ARCHIVED FORUM -- March 2012 to February 2022READ ONLY FORUM
This is the second Archived Forum which was active between 1st March 2012 and 23rd February 2022
You can't force a partnership with Apple.
MM
There is a tv - and there is a BV
I'm a HP User and a B&O enthusiast and proud that I've kicked all my apple stuff 2,5 years ago ;-)
Apple has moved from an innovative computer firm to a "consumer only and make big money" firm.
The good Hardware comes from other firms - HP for example ;-)
Apple is more proud to sell the Devialet Phantom (I've heard) and this Beats Crap ...
Oh my, that's highly unfair - one of the UK's most famous radio brands is run 24/7 using one MacBook Pro and the iPhone is still the professionals choice. The new Apple TV is super.
It's sincerely not B&O's fault for not partnering with Apple, how can they when sadly Apple bought BEATS last year? I still don't understand why this happened and I still don't understand the need for Apple to make a stupid watch or implement a streaming music service but hey, that's the greedy world of business I guess.
I'm afraid businesses are out of our hands, if you don't like something, just move on :)
Paul W: It's sincerely not B&O's fault for not partnering with Apple, how can they when sadly Apple bought BEATS last year? I still don't understand why this happened and I still don't understand the need for Apple to make a stupid watch or implement a streaming music service but hey, that's the greedy world of business I guess.
1. What does B&O have to offer apple? Designers? - Maybe. Big maybe.
2. High end $10,000 speakers and $30,000 TV's - God no. Apple tired making and iPod dock. It didn't sell enough to be worth their time.
3. Greed is what a business is. Charging $4000 for the Moment is greed. It hasn't worked out for B&O though. Smart greed has worked for Apple.
Why did apple make the "stupid" Apple Watch? Because customers have been hoping apple would make them for years, that's probably why they have a 97% satisfaction rating and sell 1000x more than android wear
Why did they buy beats? Not for the junkie hardware. Apple redefined how music is sold and consumed in 2001. Music SALES are dropping and streaming climbing. The investors were all screaming for them to offer music streaming. If they didn't offer it someone else would have stole the market.
HP is junk computers. It's embarrassing that B&O puts there name on such low end plastic.
if Apple DID buy B&O I would be thrilled. But I highly doubt they would offer anything other than the beoplay line after that. Too much of a niche, doesn't make enough money compared to anything else Apple offers.
--
BeoLab 18's. Beolab 3's. A8. A9. A2. H7.
The cheap consumers of HP (and many others more) a cheap series - that's not worth whats B&O stands for!
As I've spolen about HP, than I ment the professional series, like the Z Workstations and something like this!
But, I also can't understand why B&O ist fully about streaming music - without any CD drive? I've some songs stored on my phone, but the most is still on CD and Vinyl!
I like to insert the CD, look how they turn, see the sledge moving from one to another... and I think - a CD is still better sounding (I've never heard any losless coded music on an adequate music system, but MP3s aren't good enough to compare with CDs.
smuehli: a CD is still better sounding (I've never heard any losless coded music on an adequate music system, but MP3s aren't good enough to compare with CDs.
a CD is still better sounding (I've never heard any losless coded music on an adequate music system, but MP3s aren't good enough to compare with CDs.
Do you still buy CD's though? The problem is for 95% of people a MP3 is more than good enough as is streaming. You holding onto a handful of your old CD's is not enough of a market for most companies to cater to.
Don't forget the potential for the badge appearing on Automotive products following the sale of that part of the company.. If HP boosts its image with a B&O label , who's next to get it on a car?
Beo Century ,Beoplay V1, Beocenter 6, Ex-Beolit 12, Beotime , A8. Beolit 15 , Form 2i , Beolab 2000, Beoplay A3.Beosound 1
But the automotive part is sold to harmann . . . .
For the CD's: Yes, I'm an old crow - I love the hardware and to know that is mine!
