General Forum

Re: My new B&0 music system

kallasr — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 10:28:57 GMT

Check this out on the German ebay: Beosound 3200 (new!)

You can even make an offer. So this might get you a BS3200 for the price of a Beosound 4.

Ralf

PS: I hope it is ok to point to ebay auctions. It is not my auction.

Re: My new B&0 music system

timhanna — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 03:39:40 GMT

Ok here is my story:

When I was 23, i got crazy about B&O. I always knew about them but never bothered to look further into it.

At that age, second year of employment after graduating, I got myself:

Avant 28 VCR RF, Avant 32 DVD RF, BL8000, BL6000 (2 pairs), BS Ouverture (3 of them), BS3000, BS3200, BL3 (2 Pairs - MK1 and MK2) amongst things... some new, most used but mint. I starting listening and using them one by one, for months on end and over time I started realising which i like better and which i just enjoyed more...

I gave and sold most of them away, and then started building a new collection from scratch, now its the BV7-40, BL7-4, soon BL3 and then the BL5, maybe the BS9000.

I plan to do the same until I get the ultimate setup. Im 24 now, so time isnt the worry, but i think, unless you are 100% sure that you love the product to bits, there is no point getting it new...

Regarding the BS4 vs BS3200, id put my money on the BS3200, but that's just me...

Re: My new B&0 music system

gorissek — Tue, 18 Nov 2008 19:03:56 GMT

I was in the same situation a month or two ago. Before I finally decided I tried all sorts of combinations: I started with BeoLab 4 PC, just to go with my MacBook Pro, then I thought, no, I'll get a BeoSound 1 instead; it sounds better and has a CD player. After that I realised I could probably get a used BeoSound 3000 with BeoLab 4000s for almost the same money as a BeoSound 1 with a floor stand.

In the end I went to my dealers and bought a new BeoSound 4 with black BeoLab 4000s. Funny how quickly you come from BeoLab 4s to a system costing five times more, but I guess that's just B&O. They do look amazing together, especially with 4000s in black. Like they were made for each other : )

Re: My new B&0 music system

foamywax — Tue, 18 Nov 2008 18:34:24 GMT

Hi Dave...I have given 1000 euros downpayment for the 3200...today i went again to the B&O store and told the dealer that i was having second thoughts and that i might prefer the Beosound 4instead. He said that there was no problem since I haven't received the product yet or opened it. What he did tell me was this...he said that the 3200 is a better choice because it is more recognizable...in tv shows etc which i thought was a silly thing to say.He said that the reason the 3200 is more expensive than the BS4 is because IBM had to make a special hard drive that fits into the 3200 and that it was difficult for this to be accomplished(again i'm not so sure).He said he prefers the hard drive over the SD Card function because the music isn't as compressed and that the 3200 uses real time so that the music you put into the hard drive is "cd quality".Again I'm not so sure about this because when i pressed the cd memory button on the 3200 there wasn't any music stored on the hard drive for me to tell a difference. He just didn't seem very enthusiastic about the Beosound 4...and today i realised that I kind of like the BS4 better. It feels like the serene when you touch it and it looks more modern than the 3200. The 3200 costs 3300 euros while the Beosound 4 costs 2200. I still can't understand the price difference. I wish i could buy both of them but i can't.

Re: My new B&0 music system

kona — Tue, 18 Nov 2008 06:55:35 GMT

I went from the beolab 2500 (that I bought when I was 25) to a pair of 4000's two years ago and I'm still amazed today how good they sound. The bonus is that you get a range of possibilities to place them so you will never get bored. I went for the silver ones because I like the reflections it makes. The idea of changing the cover is a good one. I'm thinking of doing that.

I still have the beosound 2300 but it's now connected to a media center PC running Itunes server that I control with an itouch, works great! The radio is the only part I use the 2300 purely for.

Re: My new B&0 music system

sprocket — Tue, 18 Nov 2008 05:55:32 GMT

I have to say that I love the BL4000's too. I bought in silver and use different coloured speaker frets, red at the moment. I love the reflective effect of the coloured fret against the speaker. Im sure B&O still stock the older frets so you can add a splash of colour when you feel like a change.

regards.

Re: My new B&0 music system

timhanna — Tue, 18 Nov 2008 04:11:14 GMT

wirralsimon:
timhanna:

Hi Dave,
Im not sure I agree with you on that, the 3200 is definately a classic in my eyes, I see the hard drive as an extra, but the main purpose is a CD player, and its a great one. If you assume that the HD will be used as that, a supplement to an already wonderful system, then you can't go wrong. Nice choice of stands (I have got the CD one) and sufficient connections (no SPDIF, but not the end of the world). I think its great.
I think in these circumstances I would probably give Lee a ring and buy a second hand Beosound/Overture leaving plenty of change to spend on a suitable iPod and dock!
Simon

I guess you could do that and funnily enough is what i have :) hehe... I hardly use it though... the HD could be more useful if your songs dont change and you had a beo5... you could program in cd album covers and point it to the appropriate place in the hard drive... Store chill out music, not party like music, you could use the ipod for that...

