The previous time it broke down, the distributor had worn and we fixed it using rubbish we found in the gutter! A lolly stick to stabilise the housing and a Kit Kat silver paper to act as a contact. That and some tape and we got home!

I used to drive a Renault 11 (I know, not that old) and it leaked all its water out on the M4 when returning from a camping holiday with some mates. So at the side of the road we topped it up with 2 cans of Stella Artois, 3 peoples wee and a couple of raw eggs to block up the holed radiator. It ran perfectly for 2 weeks like that. The smell when I finally drained it out to fix it properly was something else!!

 

Another thing, why dont modern cars have starting handles? There so useful when working on the engine. I suppose its a bit tricky on transverse engines but I   can see no reason why not on longitudinally mounted ones.

beaker:

Another thing, why dont modern cars have starting handles? There so useful when working on the engine. I suppose its a bit tricky on transverse engines but I   can see no reason why not on longitudinally mounted ones.

They kill people. That happened to a friend of Henry Leland (head of Cadillac Motor, Co) and he had Charles Kettering develop an electric self-starter. It was installed in all Cadillacs starting from 1912. It actually doubled as a generator through an ingenious mechanical transmission.

Old skool Ladas (the boxy models, until late 1980's) still had all the provisions for a hand crank - only the hole for it in the front bumper was missing in the last versions.

This thread has gone a little off topic! Does 'Bentleyman' wants to know about starting handles and topping up the radiator with p** or roadside repairs with lolly sticks, when he asked for a justification of MP3 etc? LOL! (Unless the Bentley is a distant aspiration, of course.)

Back on topic: we all like to think that we make choices, but the reality is that technology and manufacturers dictate what we can do at any one time. Admittedly, demand can distort the market and destroy the best technology, e.g. Betamax vs VHS, but the winning technology can have a short life anyway. In the end you can keep shelling out money for the latest technology, but there will always be something better around the corner. Better to shell out at sensible intervals. Not to forget that the music that you seek to perfectly reproduce starts out as an artifical fabrication with plenty of original recording distortions in the first place!

One advantage of the mobile MP3 player came to my notice when a very noisy neighbour at a previous residence had developed a habit of playing one awful transistor radio at full volume at one end of the garden, and a similar radio at the other end in the garden shed. This destroyed all garden enjoyment for at least four neighbours, and went on for years. Suddenly the offending neighbour went quiet. A son had bought her an iPod!

Graham

I'm afraid MP3s are of no interest to me either. My BeoSound 2 that my wife bought me five years ago has never been out of its box, simply because I have no use for it.

I have a large collection of CDs and LPs, so at home I listen to these. In the car I load up the CD changer or listen to some of my old cassettes and I have no interest in music when walking around or cycling. When I used to commute to work on the train I listened to the radio in the morning and read a book on the way home in the evening. Most importantly, the only systems I have heard that make digital music files sound really acceptable to my ears cost far, far more than I can afford and, no, BeoSound 5 is not one of these!

Finally, I am one of those strange people who don't like to mix technologies - I watch DVDs on my Television, I listen to music on my hi-fi system, I make phone calls and send texts on my mobile and I use my PC for internet and email activities. My computer and hi-fi are separate and I have no interest in combining the two, especially after suffering two hard drive failures in the last couple of years, and losing everything on said drives. At least I am secure in the knowledge that I will never pull out an LP to find that the grooves have vanished overnight!

I find myself buying more and more CDs now. Mostly because I have always wanted a collection.

Growing up with the MP3/AAC, I find I like the idea of playlists and the shuffle function. People in my generation do not sit down and isten to a CD from start to finsh, myself included.

Bentleyman, I do not think an iPod is for you.

No one better bring up text messaging!

AdamS:

Most importantly, the only systems I have heard that make digital music files sound really acceptable to my ears cost far, far more than I can afford and, no, BeoSound 5 is not one of these!