If Apple, or any firm else, one time will fail or think that you've heard this music enough or what so ever will/may/could happen, I've the CD in my bookshelf . . . and there are tons of CDs
I love the latest HP range - they have come a long way. A lot of companies would love to have the HP name.
Have you seen the latest HP Spectre 360 and the X2 - it's a good product and well suited to the HP name. When the 2 announced the partnership, neither of these products were released to the market.
The whole world doesn't have to revolve around Apple. Apple make nice products too - but not every one wants the same product, maybe under communism they do lol.
Maybe most user use an ipad and an iphone, I used them too. But now I hope, that a beomusic unversal app is coming (big wish), because i love win10 and my windowsphone.....
I've made the switch to WinPhone two years ago and - for me - it is the most innovative and fastest GSM-Os ever. Not only fast in terms of the hardware, it's really fast and easy to use! And very secure - more than iOs and Android together.
In the meantime, most of my friends has changed to WindowsPhone - without my advice
They were all former iPhone and/or Android users. . . .
We have enought threads about this topic but Yes, I have the same impression that it's going down the drain and the management tries everything to accelerate it!The world seems to be "blind" when it comes to Apple. You can sell EVERYTHING to the Apple crowd as long as the Apple logo is printed on it!
- iPhone has worse reception than other phones: Nobody cares- Mac mini: All ports and the button on the back. Super duper designer stuff. When I have a look at the newer HP line up: They do look nice, too but they are more practical as there are ports on the front, too: http://mashable.com/2015/05/04/hp-pavilion-pc-bo-play-audio/#vae5ZlsLcuqbThe blue one looks rather nice.- Apple watch: Looks like from a vending machine and the price is a joke. If this watch was brought to the market in the exact same design by another manufacturer, the whole world would have called it "crap". As soon as "Apple" is involved it's cool. - Same goes for those super lousy low fi headphones from "beats". Only marketing and image but NO quality at all. It's just like you are wearing a subwoofer on your head.
The list goes on and on... I sold nearly all of my Apple equipment. I was a fan a few years ago... now I only have an iPad left and some airport express for the kitchen and bathroom. I speak in general, not for the members of our beloved forum! But I can't be the only person seeing this. :-)I think the Apple system works because people in general seem to get dumber and dumber and much more superficial than a few years ago.It's like our society "evolves" into future scenarios we just knew from old sci-fi movies like "running man". Entertainment for the masses to keep them "happy" and away from the few that are in control and have the power. Bang & Olufsen is too small and to weak to act so greedy and dumb like Apple does. But they don't seem to understand that. I BET that there are very talented enigneers and designers and workers which proved for years that they are able to deliver what we want.Now with the Moment or the Beoremote one, I have to ask myself if some of the people in Strue EVER tested the products? It started with the Made in China (yes, we love that topic!) ;-) Besound 3 and continuied with the Beosound 5 and it's unreliable motherboards, slow and irritating software as well as the ugly Moment and its software problems.Would be so nice if Bang & Olufsen develops all the nice software for Android, too. You can not control your Beosound 5 with MLGW when you don't have an iPad. How dumb is that? It should even be possible to control the Beosound 5 comfortably form your PC! Throw a server interface to the Beosound 5 and you could control it with everything that has a webbrowser.
The essence controller and the Beovision 11 are the most beautiful hardware products from B&O today (except the speaker range... they are nearly all beautiful). Tue should have a wall full of defective Beosound 3 as a memorial in the headquarter! :-)Personally I can justify buying Bang & Olufsen stuff only as a hobby! After defective Beosound 5, 2x Beosound 3, Beocom 4, Beotime, Beosound 3000 nobody of my friends and family believes me anymore that you pay for quality! Nobody! Even my wife now thinks that it's just designer crap that is not worth the money. I think that is the WORST thing that can happen to a companys reputation!It breaks my heart to see how B&O goes down the drain...
