First:  I read the previous posts about B&O and Audi and there are a lot of posts about people who say Audi doesn't stack up to BMW and Mercedes.  I just want to say I disagree.  Living in Munich, I'm surrounded by cars from all the German makers and personally, I think Audi is the only one that really innovating right now.  BMW and especially Merc just put out the same old stuff with new headlights.  The new C-klasse Mercedes is so underwhelming.  The only interesting things BMW have come out with lately are the 6 and the brand new M3.  The only thing Mercedes has done lately of note is the CLS, but the back end ruins the rest of it.  If you've never seen an Audi S5 or R8 in the flesh then do yourself a favor and find one and check it out.  You might be surprised.  

So I was in the Munich airport killing time last week. There's an Audi Forum there and I went and checked it out.  They had an A5 and an S5, both totally decked out and with the B&O systems.  The S5 is certainly going to be my next car (and my first non-Volvo, zomg!).  Funny thing is, the guy at the shop recommended against the B&O upgrade.  He said it's mostly for guys who drive around listening to classical music or something with a high recording quality.  I thought about this and it's what I listen to at home but certainly not when I'm driving.  I suspect that White Zombie would sound like crap on that system.  Hmmmm... fair enough but I'm always surprised when clerks recommend against spending money on something they're trying to sell you.

Also, in terminal 2 there's an S5 set up not too far away from the new M3.  If you're in Munich, take a look. 

 

Second, what's with all the hatred of the Beolab 6000s on this forum?  I love my pair.  I think they sound and look great.  I'm glad I bought them.

I agree with you regarding Audis. We live in the USA so we do not get to enjoy the cars with our speed limits as you do in Germany. However, we have had 1999, 2001,2002 and 2 2003 Audis. I also had a 2004 Volkswagen Phaeton which I just replaced with a 2007 Audi. I have looked at BMW and Mercedes and find nothing desirable about them when compared to an Audi.

 

I also agree with you about the speakers. We own two sets of 4000s, a pair of 1s, 9s and and 6000s. I have always enjoyed the 6000s although it has been years since I have really listened to them as they were front speakers in a surround sound until moved to the rear when the 1s were purchased. Recently the 1s were moved to the rear and 9s were placed in front. Right now the 6000s are just standing in our dining room looking beautiful but not connected. The adjacent living room has 4000s and I have thought about switching the 6000s in for them.

I saw the A5 at the Autorai in Amsterdam last year and it is a beautifull car, but it's a bit a wolf in sheepsclothes. I don't agree with the innovating of most Audi's because the A4, A6 and even the A8 are about 5 years almost the same. The new A6 has got the new trendy led-lights, but that was it. And yes it looks cool but it isn't a totally new "innovated" car.

I have to agree about Audi. I've owned A6 for past 4 years and enjoyed it everyday.
I think Audi's are very well designed and built cars. I also admire BMW 6 series and equally disappointed in Benz.
I also have been very loyal to volvo and owned s70, s80 and xc90 now.

A5/S5 is fantastic car. However with 2 little kids I'll have to stick with SUV for another couple of years.
I'm thinking Q7. I think overall adui does very well especially in US. Their cars become more reliable.
As for luxury interior of A8 in my opinion beats Benz S550 and BMW750. It's just better design and easier to use.


I personally like BL6000 a lot and always like BL1 as well. Always have respect for floor standing speakers vs bookshelf. Also big fan of column like design. I owned BL6000 while but upgraded with BL8000. Base of BL6000 is also very cool.
 

I disagree with the comment that the A4, A6, and A8 are five year old cars/designs. The current A8 was not released until 2004 replacing a completely different 2003 and earlier car. Since that time it has received a new front end.  As for the A6 the previous generation A6 was manufactured through 2004. The 2005 A6 and forward is an entirely new and different car. Everything is different on it. We had two 2003 A6s and now have a 2007 A6. They are as different as night and day. As for the A4, we have had a 1999, 2001, and 2002 A4. 2002 was the year of the change so yes, the basic A4 design is 5-6 years old although it has been updated. A new A4 is forthcoming that is completely different and much more technologically advanced.

I don't have a precise idea about the cars but I love my beolab 6000 

What I like about Audi is the clean interior design.

Don't forget about the quattro system too.  (I'm driving a 2001 TT Roadster, 225 quattro.)

Years ago before my office relocated, I drove through two school zones each morning.  I recall one morning when the crossing guard was pulling this little boy along because he wanted to stop and see my car.  He was so excited.  It reminded me of myself and the passion I feel for B&O products (and sports cars).

