General Forum

Re: Magnificent sound REproduction

Jandyt — Thu, 26 Apr 2007 13:52:08 GMT

philipsmz333:
As a classical musician, i know quite well what an orchestra is supposed to sound like, and i have heard quite a few setups. The beolab 5's that i heard in store are as close to the real thing as you can get before you go and jump up on the stage and sit next to the oboe!

Would there really be a discernable difference in the performane of the beolab 5's considering that it is an all digital speaker? If a source with spdif outputs to the beolab 5's sounds MORE realistic than what i have heard... then i'm sure i could be forgiven for shouting out - HOLY MOTHER OF GOD! Sounds a little bit petty if you ask me.

Yes the beolab 3's also intrigued me, they sounded very clear with a good sound stage, but with the volume turned up, the mid range and bass was muddy and shallow. I think they are more suited for close up listening at lower volumes (such as use with a pc).

Just out of curiosity, David, Which instrument do you play, or is there a clue in the fact that you sit next to the oboe?

Andy T.

Re: Magnificent sound REproduction

Razlaw — Tue, 24 Apr 2007 22:26:50 GMT

Sorry if a little off topic, but any thoughts about how the Beolab 9s sound compared to Beolab 1s?

Re: Magnificent sound REproduction

Dave — Tue, 24 Apr 2007 20:39:18 GMT

Wow, Dave Moulton, i'm star struck!

Re: Magnificent sound REproduction

DaveMoulton — Tue, 24 Apr 2007 08:58:16 GMT

saf:
Yes, very interesting thread, indeed. Personally, I would encourage even more musicians' and speaker experts' comments on the forum (having Dave Moulton on the old forum was fantastic!).

I'm still here! Saving up for a pair of BL9s to add to my collection! Thanks for the flattering thoughts.

Best regards,

Dave Moulton

Re: Magnificent sound REproduction

Peter — Tue, 24 Apr 2007 07:10:31 GMT

Used mainly for speech CDs and tapes but the odd music CD does go on when I am emptying the dishwasher or washing up! I was going to get a BS1, but it won't play tapes and the Century would get greasy too easily. Have just bought the Logitech iPod dock and speakers to see if that is better though!

Re: Magnificent sound REproduction

soundproof — Tue, 24 Apr 2007 06:18:11 GMT

Peter:
To be honest, I can listen to almost anything! I prefer certain speakers but it is the music that I like! In the kitchen we have a cheap Sony radio cassette (too difficult to link as the walls are very thick!) and it is fine!

Sacrilege! (old site smiley here!)

Re: Magnificent sound REproduction

Peter — Tue, 24 Apr 2007 06:12:16 GMT

To be honest, I can listen to almost anything! I prefer certain speakers but it is the music that I like! In the kitchen we have a cheap Sony radio cassette (too difficult to link as the walls are very thick!) and it is fine!

Re: Magnificent sound REproduction

saf — Tue, 24 Apr 2007 03:29:46 GMT

Yes, very interesting thread, indeed. Personally, I would encourage even more musicians' and speaker experts' comments on the forum (having Dave Moulton on the old forum was fantastic!). Since I'm not either such opinions are really valuable to me. Thanks guys.

Regarding bose, I never got involved in comparisons, but sometimes think that they get bashed too much. Their only product I own are the originally mounted speakers in my car and must say, that I'm quite happy with the sound - especially in comparison with other standard car audio!

Thankfully, we humans are kind of accomodating creatures: despite having BL5s as the main speakers I'm never tired of listening to my other B&O speakers as well.

Re: Magnificent sound REproduction

Dave — Tue, 24 Apr 2007 02:48:22 GMT

Well put guys, you both obviously know your stuff. I'm impressed that you execute your opinions in a fair and diplomatic way, unlike alot of the other opinion forums you come across on the net.

Maybe i'll have to get a pair of these BL3's with a subwoofer! For the bedroom or something like that. I reckon the reason some people complain of the crispness is because you get the sound from the location of the microphone in the recording. If you went and put your head where the microphones were in any live performance, it would surely knock you around (like the beolab 5's at higher volumes)!