Rather odd comment, given that a CD is just a medium to contain a 'digital music file'.  This is read and passed to a DAC.

Lossless compressiion, even on a cheap PC, will send exactly the same stream of bits to a DAC.

The quality of the DAC is the important part.

 

This thread is turning out to be a lot of fun.  I am waiting for someone to lament the passing of 78RPM records and players.  B&O did have them at one time!

On a more serious note, it is true that using a PC to manage music can be tedious and many times the results are not good.  I have a Beosound 5 and use an iMac which is not a good mix.  I find it frustrating.  However because there are not many local FM stations where I live, I do enjoy internet radio on the Beosound 5.

Although I have a Beosound 5 and CD player, I do have vinyl records and a Beogram 9500.  I did not grow up with vinyl exactly but I do find it easy to use and records readily available.  Amazon now sells vinyl records which make it as easy as buying CDs

I hope the marketing types at Bang & Olufsen read Beoworld threads like this.  I'll bet we really confuse them because their research probably indicates digital media is the standard and will continue to become more widespread.

On the issue of DACs, I think B&O should use better ones in their products or make it an option.  High quality DACs are readily available and inexpensive

 

I do not have an mp3 player (except on the mobile phone, which I haven't ever used). I wouldn't have problems setting up any kind of digital media network I'd like to have, I just don't want to have one. I have probably a dozen pieces of music on mp3, all pirated downloads that aren't available anywhere else. I want to have the physical record - for me a paid download just isn't properly there.

I simply do not want to carry nor listen to "my music" everywhere. I have a pretty good record collection, but if I were to listen to "my music" while getting groceries, walking outside, fixing the car, driving the car, mowing the lawn, etc. every flippin' day, I'd probably get fed up with "my music" within a week, and that would be a bloody shame.

That's why I listen to radio (or internet radio) about 95% of the time. I want to hear stuff I don't already know I want to hear. I have a Spotify account (thanks again for the invite, Simon!) and it is basically great and shows me plenty of stuff that I search for. But most of the time I do not know what I would like to hear!

And for these reasons, just about the only digital media feature I'd probably care about is actually a B&O exclusive: MOTS. I'd just need to have about 50x more of disposable wealth before I'd consider purchasing a BM5/BS5 combo, though. Note that I'm not complaining about it being overpriced

What we all really need is a bit of aging! My ears are now such that almost anything sounds pretty much the same - above 13khz is just a memory. Makes buying things much cheaper as I am nothing like as demanding now! I dare say even cassette tape will not sound so hiss laden!

On the digital front, anything over a sample rate of 160kB/s seems good to me. I record at 320 and am happy with the results. My LS3/5As now finally seem full range!

I've got maybe 18,000 or so songs (not sure, not at home to check my server). I ripped all of my CDs and sold them since they were just wasting space, making back enough to buy an iPad. If I suddenly get a wild hair to listen to Led Zep or Midnight Oil or Neil Diamond then drag-drop and it's on my iPhone or iPad. Entire albums in seconds. When I'm walking to the station and I want to hear Elbow I just push the button and say "play band Elbow" and then I'm listening to Elbow. If I want to listen to Dark Side of the Moon then it's "play album Dark Side" and away we go. It doesn't have to be random and I don't have to skip. But I also don't have to force myself to listen to Southbound Pachyderm when I'm listening to Primus. I can skip it just by double tapping my microphone. Also if the phone rings, I'm already hands free. As an aside I also ripped all of my DVDs to either watch on my Mini using Plex or on my iPad while traveling. Got rid of those too. When stacked the discs were over 2 meters high. And that's in those CD folder things since the cases take up to much space and ended up in the dumpster immediately after purchase. CDs and DVDs are all digital anyway. Why not save space and put them all in one place?

WTF why is this thing not accepting my "return" key?! I'm really not so illiterate as to string all of that into one paragraph.