Thanks to all the Beo-buddies that make this site possible.

Not sure if a can agree with the comments on Audi :-))) I owned an A4, and A6, a TT roadster, followed by a 525 BMW and a Z4 and today a SLK 55 AMG and E 320 cdi.

All cars had their strength and weak points. From my point of view they are quite close together and it is a matter of personal preference and tast which you prefer. More intersting are the innovations under the hood, however, as most of the development work is outsourced anyway, you see simular technology in all cars. You can not go wrong with any of these cars.....(execept my Z4, after 21days at service in the first year I sold it....)

The challanger with the new C-Class ist the boring ineriour design, it is very environment friendly (saw a press release about it) but looks cheap and boring compared to the new A4. However, for me the driving expirience was just great. I drove one for a week and it is the perfect balance between comfort and a sportive ride, much better than a BMW 3 series or the "old" A4 (both I had a week as well). but this is a very personal view anyway....

 Never owned a pair of BL6000, but had a chance to listen to then. Nice a surround speaker or in a link room, but faaaaar away to be a good hifi speaker to listen to music. (maybe I have to say that I own a pair Lab 5 and lab 3....)

 kawo

I have never found any model BMW appealing apart from the Z3 which I quite liked the design of, but driving it was pathetic, it was just awful. They are also so common and every other car on the road is a BMW. Being into B&O I am attracted to products that fit into a 'stand out from the crowd' lifestyle and have a distinct uniqueness about them. Mercedez don't do much for me either. Audi, I do like. My brother bought one after owning a BMW 5 series (I drove both) and the Audi was a lovely drive and somehow felt much more of a car. I remember the gear changing was so smooth. I think I have been spoilt though because I drove a Porsche Carera 4 for about 5 months (my friend was on a year driving ban) and since then I have been absolutly hooked on that car. Its just in an entirely different league to any other car altogether, there's no point commenting on it because there's just too much to say. Porsche is what B&O is - quality, refinement and near enough perfection throughout, you'd be hard pushed to find fault with any part of it. As for its speed, my goodness! In my golf GTi I can occasionally risk overtaking one car if there's plenty of room. In the carera, you overtake 3-5 cars with hardly any room as a matter of ease! I totally love that car; ridiculously over priced though so I'd never buy one. My friend bought it second-hand for £48,000. I'd much rather spend that on B&O.

Do we have any Carera owners on the forum? A super super car, much more refined than a ferrari, which ony looks nice on the outside. The carera has got it all.

You can probably tell I have a love affair with that car as well as my ongoing love affair with the BeoVision 5! There are some things in life that have got it all and these 2 products are perfect examples of this.

Simon.

kawo:

..(execept my Z4, after 21days at service in the first year I sold it....) 

It was made in America.  South Carolina no less.  What did you expect?  They call the Civil War "The War of Northern Aggression."

kawo:

Never owned a pair of BL6000, but had a chance to listen to then. Nice a surround speaker or in a link room, but faaaaar away to be a good hifi speaker to listen to music. (maybe I have to say that I own a pair Lab 5 and lab 3....)

As much as I would like to go out tomorrow and buy 4 Lab 5s and a BV7 in a 5.1 set up:

1. my financial manager would kill me if I gutted half of my checking account for a TV and some speakers, no matter what they are and...

2. I live in 62 sq meters.  I don't have room!

and a bonus 3... and I know you guys aren't going to believe this... but... I don't really like how the 5's look.  And I REALLY don't like how the BL 3 and 2 look.  The 2 is like a die with no dots and the 3 is like V.I.N.CENT. from the Black Hole without the lasers.  Not that I would turn them down if you wanted to donate a pair in my direction =D

edit: i don't know why it went all crazy bold at the end of the post.

In reference to the 6000's, I think they've been a vicim of their own success. They are good speakers, and they look beautiful, but because of that, most companies now 'borrow' the visual appearence in so much as the 6000's now look generic to those that don't realise this. I think they're great for an office or a secondary room, though clearly not for main speakers in large space.

dilznik:

kawo:

..(execept my Z4, after 21days at service in the first year I sold it....) 

It was made in America.  South Carolina no less.  What did you expect?  They call the Civil War "The War of Northern Aggression."

kawo:

Never owned a pair of BL6000, but had a chance to listen to then. Nice a surround speaker or in a link room, but faaaaar away to be a good hifi speaker to listen to music. (maybe I have to say that I own a pair Lab 5 and lab 3....)

As much as I would like to go out tomorrow and buy 4 Lab 5s and a BV7 in a 5.1 set up:

1. my financial manager would kill me if I gutted half of my checking account for a TV and some speakers, no matter what they are and...