As i've already said, EXCITING. :)

Re: Magnificent sound REproduction

soundproof — Tue, 24 Apr 2007 02:20:10 GMT

philipsmz_333:
As a classical musician, i know quite well what an orchestra is supposed to sound like, and i have heard quite a few setups. The beolab 5's that i heard in store are as close to the real thing as you can get before you go and jump up on the stage and sit next to the oboe!

Would there really be a discernable difference in the performane of the beolab 5's considering that it is an all digital speaker? If a source with spdif outputs to the beolab 5's sounds MORE realistic than what i have heard... then i'm sure i could be forgiven for shouting out - HOLY MOTHER OF GOD! Sounds a little bit petty if you ask me.

Yes the beolab 3's also intrigued me, they sounded very clear with a good sound stage, but with the volume turned up, the mid range and bass was muddy and shallow. I think they are more suited for close up listening at lower volumes (such as use with a pc).

As I am not a musician, I went to a number of top performers in both Jazz and Classical to get their opinion on the "nearness" to performance sound of the BL3 and BL5. The BL5 astonished them, several stating they were completely comfortable with its sound.

They particularly noted the crisp and true top-end. This is the same crispness some complain about when listening to the BL5s. But it's there in performance, when you're on top of your instrument, before the sound has been processed by being bounced of walls and others in the audience before reaching your ears. In other words, people complain because it doesn't sound as it should if you're in the audience and not hearing it all ...

I agree on the BL3s. They sause up at the top, but on the way there you've got near-field listening instruments capable of delivering bliss.

Re: Magnificent sound REproduction

Peter — Tue, 24 Apr 2007 01:01:46 GMT

With digital input, so people feel they sound more precise but a little sterile. I think it is a matter of taste. I agree completely about the BL3s which are super at low to bit volumes but which get confused at high volumes. Their performance is improved by adding a BL2 as it removes some of the lowest frequencies. I am sure the ABRs are responsible for this.

Re: Magnificent sound REproduction

Dave — Mon, 23 Apr 2007 20:56:16 GMT

As a classical musician, i know quite well what an orchestra is supposed to sound like, and i have heard quite a few setups. The beolab 5's that i heard in store are as close to the real thing as you can get before you go and jump up on the stage and sit next to the oboe!

Would there really be a discernable difference in the performane of the beolab 5's considering that it is an all digital speaker? If a source with spdif outputs to the beolab 5's sounds MORE realistic than what i have heard... then i'm sure i could be forgiven for shouting out - HOLY MOTHER OF GOD! Sounds a little bit petty if you ask me.

Yes the beolab 3's also intrigued me, they sounded very clear with a good sound stage, but with the volume turned up, the mid range and bass was muddy and shallow. I think they are more suited for close up listening at lower volumes (such as use with a pc).

Re: Magnificent sound REproduction

andyp — Mon, 23 Apr 2007 14:50:21 GMT

Craig:
Peter:
We still await the Beosound 5, or whatever it will be called
Not heard anything about that for a long time. In fact until I read this I had forgotten all about it. What is the latest on this?Craig

Yeah, please some one (Roger), give us some info on this!

Re: Magnificent sound REproduction

Craig — Mon, 23 Apr 2007 13:38:54 GMT

Peter:
We still await the Beosound 5, or whatever it will be called

Not heard anything about that for a long time. In fact until I read this I had forgotten all about it. What is the latest on this?

Craig

Re: Magnificent sound REproduction

Alex — Mon, 23 Apr 2007 12:27:26 GMT

It's interesting to see the comments about the CD7000, because I'd have to agree. When listening through my CD7000, BM6500 & B&W DM7s, there's something far more musical than modern B&O. The sound stage also sounds more natural in a really hard-to-describe way. It just seems to ram the music down your throat, in comparison to the modern B&O stuff which often sounds absolutely incredible and technically in a completely different league to my system, but somehow the music doesn't seem like the focus. I guess this is almost all to do with the source, as ICE Power amps and the speakers are definitely miles better than what I own (although I still reckon my DM7s would give BeoLab 9s a good run for their money when it comes to soundstage, tonality and low-end kick!).