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
Beolab 9 | Beolab 8000 | Beolab 6000 | Beolab 2 | Beolab 3 | Beosound 9000 | Beoplay A9 | Beomaster 8000 | Beovox M75, / S75, / S45.2
That would be great, but looking at the current B&O strategies I find it unlikely.
B&O are too small to spend resources on a niche product.
Livingroom: BL3, BL11, BV11-46 Kitchen: Beosound 1 GVA, Beocom 2 Bathroom: M3 Homeoffice: M3, Beocom 2 Library: Beosound Emerge, Beocom 6000 Bedroom: M5, Essence remote Travel: Beoplay E8 2.0, Beoplay EQ, Beoplay Earset
It's interesting isn't it. I couldn't agree more - but it's products like BeoSound 9000 & BeoSond Ouverture that put Bang & Olufsen on the map in the first place.... No unique technology to speak of, but the way in which that technology was executed was unique, and quite frankly pretty cool.
I could see success in the same concept being applied to a turntable in 2019, but sadly not to a multi room streaming app or television system.... A motorised stand just doesn't seem to cut it anymore in terms of differentiating yourself from the competition. And it seems a functional streaming App could be developed by a 12 year old whiz kid from their bedroom computer.
I'm excited about BeoSound Edge, but more for the sound quality than the 'rocking volume control' in what is arguably quite plain & uninspiring in terms of design.
I for one think that putting a unique B&O spin on a turntable (pun intended) could be just what they need! - And who knows, it might even get the audiophiles more excited about products like BeoLab 50 & 90.
Howzit: Do you think a B&O wireless, Google/Alexa turntable will grace us anytime soon?
Do you think a B&O wireless, Google/Alexa turntable will grace us anytime soon?
One of my younger friends asked the same question so I asked my dealer. They said there's no chance of a B&O turntable ever again and to look at the pre-loved market.
Howzit:Yamaha has a new one that is wireless and controllable through Alexa.
That particular Yamaha item is merely a re-badged Chinese OEM item and not worthy of their name, IMHO.
The newly announced GT-5000, on the other hand...
https://uk.yamaha.com/en/products/audio_visual/hifi_components/gt-5000/index.html
AdamS: Howzit:Yamaha has a new one that is wireless and controllable through Alexa. That particular Yamaha item is merely a re-badged Chinese OEM item and not worthy of their name, IMHO. The newly announced GT-5000, on the other hand... https://uk.yamaha.com/en/products/audio_visual/hifi_components/gt-5000/index.html
It's a new product, but the fact that it's merely a basic radial deck, with a crystal controlled AC motor at that, puts it far behind anyof B&Os tangential models when it comes to specs.A good Beogram 8002 would put it back in its box and to the ceiling in shame.That in turn also means, that I don't need one.
Is 223 mm a short arm - well, perhaps if you are used to something longer.Rotation speed deviation 0.1% ... Beogram 8002: 0.003% (with my tachodisc often less).Tracking force?Ease of use?
Its design can be discussed, I suppose.
But no, I cannot imagine B&O producing a new turntable any time soon. And if they did, it would be plastic fantastic andsupport would be gone three years after production.- If they could ever get its software going, that is.
Martin
Rise in vinyl popularity is still a small factor in the entertainment business. It is the smallest of the niche markets until we reach utter insanity and get play in the magnetic tape world. Much better served finding a great old table and cartridge or two and keeping them well-cared for.
As far as pure audio goes, why no love for Brio by Orastream? It is a high-resolution streaming solution that has been around for years. It adjusts your stream to the capability of your network. If you look at neilyoungarchives.com you can try it out for free, as Orastream drives the site.
Does make you wonder what people REALLY want or, better yet, what companies want you to want. Look at how B&O tried with Apple, Spotify, and Deezer to make partnership deals, and got second-class treatment by all 3. The rules of win-win are defined by how the stronger opposer treats the weaker one. Customers don't tend to figure in the equation.
Well, they already make the perfect base for one, the Edge. Turn it on its side, rip out the speaker guts and put in a turntable and arm, voila! Dual use for the aluminum cylinder, what could go wrong?
Jeff
I'm afraid I'm recovering from the BeoVirus.
Since Ford makes the Edge and it includes the B&O by Harman sound system, perhaps they can mount B&O Edge on the back like a spare tire carrier, in matching colors? From the news release, it does seem to be the most innovative design and product in the history of the world.
Jeff: Well, they already make the perfect base for one, the Edge. Turn it on its side, rip out the speaker guts and put in a turntable and arm, voila! Dual use for the aluminum cylinder, what could go wrong?
And no DSP needed 😉
MM
There is a tv - and there is a BV
Millemissen: Jeff: Well, they already make the perfect base for one, the Edge. Turn it on its side, rip out the speaker guts and put in a turntable and arm, voila! Dual use for the aluminum cylinder, what could go wrong? And no DSP needed 😉 MM
What? How could they do the RIAA equalization? They've never done that in the analog domain before!
If B&O made a new turntable, I'd like to think that they would do something clever with it. I could envision an NL devise with connection to the internet to detect what is playing to show the metadata in the B&O iOS app. It would have true track sensing so that we could jump to any given track via the app.
While a turntable might have a niche market and might not be profitable in its sales, it could have the value to B&O of getting the attention of people. There's some value in that. Rather like some of the runway clothes in fashion shows that are really just there to grab attention for the designer. As it's been mentioned earlier in this thread, B&O has lost its visually iconic music systems these days and they need something to grab peoples attention.
