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ARCHIVED FORUM -- April 2007 to March 2012
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This is the first Archived Forum which was active between 17th April 2007 and 1st March February 2012

 

Latest post 12-13-2009 2:15 PM by epicurus. 31 replies.
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  • 12-08-2009 5:06 AM

    Why B&O is almost constantly neglected in Hi-Fi magazines???

     

    I am a proud owner of several B&O equipment. I try as most of you to improve my listening experience in my home. Getting to read other stuff,

    AV forums, Hi-Fi magazines, reviews etc, it seems to me that B&O is constantly omitted by the so-called experts!!!

    And lets say that in digital media and even TV sets we tend to be a bit slow (Although Beovision series are comparable, especially the latest ones) in following the trends. But in speaker quality in my opinion B&O products are by far more credible and finite than most of other brands.

    Does anyone have a clue why this is happening? Sometimes i find myself frustrated when reading endless comparisons of finite Audio and not even a BL5 to be present….

     

    -Dimitris

  • 12-08-2009 6:32 AM In reply to

    Re: Why B&O is almost constantly neglected in Hi-Fi magazines???

    very simple its business, does matter what market your in, reviews of products preference given to company advertising in their mag i was inthe food industry same applied

    malcolm

     

  • 12-08-2009 6:48 AM In reply to

    Re: Why B&O is almost constantly neglected in Hi-Fi magazines???

    The links previously posted to 'The Gramophone' magazine archive show that B&O equipment was once regularly reviewed. B&O these days may be relying more on direct mail and their own website, so Malcolm's comment on the tendency to review only companies placing regular advertising may be true.

    There is a tendency for 'Audiophiles' to dismiss B&O out of hand........... just look up B&O on other forums, but usually it is done by people whio have never owned B&O themselves.  This tendency to dismiss the brand, coupled with high prices, is another reason why magazines might think that reviews are a waste of their resources (that might only result in a negative Audiophile response!)

    Graham

    I used to be indecisive, now I'm not so sure. [W C Fields]

  • 12-08-2009 7:12 AM In reply to

    Re: Why B&O is almost constantly neglected in Hi-Fi magazines???

    To me there are several reasons why the AV press do not review a lot of B&O products:

    - first, B&O dug their grave themselves, when choosing to open exclusive shops apart from other brands and advertising in Architectural Digest & Habitat, rather than in hi-fi magazines; obviously the publishers decided to ignore B&O for that will to stay away from the crowds;

    - second, the best reviews in the "professional" magazines are the ones from the best advertisers, that is no secret, it applies to all sectors unfortunately, that's why I no longer buy those magazines, I remember some of them fighting for true hi-fi when bitsream filters were launched, and calling MP3 standard a crime against art, and nowadays all these magazines review 80% of their products among home cinema equipment and Ipod docks..Stick out tongue;

    - third, B&O is not releasing a lot of new products each year, look at 2009: apart from BeoSound 5, you had BV4-103 in mid-year and now BV10 + BV 7-55, that gives you 4 main products in a year, 3 TVs and only one audio system, and no new speakers at all. So obviously the magazines could only review BeoLab 9 or 5 when they were launched, but not later.

    Anyway, most reviews can be summarized by "great design, excellent performance, but very expensive and technically obsolete" : am I wrong?Indifferent

    Reunion Island is greeting you!

  • 12-08-2009 7:16 AM In reply to

    Re: Why B&O is almost constantly neglected in Hi-Fi magazines???

    I disagree with you vikinger only in your last sentence. It is not a matter of high prices. They make categories of different price listing and on the high priced one you always see something like KEF and Paradigm,and and and.... but no B&O. For sure you can find it in some reviews but here i am talking about the general rule. And i cannot understand why all this so-called Audiophiles seem to hate or better to say not touch B&O products...Unsure

    On the other hand what Chrisreunion says...is true i believe...

    -Dimitris

  • 12-08-2009 7:20 AM In reply to

    • petz
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    Re: Why B&O is almost constantly neglected in Hi-Fi magazines???

    Sometimes you can read articles about one product but brought in perspective with the concept that is synonym for B&O. This is in my view the right approach. Comparing B&O on product level isn't the right approach. 

    How would you compare the BV10 with competition including the Samsung that delivers the panel? These reviews typically do not value enough the real attributes of B&O products.