Regarding phones I'm happy with a Blackberry Passport. I tried an iPhone two times but there are too many restrictions: I can't access my photos like an USB-flash drive when it's connected to a computer - which is VERY bad when your computer crashed and needed to be setup again (Mac) and I had to many locations where my iPhone showed "Emergency calls only" while I could place phone calls, email and text without problems on the Blackberry on the same location. :-)
Let's face it. B&O ran into trouble a long time ago. Selling to either the few with unlimited funds, those who remember how good previous products were and are still influenced by that old halo effect, and more recently going all in for low production cost streaming speakers and the like, including licensing the name to others.
The designs of the 60's and 70's set them apart from all the competition. Some televisions still do that, but as time goes on you can see that the speaker market is where they need to focus, and as I've posted elsewhere, why ignore the still biggest passive speaker market?
Graham
Unfortunately I have to agree with the above.Long ago they stopped working quality products.It bothers me that the service and support incredibly expensive.Latest products do not have FM radio. The EU is not everywhere DAB transmitters.Older people do not have a clue about novelties such as the Internet, radio, CD ripping..ectAt home I have useless BeoSound 3000 where the serial error and does not start.Repairs should be minimum € 250. Helooooo
Unfortunately, like the SAAB.Super company with incompetent leaders.
I'm a fan of B&O for some time ..in my collection are 20 of B&O product...
I do not think i will buy newer products only because of the name and intusiasm.I have BS9000+ BL8000+ B&O woofer in my living room ...and if you ask me one last wooow products.
ok..if the price will be nice i will buy BL5
About the speakers:
There are not so much manufactures on the active speaker market as on the passive part.
And, I think, you're more one under thousands there. What should B&O do?
Sell passive Speakers at the great discounters?
Produce passive speakers, as good sounding as their active variants? Where's the (new) amplifier lineup?
Why should anybody buy the active speakers if the passive sounds and looks great?
Or should they get negative PR because the passive ones are not as good as the active ones?
Or vice versa?
I think, it's embarrasing enough, to find Beoplay at QVC...
B&O is (my opinion) to small to have so many different products! But I miss a classic, CD+FM+DAB, System, with classic bass, treble, loudness switches as on the older Overtuere! It could be a streaming receiver, too, or could have bluetooth functionality for streaming music from smartphones.
And/Or something astonishing as the Beosound 9000 when it came out new!
But I miss a classic, CD+FM+DAB, System, with classic bass, treble, loudness switches as on the older Overtuere! It could be a streaming receiver, too, or could have bluetooth functionality for streaming music from smartphones.
My point about the speakers is simply that B&O made a decision to more or less ignore the passive speaker market. Their speakers, such as the S45s, are still far superior to the speakers currently made by specialists such as Wharfedale. It just looks like an area of the market where they could have maintained a 40 year superior presence without any more research or development costs.
This might have been worth doing despite the fact that B&O have moved away from amplifiers/ tuner amplifiers.
Aussie Michael:I love the latest HP range - they have come a long way. A lot of companies would love to have the HP name. Have you seen the latest HP Spectre 360 and the X2 - it's a good product and well suited to the HP name. When the 2 announced the partnership, neither of these products were released to the market. The whole world doesn't have to revolve around Apple. Apple make nice products too - but not every one wants the same product, maybe under communism they do lol.
jowus: How can B&O partner with HP to make a fine Computer and HP turned around to commercial the Product with Bose Speakers? What're they taking B&O for? Because they know most of their customers don't even care or don't even know B&O Stuff. When Audi wanted better System for their Cars, they didn't just use anybody, they went for the Best. And that's what we know B&O is for. What really change though?
How can B&O partner with HP to make a fine Computer and HP turned around to commercial the Product with Bose Speakers? What're they taking B&O for? Because they know most of their customers don't even care or don't even know B&O Stuff. When Audi wanted better System for their Cars, they didn't just use anybody, they went for the Best. And that's what we know B&O is for. What really change though?
That was an option/an offer, that HO had (maybe still has) with all their products.
Had/has nothing to do with the HP/B&O Play partnershaft.
