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This is the second Archived Forum which was active between 1st March 2012 and 23rd February 2022
Hi,
I currently have a pair of BL9's connected to my BV11-46 and whist the sound quality of the 9's are very good I do often wonder if the 20's are better? And if better... by how much - a little bit or a LOT!
Has anyone owned both and can comment on if it's worth splashing out on a pair of 20's or would there not be enough notable improvement to warrant the cash?
I would also be interested in peoples opinions on the BL5's vs 9's (or 20's). If the difference is night and day i could be tempted to part-exchange my 9's for a pair of 5's on 0% interest free credit
Thanks
Cheers. What about bass - have the 20's got more than the 9's? Probably stupid question me asking about the bass on the 5's - I imagine they would blow the windows out of the room
LR2015: I imagine they would blow the windows out of the room
Duels: LR2015: I imagine they would blow the windows out of the room And your neighbour's room.
I imagine they would blow the windows out of the room
And your neighbour's room.
haha... wouldn't be a bad idea
I need to go hear the 20's (and possibly 5's). I have a limited budget so may buy a few Play products instead - desperate for a kitchen speaker (BS1 possibly) and a BS2 for the living room. I was realllllly tempted to upgrade our BV11-46 for the Eclipse 55 but I can't get my head around it's technically an LG OLED TV with a B&O speaker. Appealing it is but not at my TV plus another £5k-ish!
Cheers
I find the sound of the 9s to be much warmer and more life like.
Never really liked the 20s they seem to make the music sound more "proceessed" to my ears.
StUrrock: I find the sound of the 9s to be much warmer and more life like. Never really liked the 20s they seem to make the music sound more "proceessed" to my ears.
That's interesting. I would probably want to pair them to the BV11 wirelessly - I wonder if this would have any effect on sound quality? I am happy with the 9's but if there was going to be a marked improvement in sound quality i would buy the 20's. Good to get another opinion - thank you
StUrrock:I find the sound of the 9s to be much warmer and more life like. Never really liked the 20s they seem to make the music sound more "proceessed" to my ears.
Duels: StUrrock: I find the sound of the 9s to be much warmer and more life like. Never really liked the 20s they seem to make the music sound more "proceessed" to my ears. Which just proves what has been said many times - sound is such a personal thing. And why it is so important to listen yourself.
Which just proves what has been said many times - sound is such a personal thing. And why it is so important to listen yourself.
Well said :)
.
i can't find how to edit my reply above.
Have you heard the 5's and if so what is your opinion on them please?
I echo the previous sentiments that sound is a very personal thing. I have both BL9 and BL20. Both are superb speakers. I do find the 9's "warmer" and the sound they produce is "rounder" to my ears, slightly more "natural". But, I have to admit I prefer the punch, control and tightness (forgive me for the lack of appropriate adjectives, as I'm not a professional audio reviewer) of the BL20s. The BL20's bass is also more controlled and tight. I have my BL9's connected to the BV11, and the BL20s are connected to a BS Essence MkII.
Sal: I echo the previous sentiments that sound is a very personal thing. I have both BL9 and BL20. Both are superb speakers. I do find the 9's "warmer" and the sound they produce is "rounder" to my ears, slightly more "natural". But, I have to admit I prefer the punch, control and tightness (forgive me for the lack of appropriate adjectives, as I'm not a professional audio reviewer) of the BL20s. The BL20's bass is also more controlled and tight. I have my BL9's connected to the BV11, and the BL20s are connected to a BS Essence MkII.
Preference is very subjective, it'd be good to listen to both for a fairly long period before deciding. I listened to the BL20 and personally didn't like it as well as my BL9s. For one thing I feel the 9s look better, but regardless of that, to me the 20s had deeper, better bass, but the voicing of the speakers leaned more towards the brighter upper mids/treble which is often associated with both mass market speakers and "audiophile" lines like B&W and sold as having increased "detail." Whether this is good or not is entirely a matter of personal preference, the only thing I'll note is that for me, and many people, it's hard to listen to a speaker voiced like this for extremely long periods of time without getting listener fatigue.You may not recognize it as such, but find yourself only listening for briefer periods of time, whereas my 9s I can listen to all day and half the night and not get fatigued. Personally, I'll forgo some enhanced sonic detail for listenability over long times. B&O used to seem to deliberately steer for this, the attitude is that you want to listen to music for long times, whereas "audiophiles" want to sit and focus intently for shorter times. Difference between philosophies. That seems to have changed a bit lately in Beolab voicing.
Jeff
I'm afraid I'm recovering from the BeoVirus.
