There is a good deal of evidence to suggest that the buying public are becoming technology averse. The younger age group will embrace it because most tend to live in a cyber world anyway and communicate in electronic forms .

Whilst there are many that use computers everyday ( as do I) I really dont want to come home and play with a PC in order that an audio system can operate. This means any product should have a cd/dvd drive in order that the PC is banished to some extent.

For an anticpated price of E4800 BnO should be offering an easy to use all in one system that would persuade the techno doubter that it was indeed a good idea. Lets faceit one can buy a top of the range sony notebook now for £1000 so with third party sourced technology even BnO should be able to adopt such a system and still get 60% gross margin

moxxey:

Flappo The Grate:

most people who buy their stuff ( outside this forum ) don't have an idea how to work a mac / pc and the last thing they want / need is a media centre - that will just complicate stuff

Correct. My Mum is coming in to some money soon after selling the family house and was thinking of some new stuff for her (smaller) new place. She asked me about B&O kit as she remembers it to be well-made and easy-to-use. I then realised that the Beo5 isn't exactly suited to my 60-year-old mother and even the Beo4 has become complicated.

For instance, why on earth can't I allocate my Sky box to DTV (now the BV7 has the built-in DVB-T) and why can't I allocate the HDMI-connected Playstation 3 to something like the 'CD' button or 'V.MEM' Why does it have to be through list+go? I then realised that modern B&O equipment isn't as easy to understand than it used to be and is going to become even more complicated.

That's part of the thinking behind the Beo5.

I've generally found the Beo5 to be a whole lot nicer to use than the Beo4. As I've heard Nick in Bath say, whenever I use it, it feels like it's working 'for' me, and not against me.

jazz:

I'm stunned by the negative attitude of many of the posters on this web site about this new product. Or am I?? Everytime B&O embark on a new concept, you lot jump on here and start bagging the idea before any of you know anything about it.

And, please enough about how much B&O costs. We know that B&O is expensive... Pay up or shut up. Sorry for the rant but it's getting boring talking about the price.

Less than a handful of the posters on this site have even seen BeoSound 5 and it seems that those that have seen it seem pretty enthusiatic about it.

Anders who claims to have seen it and i'm sure none of us have any reason to doubt that, has stated it will be a must have gadget, and that when it arrives will we understand. This all sounds very promising and exciting.

Rant over

jazz 

 

A very positive rant.  I am not concerned about the price too much although I would have to curtail other spending plans.  I guess that's the price of being a B&O enthusiast.  What I am hoping is that Beosound 5 is more than a beautiful Beomedia 1.  I will take heed of Anders claim and wait for the introduction of Beosound 5. 

Hummed and aahed about replying to this but what the hell..

Seems even with B&O we cannot "discuss" what the plans are or what the new line may look like without falling victim to "negativity". 

To me, I would hope that B&O have already gone past this discussion and would hope that they too have had discussions which are "negative" to ensure that they are taking the right steps forward.  If I had the choice and money, would I buy all of B&Os current range? Hell no, there are somethings I like and somethings I simply do not like and we are still afforded this individuality....

Sorry, I am not a yes man and will question motive and direction, its all part of the fun and makes the revealing even more exciting.  True, this item will be out of most peoples (financial) reach but that will not stop someone from aspiring to own such a product later down the line when we are arguing over BSXX.

Soooo.. is the BS5 going to be a groundbreaking product? Clearly some know.. and are confident it will be so it remains to be seen but with it being minus its now trademark mechanical gimmicks you cannot help but wonder.....

 

 

I have NOT seen it in real, but a "source" have explain it to me

But I think there is a pretty long way to go before we can really see it 

Before that we can only speculate....but not judge it 

Baolu:

the image doesn't work!

I have seen it, played with it, and can confirm that it is a beautiful product that will liven up the B&O range...and each store will have a display model ( with 800 pre-programed tracks I believe?) running with BeoLab 9 next month, so that you can place your orders for Spring delivery!

 

The BeoMaster 5 is physically identical to BeoMedia 1 and will be hidden away behind a focus panel in the stores.

November 14 I`m been invited to a special VIP meeting. At this meeting BS5 will be presented and we´re able to try it. Looking forward!

B&O should totally mould Beosound 5's platform like the Nova Physics' high end harddisk player. http://www.novaphysicsgroup.com/BrochurePage2.html . That hard disk player seems to be a very future proof and modular - it can be upgraded to have full Blu-ray playback and is able to rip DVD-A, it also has 32 bit dacs which can probably accommodate future high resolution formats though Chord electronics have already come out with 72 bit dacs. If B&O is trying to provide a more integrated foolproof solution, this is it. Cos who wants a 2 box hard disk player that will still require a dvd/blu ray player, and maybe an additional processor to play movies? Modular is the way to go. 

Anything more than 24 bit audio is pointless. 24 bit audio has already surpassed the dynamic range of even the most powerful amplifiers...

Well the point of a D/A converter will an unparalleled capacity is simply not to lose whatever that is recorded. For example the ability to play master recordings that might be made available online or the upsampling of current formats to allow easier D/A conversion. Anyways it's always good to overengineer to instead settle on a compromise. Well if the Beosound 5 is able to rip 24/196khz audio into it's hard disk. I will consider it a job well done already. But I am having doubts. 

What's the point in ripping 24 bit 192 kHz audio when CD is 16 bit 44.1 kHz?