And while you're at it, why not make the old datalink BeoGram voice controllable for about 15 euros?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kOmiLpvYp1E
https://github.com/cklit/smartbeogram
Strange that some people like vinyl because of the physical interaction or ceremony of loading the record and placing the stylus, and yet others think that voice control would somehow be compatible with or improve what is essentially a hands-on operation. You would need a juke box for automated voice control to be worthwhile. And let's face it, apart from the tendency for some CD's to be recorded with a flat frequency range, the CD is vastly superior to the vinyl record, as is streaming. All that record cleaning... and yet endless pops from microscopic dust particles and tiny scratches.
Graham
vikinger: Strange that some people like vinyl because of the physical interaction or ceremony of loading the record and placing the stylus, and yet others think that voice control would somehow be compatible with or improve what is essentially a hands-on operation. You would need a juke box for automated voice control to be worthwhile. And let's face it, apart from the tendency for some CD's to be recorded with a flat frequency range, the CD is vastly superior to the vinyl record, as is streaming. All that record cleaning... and yet endless pops from microscopic dust particles and tiny scratches. Graham
I got into that for a time when I went to a VPI turntable and got a record cleaning machine. I had this visceral feeling from the whole ceremony, and that's whht it was, of record listening. I think it was a part of a raging mid life dissatisfaction which resulted in a severe nostalgia for my early days in school playing with records, a kind of rose colored glasses look at my past due to a job I hated in my present. I grew out of it fairly quickly (and changed jobs) and found the VPI, and records in general, annoying, needing constant attention and tweaking and still having pops and ticks creep in. I still have a few records, a shelf about 2 and a half feet of them, and my Beogram 3000 with MMC2. But I rarely play them for the exact reasons you mention. I can sit in my listening spot and bring up my entire CD collection, located now on my Auralic Mini, or Spotify streamed to same, and have infinite music with no effort or hassle. Works for me, although I know many still do enjoy the ritual of vinyl.
christiank: And while you're at it, why not make the old datalink BeoGram voice controllable for about 15 euros? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kOmiLpvYp1E https://github.com/cklit/smartbeogram
I already have all of this via the BLGW. With some simple macros, you can can "Alexa, trigger turntable." And all the other commands.
vikinger: ........and yet others think that voice control would somehow be compatible with or improve what is essentially a hands-on operation........
........and yet others think that voice control would somehow be compatible with or improve what is essentially a hands-on operation........
Yep. I only mention the "wireless" thing because Gen-Z have to have it voice controlled or wireless lest they deem it way, way, way too complicated to figure out. Just watch videos of young adults trying to figure out how to dial a number off a rotary phone. Ironically Gen-Z in part are responsible for the recent vinyl pop. This has been discussed on audiophile discussion panels, where they have held debates on popularity of music, high end audio equipment, and how to keep the high-end audio companies in business.
Adding gimmicks like song names on digital displays etc are all part of the game. My daughter was shocked that i knew the lyrics to songs from 15 or 20 years ago. Music is now listened to passively, as headphones are a mechanism of avoiding social contact, or a security blanket, rather than for listening to music. The turntable however has provided a novelty of gaining interest into music for the very reasons you mentioned, the act of physically interacting with an LP.
I can just imagine what a new turntable from B&O would look like. I shouldn't think it would take that much effort. Even dusting off all their old tech for reuse wouldn't be a bad start. Like someone mentioned, B&Os old turntables are still better than more than half of new ones out there, so why not just open up the archives and just do re-runs at the very least? A lot of famous companies that have iconic products do re-releases. Even B&O re-issued the Beolab 8000 in the form of BL18 somewhat.
It would be fantastic if B&O could re-launch one of their turntable icons. But I heard somewhere that almost all of the original paperwork/drawings were lost once B&O went full on for the CD.
At this point launching a BeoGram would be a waste of time and money... how very much i would like it too. But reality and economics dictate otherwise. Let's also not forget that headcount in B&O was drastically reduced the last couple of years.
Karel.
Nearly half of the vinyls bought in the last years were never played.
Mostly bought for collecting - some as a gift to people, who don’t even have a record player.
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/music/news/half-the-people-buying-vinyl-dont-actually-bother-listening-to-i/
Cleviebaby:Something like this perhaps? Cleve
Cleve
Very good scratch, I like it
Dillen: But no, I cannot imagine B&O producing a new turntable any time soon. And if they did, it would be plastic fantastic andsupport would be gone three years after production.... Martin
But no, I cannot imagine B&O producing a new turntable any time soon. And if they did, it would be plastic fantastic andsupport would be gone three years after production....
Agree! That's the reason why we all have to try to save any B&O vintage turntable we can
Theomaster
Vintage Bang & Olufsen
the_o_master:Very good scratch, I like it Theomaster Vintage Bang & Olufsen
What about those laser turntables? Wouldn't that be a better option for B&O then the regular type? or are those too expensive to make?
1. The laser turntable is hideously expensive, a very challenging problem that's not easy or cheap to build.
2. The initial reports I've read said they performed horribly, picking up horrendous surface noise off the disc. Perhaps improved if still around, but if you have to digitize and filter the output what's the point?
Maybe B&O could outsource turntable production to North Korea? They think LP is a state of the art modern format.
With the converter, and the converter and the BLGW and the Khimo account and IFTTT?