Hellu B&O people 

 

First of all - thanks for this site, its really handy

 

Now to the problem; How to choose between the BL 8000 & the BL 3?

I mean,, the design aswell the sound in the BL 8000 is magic,, but i fear

the day when we are parents! I wont let our child play near the speakers

& the problem is that U cant be around them all the time!

The BL 3's are also fantastic (though the design isnt as magic like the BL 8000's)

but the advantage is that they can be placed on the wall  =)

So,, the question is - DO WE MISS ANYTHING IF WE CHOOSE TO GO WITH THE BL 3'S in the sound

I almost forgot,, we will use a Beocenter 9500 with the speakers!

 

Best regards

Mathias, Sweden

I have Pentas and have had no problems with either children or dogs as far as they are concerned. It takes quite a bit to knock over an 8000 so if you prefer them, get the 8000s. The 3s are excellent speakers but will not produce quite the same sound pressure in a larger room. It does depend on how loud you like your music! Of course Pentas are another option!

Hi Peter,

I bow to your greater experience when it comes to loudspeakers, but I thought that the BL3's would produce more sound than the 8000's?

Don't they have much larger ICEpower amps (250W each) compared with the analogue 8000's?

I think the 8000 vs 3 debate will always be personal opinion - but if I was taking one pair of speakers out to make the most 'noise' it would be my 3's, as the 8000's always sound a little 'fragile' when cranked up loud?

Thank u for your fast reply Peter!

 

I know that the Penta are a really good speaker, but

i have allways been in love with the BL 8000's!

It's interesting that u say that the sound pressure is better

in the BL 8000's,, i understand that the midrange is

more powerful in the BL 8000's!

But how about the overall sound,, even at low volumes????

At work so I don't remember completely but the sound pressure generated by 8000s is about 99dBa , Pentas 101dBa, and BL3s were about 95dBa. This is a big difference but to be honest, no-one really uses this sort of level. Most sound pressure is at the lower end of the frequency scale - the BL2 can produce more than the Pentas - and this is why you need to take power outputs with a pinch of salt. Yes the BL3 has two ICE amplifiers rated at 125W, but one is going through the small tweeter and will probably not produce much more than 1W . B&O stopped producing sound pressure levels when the BL3 came out!!

Have a listen to them. I've found that the BeoLab 3s tend to go deeper than the 8000s, and produce more bass, and are also generally faster and more detailed - better for electronic/rock music!

However if classical music or jazz is your thing, you'll probably prefer the 8000s, they're 'smoother', but IMO an 'older' sound, don't touch the 3s when it comes to detail, and powerful snappy basslines (the BeoLab 3s can be really quite fantastic for this, even in the lower-end of large rooms). For large rooms though, BeoLab 8000s will generally be better as they don't tend to 'scream' at higher volumes, whilst the BeoLab 3s can start to sound pretty 'strained' at higher volumes.

With a subwoofer though, I'd always prefer the 3s, but all above is mostly personal preference which is the most important thing when choosing speakers. Have a listen to the speakers yourself, and if your dealer will let you (most will), try the speakers out at home with the kind of music you listen to, at the kind of volumes you prefer.

I cant stop my kids touching the gloss black kitchen units which leave hand prints all over, but they know the B&O speakers, sterio and TV is a definate NO NO as far as touching or messing with. They have learnt this from day one, so im sure you can teach any future children the same principles. Get the 8000's.

Hear, hear! (Here,here)(we never did sort that one out)
Both my grand children, one nearly 5 years and the other 18 months, know not to touch my Pentas, Avant or 8000s.
The trick to training them, is down to the method you use to rock them to sleep..............................

 

 

 

....................Use a bigger rock!

Andy T.

I start by saying - Thank you all for your reply's...

 

 We're stuck,, it's not a "light" choise to make,,

we're concerned about the sound & looks,,

we care about the placement,, but it's wrong

to let the placement choose..........

 

Aghhhhhhhhhhhhhh,, we are really stuck

Beolab 9s? Squatter but better sound and probably more child friendly.

Peter:

Beolab 9s? Squatter but better sound and probably more child friendly.

"Daddy? Can the penguins sleep in my room tonight?" 

soundproof:

Peter:

Beolab 9s? Squatter but better sound and probably more child friendly.

"Daddy? Can the penguins sleep in my room tonight?"

Choosing between the BL 8000's and BL 3's is hard. Personally I would favour BL 8000's, but I think Peter has a good point with the BL 9's. They are better than the 8000's and 3's.

I agree with Peter about the BeoLab 9s. Superior to the 3s and 9s in every way, and much more stable...

mAtHiAs:

Thank u for your fast reply Peter!

 

I know that the Penta are a really good speaker, but

i have allways been in love with the BL 8000's!...

If you have decided for the BL8000, but only fear they could fall (which is very unlikely to happen) you should get them. Otherwise you will always regret not to have bought them. And they are fantastic speakers. 

Dear All:

 

There is a bracket that will allow you to wall mount the BL 8000s.  The cool thing about the wall bracket is that you'll just see the tip touching the floor.  The visual effect is fantastique.

Dario 

Dario, do you now where i can buy the wall mount for BL 8000s ?

 

Regards 

I know about the wall/celling bracket,, but i think that i takes away to much of the magic in the BL 8000's.

Offcourse we have  the alternatives,, the BL 9's,, but the price range is a little bit to high & in my eye's

the BL 9's arent as magic in the design as the BL 8000's... Or are they

I don't think it helps the performance much to have the BL8000s attached to a wall ...

soundproof:

I don't think it helps the performance much to have the BL8000s attached to a wall ...

 

could be true, soundproof.

But I have never heard of or seen a bracket for BL8000. I know there is one for the BL6000, but for the BL8000. Are you sure about this? 

tom:

soundproof:

I don't think it helps the performance much to have the BL8000s attached to a wall ...

 

could be true, soundproof.

But I have never heard of or seen a bracket for BL8000. I know there is one for the BL6000, but for the BL8000. Are you sure about this? 

As you, I only know of the one for BL6000. But there's a post above claiming there is one for BL8000. I'd use the BL6000 one if I used those for surround, but not as front speakers, as I think they sound better (6000 and 8000) when they're free from the wall. 

I have seen pictures (on the old forum I believe) of 8000's ceiling mounted (upside down)!

They were certainly striking although I'm not sure I would do it myself

Puncher, I believe this is what you mean. Another one here

Yup - not sure they are the same pictures (or even the same installation) but that was the idea.

 Having seen them again though they seem plainer than I remember - definitely wouldn't do it myself!

See this link for a pic of the BL 8000's mounted in the celling,, no magic like i said!

www.bang-olufsen.com/beocustom/home.asp?sorted=1&projID=67&book=1&typeID=&projCont=&country=&locID=&strCont=&country2=

They look peculiar without the base block. I thought the ceiling mount picture I had seen still included the base blocks (although I could have dreamt it).