Please don't overreact because of something, which is quite normal in todays business world.
TWG: We have enought threads about this topic....
We have enought threads about this topic....
On that we can agree ;-))
TWG:We have enought threads about this topic but Yes, I have the same impression that it's going down the drain and the management tries everything to accelerate it! The world seems to be "blind" when it comes to Apple. You can sell EVERYTHING to the Apple crowd as long as the Apple logo is printed on it! - iPhone has worse reception than other phones: Nobody cares - Mac mini: All ports and the button on the back. Super duper designer stuff. When I have a look at the newer HP line up: They do look nice, too but they are more practical as there are ports on the front, too: http://mashable.com/2015/05/04/hp-pavilion-pc-bo-play-audio/#vae5ZlsLcuqb The blue one looks rather nice. - Apple watch: Looks like from a vending machine and the price is a joke. If this watch was brought to the market in the exact same design by another manufacturer, the whole world would have called it "crap". As soon as "Apple" is involved it's cool. - Same goes for those super lousy low fi headphones from "beats". Only marketing and image but NO quality at all. It's just like you are wearing a subwoofer on your head. The list goes on and on... I sold nearly all of my Apple equipment. I was a fan a few years ago... now I only have an iPad left and some airport express for the kitchen and bathroom. I speak in general, not for the members of our beloved forum! But I can't be the only person seeing this. :-) I think the Apple system works because people in general seem to get dumber and dumber and much more superficial than a few years ago. It's like our society "evolves" into future scenarios we just knew from old sci-fi movies like "running man". Entertainment for the masses to keep them "happy" and away from the few that are in control and have the power. Bang & Olufsen is too small and to weak to act so greedy and dumb like Apple does. But they don't seem to understand that. I BET that there are very talented enigneers and designers and workers which proved for years that they are able to deliver what we want. Now with the Moment or the Beoremote one, I have to ask myself if some of the people in Strue EVER tested the products? It started with the Made in China (yes, we love that topic!) ;-) Besound 3 and continuied with the Beosound 5 and it's unreliable motherboards, slow and irritating software as well as the ugly Moment and its software problems. Would be so nice if Bang & Olufsen develops all the nice software for Android, too. You can not control your Beosound 5 with MLGW when you don't have an iPad. How dumb is that? It should even be possible to control the Beosound 5 comfortably form your PC! Throw a server interface to the Beosound 5 and you could control it with everything that has a webbrowser. The essence controller and the Beovision 11 are the most beautiful hardware products from B&O today (except the speaker range... they are nearly all beautiful). Tue should have a wall full of defective Beosound 3 as a memorial in the headquarter! :-) Personally I can justify buying Bang & Olufsen stuff only as a hobby! After defective Beosound 5, 2x Beosound 3, Beocom 4, Beotime, Beosound 3000 nobody of my friends and family believes me anymore that you pay for quality! Nobody! Even my wife now thinks that it's just designer crap that is not worth the money. I think that is the WORST thing that can happen to a companys reputation! It breaks my heart to see how B&O goes down the drain... Regarding phones I'm happy with a Blackberry Passport. I tried an iPhone two times but there are too many restrictions: I can't access my photos like an USB-flash drive when it's connected to a computer - which is VERY bad when your computer crashed and needed to be setup again (Mac) and I had to many locations where my iPhone showed "Emergency calls only" while I could place phone calls, email and text without problems on the Blackberry on the same location. :-)
Millemissen:That was an option/an offer, that HO had (maybe still has) with all their products. Had/has nothing to do with the HP/B&O Play partnershaft. Please don't overreact because of something, which is quite normal in todays business world. MM There is a tv - and there is a BV.
