General Forum

Re: Please B&O, stop painting everything white

Razlaw — Thu, 18 Dec 2008 19:34:35 GMT

Color choice is one of things that makes B and O special and differentiates it from others. We have a BV7 with BL7-4 that we purchased in grey. We also have Beolab 9s for the fronts that were black. We just ordered new grills for the three speakers and changed them to blue.

The system is much more striking now in our opinion. The blue 7-4 looks beautiful with the grey BV7 and really makes the acoustic lens stand out. But I am sure it would not suit everybody's taste.

Our dealer mentioned to us he had an interior designer purchase a red BV7 and a blue BL7 as it went with the rooms decor.

Re: Please B&O, stop painting everything white

Hardwriter — Thu, 18 Dec 2008 19:20:59 GMT

White cabinets can look quite good - let's face it, white's just the chromatic opposite of black. But I saw a pair of BL8000s in white in the window of the B&O showroom in Munich last week and I thought they looked pretty unimpressive. The white fabric is too transparent and you can see the outline of the components behind - it takes the mystery away. So I'd certainly recommend anyone to stick to black for speaker grilles, if nothing else.

Re: Please B&O, stop painting everything white

KingStreet — Wed, 17 Dec 2008 14:01:34 GMT

I have just installed a white Beosound 9000 at home ( number 417 ) and I have to say - I'm delighted.

It looks great. It also sound noticeably better than my Bsnd 3000 did, by a bigger margin than I expected - so a result all round.

The frets on speakers will needs some care though - as others have said

David.

Re: Please B&O, stop painting everything white

soundchoice70 — Wed, 17 Dec 2008 09:20:39 GMT

I think this is an interesting debate....

As an interior designer I like the concept of having options, and in fact believe B&O should offer more to give its customers the opportunity of a 'bespoke piece' that is unique .... and one day would enjoy the opportunity to create an all white interior with matching B&O ..... however generally I would say I'm a purist (in terms of form / finishes) and would opt for the classic palettes of alu, black, grey, silver etc, but it really does also come down to the item in question too, for instance I think that the BV9 looks fantastic in all black rather than the traditional alu frame...

IMHO however, I think this 'all white' option is a bit of a 'fad' and will quickly feel a little passe' , not to mention being quite impractical (if you are after longevity), imagine how dirty those frets will get...... I made the mistake many years ago of buying fritz hansen series 7 dining chairs in white lacquer... still trying to keep them clean .....

Re: Please B&O, stop painting everything white

cooldude — Wed, 17 Dec 2008 07:21:00 GMT

I am very much in favour of the white colour option.

It might not be everyones favourite, but those who like it will pay the premium for it.

B&O always have produced white version of their items and I remember my parents having a white LX tv back in the 80 ies. Something that has been lacking lately.... put me off buying a beosound 4 when it came out ...just a black box to me.

I never considered beolab5 or beolab9 speakers before, because, though nice designed, they just would look too much like black bulky things in my living room. Now I will try to get my hands on a pair for sure....

Please respect everyones opinion. The fact that we even talk about this in a forum is a successfull move for B&O.

Regards,

Re: Please B&O, stop painting everything white

ajames — Wed, 17 Dec 2008 06:38:02 GMT

I'm all in favour of choice and white is an excellent option - products that will effortlessly compliment the whole classic Danish Rosewood 60's revival trend - would buy it if I could afford

I have to admit though when it comes down to handing over hard earned cash I play safe with the black/aluminium option as I'm not brave enough to go for colour - agree with the comment though on the Interior Design angle - anything that gets more free advertising for B&O can;t be a bad thing.

Re: Please B&O, stop painting everything white

SWISS_2 — Tue, 16 Dec 2008 20:45:51 GMT

Just to put things into perspective on white options:

My family saw an advertisement for a Porsche 356 in the early '60's in a new colour, Alpine White. The normal " acceptable " colours then were tan, olive green, and black, radiating all the excitement and glamour of a church pew.

My father saved, ordered, and later received the vehicle for then DM 2500/ $ 5000 USD. There were no credit cards then. It remains in the family, as do the majority of all the B&O products purchased and enjoyed for many years now. This includes a B&O white stacking 6000 series, still fully functional.