Every extra 1 bit of depth in a digital recording adds 6 dB of dynamic range, meaning a 24 bit recording has 144 dB of dynamic range, which is far more than any speaker system can handle with the exception of the largest PA rigs on the market. The human ear's dynamic range is around 130-134 dB, anything more than this is completely wasted, no matter how good the speaker system is.

Oh well. It's not only the dynamic range that increases with each increment of bit depth you know. The signal converted from digital will alsobe lot smoother and contains a lot less distortion, and closer to the original soundwave. There are many sound formats out there that supports 24bit 196khz such as DVD-A, DVD and Blu-ray. Besides we are talking about a harddisk player here that can be networked with computers that is capable of interesting files such as a 32bit/240khz file etc... High end audio is kinda complex. 

It's a lot like getting first pressed vinyl editions or the first copy of a book. 

Have to disagree with you there! Anything past 24bit/96 kHz audio is next to pointless for playback. At the recording and mastering stage, yes, it makes a lot of sense (due to the way a lot of digital signal processing, particularly EQs work, hence why BeoLab 5s have an internal sample rate of 192 kHz, while they accept a maximum of 92 kHz). When it comes to playback or monitoring, 24bit/96 kHz is as good as it gets, and indeed as good as it needs to be.

Well then so I guess you disagree that a good vinyl/mastertape will sound better than a DVD then.

High end audio is indeed complex...but I'm pretty certain that if I read a novel's first edition and then compare it to the softcover edition, I won't get the impression that the characters are less lifelike, nor that the story lacks a certain depth or warmth....  Don't confuse pride of ownership or collector value with performance.

True high end audio, as we've discussed in these forums before, depends on such an obsessive attention to detail in every aspect that it can be rightly said that every single detail matters and can be discerned.  If one is not willing to spend $50-60K building a perfectly quiet room on a free floating, oil-damped foundation, can one truly be said to be hearing the distinctions revealed by a really well made mains cable?  I think not.  And that is not the marketplace Bang & Olufsen is pursuing.  Get over it.  SACD is dead, DVD-A is dead, vinyl is still in it's deep coma...and the central-air conditioning system in my home easily drowns out any possible difference between mainstream audio formats and 24 bit/196khz signals.

 

The internal processing on a BL5 is 192kHz, because that is exactly twice the rate of each channel after upsampling to 96kHz. (Any signal that enters BL5, whether analog (powerlink/RCA) or digital, is first upsampled to 24/96kHz, each channel is then subjected to digital signal processing in a 32bit/192kHz processor, which lets them pass through without modification).

Here's a sentence from Computer Audiophile: No need to purchase a Bluray player when you can just download the content!

That's in reference to the availability of musical files that fully exploit the limits of the BD format. As one who has heard 5.1 channel music recorded at 24/192kHz in each channel, and delivered without any post-processing whatsoever - straight from the source - I'm not entirely on board with Alex' skeptical attitude to the benefits of higher resolutions. But you really have to experience it, and the direct comparison to CD and to 24/96kHz.

Anyone interested in exploring this further, will find a lot of useful information at this link, which lists available high-resolution music files. The site in general is a treasure trove:

http://www.computeraudiophile.com/taxonomy/term/19

Thanks for the info and the link, Soundproof!

IMHO, the way most B&O products just keep on looking fabulous while rarely causing any trouble year after year is just worth every damn penny. I'm reluctantly getting rid of my MX6000 28" B&O TV after 16 years as I need the space for other things. The thing is as old as CDs, but it just works, and it's still one of the best CRT TVs I've ever used.

I've thrown out or sold most equipment from other brands after a few years and I've got friends who wrinkle their noses at my overpriced design gizmos just to return home to their £1000 peices of plastic which tend to go up in smoke two months after the warranty expires.

Admittedly, B&O haven't really figured out how to fully handle the new digital era yet. It's not the same to navigate a 1000 CD collection as it it to select between 6 CDs. But I believe they're getting there. Unfortunately they've made some mistakes on the way, but you'll have a hard time to find any brand which hasn't. Cheap or expensive.

I got a look at the BS5 today and I think they're on to something. I for one have been using computers for the last 25 years and I still don't want them in my livingroom. No matter how many codecs or open source home made media features they can throw at me.

Cheers,

/axl

Hmm, not sure I like the design. I miss the old days when B&O design was understated elegance, especially the "boxes" that made up the Beosystem 5000. Actually, B&O currently produces an even more handsome and understated box, the HDR2 - it looks so incredibly stylish and expensive. Sadly it will be withdrawn from production - I would have loved to see a audio/video system based on such boxes....! 

I have decided I am going to offer my hand, as a model for B&O photographs.
This picture, just like the first one for Beosound 6, has somebody with a dodgy fingernail!

Andy T.

Going by the photo I presume for table mounting the rear section must be rotated, however it must be pretty heavy to allow the screen to cantilever like that. I am not sure many would like to fix to a wall as it would require power and wiring to be concealed, although messy wiring did not seem to be a concern for B&O in the design of the BS4 stands. We are just going to have to wait for more details to emerge....

Good photo Movie !   Thank you from all of us.

I'm looking at the photo right now on a BV 8, between 2 BL 4000 speakers, adjacent to a BS 3200. I see some similarities: The minimalist design, the unit canted at 15 degrees.

But beyond that,  well. . . . Imagination comes to mind.

A wine expert once said that drinking a really old wine beyond 100 years of age is like making love to an old lady: " It is possible, using a little imagination, and it might even be a pleasing experience. "