TWG: Regarding phones I'm happy with a Blackberry Passport. I tried an iPhone two times but there are too many restrictions: I can't access my photos like an USB-flash drive when it's connected to a computer - which is VERY bad when your computer crashed and needed to be setup again (Mac) and I had to many locations where my iPhone showed "Emergency calls only" while I could place phone calls, email and text without problems on the Blackberry on the same location. :-)
Lol you are clearly from a different planet if you think Apple is producing junk and the blackberry passport is restriction free :D I'm sure you'll find 2 other people who agree.
Anyway... If Apple was to come out with a product like the moment which is really just a big thick gen 1 iPad and charge the outrageous price that B&O does they would get laughed right out of the market and become nearly bankrupt. Kinda like the situation B&O and blackberry find themselves in right now and for good reason.
Beosound Stage, Beovision 8-40, Beolit 20, Beosound Explore.
Oh oh! This thread is becoming a typical Apple-Fanboy-War . . . .
Please, stop that mine-is-bigger-than-yours and accept that others prefer other manufacturers because of their own decisions . . . .
Chris Townsend:I've been using the Passport for 3 months as a backup phone to my 6s Plus. The 6 betters it in virtually all areas, bar 3. Battery life, reception and call quality. Three things I find rather handy in a phone. Plus anyone who was young enough to remember and appreciate a keyboard, gets one.
Battery life, reception and call quality. Three things I find rather handy in a phone. Plus anyone who was young enough to remember and appreciate a keyboard, gets one.
Good. Enjoy. I'm sure they will fly off the shelves and Blackberry will become the leader once again cuz those things sound great.
Now back to the near bankrupt B&O...
I totally agree with you - B & O equipment made prior to 2000 are still going strong. I have 5500 complete system a complete 3300 system with 60.2 passive speakers and Penta passive speakers and the sound is amazing from both systems. I am no interested in downloading music to MP3 but prefer to listen to CDs, Cassettes and Vinyls whereby you get a clear crystal sound, rather than the 'muffled' softened sound that downloading brings.
If you have the updated new systems too much can go wrong and are unable to find a company to repair it, at least, with the older systems you have capable and excellent companies that are able to repair and service them. The Beosound 1 Laser is a big problem and won't last, but considering the lasers in the 3300, 4500 and 5500 systems they virtually go forever.
With the unreliable wi-fi downloads and the cut-outs that happens regularly when using the Internet forget it.
ProfD
Professor David A Flynn JP LM
Please do not talk about Blackberrys. I had one for 2 years and I couldn't work the damn thing properly. In the end it froze, locked and I lost everything including business contacts. I sincerely HATE that company as I lost A LOT of business on it! 4 years on, I still have my iPhone 4S and its been perfect - my MacBook lasted almost 6 years years with zero problems and roughly 20 years of use crammed into the 6. It was dependable and reliable and thats what I need for business and my own use. I'm loyal to a company like this who's product work and do not cause me worry or stress!
It's all very well talking about CDs but Tue isn't stupid. 9000, 3200, Ouvertures simple WERE NOT SELLING!!! There's plenty of interviews with him on the internet were this is pointed out. B&O will basically like any company, produce products that suit the market. I saw CDs disappear to ripping and iTunes wayyyyyyy back in 2002 at university. The older crowd that likes the traditional B&O of tester year can simply buy second hand ones from Lifestyle but a CD system in todays market from B&O could reduce their sales to beyond recovery for the company.
You must not forget, B&O is not a small company. They have about 2000 employees. B&O can't have too many "niche products". They have to be on time (more or less ).
With their size, B&O is no big player, who can sell cheap systems, but it's to big to produce just systems like..... e.g. LINN (160 employees). Small companies can try to cover a niche. If they sell 1000 systems a year, they survive. A company with 2000 employees can't do that.
And CD players for example are a niche product now, B&O has to go modern ways like streaming players (which can be paid) to reach the salary number they need
I'm sorry, and maybe I'm to old school, but when I have a look as the lokal electronic discounter - the shelfes are filled up with CD Players AND Streaming receiver (mostly bluetooth powerd speakers like beolit).
