As those of you who remember the old forum and its photogallery will know, in my career I travelled a lot and my Beosound 2 was my salvation on buses, trains, planes and of course hotels.

I used to "celebrate" trips to new places by posting a view of my "flying saucer" against some backdrop such as the Tokyo skyline.

Sadly a week ago while on a jog my A*s went snap, crackle and pop -- followed by a prolonged raspberry after which nothing worked.

I have just received a repair quote: AUD316 to replace the BS2's PCB (circuits).

To put that cost in context, I could buy an iPod 8GB iTouch for AUD326 or even an iPod 120GB Classic for AUD336.

To make things "worse" I had received an iPod 4GB Nano (previous generation) that I have never opened (a zero cost option!).

So my question to you all ... if you were in my place, what woul dyou do!

1/ repair the BS2

2/ pay twice as much and get a new BS2

3/ go for one of the newer B&O MP3 players  

4/ buy an iTouch (movies, games ... drooool)

5/ buy an iPod 

6/ use the Nano I have ...

Not an ideal situation and s tough decision - I love my BS2 !

The BS2 is sold here for 300US$ with the A8s, it came down significantly.  If you love it, buy another one before they disapear, their days are certainly counted.

 

I have an Itouch, be warned, the sound is crap. I would consider it for movies though. Since the BS2 will at somepoint soon disappear, I would get that first and then later aybe an itouch for movies ...... no reason not to have both ...

IMO it seems daft not to try the Nano you already have. If you don't like it then consider repair/replacement.

Hi,

Buy another BS2. I donot use mine very often, but it is allways a pleasure. As it is a pleasure for the eyes, when it gently rests on its docking station on my desk.

I would not hesitate one second.

Regards from the French Alps,

Laurent.

jk1002:

The BS2 is sold here for 300US$ with the A8s, it came down significantly.  If you love it, buy another one before they disapear, their days are certainly counted.

 

I have an Itouch, be warned, the sound is crap. I would consider it for movies though. Since the BS2 will at somepoint soon disappear, I would get that first and then later aybe an itouch for movies ...... no reason not to have both ...

Have you tried it with a good pair of headphones? Or do you use it connected to a system?

Via good headphones I wouldn't describe the sound as crap. It does depend upon the bit rate recorded.  

I might approach it from the point of view that having owned a BS2 for a while perhaps its time to try the BS6. It is a later product and and although it doesn't have the design aspect that the BS2 does I know the sound quality is excellent. They weren't a good seller for B&O at all and as a result of that you can get them at giveaway prices which might be tempting. Certainly worth considering. I did own a BS2 for about 6 months but then I sold it on as I found I rarely used it. In terms of the MP3 player range though, it has to be the clear winner I am sure. Follow your heart on this one!

Simon.

>>Via good headphones I wouldn't describe the sound as crap>>

 I have the A8. I use 192kbps which I think is sufficient cause I mostly use it at work or in the gym or while travelling. I stopped listening to ripped music on my stereo at home. There is definitely a noticeable difference between the old Ipod and the touch. I think it has to do that they try too hard to shrink everything ....... 

I would not repair the BeoSound 2 considering the cost of a new one it may actually be cheaper and have a brand new pair of A8s with it. 

But if you did decide to go for an iPod, be weary of the Touch. I've had an iPhone since the day it came out and have never been able to migrate completely away from my BeoSound 2 because of all the attention it demands to navigate music. You need both eyes and a full hand. Forget about shifting songs with the thing still in your pocket and don't even think about using it while driving! 

I'd say that for its sheer ability to navigate blindly it beats the iPods. Doesn't hurt that the sound quality is stellar!

As for the iPhone, I put it away last week in favor of my long unused Serene and have never been happier! If you never had a BeoSound 2 to begin with, it might be a different story, but I think it's hard to leave B&O behind once you're in. 

Hi Ed,

Sorry to hear about the BS2. I have had a BS2 and a variety of iPods. The BS2 sounds impressive as it has a built in loudness function but I actually prefer some control so use an iPod Classic 160Gb for most of my listening. I have an iPhone and iPod Touch and agree these don;t sound quite the same but are not bad and have just bought Eleanor a new nano (a green one with green A8s) and this has the best sound of the lot. I'll stick with the classic but a new nano would be tempting. I am afraid I wouldn't touch the BS2 and even less the BS6. I would however consider the new Sony as the Sony Walkman do seem to have particularly good sound.  http://www.techdigest.tv/2009/01/ces_2009_sony_r.html

If I were you, I would use the iPod I already have. If you don't like it, you still can get a new BS2 or another iPod.

