I am wondering if people are prepared to pay 4.795,-€ for the new BeoSound5/BeoMaster5 combination, so I am asking BeoWorld members this question:

Are you prepared to pay so much?

YES or NO?

yes AND no!

YES: I like the look, the feel, the function and I can stand the price.

NO: I almost never ever buy version 1.0. Will wait some time until later versions. Only first version I bought is BeoCom 6000. Ordered it day 1 it was released and never regretted it.

NO

Can you play DVDs from it as well as music?

I should do some reading first. Where do the CDs load? Do they have to go through your computer first?

No CD player included - though your dealer can load all your CDs on for you (at a price) - or you can use a computer.

4.795,-€ only for mp3 playback and internet radio. No CD/DVD mechanism included. You have to rip all your CDs to computer and then to BeoMaster 5, the same with from the internet downloaded mp3 files.

tbh i can't see the point of the bs5

what does it do exactly ?

if you've got to rip all your cd's to it why not just rip them to a mac / pc and use that for your music playing ?

it seems to fill a void that doesn't need filling , ie; it's pointless

With BeoSound 5 you get a controler with display and BeoMaster 5 with 500 GB storage. With controler you can acces mpr3 and internet radio via remote. You can upload mp3 files from pc to BeoMaster5 then no connection with pc is needed afterwards.

Flappo The Grate:

tbh i can't see the point of the bs5

what does it do exactly ?

if you've got to rip all your cd's to it why not just rip them to a mac / pc and use that for your music playing ?

it seems to fill a void that doesn't need filling , ie; it's pointless

The physical medium is about to die, so soon, every hifi will be a media player like the BM5/BS5. So B&O is absolutely right to go in that direction.

However, I think you have a better user experience when playing music from a Hifi, in the living room, with a remote, etc... than with a PC that is in the office or the bedroom... So the BS5/BM5 tried to be the best of both world: a media player that behaves like a hifi.

p.

An interesting question. This is one of those products where I am somewhere in the middle in terms of pricing, which shows how well the company priced it. It would be the type of product that I could be persuaded to buy, but not quite one I never hesitated about with the BS9000 for example. I agree about version 1 products, I too tend to wait a long while before purchase. Since I don't need the BS/BM5 it will most likely be a product I buy second hand in 4-5 years or so. I'll stick with the rest of my set up till then. Its still a bit of a messy product for me like the BC2, I like all in one units as a preference.

Simon.

No way dream on

avus17:

I am wondering if people are prepared to pay 4.795,-€ for the new BeoSound5/BeoMaster5 combination, so I am asking BeoWorld members this question:

Are you prepared to pay so much?

YES or NO?

In the end, the bottom line will be whether it sells or not and therefore can be judged 'successful' in both product and pricing terms.

If it's a 'flop' then something went wrong for B&O. If it sells then they got it right and I'm wrong in my opinion about it.

It will be interesting to see the position in a couple of years.

But do U really think pjisical medium (CD) will die out so quickly? What about older customers, which do not know a lot of PCs?

People still have a lot of CDs, for someone even riping them to PC and then to BM5 is a hard work.

I also think there will be big problems to find music on BS5 when covers are not available, for instance for those mp3 files that are illegaly downloaded (for instance via torrent etc.)

As the display is not very big for such files or let me say albums only name is displayed and from far away hard to be seen.

I also would not like to have my TV set switched on all the time. So here is a big disadvantage of BS5 I see.

I own a BS9000 it is agreat product and every CD can be seen from a distance. So the choice is not hard.

avus17:

But do U really think physical medium (CD) will die out so quickly? What about older customers

They'll die as well... :-(

avus17:

I also think there will be big problems to find music on BS5 when covers are not available, for instance for those mp3 files that are illegaly downloaded (for instance via torrent etc.)

You can add the Album art to any song you've got. Some programmes do it automatically. But I agree it is not the experience I want from a Beo product.

avus17:

As the display is not very big for such files or let me say albums only name is displayed and from far away hard to be seen.

When you push the lever to the top or bottom, you see the album art full screen. Same size as a CD on your BS9000.

avus17:

I also would not like to have my TV set switched on all the time. So here is a big disadvantage of BS5 I see.

That is the point of having a BS5, rather than having the BM5 on its own. You do not have to have your TV on all the time. The BS5 is to be seen as an advanced display. Your BS9000 has a display, on all the time as well.

Avus, I was not trying to say the BS5 is a perfect product, actually in its state I am not going to buy one. However I was tring to respond so someone who was asking what is the point of it. And I was trying to say that this category of product is the future, and that it would be silly for B&O not to have a product like that in their portfollio. That did not mean the BS5/BM5 is a good enough implementation of that category.

p.

kokomo:

In the end, the bottom line will be whether it sells or not and therefore can be judged 'successful' in both product and pricing terms.