I believe, there's a place for a stunning new device that is able to handle both and for the regrowing vinyl lovers, with an phono-MM-input! Then its the part of the PR to sell this thing, and I'm sure - they will!
Paul W: Please do not talk about Blackberrys. I had one for 2 years and I couldn't work the damn thing properly. In the end it froze, locked and I lost everything including business contacts. I sincerely HATE that company as I lost A LOT of business on it! 4 years on, I still have my iPhone 4S and its been perfect - my MacBook lasted almost 6 years years with zero problems and roughly 20 years of use crammed into the 6. It was dependable and reliable and thats what I need for business and my own use. I'm loyal to a company like this who's product work and do not cause me worry or stress!
Millemissen: TWG: We have enought threads about this topic.... On that we can agree ;-)) MM
Finally!
smuehli: I'm sorry, and maybe I'm to old school, but when I have a look as the lokal electronic discounter - the shelfes are filled up with CD Players AND Streaming receiver (mostly bluetooth powerd speakers like beolit). I believe, there's a place for a stunning new device that is able to handle both and for the regrowing vinyl lovers, with an phono-MM-input! Then its the part of the PR to sell this thing, and I'm sure - they will!
Yes, I'm feeling and seeing the same. Companies like Pioneer or Onkyo even release NEW devices with CD-Players integrated AND streaming capability. And if you have a look at the competition of Yamaha (Musiccast even 10years ago and the new 2015 Musiccast) or Sonos, you have to wonder why B&O struggles to built reliable multiroom with modern sources. And if you ever tried out the old Yamaha Musiccast system or the Sonos solution you know that there is zero latency, no matter if you use it wired or wireless. The Yamaha Systems even can send(!) Bluetooth streams in case you have Bluetooth headphones at home or Bluetooth speakers. So, there seems to be a market. And nowadays "CD" could mean for B&O "Blu-Ray, DVD, CD, MP3, FLAC... " playable from a physical round data medium.The Moment looks like "Hey, we hadn't time to integrate that cheap chinese Android tablet good enough into the surface" - and it acts like a cheap chinese something. :-( Nobody of the younger generation would buy that thing and after the experience with it, I'm feeling the same. If you need streaming from B&O the Essence is the best system today. For Internetradio and streaming I'm meanwhile using a Pioneer N50 as it is more reliable than my Beosound 5. Unbelievable. :-(I don't know if Tue is stupid or not, but his decisions are.
Well it';s just as well everyone doesn't like the same stuff or this would be a boring place. I am not dumb but love Apple products. I work from home and using a MAC it is much easier than my work laptop which runs windows, stalls, crashes and constantly does updates - in fact I I find windows really unproductive compared to the mac. All my friends have iPhones so it easy to stream to my system, one friend doesn't and he has had problems streaming.
So sticking my neck out - Apple is better because they control the manufacture of the hardware and software and it all integrates properly. The rest will never have that as they all produce different hardware and it is all different quality. So the reason why, we on this forum love B&O is for the same reasons I love Apple - I want stuff that integrates, is well thought out, good quality and works. not buying Apple for me would be like thinking I may as well go out and buy a pair of speakers from one manufacturer and and amplifier from another, cd from someone else. Anyway, each to their own, but very annoying when people start saying Apple is rubbish, its the same as people who say B&O is just philips inside, or it's all design.
TWG:The Moment looks like "Hey, we hadn't time to integrate that cheap chinese Android tablet good enough into the surface" - and it acts like a cheap chinese something. :-(
I agree with you on the looks of the Moment / Jukebox. I do think B&O could have done a much better job integrating the tablet into the aluminum casing, maybe make it flush glass like the display on a Beosound 5. I'm really sure that folks would pay for a more fleshed out design. But I think there are more than a few members here who -- with recent software updates -- are very very happy with how the Moment is behaving.
Although I know for me I made the right decision with the Essence, I might have made a different decision if when I had a chance to play with the Moment, it had today's software.