True, these items must be maintained and can be hard to keep clean. However, the current value of the Alpine White Porsche is EURO 75,000 / $ 128,000, and the colour considered choice is quite rare and valuable to collectors.

Re: Please B&O, stop painting everything white

R Patton — Tue, 16 Dec 2008 20:26:23 GMT

What is particulary nice about the color options, especially the speaker range, is that they are the frets and can be changed out. I wish I could get a pair of white frets for my Silver Beolab 1's.

I have a black frame on my BV4 and a Silver frame as a back up (my dealer just gave one to me, Wow!

I have been thinking about white for my BL 8000's too, just for something different, I really like the silver/black look, but the ability to have a"choice" is a benefit and not available on most audio/tv packages on the market today.

Whites OK by me, and I really like Lee's white BL 2.

Roger

Re: Please B&O, stop painting everything white

beojeff — Tue, 16 Dec 2008 17:58:05 GMT

The new white line is a BRILLIANT marketing ploy -- not because a lot of people will buy the white products but because interior designers will love them and we will see them photographed everywhere. It's much like the original Helmut Lang clothing designs. They were very impractical, but they were found photographed very frequently in fashion magazines and the outrageous pieces drew customers into the boutiques to buy more mainstream items. I believe that in the coming months, we will see many of the white B&O products in interior design magazines everywhere. This is essentially free advertising for B&O.

Re: Please B&O, stop painting everything white

Friedmett — Tue, 16 Dec 2008 17:50:21 GMT

As for white edition they seem rare and the older the products the more special it is to have these days.

Dillen was in the western part of Denmark today so he was able to deliver my SC60 stand for the Beosystem 6000. With 2 pairs of matching Beovox S speakers it really looks good I must say. White edition was one of the main factors for buying the 3 units (Beomaster,Beocord and Beogram) back then.

Can anyone tell me if the cassetetape holder is surposed to be there as original or what the deal was as I don't have any that came with the stand.

Re: Please B&O, stop painting everything white

Dave — Tue, 16 Dec 2008 17:40:53 GMT

Also, not everyone likes vanilla ice cream, it would be so silly of B&O to only offer Black and silver - boring. It's a really good thing that B&o offers the option of different varieties and colours for individuality, and you know, white is very popular!

Re: Please B&O, stop painting everything white

Russ — Tue, 16 Dec 2008 16:45:46 GMT

Christian:
I think the colors are primary made to attract customers into the store. Most systems are sold in classic colors, but a combo of a red BV4 rad BL8000 and red BL7.2 just looks more striking, and makes people stare.

Christian is quite correct, the vast majority of products are sold in the neutral colors: silver/grey/black, the colors for the main products rarely ever account for a double-digit share of sales...but where else can you go and even get the choice of those three colors on the same product? More to the point, how often do you get the chance to do something like the example shown below...and how often do you need to do that to be worth it?

Re: Please B&O, stop painting everything white

Bv7Mk3 — Tue, 16 Dec 2008 16:43:35 GMT

Yes it does and all my stuff is in Blue as I like it but White very nice just the keeping it clean lol.

Always wanted a white 7,000 system. I did have a video in white. :-)

Re: Please B&O, stop painting everything white

Christian — Tue, 16 Dec 2008 16:31:22 GMT

I think the colors are primary made to attract customers into the store. Most systems are sold in classic colors, but a combo of a red BV4 rad BL8000 and red BL7.2 just looks more striking, and makes people stare.

Re: Please B&O, stop painting everything white

Medogsfat — Tue, 16 Dec 2008 16:11:53 GMT

I agree in some ways with the OP but B&O have a history of producing white versions of their systems. As for them depreciating in value - well this is where I strongly disagree. All of the vintage white pieces command much higher values than their standard counterparts eg: I have a mint pair of white MC120.2 speakers which I would expect to get at least £200 - £300 if I were to ever sell them, their standard counterparts would probably bring less that half that price.

Any way I do respect your opinion of the current clamour for white versions and agree that at present it is a marketing ploy to buy time for when the new regime stamps its mark.

Chris.