Have a US BS1 today and a old LG 42" plasma.....been following the BS3 threads for a while as I've been keen on getting a upgrade...but not sure if its worth it...

• Is the sound or video quality better compared to the BS1?  Will i notice a difference?
• What non B&O panel gives you the best result - Panasonic seems to be the preferred - reading a lot of post where people complain picture gets "worse" if BS3 is used.....how to avoid?
  

Any advice/experiences are as always appreciated

Cheers
Klas 

As a B&O shop manager, I've sold a lot of these, so I'll give you the best advice I can. At least I don't have to worry about sounding biased here on the BeoWorld forum!

Interesting question in terms of a non-B&O panel. Obviously the ideal compliment to the BeoSystem 3 would be a BeoVision 4 and if you walked into my shop I'd be hard pressed to let you get away with a major investment like the BeoSystem 3 with another manufacturer's panel!

That being said, the BeoSystem 3 obviously offers a major upgrade in form (I think you can fit almost 11 BeoSystem 3s inside a BeoSystem 1) and in connectivity. I'm not sure where you're located, but here in the US, many of our clients demand multiple HD sources and the BS 1 simply can't do this very well. 

 As for the picture, I've actually hooked BS3s up to several old panels and seen an absolutely remarkable difference. Blacks are deeper, but also offer more definition. Colors are richer, but still very realistic. Motion handling is, I think, the most impressive difference. 

That being said, I've also hooked up to BeoSystem 3s to other panels (Sony LCD, Samsung LCD, Panasonic Plasma) and of course I haven't done a side by side comparison with those same panels hooked up to a BS 1, but I've found that there are only marginal improvements to the picture. Unfortunately these panels are only capable of so much. 

I think that it's important to remember how symbiotic the relationship is between the BV 4 and the BS 3. While they are phenomenal products in their own right, they are designed to work together. All the active picture controls work exclusively on the BV4, so the BS3 is not fully utilized when paired with other panels.

My honest advice after selling B&O for almost 8 years is that customers who pair the processors with other panels never quite "get" the B&O advantage. I think that you'd be better off hooking up the BS 3 to an older BV 4 if you really have budget concerns. You will never regret a BeoVision 4 purchase, but I can tell that after years of pairing our processor with an LG panel that you have yet to experience all that a BeoSystem processor is capable of delivering. 

 Good Luck! 

That was a very interesting reply TripEnglish. An enjoyable read and one I found useful too, thanks.

In my opinion, the Beosystem 3 is very overpriced compared to almost equal products nowadays. It is economical smart to make use of the fact that you can only connnect Beolabs to it, but if I see other top AV recivers with 4 HDMI inputs, very good upscaling and 7 channels I wonder if the price is not a bit unrealistic high.

But one little feature is missing looking at the "alternatives": Masterlink....

This "ties" me to B&O - which is not that bad ;-) BUT it makes upgrading to a bigger flat screen 42" ++ impossible ....

Ralf

Bingo:

In my opinion, the Beosystem 3 is very overpriced compared to almost equal products nowadays. It is economical smart to make use of the fact that you can only connnect Beolabs to it, but if I see other top AV recivers with 4 HDMI inputs, very good upscaling and 7 channels I wonder if the price is not a bit unrealistic high.

Name me a B&O product that isnt 'overpriced' as you put it!

Actually, the think tyhe BS3 is one of the more value based B&O products, a top quality VP , decoder and preamp with all the connections one could wish for.

The actual results with 3rd party panels not so good- common compliant is lack of control and to dark an image

very silly question-can BS3 improve quality BV7 Mark II given a quote to upgrade panel only BV7 Mark II to III is about £4-5K

 

thanks
Vince

Thanks all for input...looks like i need to get a quote for a BV4 as well then.....

What is the price gap between a BV4 and BV9 or BV 7 MK3? maybe that is becoming an option....well at least a very expensive option though....

Klas
 

The BeoSystem 3's upscaling (ability to make an SD source look like an HD source) is unlike anything else I've ever seen on the market. Picture wise, there's nothing out there like it. Even the latest Pioneer panels don't seem to come close to the picture made on the current B&O systems (except for the motion artifacts, that's something you can still see a bit of with the B&O plasmas, but I think that's the panel more than anything else).

The BeoSystem 3 isn't directly comparable to others on the market. It's audio performance is pretty stunning, and of course all the integration features means it's a completely different kettle of fish to the 'competition'.

As far as comparison between the BeoSystem 1 and BeoSystem 3 goes, there is none. The difference is immense. IMO, they should have given the BeoSystem 3 a new 'prefix' (instead of BeoSystem) to show how completely different it is.

I'd love to have a BS3 but it really only makes sense if 1. you're using it with a B&O TV (and then I'd just get one with the BS3 built in like the BV4 or 7) and 2. if you absolutely have to have the integration with the rest of your B&O stuff.