Re: My new B&0 music system

wirralsimon — Tue, 18 Nov 2008 03:58:24 GMT

timhanna:

Hi Dave,
Im not sure I agree with you on that, the 3200 is definately a classic in my eyes, I see the hard drive as an extra, but the main purpose is a CD player, and its a great one. If you assume that the HD will be used as that, a supplement to an already wonderful system, then you can't go wrong. Nice choice of stands (I have got the CD one) and sufficient connections (no SPDIF, but not the end of the world). I think its great.

I think in these circumstances I would probably give Lee a ring and buy a second hand Beosound/Overture leaving plenty of change to spend on a suitable iPod and dock!

Simon

Re: My new B&0 music system

timhanna — Tue, 18 Nov 2008 03:40:39 GMT

Hi Dave,

Im not sure I agree with you on that, the 3200 is definately a classic in my eyes, I see the hard drive as an extra, but the main purpose is a CD player, and its a great one. If you assume that the HD will be used as that, a supplement to an already wonderful system, then you can't go wrong. Nice choice of stands (I have got the CD one) and sufficient connections (no SPDIF, but not the end of the world). I think its great.

As for the prices, well, you should drop a kind email to our friends in Denmark and see what riddiculous prices they are quoting... 8,000 GBP for the BeoLab 5.Per Speaker that is!!!! Who quotes one speaker by itself as the price? Its the same as saying Price Per Shoe.

Anyway, it seems that for spare parts, Greece was considerably cheaper. I asked about the plastic brackets that mount my dads beolab 3's to the floor stand as they were lost in transit, they quoted us around 40euro and sent us 2 pairs (4 pieces). My local dealer in the UK wanted 50GBP for a pair...

P.S. I am Greek too, in case you ask :)

Re: My new B&0 music system

Dave — Mon, 17 Nov 2008 21:46:31 GMT

foamywax:
what can i say either you love B&O or you don't! But I believe that those who say they don't are lying! I get so upset when someone says "B&O are only design and nothing else".

Yeah i agree with you there!

foamywax:

Isn't it strange how the 3200 doesn't look at all dated? It looks like a new product to me design wise which says alot about how much thought and time actually goes into these products... I really like the fact that there is a hard drive even though you have to name eveything manually I still like it.

Doesn't look dated? Hmmm ok well it is extremely nicely designed, but dated, it's design is. The 3200's hard drive may dissapoint you, you'll need to write down where and what the music is manually, and it records music onto it REAL TIME eek! Why bother?

You should get both BS3200 and BS4 in your home for a trial because i honestly don't believe the BS3200 is worth that price you are quoted in greece. What the 3200 IS though is a beautiful CD player that looks and feels lovely next to 4000's, but the components used in BS4 do perform better, alot to think about really... aesthetics and a nice heavy feel, or better sound quality and usability...

Re: My new B&0 music system

foamywax — Mon, 17 Nov 2008 19:15:29 GMT

I'm curious...here in athens the beosound 4 cost 2000 euros while the beosound 3200 costs a little over 3000 euros...i was just looking at the british prices and there is only a 300 pound difference which is quite starange...why is the 3200 more expensive here in greece but not in england. why the bigger price difference?

Re: My new B&0 music system

foamywax — Mon, 17 Nov 2008 18:32:23 GMT

Thanks for all the replies! what can i say either you love B&O or you don't! But I believe that those who say they don't are lying! I get so upset when someone says "B&O are only design and nothing else". I did know about the stands that set the 4000's at the same angle as the 3200...they look great together. To be honest I'm not that crazy about the green 4000's, but since the screen on the 3200 lights up in green as well, I thought they would look better together...Personally i like the red color and the gold...but the silver is nice too! Isn't it strange how the 3200 doesn't look at all dated? It looks like a new product to me design wise which says alot about how much thought and time actually goes into these products... I really like the fact that there is a hard drive even though you have to name eveything manually I still like it.I will talk to spiro about the 4000's he is selling...but it is such a great feeling when buying a brand new B&O product and taking it out of the box for the first time.....

Re: My new B&0 music system

Spiros — Sun, 16 Nov 2008 14:57:45 GMT

............and still are for sale!!! Thanks Graham!

Re: My new B&0 music system

LarsJensen — Sun, 16 Nov 2008 14:09:38 GMT

Congratulations and thanks for sharing. Always like to read to about how others choose there systems and there taste in sound and design.

/Lars

Re: My new B&0 music system

Jandyt — Sun, 16 Nov 2008 05:18:15 GMT

Well done Foamywax. Great choice.
Did you know that there are stands to hold the 4000s at the same 15 degree angle as the 3200? They look really good together.

Andy T.