You do know that ripping all the content off the cds and dvds, selling the originals, and keeping the copies is technically illegal - right?

dilznik:

I've got maybe 18,000 or so songs (not sure, not at home to check my server). I ripped all of my CDs and sold them since they were just wasting space, making back enough to buy an iPad. If I suddenly get a wild hair to listen to Led Zep or Midnight Oil or Neil Diamond then drag-drop and it's on my iPhone or iPad. Entire albums in seconds. When I'm walking to the station and I want to hear Elbow I just push the button and say "play band Elbow" and then I'm listening to Elbow. If I want to listen to Dark Side of the Moon then it's "play album Dark Side" and away we go. It doesn't have to be random and I don't have to skip. But I also don't have to force myself to listen to Southbound Pachyderm when I'm listening to Primus. I can skip it just by double tapping my microphone. Also if the phone rings, I'm already hands free. As an aside I also ripped all of my DVDs to either watch on my Mini using Plex or on my iPad while traveling. Got rid of those too. When stacked the discs were over 2 meters high. And that's in those CD folder things since the cases take up to much space and ended up in the dumpster immediately after purchase. CDs and DVDs are all digital anyway. Why not save space and put them all in one place?

This sums it up really...

Do you listen to all your stuff on a BANG & OLUFSEN MP3 player may I ask? Sounds like you use your iPhone and your iPad..?

This website is all about BANG & OLUFSEN.......all I was saying in the beginning was that I actually listen to all my music needs (Radio or CD's) on a proper Bang & Olufsen Hi-Fi (Beosystem 7000) with proper B&O speakers (Beolab Penta)....

Even if you have a Beosound 2, you may be listening to a 'bang & olufsen' product, but honestly...lets face it, it's not a 'HiFi' is it really..?

The basic reason I like B&O is the Hi-Fi and Televisions that they make (and made in the past).....bringing me back to my original posting....Why do I need to get an iPod or an MP3 player and walk around with earplugs in, or listen to stuff through the poor quality inbuilt speakers in my 5 year old laptop!!

Like the chap said in one of the latest posts, I use my Hi-Fi to listen to music, use my computer to use the internet, use my TV to watch TV or DVD/Videos, and use my phone to make calls and send a few texts....

Job done...

Bentleyman:

This sums it up really...

Do you listen to all your stuff on a BANG & OLUFSEN MP3 player may I ask? Sounds like you use your iPhone and your iPad..?

This website is all about BANG & OLUFSEN.......all I was saying in the beginning was that I actually listen to all my music needs (Radio or CD's) on a proper Bang & Olufsen Hi-Fi (Beosystem 7000) with proper B&O speakers (Beolab Penta)....

Why would I do that? The B&O mp3 players don't blow wind up my skirt. Quit being such an elitist douche, dude. Seriously. "I don't do public transport. You don't use a B&O mp3 player. You aren't listening to hi-fi so it's inferior." Christ.

dilznik:

Bentleyman:

This sums it up really...

Do you listen to all your stuff on a BANG & OLUFSEN MP3 player may I ask? Sounds like you use your iPhone and your iPad..?

This website is all about BANG & OLUFSEN.......all I was saying in the beginning was that I actually listen to all my music needs (Radio or CD's) on a proper Bang & Olufsen Hi-Fi (Beosystem 7000) with proper B&O speakers (Beolab Penta)....

Why would I do that? The B&O mp3 players don't blow wind up my skirt. Quit being such an elitist douche, dude. Seriously. "I don't do public transport. You don't use a B&O mp3 player. You aren't listening to hi-fi so it's inferior." Christ.

Why then are u on this website, dude..?

Compared to you pal, i am extremely elite it would seem..

End of...

AdamS:

...at least I am secure in the knowledge that I will never pull out an LP to find that the grooves have vanished overnight!

That made me chuckle..

Lee

 

Bentleyman:

Compared to you pal, i am extremely elite it would seem..

End of...

