Visit to the Boston B&O Store

Hey All,

Monday I finally made it into Boston to check out the B&O store for some info on a quote for a client. The client is building three high-end town houses on the Maine coast and I was asked to develop a whole-house AV system - naturally B&O came to mind :-0

Anyhow, the store in Boston is very small, and a bit shabby, but the people there were excellent (they even gave me two copies of the hard-bound catalog!), answering all my questions and suggesting ideas. In the end, it looks like each installation will be about US$30,000. Here is what I spec'ed:

BV-7 with the BL 7-4 on a floor stand, BL-3's for left/right channel and BL-4's for rear surrounds. Adding a BL-2 sub and a BC 3200 for AM/FM/CD. Upstairs will use a single BL-3500. All controlled with a Beo4.

Opinions on this setup?

BTW: I demo'ed the BL-5s and 9's. I always felt that US$20,000 on two speakers was as dumb a thing a person could do - I now stand corrected. After sampling them, I would buy a set in a heartbeat (if I could afford them) - these really blew me away. I really like the BL-9's too. They look weird, but sound wonderful.

I also checked out the Beosystem 2. Hmm, did not like it, but I can not explain why. It just does not have the panache of my BC9500.

It sounds like a wonderful setup. Also, speakers could be easily upgraded if desired.

Personally I'd do away with the BL4's as rear speakers - not that there is anything wrong with them in this configuration - simply that I don't think they offer very good value for money! Personally I just don't rate them very highly at all. For not much more outlay you could use BL4000's which are far superior.

The BL9's are fantastic and could easily negate the need for a BL2 in a relatively small room.

Chris.

And depending how long you have, pplan on using the new Beo5  remote which offers zone control - see the user manual.

I agree with Chris about using BL4000s as rear speakers. BL4s are fine for background music in a medium-small room, or as rear speakers in a Dolby Prologic setup. However, nobody uses Prologic any more, and hence you will want something a bit beefier. BL4000s are great speakers, and will easily be able to keep up with 3s as fronts

Also, when you say BeoSystem 2, you actually mean BeoCenter 2? I think I agree! The BeoSound 4 is IMO, a better unit (despite its lack of a DVD player).

I think that setup is ok. The 4s will be sufficiant as rears imo. I think the 4000s would be a waste of money, as the 4s can keep up with the 3s as fronts. If there is more money to be spent, invest is on fronts (BL9), not on the rears!

Do you have some BL4's Tom?

 

Chris.

If you are not planning to use all 4 speakers for music, I think BL4 will be OK. Not a lot off DVDs make much use of the rear channels anyway. I would make this decision a bit based on looks. If you  are planning use the floor stand with the BL4, they do have the cable outside,  not hidden inside as it is with the BL3 (third party solution is available to use the Lab3 stands). The wall mount option though I find quite interesting and this is why I would consider the BL4's for the rear.

I know for a fact that there is a difference in listening with a BC2 as opposed to a BS4. The BC2 can be annoyingly sensitive - the CD's must be in perfect condition in order to play without skipping. I've had minimal issues with CD playback with the BS4, i even plays some of my old and abused discs without qualms. Happy customer!

David,

 

I have BC2 and BS4. There is no difference in listening between them!!!!!!!!!. In fact my BC2 plays everything( it is the MK2 version US) and I played almost 3-400 CD and DVD and there was no skipping whatsoever...

 Perhaps yours BC2 have some problems??

 

regards,

constantine

Hi SiliconTi,

As already mentioned, I would certainly not waste placing a pair of BL9s as rears in my setup. Have them as your front speakers instead. They have a lot more humfff than the BL3s and they still have the perfect precision of the ALTs when necessary. And unless you want to rumble yourself off the sofa and onto the coffee table without touching the floor, I don't think a BL2 would be necessary in my opinion.

The BV7 sounds great to me, take a wall mounted BC2 (looks so good As rears I would say a pair of BS4000s wall mounted would look and sound great.

P.S. I like the Boston store too! My BS2 hasn't returned home since.

Hey All,

Medogsfat:

Do you have some BL4's Tom?

 

Chris.

no, I don't, but I listened to them extensively when I planned to upgrade my system. I had a pair of 6000s and the options were BL8000 as new fronts and 6000s as rears or BL4s as rears and a BL2. IMO, the difference between BL6000 and 8000 was bigger then between 6000s and 4s, therefor I decided myself for the BL8000s.

