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Is the Beosound stage any good at music on it's own?
I recently walked into a b&o store to find an audio solution for my living room, but I walked out more confused than when i went in.
There are so many great looking speakers. i REALLY wanted an a9 or an edge. (The level also looks so great in gold). but if I drop a considerable amount of money on one or all of them, I would still need a sound bar for my tv. It seems total overkill to have a stage PLUS one of the others in a medium size living room in an apartment. The only realistic one-box B&O solution is a stage on it's own but...I have the feeling it's a massive compromise and not the best soundbar nor the best music system.
If anyone has one I'd be really interested to know how it performs for music compared to a9/stereo/beolabs (I'd love BL18s but they're out of my budget), or even just a pair of decent hifi speakers. And for movies, is it better than a sonos arc or other atmos soundbars? Thanks!
The Stage is in the first place intended as a soundbar and therefor the sound is very directed to the area in front of it. Sound quality for music is very good as long as the room is not too big and more or less rectangular. For bigger rooms or in situations where you are listening with the Stage not oriented to you the A9 performs better in my opinion. In terms of bass, to me the Stage sounds more accurate than the A9. The level has a very similar sound signature to the Stage but is obviously not as powerful.
Compared to other soundbars, the Stage is the best performing stand alone soundbar I have heard, it's not even comparable to Sonos or Samsung. It has some musicality that other systems just can't match. For me, the only missing feature is the ability to add additional surround speakers.
Thanks Frederik. That's really helpful. i hadn't expected the stage to be quite so good as a soundbar. I definitely agree that's it's super frustrating that you can't wirelessly add other speakers to make a proper surround system.
I'm still confused about what to buy...
There are rumours that at some point a new Stage will be released which could be extendable, but nobody knows when that would be released. Just for your information, the current Stage is not extendable for TV, but it is for music. In a bigger room for example you could combine a Stage with e.g. a Balance, Level or A9 to better fill to room.
In general, if you are looking for a solution for both TV sound and music the Stage is definitely the best option. If you will use it mostly for music than the A9 might be a better option. The A9 is also a nice piece of furniture, the Stage on its own is a little more difficult to integrate.
If you want stereo sound but don't want to go for new 18s or 28s you could also consider 2nd hands Beolab 8000s or Beolab 9s (or Beolab). These are relatively affordable and still exceptional speakers. For streaming music you can combine them with a Core to use them with Airplay, Spotify, TuneIn, etc.
I have used a Stage as a primary music speaker for about nine months now in a large bedroom. I find it works beautifully; it sits on a long dresser and complements the form and aesthetic of the dresser itself. I have the special edition black one. It complements the grays and blacks in the room as well. The quality of the sound is quite high and, in my opinion, better than the A9 would be.
Stage is very good for music. In fact it’s the best sounding soundbar for the price range.
I had the same dilemma a while ago but didn’t go for it mainly because the lack of Spotify Connect. Now that it has, after recent software update, seems like a pretty good deal. Too bad they raised the price.
The only choice that will beat the Stage is a pair of “preloved” Beolab 17s. That’s what I got instead, but you need a Beosound Core to integrate them as a music/movies system. That will bump the final price a little above the Stage but in my opinion it justifies the extra spending. You will get a proper stereo imaging and a lot more bass at higher volumes. There’s 90db vs. 86db bass capacity in favor of the 17s.
Remember with Beosound Stage that the "Music" listening mode is perceptually very different from the "Movie" mode for 2.0-channel input material.
Which you'd prefer to use is entirely up to your preference; however, if you're evaluating a Stage with a 2.0-channel music signal, be sure to check it with different listening modes before you make any life-altering decisions.
Cheers-geoff
Geoff Martin:Which you'd prefer to use is entirely up to your preference;
I'm apparently from the Department of Redundancy Department...
-g
Geoff Martin: Remember with Beosound Stage that the "Music" listening mode is perceptually very different from the "Movie" mode for 2.0-channel input material. Which you'd prefer to use is entirely up to your preference; however, if you're evaluating a Stage with a 2.0-channel music signal, be sure to check it with different listening modes before you make any life-altering decisions.
Maybe it is useful to add that you can set the listening mode depending on the input source. For example, Netflix would default to "Movie" but TuneIn or line in to "Music".
Also there is quite a perceptual difference between "Music" and "Optimal". I am not sure what technically the difference is, but for radio listening for example I prefer "Optimal" over "Music". As said however, you have to try it yourself and choose the settings that best match your preferences.
Geoff Martin:I'm apparently from the Department of Redundancy Department... -g
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thanks. i hadn't thought of combining with level, balance, a9 for music. that's a good idea. also, a good idea to think about beolab 8000s etc. There seem to be a ton of them online for sale.
thanks pig30n. I hadn't realised the 17s were so strong. That's something that confuses me a little about current trends, do you lose stereo imaging with a stage, a9, edge, etc? and is it something that's missed?
I replaced a Beolab 3500 with the Stage. Placed in the kitchen above the windows appr. 30 cm from the ceiling, I was worried about how it would sound... It is FANTASTIC og not to be compared with the 3500 AT ALL. Stereo image is surprisingly clear, not to mention the bass and general output. Very happy with the one-box solution at this placement. I use Airplay 2 along with my Beosound 1, Eclipse/Beolab 9. Go for it!