Hi,


as B&O seems to outsource some of its product lines I think it's a good idea to make a list in this thread which currents products are made in Denmark. So please post ONLY products that are made in Denmark!

Let's go:

- Beosound 5
- Beo 5 

BeoVision 7 series

BeoVision 10

BeoLab all.

BeoVision 4 series (108 made to order)

I'll let others elaborate on more products.

Not all Beolabs : BL4s are not made in denmark

TWG:

- Beo 5 

Ah, ah: Czech stuff

xegoon:

TWG:

- Beo 5 

 

Ah, ah: Czech stuff

Oh, that's a bad one, my dealer told me that it was made in Denmark, otherwise I wouldn't have bought it!

TWG:

xegoon:

TWG:

- Beo 5 

 

Ah, ah: Czech stuff

Oh, that's a bad one, my dealer told me that it was made in Denmark, otherwise I wouldn't have bought it!

At least some parts are made in Denmark, as we saw it in production on the factory tour at the famous Struer trip before it was official.

In the German forum I read that Beo4 is now Czech-made, but Beo5? Please, no.

And I always thought everything with pin-code protection is made in Denmark.

I wonder what Struer is thinking about this thread. Seems there are strong reservations against high-price products from a low-wage country. At least it´s still made in Europe...

b.

I strongly hope that people from Strue read this thread! Personaly I don't buy a B&O product that is NOT made in Denmark!


So please contribute to the list so that we all have a good overview of things that we can buy safely and which to ignore! :)

There are many, good, socio-political reasons why it is a good idea for a country to retain it's maunfacturing industry.

From a product point of view however, can someone explain to me the difference between the result of the same set of parts being assembled in Denmark and that assembled in the Czech Republic? Assuming the Company concerned operates the same, robust manufacturing and quality plans, I can't see any difference in the product on sale.

(This of course assumes the product is merely assembled and there is no hand-cutting of veneers required or billets of aluminium hand chiselled into acoutic lens')

Puncher:

There are many, good, socio-political reasons why it is a good idea for a country to retain it's maunfacturing industry.

But the manufacturing industries are not owned (ie efectively controlled) by countries and therefore hard to 'retain' by them - once the countries decide to respect private property and free and open their markets, that is ... 

Otherwise agree :-)

TWG:

I strongly hope that people from Strue read this thread! Personaly I don't buy a B&O product that is NOT made in Denmark!


So please contribute to the list so that we all have a good overview of things that we can buy safely and which to ignore! :)

I suspect that you won't be buying B&O products for very much longer then.

If B&O have any commercial sense, they will move production of new products to low cost manufacturing facilities and these will not be in Denmark, Germany or the UK.

Surely this is all a bit artificial anyway! The BV10 is clearly mainly made by Samsung, the amplifiers are not ICE items - I would guess the aluminium surround is made in Denmark but that would be about it. Does this put me off the set - not at all! The car audio is almost all outsourced except for the snazzy aluminium trim.

Aren't manufacturers that trade on a particular heritage being a bit disingenuous if they manufacture products abroad? I know my girlfriend was a bit gutted to learn that her shiny VW Beetle was in fact made in Mexico as opposed to Wolfsburg. She bought into the marketing spiel about VW reviving a classic design and made the assumption that it came with the same heritage as the original Beetle. Fair enough, she could have asked me (!), but isn't this the same with B&O's customers? They're not all the most savvy and many will make the assumption that they're buying into a product that was conceived and conctructed in 'the farm', will they not??

Peter :

Surely this is all a bit artificial anyway! The BV10 is clearly mainly made by Samsung, the amplifiers are not ICE items - I would guess the aluminium surround is made in Denmark but that would be about it. Does this put me off the set - not at all! The car audio is almost all outsourced except for the snazzy aluminium trim.

It is all very artificial.  It's really all about marketing and style.  Is a Bentley assembled in Dresden a British car or a German car?  At any Bentley dealer, it is marketed as a British car.