    I did look at it from a concept point of view before deciding to spend, sorry invest, that amount of money. It took me time for this. A couple of years ago I still wasn't fully convinced.

    It might even be dangerous for B&O to accept the product reviews as it might have a negative effect due to the reason mentioned above. At least this was the case for me. I did my own "review" and started to like the whole concept. My BV10 probably does not have the best picture in the market even though it costs a multiple. But I do not care as it's a good picture and it wasn't the reason why I did purchase it.

    Now to pure hifi, that is what you're talking about, I can agree that comparing B&O loudspeakers with competition makes sense. And not. For the price of my BL8000 I probably would have bought Sonus Faber a couple of years ago. Friend of mine does own them. Though, again, in my view, the SF wouldn't have integrated as well in my concept of a good quality design AV installation in the main room.

    Patrizio

  • 12-08-2009 8:53 AM In reply to

    • Puncher
    • Top 10 Contributor
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    Re: Why B&O is almost constantly neglected in Hi-Fi magazines???

    Also B&O need to make test samples available to the press for review! Below is a post from the Audio Editor in response to a thread on Whathifi forum about the BV8-40.

     

    Posted on Aug 26, 2009, 9:00 PM

    Re: the bang-olufsen beovision 8-40

    As ever, we request – if B&O chooses to supply, then we will test...
    Consulting Editor, What Hi-Fi? Sound and Vision / whathifi.com
    Audio Editor, Gramophone

    Generally speaking, you aren't learning much if your lips are moving.

  • 12-08-2009 8:59 AM In reply to

    Re: Why B&O is almost constantly neglected in Hi-Fi magazines???

    Hi-Fi World regularly review B&O - Tim Jarman is now a writer for them. One of the issues is that B&O do not release as much kit as most manufacturers, being happy to keep updating products rather than changing the design every 6 months. There is also unlikely to be many group tests as not many companies do direct competitors. The Beolink system means that for instance a BeoCenter 2 is quite tricky to compare with a non B&O product. Without speakers, it makes little sense.

  • 12-08-2009 9:21 AM In reply to

    Re: Why B&O is almost constantly neglected in Hi-Fi magazines???

    I nearly forgot to say - one of the other editors, Adam Smith, is also a member of this forum and has a fair B&O collection himself - this months edition mentions the Beomaster 2400. There is also a picture of the Beocord 2000 Reel to Reel in the letters page with a most attractive young lady behind it! Smile

  • 12-08-2009 12:14 PM In reply to

    Re: Why B&O is almost constantly neglected in Hi-Fi magazines???

    I would have to agree on chrisreunion comment about  big corporations always getting good reviews in hifi magazines which to me seem biased

    I do like gramaphone reviews and hifi world  these seem unbiased and did review some vintage equipment last month

    I would like to see a giant test between meridian and beolab 5 and other active speakers like A.C.T.

     There doesnt seem much imagination in journalism these days.

  • 12-08-2009 6:38 PM In reply to

    Re: Why B&O is almost constantly neglected in Hi-Fi magazines???

    There's another element which plays a role: the fact that B&O speakers are active, and that the interconnects are proprietary.

    HiFi lives handsomely off the profits generated by the sales of interconnects (manufacturing cost minimal - sales price astronomical), and the B&O range of speakers stands outside this category completely.
    Some decades ago, B&O was actually leading the HiFi field with a number of their products, driving development, and it was impossible for the magazines to ignore them. Today, B&O is in its own category, seen with their eyes. HiFi-fashion is about matching equipment, and people will mix components and interconnects from a large number of manufacturers - that's not available to them with B&O, or at least B&O makes it harder than it has to be.

    Many of the HiFi faithful are dead set against Class-D amplifier technology, and are simply unwilling to accept that it can produce good sound. Which leads to some amusing shenanigans, such as when Rotel put their Class-D (ICEpower) amplifiers inside another cabinet, and reviewers were ecstatic about the sound, until told it was Class-D they were ecstatic about.

    And then B&O itself is also to blame. They have not stressed the audiophile quality of their products, in spite of comparing them against some of the world's leading audiophile brands in their own listening rooms, and B&O coming out on top.
    Instead, B&O have sold their products as design articles and "furniture" - which makes it hard for serious HiFi-reviewers to get their head around what B&O is selling.
    Add to this the fact that B&O doesn't really spend much time telling people how to set up for proper sound, instead saying that acoustic-lens equipped speakers "can be placed wherever you want," and one is left wondering what a reviewer is to make of it all?