If it's a 'flop' then something went wrong for B&O. If it sells then they got it right and I'm wrong in my opinion about it.

It will be interesting to see the position in a couple of years.

It may flop commercially (or not) - but I sincerely believe that 10 years from now it will be a product that will be remembered and discussed each time this product category comes up.

But what I'd really like to ask is do we really need YET ANOTHER thread discussing the price of BM5/BS5, when there have been at least a dozen of them, some even at the section of the forum they belong to?

I think another thread is not a problem, why not discuss this matter again and also who would search for similar answers or discusions in old posts and go through all that stuff. I would not do it!

PhilLondon:

avus17:

But do U really think physical medium (CD) will die out so quickly? What about older customers

They'll die as well... :-(

I completely agree with Mika. We had these discussions again and again. It´s SOOO boring...

BTW tihis is the wrong place. There is a BS5 Forum.

Stefan

Well I was prepared to pay the price and actually got one.

That said, I think it is the first B&O product that I have considered to be expensive and the price pitch for where it is - is very top-end.

Now dont get me wrong. Provided you you dont want one just to play with every combination to see what it can do, play very high quality digitial music into the anologue Masterlink system which is then piped to your BL2000 in the toilet, and that you dont want a 2-way remote whilst taking a number 2, then it is a very competent machine.

The sound is very good. It integeates perfectly with other B&O stuff and is really nice (although it takes some getting used to) to operate.  It behaves as a hifi rather than a PC but my honest opinion is that it does not look or feel like a 4 grand piece of kit. It's impeccably finished but lacks aluminimum and a presence you get with the BC2 or BS9000.

I agree with Stefen, these posts are boring, provocative in a negative way as we have had them repetatively in the last 6 months. The BS5 is £3750 in the UK, $5,800 in USD and Eur4800 (or whatever) in Europe. That's the price of admission. Get over it and either get on the bus or not. It's not compulsory and value is where you see it or not.

10%

As discussing the price of B&O products seems to affect B&O users, I suggest you re-word questions to ask whether us users are prepared to purchase a B&O product based on the current specifications and, if not, why not.

To be honest, I am coming around to the BS5. It still doesn't quite tick all my boxes but I can see the point and you do seem to be able to add another hard disc from what I understand from another post. The price is not really the issue, it is the specs. If the BS5 was wireless with a docking station, I would buy one tomorrow. Having it tied to one place is the deal breaker for me. I think the display is good, though the controls could do with a bit more feel - a little resistance would be good - and I want something that can manage all my music. The BS9000 is fine but it only holds 6 CDs.

Since we are talking about price only, and compared to BeoPort, I would say 100% NO!

10 times more expensive than BeoPort, just for a nicer looking screen & marginally better sound, not for me..at least with BeoPort I can type the name of the album I'm looking for, while sitting in front of my BV7

I would buy one right away at a reasonable $3,000 USD. However, nearly $6,000 USD seems quite improperly priced -- in my opinion.

Good evening

As I wrote in my intoduction post:

http://forum.beoworld.org/forums/t/24071.aspx

The answer will be a definite NO. The main reason is that there is no CD player and I personally think that the computer music belongs in the computer world, not in a player. The trouble is to get the digital music to the speaker or amplifier. Further in this digital age, I want to be able to see what I want to play (or playing) also in the link rooms (without TVs). As you all now by now, Beoport and iPod touch/iPhone/Apple do this job for a fraction of the price.

Concerning music, it would have been quite enough to provide a two way remote like the Apple solution, similar to what Peter suggests. However, if B&O wants to provide a media center, it is quite different. In that case, I think the principle should be the same. That is, the videos/photos should stay in the computer and B&O should focus on a way to get the information to the TV. In the digital world it would be easier for B&O if their TVs could be connected with ethernet or WLAN as my Loewe Connect.

B R

Clakke

Clakke:

The main reason is that there is no CD player and I personally think that the computer music belongs in the computer world, not in a player. 

I think that's the main issue for me. The progression from vinyl or cassette to CD still involved essentially the same media, i.e. a hard storage format and a device to play the recording back that could (in most cases) be simply plugged into an existing amp/speaker setup. Something about the effort required to rip every CD to a hard disk just seems so pointless and clinical. Let's not forget that most of the people who can afford a BS5 are most likely to be of an age where they are more than familiar with vinyl as a medium, let alone CDs. Why the mad rush then to spend all the time/money to have your music on a hard drive? Surely there must be something in a hard storage medium, otherwise how on earth can the BS9000 still be in the product line after all this time? 

CDs are the new vinyl, I say. Go buy a CDX for £100 and experience a real quality sound (better than riplosslessavvvetc.) Oh, and it will have a really cool light that comes on when you open the CD tray up.