TripEnglish:

beoberlin:

My (music) dream product would have been this:

http://www.naim-audio.com/products/naimuniti.html

needless to say minus the naim box.

It has everything bs5 should have had (CD, fm, dab, wireless, iPod interface, ability to stream server stored music files), plus it doesn´t have it´s own harddisk. So no need for (unnecessary) extra ripping, storing and back-upping my digital music on bm5, as I have it on my mac for other purposes anyway. A truly perfect and clever system for a very, very comfortable and future-proof transition from the analogue to the digital age and beyond ... It has everything what bs/bm5 is lacking in my eyes. Sad.

Regards, beoberlin

I could not disagree with this more!

CD: nearly obsolete, FM: completely obsolete, iPod interface: wait 8 months

No built in storage means that the BeoSound 5 would be DEPENDENT ON ANOTHER DEVICE! I don't know about you, but if I had to have my computer running when I wanted to play a song I'd be a pretty frustrated guy. Now attaching other storage easily is just fine, but streaming as a primary means of play is silly. Too many links in the quality chain to break.

I very clearly laid out a few tweaks (one big one, too) that would make the BeoSound 5 an unbeatable product, but the items above would take us back in time to an unusable device with obsolete capabilities. 

Oh come off it. I think obselete is the wrong word here.

FM and CD is not the way future products are going, that's all i'd say, because those mediums are used right now... everyday!

Beoberlin you've got to snap out of it keep up with the times, these are NEW products we're talking about not refurbishments of current products...

Trip you got to stop exaggerating  so much...

Dave:

Oh come off it. I think obselete is the wrong word here.

FM and CD is not the way future products are going, that's all i'd say, because those mediums are used right now... everyday!

Trip you got to stop exaggerating  so much...

Dave, you're a bit off base here. While CDs can still be bought and FM still received (well spotted), the iPod has been slashing and burning the marketplace since it was introduced, picking off users of older media one by one. The one thing we know is that hybrid users are few. Once you buy an iPod and start using it in earnest your buying & listening habits tend to adapt to the digital music world. You take the more convenient option at every turn and when a solution for the home appears that has all the convenience of the iPod with the level of performance you want for a living room it becomes a no brainer (hence the increasing market for upscale iPod docks). If you want to put CDs in something we still offer 4 delightful variations!

So for digital music users, the CD is absolutely obsolete and when given a reliable IP radio source, who would still bother with terrestrial radio!? I've yet to find an FM station that does not broadcast on IP, except I don't have to worry about reception.

The BeoSound 5, love it or hate it, is about the way forward. The BeoSound 3200 and the BeoSound 4 already have half-hearted digital music solutions and they sell... well I'm sure someone somewhere is buying one or two. 

I agree with Trip. 

Since I have had the BeoSound 5, I have found that I have not listened to a single CD at home. My BeoCenter 2 is now only used for DVDs. In my home, at least, CD has now become obsolete. I would much rather purchase an album from iTunes to prevent the  step of ripping the CD and adding good cover art.

I have noticed that there are becoming fewer and fewer places in my city to purchase CDs. While Borders once had a large selection of CDs, they now have only a handful of recent CDs in the store.

One thing I've never heard of anyone doing is re-selling digitally-purchased audio or video files. I've bought quite a lot of used CD's very cheaply ($5 or less) off eBay, and even sold a few, but online stores like iTunes and Amazon generally sell individual songs for a dollar each, making an album cost almost as much as an actual new CD. I also dislike the fact that quality is usually compromised (Amazon's mp3's are ~220 kbps). My Playstation 3 has ~$40 worth of downloaded movies and cartoons (and I bet others have tons more). What do you do when you want to get rid of them? I don't know about other people but I don't like the idea of DRM or whatever effectively making the dollar value of my purchases' zero.

I've downloaded from Amazon a few times for the convenience (it's great to to be able to hear a song you crave immediately), but I highly doubt CD's becoming obsolete. Books and magazines have not gone the way of the dodo despite the internet and the Kindle, and neither will the CD and its future iterations.

