General Forum

Re: B&O Penta compared to new other brand speakers

Makumba — Tue, 04 Jan 2011 05:46:18 GMT

The Pentas i´ve heard were the active ones, mk 1 or mk 2. But probably MK1. Matched with a beosound 2000.

Which beosound do I need to get the displays to work.

My loudspeakers have built in active subwoofers and goes as far down as 25Hz, the Pentas go down to 40Hz, how big difference does it make to the ear. I really don't want to make swap for the worse.

Re: B&O Penta compared to new other brand speakers

bayerische — Tue, 04 Jan 2011 04:56:04 GMT

Also take into account that the Pentas are getting old.

I have the MK3 Pentas in storage, and I haven't used them for years, however, the last time I used them they were getting less precise sound wise IMHO compared to when they were new. They are about 12 years old. Very little used, but i think the drivers degrade with time, and might be a factor?

They are good, if you like the kind of sound that Alex described. He hit it right on the nail with his explanation.

Was the Pentas you heard active or passive version? There are 4 types, Passive, active in mk1, mk2 and mk3. If Active, they will be fed only the signal with only pre-amp from your current system. So make sure there's a pre-amp out on your amp/receiver.

Re: B&O Penta compared to new other brand speakers

Alex — Tue, 04 Jan 2011 04:03:25 GMT

You would have to compare them side by side to really know the difference.

As a guess, I would be tempted to say the Pentas will sound bigger, more mellow/warmer, with a more rounded low-end and softer top end. The Pentas will play extremely loud without any major issues. Can't comment on your current speakers as I haven't heard them, but they're probably far more accurate than the Penta...

B&O Penta compared to new other brand speakers

Makumba — Tue, 04 Jan 2011 03:30:09 GMT

Hello!

I'm new to the forum and have some questions.

My friend has the Beolab 5 but also the pentas. When I first heard the pentas at his house a year ago I mixed them up with the lab 5 and wasn't to impressed by the sound for that money. But since I now heard the lab 5 and he told me what the pentas cost, I'm thinking of buying a pair of Penta speakers and a Beosound 2300 or 3000.

I have only read god about the pentas and I like the design. But I have a quite new stereo system at home ( Harman/Kardon Receiver and Audio Pro Evidence E.6) receiver around 350Eur and speaers around 900Eur. So it is not an expensive system, but its not a year old. It does its work fine.

My question is, will I have an improvement in sound with the pentas or are modern speakers better than the old pentas?

How does pentas sound compared to new speakers, are they very good for what they are (old design speakers) or do they have a soundquality that is very good compared to modern day speakers? Compared in the same price range for pentas 500-1000Eur with modern speakers for same amount of money.