Thanks guys for the great replies. I certainly feel better knowing my 9's are well regarded within B&O speakers. I too like the look of them, and possibly prefer them visually to the 20's. It's always difficult when you audition speakers in store I find, because when I bought my 9's (pre-owned) I also listened to 18's, 5's, 20's, and some others etc etc and by the end of it I was exhausted and didn't really know what I was listening too! I went for the 9's in the end because the store gave a good deal on a pre-owned set they had, otherwise I think I would of bought the 20's there and then. This was 2.5 years ago and through looking at the Eclipse it's got me questioning upgrading the speakers! I am soooo tempted by the 5's though...
LR2015:I would also be interested in peoples opinions on the BL5's vs 9's (or 20's).
It also depends on the size of your room...
If it's large, go 5s. Those are 4 ways speakers, so it's not fair to compare them with 3 ways speakers. Add a BL19 to your BL9/20 to really have comparable things.
CB: LR2015:I would also be interested in peoples opinions on the BL5's vs 9's (or 20's). It also depends on the size of your room... If it's large, go 5s. Those are 4 ways speakers, so it's not fair to compare them with 3 ways speakers. Add a BL19 to your BL9/20 to really have comparable things.
Size of room: It's an open plan L shaped room - 23ft long by 20ft (at it's widest).
I also have a BL2 but it does not seem to work with the BL9's. Green light is on but it doesn't produce any bass when watching movies or listening to movies. When B&O initially set the system up it did work with all "speaker" selections on the BV11 but now only works with a customised speaker selection where we omit the BL9's. I've tried everything but it confuses me what i've done wrong. I really need to get B&O back out for a "service" or "re-tune".
You do NOT need a subwoofer with either the 9s or the 20s.
beolion:The 9's have each a 400 watt bass, no need for BL2 at all. I think Geoff Martin mentioned this in another thread. I have the 9's and BL2. I prefer sound without BL2.
I have the 9's and BL2. I prefer sound without BL2.
As I recall he mentioned that one BL9 woofer is equal or better in output ability in the bass than one BL2, and I'd say much more than a BL19.
Jeff:beolion:The 9's have each a 400 watt bass, no need for BL2 at all. I think Geoff Martin mentioned this in another thread. I have the 9's and BL2. I prefer sound without BL2.As I recall he mentioned that one BL9 woofer is equal or better in output ability in the bass than one BL2, and I'd say much more than a BL19.Jeff
BeoNut since '75
Hello
I didn't wrote that the 9/20s need a subwoofer to be better (I don't know !) but that they are not comparable "as this".
Otherwise, you may as well compare bl17s with bl9s...
Believe it or not this is actually a true story... so I went into a dealer (better not to mention which one!) and enquired about upgrading my BL9s to the BL20s when they first came out. He told me not to bother as there was little difference, so I didn't! lol! I always laugh at this as I couldn't believe his honesty and the fact he was so willing to chuck away a sale! But there you go. Now whether or not what he said was true is another matter as sound is a personal experience and everyone will experience these speakers differently and subjectively. For me, I prefer the design of the BL9s and found the sound absolutely incredible. I also found the BL20s absolutely incredible. Could I notice a difference between the two? Yes. Can I describe it? No! I am not an audiophile so wouldn't know how to express the difference. It wasn't better necessarily, just different. Both speakers are beautiful. If I was buying from scratch, i.e. owning neither, and coming from a design perspective I would buy the 9s, if coming from a sound perspective I would buy the 20s but even saying this sounds unfair to the 9s somehow! I think I am just caught up perhaps in wanting the later product. I think the difference is a subtle one but interpret that as you will!
B&O products are V1-32, BS2, H95, E8 and an Essence remote.11-46 now replaced with Sony A90J 65”, Sony HT-A9, Sony UBP-X800M2 and Sony SRS-NS7.
LR2015:I also have a BL2 but it does not seem to work with the BL9's. Green light is on but it doesn't produce any bass when watching movies or listening to movies. When B&O initially set the system up it did work with all "speaker" selections on the BV11 but now only works with a customised speaker selection where we omit the BL9's. I've tried everything but it confuses me what i've done wrong. I really need to get B&O back out for a "service" or "re-tune".
You haven't done anything wrong. The Beo Master product in your setup won't choose the BL2 if you have BL9s as it's not needed. It always makes the optimal choice. The BL9s sub is very powerful. I was absolutely amazed at the bass performance when I first bought them, I played audiophile baseline recordings on youtube (and other sources) through them to test the base capabilities and it handles all of them with ease, it was quite frightening actually just how low it went and how capable it was. Really really impressive.
Jump from BL9s to BL20s? No.
Jump from BL9s to BL5s? Yes! Even with interest credit!
Good luck :)