Well you asked a question about why you should use an MP3 player.  People including me offered reasons why you might like to.  Then you respond with this snarky bit:

 

Bentleyman:

I sure dont wanna walk along the street with earphones in... thats for teenagers and well, morons really!etc.

I just dont do public transport at all!

 

 

And then I responded with how a digital music device works for me and you responded with some random drivel about how I'm not using a B&O mp3 player and why am I on this site.

And the your last rebuttal wasn't actually a rebuttal, it was a reiteration of superiority without merit.

After that I'm afraid all I can offer is:

Why would you use a B&O portable mp3 player when they were well behind the competition, and aren't even made anymore?

And I'm not entirely sure where you get the idea that using headphones somehow isn't Hi-Fi?  There's a website dedicated to audiophiles, some of whom listen exclusively through decent headphones - www.head-fi.org.  Granted, mp3 players often can't compete with a dedicated decent headphone amp, but the most of the iPods and, in particular, the latest iPhone are pretty decent.

There's nothing wrong with listening to music on the move - evidently half the world think this is a good idea.  There's not much else to do while cramped in a tube train in London rush hour here.  And a of people of all ages do the same thing.

The fact you don't have a need for listening to music on the move is fair enough, but you don't have to go round stating that anyone who does so is a student, teenager who will grow out of it or a moron - and that the quality's totally *** - unless you happen to have a Bang & Olufsen MP3 player, and then it's all ok again.  You seem to be confusing your own opinion with fact.

<sarcasm>

Just wanted to say goodbye to everyone.  I don't really qualify to use the site as I listen to my ripped CDs on a custom-built computer and RX2 w/MMC4 through S45-2s by way of an NAD 7175 receiver.  I am not elitist enough, so therefore, I will resign my membership.

When I score The Precious (Beomaster 4401) and replace the NAD I will reapply for membership.

In the meantime, can I get a partial refund on my gold membership?

</sarcasm>

dilznik:

Bentleyman:

Compared to you pal, i am extremely elite it would seem..

End of...

Well you asked a question about why you should use an MP3 player.  People including me offered reasons why you might like to.  Then you respond with this snarky bit:

 

Bentleyman:

I sure dont wanna walk along the street with earphones in... thats for teenagers and well, morons really!etc.

I just dont do public transport at all!

 

 

And then I responded with how a digital music device works for me and you responded with some random drivel about how I'm not using a B&O mp3 player and why am I on this site.

And the your last rebuttal wasn't actually a rebuttal, it was a reiteration of superiority without merit.

After that I'm afraid all I can offer is:

What I think Ditznik needs to do is retreive the dummy (pasifier) he's been spittin out,

find a apple forum for fans of iPads and iPhones, chat with those guys about iPads, etc.

and leave this site & forum for grown-ups to talk about Bang & Olufsen related interesting things.....

Hey guys. I'm a huge B&O fan but I must say the iPod is simply the best music invention ever and let's face it - it's reliable - no jumping sticking CDs here. I have a BeoSound Century and whilst it may look 'nice' the dam design makes it TOTALLY IMPOSSIBLE to play it at a decent volume without the CD skipping due to the bass upsetting the pick up.  Yep B&Os are nice although they are becoming very pretentious now which makes me sad and possibly appealing to the wrong person. Seriously, the iPod rules it's a super way to enjoy music and that's the point - music is to enjoy and share with others around the world. I dare say an iPod connected to a pair of BeoLab 3's will indeed sound very, very good. Try one, you may actually enjoy the experience!

Please don't let this thread degenerate into an argument..

I'm all for a healthy debate - but profanities are not acceptable here and i've just had to delete a post for the first time in a long time.

Thank you.

Lee

Sorry, got carried away shooting holes into the OPs silly and juvenile statements.

i dont think so pal....shooting holes....??!!

if you read all the comments on this thread - its actaully about 50/50 in fact

i have nothing against your opinions or preferences but if your gonna criticize mine, then I'm gonna tear u up :)

i just waiting for you to actually put something about b&o on here.....