General Forum

Re: Is B & O serious?

captain — Mon, 12 May 2008 02:48:29 GMT

Well, I remember when the Beosound first came out, it was £750. by the time I'd got my money saved it had risen to £925. That's a real price difference.

Re: Is B & O serious?

mason — Mon, 12 May 2008 02:10:52 GMT

Stan, in some respects you have made my point for me. Product longevity is at odds with technological covergence. The nature of digital technology means new products are replacing older ones on a daily basis – this is the issue B&O have to deal with if they are to remain a premium brand charging £6000 for a 32" TV. However I don't want to come across all negative about B&O – I have owned and loved their stuff for a long time and will continue to do so whether they adapt to digital or not – I recently purchased a BV8 knowing full well it has'nt got 20hdmi ports etc etc (I don't need/want home cinema) – I bought it because it was a unique elegant design at an affordable (for me) price point. Mason

Re: Is B & O serious?

Alex — Sun, 11 May 2008 20:11:39 GMT

GuyHui :
If i had the money, I'll go for a pair of BL5's that is worth the money (and their hefty price), compare to the competition in the audiophile market (ie. Meridian, B&W, ...).
Now prices are just crazy concerning the latest releases (BV6, BV7, BV8, BV9, Serenata), so I'll get a fresh look on the second-hand market though.

As much as I love Meridian and particularly B&W's stuff, the BL5s outstrip offerings from both companies considerably IMO, and are also cheaper/look much better...

Re: Is B & O serious?

Stan — Sun, 11 May 2008 16:17:48 GMT

mason:
If you want to see innovative design and amazing build quality check out the new imac – it is sublime.

Before you gush all over Apple about "sublime" build quality, take a look at the iBook history (for example).

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IBook_G3#Quality_issues

If I recall there were also issues with the iPod mini... probably others that I don't know about becaue they didn't catch me. Don't get me wrong, I'm not an Apple basher. I like Apple, and my family owns a few Macs and iPods (including an iBook G4 that is dead from the problem discussed on the link).

I don't know why they don't get more heat about these types of things. It's not like they handle them terribly well (like most corporations, deny, deny, deny... ) either. I just think most folks think a 3 yr old computer is obsolete anyway... not so with B&O. If my B&O lasted as long as some of my Apple products, it would be no more B&O for me.

Stan

Re: Is B & O serious?

Jandyt — Sun, 11 May 2008 15:58:02 GMT

sinuhe:

Gentlemen,
As you of course can notice, I'm not a native speaker. I can only hope I make my point understood, not misunderstood.

Sinuhe, you might not speak english as your first language, but I can assure you that you do a better job than many of us who do!
Just look at Flappo!

As for the global warming malarkey, I doubt if anyone who buys new B&O gives it a second thought.

Andy T.

Re: Is B & O serious?

GuyHui — Sun, 11 May 2008 15:31:03 GMT

If i had the money, I'll go for a pair of BL5's that is worth the money (and their hefty price), compare to the competition in the audiophile market (ie. Meridian, B&W, ...).
Now prices are just crazy concerning the latest releases (BV6, BV7, BV8, BV9, Serenata), so I'll get a fresh look on the second-hand market though.

IMHO, I would spend my hard earned cash on B&O speakers as those products are just doing really great.

Guy

Re: Is B & O serious?

sinuhe — Sun, 11 May 2008 05:27:05 GMT

Gentlemen,

As you of course can notice, I'm not a native speaker. I can only hope I make my point understood, not misunderstood.

I was not trying to convince anybody whether global warning is happening or not, or whether a consumer needs to act accordingly or not. I was just guessing that thinking about global warming may in these days play an role even in a company strategy. A company may assume that consumers are willing to pay extra for a "greener" product. In any case, a "greener" image may be beneficial - even Apple is struggling and paying extra to make it's image better in this respect. Younger people seem to be, in general, more conscious about environment than me. Therefore, companies may want to raise their profile in this respect (many seem to be doing just that).