Hating my ipod nano; clickwheel is irritating.

The menus teh submenus are mind numbing.

 

Have the chance of buying a brand new Bs2. Built in 2007 and been boxed up never used from a dealer.

£240 with 12 month warranty.

Is that a good deal?

Heard of some units failing. If it's going to die it will in the first 12 months or not at all for many years i guess?

 

 

 

This is very interesting.

My iPod "classic" 5th gen video 60GB has just hit its first repair need after 5 flawless years of service (determined to be a battery replacement) and the event has certainly got me thinking of alternatives. I never thought about buying a B&O alternative and I know I won’t, especially for my primary mobile music device. Keep reading and find out why.

The iPod that I have was my very first and I absolutely adore it. I have always been very pleased with the sound quality since it can reproduce in the Apple/Flac lossless format and the 256kbps AAC files from iTunes are quite good as well, these two formats make up my entire library. Concerning the BeoSound 2, the idea of not having a display, highly limited storage, and no AAC playback frightens me! Not to mention I also do a lot of home listening through my BeoSystem 4500 at home and this probably wouldn't be able to be controlled remotely. There is a nice feeling that comes with knowing that you don’t have to decide what music to choose to carry with you, why not have it all with you? I can do just that with my gigantic iPod storage. I know you are all thinking to yourselves, “Well he could certainly use multiple memory cards...” Like that wouldn’t complicate things even more.

I am not trying to bash the BeoSound 2, please do not receive it that way, I hope you guys can convince me that I am missing out!

I think its neat someone brought up the Serene; I recently bought one to keep myself from playing "keep up" with the ever more accelerating cell phone market. My previous phone was a Samsung Epix (SGH-i907) Smartphone. The Serene is without a lot of content when placed next to the Epix. Mind you, I am not talking about the web based content. The Serene is an absolute ball to use compared with the Sammy. But when I need to take care of business and get things done, I reach for my Epix. I am still forcing myself to use the Serene to try and get used to it but I am burdened with only being able to use the 1900 band. Not good if you reside underground or outside of a metropolis. My quad-band Epix will function across the country, inside heavy built structures and even in common subterranean levels. I realize that this significant detail will not affect all Serene buyers but is certainly a deal breaker for the US market.

The above phone comparo embodies the fear I would have with trying something like the BeoSound 2/6. Not being able to integrate my new MP3 player with my existing A/V infrastructure and habits.

Congratulations on getting you're BeoSound 2 fixed Elephant. Stick to what you know.

Thanks :)

It was an emotional decision ... the BeoSound 2 was the B&O purchase I made after almost 20 years of being away from the brand ... I had had my B&O 5000s all that time and then I renewed my relationship ... and since I have acquired a range of new and second hand systems.

Interestingly I was travelling last week and in a hurry I grabbed the iPod Nano as a source of music since the work laptop was sans iTunes and any music ... and I found myself frustrated by the fact that my latest purchases were not on it (I had not updated the iPod playlist since my travels of August 2009!) ... so frustrating ... and now I completely empathise with your desire to carry your entire collection with you ... only problem is that my collection exceeds 60GB ... so bring on the iTunes cloud say I

I was messing around searching the interweb and came across this...

 

http://beostores.bang-olufsen.co.uk/cleveland-yarm/prices

 

Dan

 

jk1002:

The BS2 is sold here for 300US$ with the A8s, it came down significantly.  If you love it, buy another one before they disapear, their days are certainly counted.

 

I have an Itouch, be warned, the sound is crap. I would consider it for movies though. Since the BS2 will at somepoint soon disappear, I would get that first and then later aybe an itouch for movies ...... no reason not to have both ...

I have tried to buy a new Beosound 2 but could not find one.  Where should I call?

 

elephant,

so now that you have the Bs2 repaired and an ipod nano and have had a good amount of time with both which do you prefer??

 

Glad to hear you have found B&O once again Elephant! But why stop in the first place?

Its strange how well attached you can become to things after they are gone. Your story of the BS2 reminds me of my first car and how much I miss it. The lease ran out so I got something bigger and badder but I think I want to go back to my Civic. Everyone tells me my want for another Civic is purely nostalgic. The car was a ball of fun to drive too... I could go on forever about Lil' Red [:'(]

PS ipods are up to 160GB now My library is just now going past 10GB

evman140:

But why stop in the first place?

well young man

• children
• school fees
• mortgage
• home extension
• motor vehicle

in other words, "necessities" rather than beauty

elephant:

in other words, "necessities" rather than beauty

Oh! Duh, life happens... Sorry i was quite tired when I wrote that last night, not thinking clearly!