I buy Bang & Olufsen products for many reasons but mainly Danish style, quality, and service.  I have been disappointed a few times but only on small details.  For example I would prefer that my Beocenter 2 have more than one AUX port.  However I love the BC2 as it is.  I bought a port switch to deal with the lack of more than one AUX port.

Puncher:

can someone explain to me the difference between the result of the same set of parts being assembled in Denmark and that assembled in the Czech Republic? Assuming the Company concerned operates the same, robust manufacturing and quality plans, I can't see any difference in the product on sale

I agree 100% with this point of view.  When I purchase a B&O product, I am purchasing it because of the design and quality that I associate to the company.  So long as B&O delivers of the design and quality implicit on the products on which it stamps its brand, it is fairly immaterial to me where the product is assembled.

There are numerous examples of high quality products made at remote locations:

• Porsche Cayenne Turbos built in Devinska Nova Ves, Slovakia and with only 40% German parts content;
• Audi V8 engines made in Győr, Hungary; 
• Bentley Continentals made in Dresden, Germany;
• Leica D-LUX4 cameras made in Japan;
• iPhones made in Shenzhen, China

Some of the comments here from people who only have new products in their homes (I refrain from using the term 'collections') don't surprise me. You'll never understand why, back in the old days, B&O used to have the 'Danish Furniture - Made in Denmark' stickers on the backs of the wooden cabinets. I had one on the back of my BM900 RG, and there's one each on my pair of BV1000s. This type of thing speaks to people who appreciate not only where their products were designed, but also of the people who manufactured them and their craft tradition. If you cannot see this then you truly are typical of the cynic who knows the price of everything, but the value of nothing :P

Just because assembly can be outsourced doesn't mean that it is desirable. How many people here actually think that value is added in this process? One thing is for sure and that is that B&O are having a laugh at you by charging 'made in Denmark' prices!

beoberlin:

I wonder what Struer is thinking about this thread. Seems there are strong reservations against high-price products from a low-wage country. At least it´s still made in Europe...

Indeed. I am prepared to pay a part of the premium price due to the location they are producing (Danmark or at least Western Europe). If it is produced in a low wage and low cost country, pricing should reflect that to a certain extend.

Who's to say that B&O's pricing does not reflect their decision to use lower cost - Czech Republic is not exactly Vietnam - manufacturing locations. The annual report tells you they are not exactly rolling in cash at the moment.

Anyway, I know from first hand experience that the Czech Republic has some great craftsmen and engineers - many of which would shame some of our western "experts". There's certainly nothing second rate about making products there.

Peter :

Surely this is all a bit artificial anyway! The BV10 is clearly mainly made by Samsung, the amplifiers are not ICE items - I would guess the aluminium surround is made in Denmark but that would be about it. Does this put me off the set - not at all! The car audio is almost all outsourced except for the snazzy aluminium trim.

It is not artificial I think. Part of the reason why the BV10 is priced as it is is due to the design and manufacturing costs. You could argue about it, but as you are still paying up to € 4.000 more for a B&O than a Samsung it should be justified somehow. A part of that justification, at least for me, is the place where for example the final assembly is done, (some) of the parts are manufactured etc. 

Why should I pay a premium if it is branding alone? (And yes I know I am now moving on slippery ice )

j0hnbarker:

Some of the comments here from people who only have new products in their homes (I refrain from using the term 'collections') don't surprise me.

[...]

If you cannot see this then you truly are typical of the cynic who knows the price of everything, but the value of nothing :P

This subject apparently raises some strong opinions!  

I shall not consider me alluded as I maintain my 1998 BeoCenter 2300 and BeoLab 6000.  I could hardly have any older stuff, seeing as it is that I was 28 at the time.

There are always exceptions.  I just looked at the box from a made in Japan VX5000 VCR and it says 'By appointment to the royal Danish court'.  I did know when I purchased this VCR that it was not made in Denmark.