Leo

(by the way, I'm under 30 years old)

There is no doubt that some people have strong opinions regarding the physical media vs. hard-drive stored media debate. Just as I'm sure people did regarding vinyl, cassette tapes, 8-track, VHS, and ... Beta. I admit to still keeping a lovely rosewood Beogram 8002 out of nostalgia. The beauty of B&O is that there is something for everyone. For those who enjoy CD, there are iconic players such as the Beosound 9000 for them to enjoy. However, when it comes to not integrating a cd player into the BeoSound 5, I feel certain that B&O made the right move. I wouldn't want the addition of a CD player to increase the already-high cost. Also, the BeoSound 5 is taking B&O in a very new direction that is a much different concept from physical media. The BeoSound 5 is just the beginning. B&O is heading toward a new link solution for digital media distribution that will involve a standard ethernet network. The plan is for future B&O tvs to have the equipment and connections built-in to take advantage of this network for distribution of high def video sources. High definition video has outgrown the current video link limitations. I think B&O will have some pleasant surprises ahead for us. ;-)

While we're in dream mode, it would be nice if they did any of this stuff before the masses.

TripEnglish:

Daniel:

More BeoVox speakers for those places you don´t want 230 V. Would also get many to buy decent speakers even if they stay with there old stereo (or new "whatever is high tech this week").

B&O has made some very good passive speakers and I would love to see (and hear) what they can do now.

Not a bad idea at all! I'm not sure B&O sees the value in a freestanding passive speaker, but a few more options in in-wall or in-ceiling would be great.

I think there's a market for B&O with a new series of BeoVox speakers.

Not many of my friends will pay 2 000 - 3 000 € for BeoLabs and then must pay the same amount for a BeoSound. But they are willing to pay 1 000 - 2 000 € for very good speakers to use with their non B&O stereo. My brother even thought of getting BL8000, but thought they were a little bit expensive to just use as passive speakers.

B&O has a good reputation and have the skills of making good looking and sounding speakers. This would get more sales and get more trafic in the shops.

It would be like TV where B&O now focus on the end part in the chain and droppped the sources becuase a fast evolving market. This would be the same with audio. Whatever sources that will arise you still need good speakers.

Of course the main road must still be active systems.

Puncher:

While we're in dream mode, it would be nice if they did any of this stuff before the masses.

Just which "stuff" do you mean? With a quick browse back through the thread... the "stuff" is already, and has been, available elsewhere.

burantek:

Puncher:

While we're in dream mode, it would be nice if they did any of this stuff before the masses.

Just which "stuff" do you mean? With a quick browse back through the thread... the "stuff" is already, and has been, available elsewhere.

Oh any Stuff

My B&O Dream Products:

1) BeoVision 7-40 LED edge-lit, 240Hz display with super-slim cabinet.

2) BeoSound 5 with wifi media hub capability (like Apple TV or Popcorn Hour) with ability to communicate with iTunes and play/stream/store music and video files (up to 1080p) with digital surround pass-through. HDMI connection for HD TVs. No wires to ugly black box (that's 20th century technology).

We have a struggling restaurant up the road. The place is called "the Noodle-Haus". The Noodle-Haus" has a 10 page menu with at least 100 different combinations of "Noodle". Once you have eventually decided on your combinaiton of Noodle you can eat all you like for a cheap 7 Euro. The Noodle-Haus is going broke. The Portuguese steak house around the corner has a 1 page menu, average prices of 15 Euro and is always packed. Please excuse the mundane comparison, but somehow this dream wish list reminded me of a pizza with toppings that nobody is going to order. Yes tastes do differ and thats why B&O is great - its my alternative to the Noodle-Haus.

Well done, Rob. I agree. Though some would argue that the Portuguese steak house, metaphorically speaking, is also struggling.  (not me, but some!)