    If B&O had launched the acoustic lenses as an audiophile revolution, back in 2003, and instructed their dealers to set up the speakers correctly, using the side walls for reflection as intended, then audiophiles would have been forced to visit their B&O dealers to find out what the fuss was all about. Incorrect, unbalanced setups of acoustic lens equipped speakers is actually not very good at all - which resulted in a lot of those who were curious coming away with the wrong impression.

    Shooting foot at close range, in a sense!

  • 12-09-2009 8:14 AM In reply to

    Re: Why B&O is almost constantly neglected in Hi-Fi magazines???

    I have seen and read many tests the last 6 years in magazines.

    Like:

    -BV7 was tested 3 times in German magazine VIDEO.

    -BV7 tested in WhatHiFi or Hifi World

    -BeoLab 3 was tested do not remember the magazine

    -BeoLab 9 was tested in German magazine Stereo and in WhatHiFi or Hifi World

    -BeoLab 5 was tested in German magazine AUDIO and in WhatHiFi or Hifi World

    -BeoSound 5 was tested, do not remember the magazine

    I have archived the German magazines at home, so I can help you depending on your German skills.

    What test are you interested in? Possibly I can write you the conclusions.

    Regards, Robert

  • 12-09-2009 12:21 PM In reply to

    • Stoney3K
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    Re: Why B&O is almost constantly neglected in Hi-Fi magazines???

    Don't forget that a lot of people have probably seen a dozen B&O's in their life, but haven't noticed them or haven't seen the fact that they were B&O's.

    Hint: Quite a few people on these boards probably have a piece of the Battlestar Galactica set in their living room as the main CD audio system. Big Smile

    Point is, B&O may not get as much media attention as the 'major' brands like Samsung/Philips/Sony or higher range hardware like Pioneer, H&K, Onkyo, Marantz and the like, but that doesn't make it overpriced, bad equipment. B&O has done a lot of research in ICEpower -- a system that is found in automotive stereos (Audi, Mercedes, Volvo) as well as recent PA systems (alongside Powersoft), so there's a lot of B&O you can find behind the scenes.

    To me, the fact that a B&O looks stylish, nice and often gets unnoticed as a stereo system because it blends in so well, and has a lot of intelligent technical gadgets under the hood of which you might not even think, is jus the charm of the brand. It works like it should, without attracting attention and screaming 'I've got money, so look at my shiny B&O set!'

  • 12-09-2009 11:46 PM In reply to

    Re: Why B&O is almost constantly neglected in Hi-Fi magazines???

    A lot of the factors have already been mentioned, including the fact that if you do sell a product for well over a decade, such as BeoLab 6000, well, then any reviews are going to be at least a decade old!

    Another factor must be the wiring, don't you think?  In a decade when tens of millions of people have been scammed and fooled into buying hundred and thousand-dollar "oxygen free, pure copper" runs of wiring of cable as thick as my fingers... B&O has idiosyncratically kept on selling comparably spidery thin BeoLink and PowerLink cables.

    In fact B&O is intrinsically different from any other manufacturer.  I keep thinking it is a miracle they are still around, but I hope it remains an enduring miracle.

  • 12-10-2009 11:10 AM In reply to

    Re: Why B&O is almost constantly neglected in Hi-Fi magazines???

    @ Multimedia Robert

     

    Thank you my friend but as i said, i was speaking generally and by not means meant that i cannot find it anywhere. The points that are mentioned here are more than enough to explain the reason. I am just disturbed by the fact that some ''HIFI EXPERTS'' would not think as audiophile a B&O owner...

    -Dimitris

  • 12-10-2009 6:16 PM In reply to

    • Beolab
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    Re: Why B&O is almost constantly neglected in Hi-Fi magazines???

     

    Hifi= uncompromised High Fidelity component products. Their only purpose is to sound good!

     

    B&O= Lifestyle products. The purpose is to look good and blend in to your home and have a decant performance.

     

     

    It´s your choice to decide witch is the most important for you.

     

     

    This is a fact that b&o stands behind.