Why do I still have this VCR I purchased in 1988?  I don't really know but it still looks cool.  

linder:

There are always exceptions.  I just looked at the box from a made in Japan VX5000 VCR and it says 'By appointment to the royal Danish court'.  I did know when I purchased this VCR that it was not made in Denmark.

Why do I still have this VCR I purchased in 1988?  I don't really know but it still looks cool.  

I'm 30 so not old enough to have purchased anything in my collection from new with the exception of my RF Avant, but all of my stuff is made in Denmark and I appreciate that greatly - which is why I don't own any of the stuff made in Japan. I'd actually quite like a Beosystem 10 because it looks nice, but I can't bring myself to buy one as I know the B&O content is minimal. I just managed to let an MX1500 through the door simply because I don't have room for a bigger MX in the bedroom, but as soon as I do, this cuckoo in my nest is off and I'll get a proper Danish MX.

Having spent a good few years painstakingly assembling a collection of vintage B&O, and having the majority of it repaired in time-consuming and resource-draining fashion, I really value the traditions of the company. Great if you don't care where it's assembled, but surely you should feel a bit cheesed off if B&O charge you the premium for Danish assembly??

j0hnbarker:

linder:

There are always exceptions.  I just looked at the box from a made in Japan VX5000 VCR and it says 'By appointment to the royal Danish court'.  I did know when I purchased this VCR that it was not made in Denmark.

Why do I still have this VCR I purchased in 1988?  I don't really know but it still looks cool.  

I'm 30 so not old enough to have purchased anything in my collection from new with the exception of my RF Avant, but all of my stuff is made in Denmark and I appreciate that greatly - which is why I don't own any of the stuff made in Japan. I'd actually quite like a Beosystem 10 because it looks nice, but I can't bring myself to buy one as I know the B&O content is minimal. I just managed to let an MX1500 through the door simply because I don't have room for a bigger MX in the bedroom, but as soon as I do, this cuckoo in my nest is off and I'll get a proper Danish MX.

Having spent a good few years painstakingly assembling a collection of vintage B&O, and having the majority of it repaired in time-consuming and resource-draining fashion, I really value the traditions of the company. Great if you don't care where it's assembled, but surely you should feel a bit cheesed off if B&O charge you the premium for Danish assembly??

 

I actually agree with you.  I have a house full of B&O products some of which I don't use and should sell.  I also have an MX5000 TV I purchased from new and 12 years later had restored.  The MX5000 was assembled in the USA from kits sent from Denmark.  It is most important that B&O be Danish and manufacture in Denmark.  However I am willing to accept some exceptions in the current range like a Czech assembled Beocom 5.

beoberlin:

In the German forum I read that Beo4 is now Czech-made, but Beo5? Please, no.

And I always thought everything with pin-code protection is made in Denmark.

I wonder what Struer is thinking about this thread. Seems there are strong reservations against high-price products from a low-wage country. At least it´s still made in Europe...

 

b.

Ok guys, who really cares? 

I'm really intrigued by the "must be assembled in Denmark or I won't buy it" viewpoint. If I was to be concerned, I would worry more about the source and quality of the components and materials used in the assembly rather than the location of final assembly itself. I can understand the "Danish furniture" analogy but modern electronic assembly has little, if anything, to do with Artisans or Craftsmen - most are, at best, semi-skilled line operators and so it's difficult to see what extra value is added by a Dane screwing the case together rather than a Czech.

If we assume that the line operators are identically trained and work on duplicate assembly lines, operating to the same quality plans and controls then all that is left is the notional level of "Danishness". What if the Danish manufacturing line was manned by non-Danish nationals? - will those assemblies be classed as Danish or not?

I'm happy that the Danishness is "installed" at the design stage, where the parts are designed, engineered and materials selected and specified (aluminium parts and processing being a key example).