2. I live in 62 sq meters.  I don't have room!

and a bonus 3... and I know you guys aren't going to believe this... but... I don't really like how the 5's look.  And I REALLY don't like how the BL 3 and 2 look.  The 2 is like a die with no dots and the 3 is like V.I.N.CENT. from the Black Hole without the lasers.  Not that I would turn them down if you wanted to donate a pair in my direction =D

edit: i don't know why it went all crazy bold at the end of the post.

dilznik,
I will agree with you on this...
To be quite honest I'm not thrilled with looks of Lab 5 and Lab 3. Lab 2 is fine...

Performance wise they are amazing.

beoperson:

dilznik,
I will agree with you on this...
To be quite honest I'm not thrilled with looks of Lab 5 and Lab 3. Lab 2 is fine...

Performance wise they are amazing.

It was made in America.  South Carolina no less.  What did you expect?  They call the Civil War "The War of Northern Aggression."

 

OUCH

having own(ed) most of the cars mentioned (A8L currently). i think that issues w/ a z4 (or any other car) are a result of the company, not its location.

<sent from SC> 

 

burantek - fully agree, a friend still owns a Z4 with almost the same production week than mine, without any technical problem. However, also my "German" 525 BMW was not the pure driving pleasure...this car spent some time at the dealer as well due some very anoying noice from the trunk which was never fixed (not to mention the trouble with the electronic)

Bionic Man - I tested both a 997 Carera S and the SLK 55, the look and the design of the Porsche ist just great, I was sold in a minute....however, from a performance point of view (not driving on a race track), both cars are almost equal. And the SLK has a much lower price and has a more comfort ride (not that bumpy and loud). So now I have both, an AMG and Lab5/BV4/BS3 instead of one Porsche :-))))

 

kawo 

 

I really like Audi, but I prefer BMW, mostly the Z4 and the 6...
But I'm maybe too nationalist, so I have to say that I just fell in love for the new Citroën C5 which will be released in Q1 2008... What do you non-French guys think of this car?? There are a lot of pictures in the bottom of this page :
http://news.caradisiac.com/Nouvelle-Citroen-C5-II-infos-54-photos-HD-et-sondages-279

(Note that it's a car in the category of A4, BMW3 and Mercedes C Class) 

And I really like the bl6000 for their almost invisibility, but only as rears or in a link room (which I have done by connecting them to an airport express, but now I'm selling them  )

Just like mbee I like the invisibility of the beolab 6000's. It performs reasonable, but only if you're room is not too big.

As for the cars: I am a very loyal BMW driver until now. In fact I have never owned a different brand of car. BMW’s engines are in my opinion clearly superior to its competitors as is the ride and handling. I am not very happy with BMW's current designs however (with the exception of the 3 door 1-series and 3-series coupe, especially the M3), nor do I like the idrive that controls the navigation and entertainment systems.

I have driven most models of Audi and Mercedes Benz, though. My opinion on these cars:

I think Audi has some great designs: the A6, A8 (even though this is in car terms quite old) and current TT are the best looking cars in their class. The A5 isn't bad either. But cars like the A3 and A4 just look boring and the R8 and Q7 are in my opinion not very well proportioned and therefore unsuccessful designs.

But most Audi's, with the exception of the TT and RS4 (and possibly the R8, which I haven't tried) are a bore to drive: Over assisted brake and steering servos and a not very well sorted ride. The soon to be introduced A4 successor promises to be better, however. Let’s wait and see. The quattro technology is overrated in my opinion.

Mercedes Benz has a very powerful badge. Their cars are very comfy apart from the seats, but an even bigger bore to drive than the Audi. Since my dad has owned 2 Benzes in the late 90’s I can confirm that reliability is poor (broken electronics, paint that cracks and disappears, broken air conditioning units, rattles) as is the after sales service.

In short if Audi gets their act together (and it looks like they finally will) I have a choice in car brands for the first time. Or I could break the bank and get a Porsche 911.

 

burantek:

OUCH

having own(ed) most of the cars mentioned (A8L currently). i think that issues w/ a z4 (or any other car) are a result of the company, not its location.

<sent from SC> 

 

=)

I'm just messing around.  I've actually been to the factory and thought it was a cool place.  Definitely more pimped out than the Munich factory.  I didn't like the Z4 until I actually drove one.  Niiiiiiice.  Can't say anything about reliability, I wasn't in it long.  But if it's like the problems with the 7 then yeah... it's the company.

Go cocks!