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B&O rewrites the loudspeaker rule book

Yank said:
They've had it in sound reinforcement speakers for a few years, I suppose it's about time for it to trickle down to consumer electronics. Just like the cardioid bass in the Kii Three is another concept that trickled down from pro audio.
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They've had it in consumer speakers for a years, I suppose it's about time for it to trickle down to sound reinforcement!!!

AR Magic
 
Not really. Your examples are about beam steering, or about controlling (limiting) the radiation in specific directions.

In domestic audio 'programmable directivity' is what you need when you want to realise one on-axis frequency curve, and at the same time a number of off-axis curves, all to their specific targets, and without cross-pollution. This allows to optimise the speaker's power response in any given room, while maintaining on-axis flatness. This is one of the 'big audio problems waiting to be solved' since the 80s or so. B&O seem to have made a start with it.
 
Thanks for starting the thread! Having been told my B&O Moment is ready to collect, and owning a pair of Beolab 8000 speakers, I started reading the link quite excitedly. Not realising their size/price, my mind started to think "perhaps get a pair for the bedroom" then when I realised the number of speakers built in, my mind started to think "these are going to be way out of my league" and yes, I was right.
A refreshing change to the conventional square wooden box though. I agree that B&O is not the absolute last word in sound quality, but for the people who knock it without hearing it, go have a listen, you might be surprised to learn it is not as naff as you perhaps imagine!!
 
That will be Beveridge from the 1960s?

My point was more that the "pro" companies aren't always first. AR were using electronics to control off axis sound combined with controlled directional output from the various higher frequency units. This gives the speaker control over its various off axis FRs. There is less optimisation but we are talking about technology that is 30 years old and without DSP. I'm claiming that one for domestic hifi!!
 
Wow nice design! (Don't like the looks though). Damn.. I've had an idea like this for ages and never got around to building it.
 
It also might be worth mentioning that one of Bruno Putzeys' new projects involves trying to digitally wave guide the sound. Stuff's way beyone my paygrade.
 
Purite Audio said:
Bruno Putzeys new design are nothing like as expensive as the Beolabs, £7.5k for a complete system,
Keith.
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Sorry didn't see previous post, I suppose they are nothing the size either!

Back on topic, the Beolab looks like a fascinating speaker from an engineering perspective certainly nothing like it on the market. Their top end stuff is astonishing in sound no "lifestyle" about it!
 
I understand that they're not in the same category either sound wise or size wise, but the point is that they're both credible designers working to implement digitally-designed wave guides for the purposes of manipulating speaker/room interactions and the way the sound is altered to suit the listener.

This is the kind of technology that would have most of us spooked, but as processing speeds improve and implementation improves it might very well prove a real force to be reckoned with.
 
Yomanze said:
Sorry didn't see previous post, I suppose they are nothing the size either!

Back on topic, the Beolab looks like a fascinating speaker from an engineering perspective certainly nothing like it on the market. Their top end stuff is astonishing in sound no "lifestyle" about it!
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I totally agree - understandably, I'm a little biased being a B&O owner - however I came to B&O like a lot of other B&O owners, after decades of dallying about with the hype and 'emperors new clothes syndrome' of the so called audiophile world, chasing the promised pot of gold at the end of the audiophile rainbow, only to discover that there wasn't one, and that I'd spent an awful lot of time and money in the process.

I'm not going to tell people that B&O is the be all and end all of audio/AV systems, however on pure audio performance my Beolabs consummately outdoes what I've owned before, (and I've had some very highly regarded and expensive audiophile systems) and provides a level of overall ownership satisfaction I've not found previously in the near 50 odd years I've been involved in audio as a hobby/interest that grew out of my love of music and training in the classical field.

But back on topic; this site has four video clips on the new Beolab 90 that will likely be of interest as well as the 65 page white paper.

Please enjoy..

https://www.youtube.com/user/recordere/videos


John...
 
merlin said:
Flagship loudspeakers from B&O have, for some time, been remarkably advanced and fine sounding devices.

They are typically written off by hifi snobs out of nothing but ignorance. I look forward to hearing these at some point. I'm sure they will be impressive.
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I have auditioned the latest B & O speakers and the kindest thing I can say is that I did not like them both SQ & appearance plus the absurd prices..
 
There's an article in the Nov issue of Stereophile written by a staff writer (I think it was Kalman Rubinson) who was invited to Struer, B&O's HQ in Denmark to listen to their new speakers. The writer was quite impressed.

On a separate note, I've actually visited B&O's HQ when they celebrated their 75th anniversary (Jean Michel Jarre was among their guests of honour, including the Danish queen). The factory was spotless and they take tremendous pride in their design abilities.

They manufacture high-quality, elegant and very listenable hifi.
 
Singslinger said:
There's an article in the Nov issue of Stereophile written by a staff writer (I think it was Kalman Rubinson) who was invited to Struer, B&O's HQ in Denmark to listen to their new speakers. The writer was quite impressed.

On a separate note, I've actually visited B&O's HQ when they celebrated their 75th anniversary (Jean Michel Jarre was among their guests of honour, including the Danish queen). The factory was spotless and they take tremendous pride in their design abilities.

They manufacture high-quality, elegant and very listenable hifi.
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I visited B & O factory in Denmark when they introduced their tangential/Linear tracking pickup arm turntable. IMO their designs especially on TV,s etc have gone from excellent to awful.
 
Jonboi said:
James, I think you'll find there's 3 x 10 Scanspeak bass drivers and 1 x 13" Scan speak bass driver in each unit.
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Unless you're looking at a different model, the one on the linked website shows three 212mm (8") woofers and one 260mm (10") sub-woofer.
 
IMO, we should be grateful really that B&O continue to have an R & D department that focuses on making genuine steps forward in musical replay and whose work filters down to the average man in the street.

Their development for instance of ICE power has, over the past decade or more, led to superior sound being made available to those with no real passion for audio. Those who listen in the car or on a portable. It's this that encourages an interest in the more esoteric side of audio reproduction in later life so such developments are good news for the whole industry. I have little doubt that the work on the Beolab 90 will be seen in a similar light in years to come.

As for televisions, I made an annual trip to John Lewis yesterday and was shocked at just how bad modern flat screens are when it comes to colour fidelity and natural contrast levels (even allowing for the hype of the shop floor). I'll be sticking with my ancient Pioneer plasma and if I still had my Loewe 32" CRT I'd be even happier.
 
I hope the New One will be employed as a research tool. For a given room and speaker/listener positioning, what are the optimal power response and fully-around radiation patterns? The results could trickle down to non-configurable more conventional speakers, eahc targetted at a specific space and application.
 
I've just had a look at the flyer in the first post. Very interesting and I'd love to hear a pair. I must admit I'm more than a little skeptical of having that many drivers in anything (I tend to be in the 'as few as possible' camp), but I'd certainly like to hear them. In fact I'd like to hear any of their current range as I've not heard any of the B&O room-correcting actives yet.
 
merlin said:
As for televisions, I made an annual trip to John Lewis yesterday and was shocked at just how bad modern flat screens are when it comes to colour fidelity and natural contrast levels (even allowing for the hype of the shop floor). I'll be sticking with my ancient Pioneer plasma and if I still had my Loewe 32" CRT I'd be even happier.
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+1 for the Plasma, ours is a Panasonic, superb colour fidelity and contrast.

Mr ED
 
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