....

So in past three years I had 4 project like that, where money is no object, and all of them choose other brands for their homes... which is approximate 50.000 euro per house if they choose B&O....

So .... B&O lose 200 000 euro just from my projects !!!!

 A bv 7-40 will need an stand or wall bracket adding another 600-1500 euros 

And, what's the problem??

Masterlink is outdated: your bluray dvd player will only serve the bv7-40

We don't know it yet...

Upgradable? Maybe once but since you allready have the Blu-ray player

Not only the BluRay player, infact I think this is not the most important upgrade. All BVs offer the possibility of upgrade its modules, like DVB, Sound processor, players, masterlink, PUC, etc. The software can be ubdated too.

Beo 5 has many problems (and yes I do own a BEO5) 

Bad luck  

Magic? Maybe when you tell people the price of it ;-) 

Well, if you don't find magic in B&O products, maybe you're not made for B&O Fortunately, there are many alternatives for B&O (without magic )

 

I suppose the company's maybe just happy moving from selling to doctors/lawyers/businessmen to selling to the small buy super-rich group.  A shame for us, but if they turn a profit then fair enough, that's business for you.  Of course, that profit isn't happening which makes you question the strategy.

 

I recently purchased a BV7-40, I could have gone for any number of good but much cheaper TVs but I can tell you I do not regret for one minute buying the B&O - the picture is great, the sound is great, and it looks great. It is everything I expected and more. I could have assembled something equivalent from various manufacturers products, but what a mess that would have looked. Yes it was a lot of money but I for one am glad I spent it. Funnily enough I did not feel that there was much choice in the marketplace when I decided exactly what I was looking for in a package.

In terms of B&O struggling with their TV offerings my theory as to what may also be happening in the marketplace is that a lot of people are trading up to flat screens from their CRTs and that there is little discernment in doing so, as they all tend to look the same in the shop yet give the purchaser a feeling of being cutting edge regardless of the price. Once the pace of change slows I think we will see more brand differentiation which will undoubtedly help B&O (if they can keep going). I suspect they may need some "diffusion" products in the short to medium term. I think they need another TV below the BV7 that has some excitement about it, unlike the slightly dull BV8 which is too basic to woo the top end of the volume consumer market.

The problem that b&o has is matching the value with the price tag of a beovision! Please do read my first reply ;-)

Secondly my Beo 5 does not work properly: bad luck ??? When something isn't what it should be, they should fix it.

I personally own many LV bags: the quality is always perfect and the service in the shop excellent (free cleaning of the leather, quick repairs,...). Let's be honest not many dealers offer a good service.

And finally: I own a BV8 a BCenter2 BL8000 BEO 5 BEO 4 LC 2 Beocom2 beocom 6000,...  why would i buy these products if they did not have a Magic touch? So next time stick to the subject BV4 and BV7 being overpriced :-) 

 

 

 

I do respect your opinion :-) but if you can't see that they will have to try harder in their beovision range... 

B&O themselves did not see any problem till now: they are loosing money, firing people, dropping whole product lines (mobile phones, mp3, ...). Expecially in difficult market conditions you have to search for a perfect balance between price and performance, magic, design, build quility, service,...

This is ridiculous - there's no point in discussing this again and again as we all well know that Bang & Olufsen WON'T reduce their prices - Lee even discussed the matter with the top bods in Struer during his last visit!

My own view on the current pricing is this - yes, it's expensive, but it's hand built, upgradeable for future use, and looks superb. This alone would sway me towards a BeoVision over any other brand out there today if I was in the market for a new set.

The above points are also the reasons why Lee and I (and others) have a job selling pre-owned Bang & Olufsen - it lasts for years and years when looked after.

We regularly hear from people who are still hugely satisfied with their LX sets from the 80's, and wouldn't replace them for love nor money. Yes, there is better than B&O out there, and for a fraction of the price.

But, in 20 years time, would that Panasonic or Sony set still be belting out an incredible picture, and still make new viewers ask questions? No.

Divide the price of a BeoVision 7 over it's lifespan and you'll see it really isn't expensive at all.

propaganda:

I recently purchased a BV7-40, I could have gone for any number of good but much cheaper TVs but I can tell you I do not regret for one minute buying the B&O - the picture is great, the sound is great, and it looks great. It is everything I expected and more. I could have assembled something equivalent from various manufacturers products, but what a mess that would have looked. Yes it was a lot of money but I for one am glad I spent it. Funnily enough I did not feel that there was much choice in the marketplace when I decided exactly what I was looking for in a package.

In terms of B&O struggling with their TV offerings my theory as to what may also be happening in the marketplace is that a lot of people are trading up to flat screens from their CRTs and that there is little discernment in doing so, as they all tend to look the same in the shop yet give the purchaser a feeling of being cutting edge regardless of the price. Once the pace of change slows I think we will see more brand differentiation which will undoubtedly help B&O (if they can keep going). I suspect they may need some "diffusion" products in the short to medium term. I think they need another TV below the BV7 that has some excitement about it, unlike the slightly dull BV8 which is too basic to woo the top end of the volume consumer market.

i am happy for you ,feeling the b&o magic but a lot of us here like to differ  with that feeling good/wow factor,tech-spec,i am waiting to buy a set got the money but will not repeat my experience i had with bv7-32 picture was shocking,no hdmi 6k tv set!! most of all picture was dreadful !,if it was not for the love of the brand would not have done it but once bitten twice shy!!!

jvdb107:

I do respect your opinion :-) but if you can't see that they will have to try harder in their beovision range... 

B&O themselves did not see any problem till now: they are loosing money, firing people, dropping whole product lines (mobile phones, mp3, ...). Expecially in difficult market conditions you have to search for a perfect balance between price and performance, magic, design, build quility, service,...

I think the only way they can do this is via new product. Simply dropping prices may not be possible - the margin may not be there due to the manufacturing/distribution costs etc. If you cut the price in half you have to sell twice as much just to stand still. Not easy given that a BV7 would still be perceived as expensive by most. The easiest way is a raft of new products designed to a price point, they can also reap some media interest in their introduction (as did Apple with the original iMac range). However they need to do this fairly quickly with short product introduction cycles as do their competitors - not something that B&O have been good at traditionally. One of the big problems with the pricing is due to the choice of delivery channel. The Shop-within-shop model must be cheaper and require a lot less margin than the current B&O shop channel. The idea of diffusion products at a lesser price point delivered via a non exclusive distribution channel could perhaps deliver the correct margin to the parent company whilst still be cheaper to the end consumer. Sony use a diverse delivery channel model.

Gucci, Boss, Prada, Bang & Olufsen - whatever.

We want B&O but aren't ready to pay for it, - is that the case ?

I want a Ferrari but probably never will be able to buy one. Should I write to Ferrari and tell them to lower the price because I can get cars with other badges cheaper ?

Sorry but we have had this discussion sooo many times before.

Martin