&ot

SiliconTi:

Hey All,

I am looking at the BL4's for the rears as 1) they are small an unobtrusive 2) surrounds do not need to do any heavy lifting 3) there are inexpensive. 

I may consider BL9s for the front vs the BL-3's+BL-2. In this setting, appearance will be very important.

I am looking at the BS3200 (actually, the BS3000 if I can find some - hard drive is pointless as the system will have an iPod dock integrated into it). The Music BC-2 is coming to the USA soon, but again, I just do not like it. I am also not a fan of the BS-4. I think the BC3000/3200 still has one of the best industrial designs (I still love my BC-2500).

Beo5 - gees, I hate to looks of this thing. The Beo4 is supposed to be able to do zones as well - did I misunderstand this?

The idea with system is that it be excellent out of the box, but allow for future upgrades (to BL-5's or 9'2, or BL-4000's, whatever) down the road.

If you're going to opt with BeoLab 9s as fronts, then I would advise even more strongly against BeoLab 4s as rears. They struggle as it is when other speakers from the range are used as front speakers, but BeoLab 9s or 5s will really push them way beyond what they are realistically capable of.

I think I agree, if you consider BL9 the BL4 will not hold up. I would probably then upgrade to the BL3 for the back. I like both Bl4 and Bl3 for rears because of their size.

The BeoLab 9s are a little more forgiving than the 3s (which can be a bit harsh with poorly recorded content). That doesn't mean to say, the BeoLab 9s flatten any detail out of the sound, but they are very comfortable to listen to.

I'd recommend you have a listen to the BeoLab 9s at some point. They are remarkable speakers, some would say preferable to BeoLab 5s (easier to listen to).

Could you clarify what you mean by the statement some think 9s are preferable to 5s as easier to listen to? Thanks!

I consider the BeoLab 5s superior to the BeoLab 9s, they are much more 'open' sounding and effortless in comparison. Generally a better sound all round. However, they are more revealing, they tend to bring absolutely tiny details in the recordings right to the front of the soundstage, and you might not always want that. For example, one example I always hear quoted is the earlier Stevie Wonder recordings. Incredibly difficult to listen to on BeoLab 5s because all the 'roughness' in the recording is bought right forward with the BeoLab 5s. BeoLab 9s tend to smoothen this out a bit, and make it generally more comfortable to listen to.

That doesn't mean the BeoLab 9s are any better than the BeoLab 5s. The 5s are definitely better speakers. However, a bi-product of how incredibly analytical sounding they are is that they tend to make it really obvious when something is poorly recorded. BeoLab 9s less so, because they aren't as analytical.

I'd still personally prefer BeoLab 5s though, but the 9s are a bit more 'lounge-friendly' for most people.

I'd use the following setup:  

Floor 0:

BV7-40 + BL7-4
BS4 or
BL9 (front) or BL5 (if you have the budget for it)
BL3 (rear)
BL2 (is a plus, not needed in with BL5 or even BL9)

Floor 1:

BL3500

I'll also check the Lutron website in order to control the lights with the Beo4 or the Beo5; do have in mind that you could also control the curtins etc..etc.; like i said before, you budget is the limit, so use it wisely :)

 

 

Listen to both BeoLab 5s and BeoLab 9s. If you prefer the 5s, then don't get the rears just yet, and put the money towards BeoLab 5s. It's better buy the right thing in the first place than have to trade it in later.

11048437:

David,

 

I have BC2 and BS4. There is no difference in listening between them!!!!!!!!!. In fact my BC2 plays everything( it is the MK2 version US) and I played almost 3-400 CD and DVD and there was no skipping whatsoever...

 Perhaps yours BC2 have some problems??

 

regards,

constantine

I took ia CD that i knew well to the dealer, and it skipped on the BC2, when i play it on the BS4 at home, it's fine. The dealer told me that the BC2 IS more sensitive than the BS4. You just sound lucky that you have had NO skipping throughout playing SO MANY cd's

BL-5s are out of the question, even if budget constraints were not there - they are too big and too "out there" looks wise for this installation. I agree that BL-3s would be a better choice for rears if the 9s are used in the front. I'll have to see what the client thinks.