     

    Regards

     

     

     

    BL8000 MkII Black

  • 12-11-2009 2:30 AM In reply to

    • moxxey
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    Re: Why B&O is almost constantly neglected in Hi-Fi magazines???

    malcolm welborn:

    very simple its business, does matter what market your in, reviews of products preference given to company advertising in their mag i was inthe food industry same applied

    Very very wrong. This is my industry and I can tell you that this does *not* happen. I think it's a basic assumption from readers.

    What is more likely to happen is that advertisers are the most pro-active people to send product in for review, as they want to get value-for-money for their paid-for adverts. They get their kit in first, call to see if it has been received etc etc.

    Magazine companies are lazy. They often do not pro-actively go after kit. They wait for it to be sent to them. If it's not sent, or they are now allow to use it for a while, it's often no reviewed.

    Yes, reviewers may *choose* the products they review, too, if there are too many products to feature in the mag. But I can tell you that 99.9% of of reviewers have no clue about the adverts in the mag - most of our tech reviewers don't work in the office, as an example.

    Most advertisers are aware that their advert can't influence editorial. If it did, and there was massive bias, then there are various laws to protect against this.

  • 12-11-2009 4:29 AM In reply to

    Re: Why B&O is almost constantly neglected in Hi-Fi magazines???

    a lot of it is that bno don't fit into their hidden flat earth agenda

    tbh a lot of the twaddle hi-fi mags come out with is pure 'the king is in the all together' dross

    external power mains and scratching lines on your plugs , adding plastic green tabs and putting everything on marble to improve the sound

    crazy

    popgear is grate™

  • 12-11-2009 1:13 PM In reply to

    Re: Why B&O is almost constantly neglected in Hi-Fi magazines???

    Last week B&O was mentioned on Topgear.

    Jeremy Clarkson was mentioning about the option of B&O as a sound system for Audi.

    He made it sound like a gimmick about the raising speakers on the dashboard and wondered about the interior of the equipment.

    "It just B&O on the outside and Philips inside, isn't it?"

     

    So, that helps a lot. A common misunderstanding which everyone seems to know if I'm asked about B&O and strengthened on the national tv.

    Far more brands uses Philips components like more cars uses the same tyres, leather, paint etc.

    I think B&O has to do a bit more of advertising explaining that behind the design there excistes a own design of technique and software in used i.e. (panasonic.samsung) flatpanels.

    Mayby this does effect the prejudiced thoughts of journalists.

  • 12-11-2009 1:27 PM In reply to

    Re: Why B&O is almost constantly neglected in Hi-Fi magazines???

    Also inaccurate as very little is Philips these days! Still, JC is a big B&O fan, so he can't be all bad! 

  • 12-11-2009 1:52 PM In reply to

    Re: Why B&O is almost constantly neglected in Hi-Fi magazines???

    Peter :

     JC is a big B&O fan, so he can't be all bad! 

    A fan of JC for years, but I didn't know this. Did he mentioned this somewhere? For foreigners outside the UK probably not common knowledge.

    But still I was surprised by his remarks and I think It can affect the commom thoughts about B&O.

  • 12-11-2009 2:09 PM In reply to

    Re: Why B&O is almost constantly neglected in Hi-Fi magazines???

  • 12-11-2009 2:15 PM In reply to

    Re: Why B&O is almost constantly neglected in Hi-Fi magazines???

    Beobuddy:

    Peter :

     JC is a big B&O fan, so he can't be all bad! 

    A fan of JC for years, but I didn't know this. Did he mentioned this somewhere? For foreigners outside the UK probably not common knowledge.

    But still I was surprised by his remarks and I think It can affect the commom thoughts about B&O.

    If you watched the whole segment you will have seen the performing seal that is Richard Hammond tease Clarkson about how he would buy anything with a B&O badge on it. I think the Philips comment was an ironic remark made by Clarkson given his taste for the brand! It was all done in a tounge-in-cheek English kind of way though, so might have been lost in translation I guess.

     

    President, Beomaster 8000 Appreciation Society

  • 12-11-2009 2:18 PM In reply to

    Re: Why B&O is almost constantly neglected in Hi-Fi magazines???

    soundproof:

    dats a baaad assss link there soundproof.

    Is there a translation tool for the comments section perchance?

     

    President, Beomaster 8000 Appreciation Society

  • 12-11-2009 2:50 PM In reply to

    • mediabobny
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    Re: Why B&O is almost constantly neglected in Hi-Fi magazines???

    aware of english to jive, but not the reverse..

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