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Hi BeoWorlders, I was googling this morning to find info about speaker placement for my Pentas and came across this article, published in 1987 by the Chicago Tribune. It does summarize all the good things I think about my Pentas..enjoy: QUOTE New B&o Penta Speakers Stand Tall In Sight And Sound
Hi BeoWorlders,
I was googling this morning to find info about speaker placement for my Pentas and came across this article, published in 1987 by the Chicago Tribune. It does summarize all the good things I think about my Pentas..enjoy:
QUOTE
Tired of the same old loudspeakers, Bunky? Row after row of boring rectangular boxes finished in vinyl or wood veneer? Put some pizzazz in your life. Rub shoulders with the new Bang & Olufsen Penta speakers, and you`ll never regard speakers as dull again.
The almost 6-foot-tall B&O Pentas defy the ordinary. They designed these speakers for listeners with vision.
technology.`` Now I envision B&O workers stacking up lots of rectangular boxes and blowing them up. Out of the ashes rises the Penta. Loudspeakers frustrated B&O for decades. This Danish company established its reputation with unique designs, quality construction and respectable performance. The company created novel concepts for receivers, turntables and cassette decks. Some were selected for display at the Museum of Modern Art in New York. But for all its brains, technology and fancy measuring equipment, B& O`s speakers kept coming out rectangular molded plastic covered with a rosewood veneer. Not only that, but many models just didn`t sound competitive with British and American speakers. The Penta is an active (powered) loudspeaker. That means each speaker includes its own 150-watt amplifier, which powers the four 5-inch woofers, four 3-inch midranges and single 1-inch tweeter. All this is housed in a graceful, pentagonally shaped brushed stainless-steel column less than 6 inches wide and deep. A variety of inputs permits you to connect the speaker outputs of your present amplifier or receiver, the line output of any preamplifier or the custom-matched B&O system, which can include the Master Control Link remote. When used with the B&O system, a large, bright, light-emitting diode (LED) display in the middle of the column flashes to life indicating the music source (tuner, tape, CD, phono) and the power level. Additional lights indicate overload and activation of the protection circuit, which work no matter what equipment supplies the speaker. The speaker turns itself on automatically, indicated by a small green LED at the bottom of the column, when it detects an electrical signal (sound) from the source. After a few minutes of silence the speaker shuts off and a red LED shines. A cleverly concealed control panel at the base of the speaker includes three 3-position switches, allowing you to match the speaker`s sensitivity to the input source, the bass level and manual power off/auto/link to the B&O system. If you supply the Pentas from the speaker outputs of an existing amp or receiver, you may not benefit from the full quality of the Penta amplifiers because they will amplify any distortion they receive. Normally only the sound of a speaker matters. The visually stunning Penta shatters the concept. If you desire a conversation piece or a piece of modern high-tech art, try resisting this speaker. Of course your decor determines its suitability for your room; connoisseurs of Early American or French Provincial might not be enamored of the Penta`s modern design. The Penta reveals its sonic heritage as a Danish speaker. The sound tends to be a bit bright. It can accentuate the harshness on certain CDs. The bass, however, is substantial and authentic. The low frequencies are impressive rather than oppressive. The accurate midrange, although somewhat forward, portrays very lifelike voices. These speakers display remarkable ``phase coherency,`` meaning that all the frequencies reach your ears at the same time. This results in superb clarity. The Penta seems to reveal every bit of natural ambience inherent in a recording. You can actually hear the room or studio in which the sound was recorded. The high-tech design and novel shape of the Penta make placement less critical than with many loudspeakers. The closest speaker to this sound is also an active, pentagonally shaped speaker, the John Bowers Active 1, which costs considerably more. When you enter the stereo store you won`t have to ask which are the $2,600-per-pair B&O Pentas. Standing tall, gleaming in the track lights, they beg you to stroke their silvery surface and turn them on. UNQUOTE
Loudspeakers frustrated B&O for decades. This Danish company established its reputation with unique designs, quality construction and respectable performance. The company created novel concepts for receivers, turntables and cassette decks. Some were selected for display at the Museum of Modern Art in New York. But for all its brains, technology and fancy measuring equipment, B& O`s speakers kept coming out rectangular molded plastic covered with a rosewood veneer. Not only that, but many models just didn`t sound competitive with British and American speakers.
The Penta is an active (powered) loudspeaker. That means each speaker includes its own 150-watt amplifier, which powers the four 5-inch woofers, four 3-inch midranges and single 1-inch tweeter. All this is housed in a graceful, pentagonally shaped brushed stainless-steel column less than 6 inches wide and deep. A variety of inputs permits you to connect the speaker outputs of your present amplifier or receiver, the line output of any preamplifier or the custom-matched B&O system, which can include the Master Control Link remote.
When used with the B&O system, a large, bright, light-emitting diode
(LED) display in the middle of the column flashes to life indicating the music source (tuner, tape, CD, phono) and the power level. Additional lights indicate overload and activation of the protection circuit, which work no matter what equipment supplies the speaker.
The speaker turns itself on automatically, indicated by a small green LED at the bottom of the column, when it detects an electrical signal (sound) from the source. After a few minutes of silence the speaker shuts off and a red LED shines.
A cleverly concealed control panel at the base of the speaker includes three 3-position switches, allowing you to match the speaker`s sensitivity to the input source, the bass level and manual power off/auto/link to the B&O system. If you supply the Pentas from the speaker outputs of an existing amp or receiver, you may not benefit from the full quality of the Penta amplifiers because they will amplify any distortion they receive.
Normally only the sound of a speaker matters. The visually stunning Penta shatters the concept. If you desire a conversation piece or a piece of modern high-tech art, try resisting this speaker. Of course your decor determines its suitability for your room; connoisseurs of Early American or French Provincial might not be enamored of the Penta`s modern design.
The Penta reveals its sonic heritage as a Danish speaker. The sound tends to be a bit bright. It can accentuate the harshness on certain CDs. The bass, however, is substantial and authentic. The low frequencies are impressive rather than oppressive. The accurate midrange, although somewhat forward, portrays very lifelike voices. These speakers display remarkable ``phase coherency,`` meaning that all the frequencies reach your ears at the same time. This results in superb clarity.
The Penta seems to reveal every bit of natural ambience inherent in a recording. You can actually hear the room or studio in which the sound was recorded. The high-tech design and novel shape of the Penta make placement less critical than with many loudspeakers.
The closest speaker to this sound is also an active, pentagonally shaped speaker, the John Bowers Active 1, which costs considerably more.
When you enter the stereo store you won`t have to ask which are the $2,600-per-pair B&O Pentas. Standing tall, gleaming in the track lights, they beg you to stroke their silvery surface and turn them on.
Interesting! Thanks for posting.
Too long to list....
I wonder what he thought of the sound?
I miss my Pentas. Despite their size they still didn't dominate the room.
If you think nobody cares, try missing a couple of payments.