Now, IF it is true that consumers are willing in the future to pay extra, a company may want to try to avoid moving all it's production to China just in order to make products cheaper. Or a company may think (for other reasons as well) that it is a value as such to make everything in Struer. This holds very true for example for a finnish company Artek (scandinavian comtemporary design and furniture), or danish Friz Hansen as well (everything still made in Danmark).

As I said, I do agree with you all in that the prices are simply too high. I can't, however, think of any easy solution how to solve the dilemma. I'm sure they are heavily thinking about this in Struer, though.

I do still love the products and namely the new ones over the old ones (I love BC2, BS4, BL3, 5 and 9, BV8 and 7, 9 and the new 4 even which I saw in action at the new dealer). Can't afford (at least my wife thinks so) many of them, unfortunately.

Re: Is B & O serious?

Sun, 11 May 2008 04:40:57 GMT

My guess is that the world and consumers are becoming more and more about global warming and so forth

Re: Is B & O serious?

Alex — Sun, 11 May 2008 04:34:00 GMT

I cant hear this brainwashing global warming stuff anymore. goodnight.

Re: Is B & O serious?

Alex — Sun, 11 May 2008 04:07:20 GMT

sinuhe:
My guess is that the world and consumers are becoming more and more conscious about global warming and so forth and thus items which last for a long time (both their desing and build quality, mede respecting the environment) and may become more and more popular, even if they are not technically that advanced.

What?

Re: Is B & O serious?

sinuhe — Sun, 11 May 2008 01:55:52 GMT

I agree with the train of thought in this thread (that the price difference has become too big between B&O and "others").

I still do think, however, that they are doing something right. Please, take a look at our first iPod. Now, compare it with Beosound MP3 player (whatever the number was again). It is clear, that you would still use your Beosound but not your iPod. As to BL5; I think they look absolutely gorgeous!

My guess is that the world and consumers are becoming more and more conscious about global warming and so forth and thus items which last for a long time (both their desing and build quality, mede respecting the environment) and may become more and more popular, even if they are not technically that advanced.

Re: Is B & O serious?

Bingo — Sun, 11 May 2008 01:11:09 GMT

I am very convinced it is not a fair price to the costumer at all !!!

They are getting away from planet earth more and more there in Struer.

And if they make an affordable television; then even a Lidl model has more connections....

You are one of the many who are very very dissapointed in Bang & Olufsen and it seems that more and people feel the same.

I whish Bang & Olufsen a lot of luck in DUBAI........

Re: Is B & O serious?

mason — Sat, 10 May 2008 17:34:03 GMT

One thing that confuses me about B&O and I think many members would agree is that the price point of many products (this is particulary true of the TVs more than the audio gear) is down to build quality and materials. I am a partner in a design consultancy and I own about eight mac set-ups (the oldest being around 2 years). I have to say the build quality is amazing. Suffice to say Apple have an inclusive market strategy – no one is ruled out as a potential customer (you don't have to be a Russian millionaire of footballer) – yes they are more expensive than a Dell but they still make affordable products. If you want to see innovative design and amazing build quality check out the new imac – it is sublime. I have it on very good authority that it was incredibly hard to produce technically but this did not effect the price point. I guess the amount of units B&O produce makes the difference with their product prices but I am not convinced it is a fair price to the consumer.

Re: Is B & O serious?

Flappo The Grate — Sat, 10 May 2008 08:07:20 GMT

one design trait i DO note is jj was very horizontal and dl is very vertical

interesting.. hmm...

Re: Is B & O serious?

Flappo The Grate — Sat, 10 May 2008 07:55:18 GMT

i've always been a rabid jacob jensen fan , imo lewis' stuff is dull and lacks jj's magical genius , with jj it was not just what you saw , it was the extra depth - the hidden features - like the brushed aluminium flaps hiding all the secondary controls on the old beocentres , beomasters and beocords

i'd bring jj back asap or his spiritual successor - who could that be ?

maybe jonathon ive is available freelance !!??

what in the current range stands anywhere near jj's best !??

nothing !!!