Speaking of software, didn't B&O hire a company to outsourse the user interface of the Moment or something like that? Why does that seem familiar? What were the results? Or are the results the fast and furious software updates?
It's like déjà vu all over again.
Andrew: Well it';s just as well everyone doesn't like the same stuff or this would be a boring place. I am not dumb but love Apple products. I work from home and using a MAC it is much easier than my work laptop which runs windows, stalls, crashes and constantly does updates - in fact I I find windows really unproductive compared to the mac. All my friends have iPhones so it easy to stream to my system, one friend doesn't and he has had problems streaming. So sticking my neck out - Apple is better because they control the manufacture of the hardware and software and it all integrates properly. The rest will never have that as they all produce different hardware and it is all different quality. So the reason why, we on this forum love B&O is for the same reasons I love Apple - I want stuff that integrates, is well thought out, good quality and works. not buying Apple for me would be like thinking I may as well go out and buy a pair of speakers from one manufacturer and and amplifier from another, cd from someone else. Anyway, each to their own, but very annoying when people start saying Apple is rubbish, its the same as people who say B&O is just philips inside, or it's all design.
I had an iMac i7 27" with Mac OS 10.8 and it crashed from time to time like a Windows machine... my Mac mini with 10.6 also crashed. They are all just computers with software so it's in their nature that there are errors which causes them to crash. I have used Apple computers for more than 10 years and have the same experience with Windows machines. Apple only buys hardware components (CPU, Ram, displays, drives..) and if you know how to get your work done, it doesn't matter which OS runs on your machine. On my iMac I hated the glossy display so much... it didn't allow you to work in well lit environments and the USB-Ports on the back are simply a dumb move and shows that the designer don't care about people who really work with their machines and use external hardware... they even don't seem to care about comfortable using USB flash drives or harddrives. Apples quality and "spirit" is not the same as a few years ago... the death of Steve Jobs was and still seem to be a problem for the company. I sold many of my Apple stuff as it isn't better or more reliable due to my experience. But Apple users seem to ignore anything which could be negative about their company...!?I know the truth hurts but some machines from B&O are just rebadged!- DVD2 = Philips machine http://www.beoworld.org/prod_details.asp?pid=1241- Beosound 6: Samsung MP3 playerQuality at B&O? Have a look at the Made in China Beosound 3: I bought two of them, both dead after ~5 years of light use. And I'm not alone... the Beosound 3 has such a lousy quality. Just search this forum to see how many defective units are out there. Beosound 5: Mainboard failure 2 times...Even if you love a company and their products you can not close your eyes and look away if they're making heavy mistakes!I would be highly interested how you explain to a customer why the B&O radio costs 6x times more than a simple e.g. Tivoli radio but dies after such a short time. If you use the words "quality" they will simply laugh at you and don't take you serious! As I said before: This is the WORST thing that can happen to you as a company, especially if you try to be "luxury", "quality"... at this point it simply is design and style but NO substance!
kai:Im not keen on the new products especially the moment for me I just don't like it, the other problem seems to be that they are discontinuing a lot of parts, which wont please customers
I think though that a lot of quality issues can be down to how the product is used, the environment it is in etc. etc. etc. Same with computers, I use MS for MAC Office software and it runs just fine, the macbook is connected to two monitors and enables me to work. My work laptop runs far more software and stuff so I guess is bound to crash a lot so my perception is that the Mac is better. Anyway as others have said, it's all been discussed before.
Like others I dont have any desire to buy new products when I can integrate other stuff into my existing B&O setup (i.e AE and DAC and iPad and I have wireless streaming, radio etc all over the house) But I hope that they do well. Cant help but think the move to manufacturing in China, selling stuff in Argos and QVC does cheapen the image but then if you have to do that to survive because your main products aren't selling in enough quantities because the price is high, because of the costs involved then what do you do?
Here's an idea - maybe the B&O logo should be removed from the PLAY range and they come up with something else to make it clear that it is a cheaper alternative? It has worked before take Rolex, Panasonic and Toyota?