Newbie question: differences between Sony X900B and BeoVision Avant

Hi all,

This is my first post on this forum. I would like to know which are the features that justify the premium price that you have to pay for a BeoVision Avant.

This is the Sony I am referring to:

http://store.sony.com/54.6-diag-x900b-premium-4k-ultra-tv-zid27-XBR55X900B/cat-27-catid-XBR-4K-Ultra-HD-TVs

Thanks in advance

Hi

If you don't see them, then the avant is not made for you, this is simple :)

Im not familiar with the Sony but I'd start with the features / capabilities - not just the 'core' stuff (as the Avant will have bits & bobs which sony wouldn't (e.g. sound adjustment based on angle / distance from wall, brightness & colour adjustment based on surroundings).

Then look at the quality of the TV's to see the materials and design. I think its fair to say that B&O will never compete with Sony on price - but B&O should have it on design. Try to see it in a B&O store where you see it at its best.

The service should be part of the equation (and is part of the price) not just through the sales process but after sales and being looked after in future purchasing - they really do build a relationship with the customer.

Future value - the B&O will lose its value over time (but past history has shown) nothing like the value of a Sony. The B&O dealer will generally look to trade in your previously owned against new kit.

Thats my thought without looking at the sony model ! 

Hope it helps.

olvisab:

Hi

If you don't see them, then the avant is not made for you, this is simple :)

Sorry to say it, olvisab - that is not the answer needed for a new poster on the forum.

If I had had the time, I would definitely be able to try to point at the advantages of the Avant.

The list would be long....

Glad that someone else already has given a first answer.

MM

A new poster, I can not see it on the beoworld app for ipad.

I have noticed that most of the time people wonder why the b&o tv are much more expensiv and they can't explain it. They usually don't see them because they only look at figures. They don't see the build quality, the nl and ml features, the adaptiv picture capabilities, all things that they could see if they dare to enter into a store.

Well, I prefer my first answer.

As a beovision user, I personnally do ask me if this avant has really advantages compared to the sony and panasonic offer.

When you don't need the floor stand, you worry about the hdmi 2 the h.265 codec features of the avant, you don't particularly like the grill and sound coming from it, well it is natural to hesitate.

I never met a dealer who make me an offer even ridiculous for my used beovision or any recent beolab speakers I own. It doesn't help at all to take a decision in favor of b&o.

As MM says, the list is huge. But here's a starter - 520W of extra Type-D sound amplification. 

The key point is not to look at the specs. If you did the same between HTC and Apple phones, you'd always buy the HTC - but of course, most buy the Apple because its capabilities live beneath what you see on the surface.

Its a combination is tangible and intangible benefits that make one of these just an appliance and the other something you enjoy owning. The Sony is just an appliance and will have no long term value the moment after you've installed it. I do own a Samsung 46" and two Sony's and I'm in no doubt of where their second life will be - £50 on ebay.

The argument of resale value is bad.

If a sony cost 3000 euros you loose 3000 euros but you can still use it in a second room.

When you resell your avant for 4000 euros you loose 3000 euros and you can't use it anymore.

There are better reasons to choose a beovision.

Hi and welcome to the forum

As a Sony TV owner but not of that model, i have found that connectivity and PQ of previous Sony to be excellent. Now with the Avant, I feel this is a turning point and something perhaps that you would take in to consideration.

Both models are 4k and both are good designs in my opinion and it is Sonys 2nd model in 4K. Some people have posted that its a oblong box on a stand, but then the BV7 was similar in being an oblong on a stand.

Where the Avant comes into its own is the motorised stand, motorised centre speaker and basically i would say that the TV comes with a surround sound decoder built in as you can connect speakers directly to the television; something you cannot do with the Sony. You would need a separate high end receiver.

The Avant according to the facebook post I placed has a compartment for the Apple TV. I cant see that mentioned anywhere in the documentation however, B&O have confirmed it does (via fb).

I have not seen the Avant yet; but i was very impressed with the Sony PQ, so will wait and see.

But ultimately go on what you like and what is good for you. Go and visit the dealer thats local to you and see the Avant for yourself to decide.

The previous Sony models incorporated monolithic designs and that was reflected in the remote, but with the later models such as the 900B this is a different story.

I myself am impressed by the Avant and think from a design perspective, for the spot where I am quite sure I will upgrade from my existing television is that the motorised stand, the ability to program 3 buttons for how you want and use the device, the ability to connect your BeoLab speakers is where you will find that the Avant is worth purchasing. And that beautiful remote every time you use it will make you forget about the price you paid.

Some of the forum members talk about having the dealer trade in previous B&O equipment , but this is not available in all markets. Especially here in Australia. Everything is a depreciating asset, just work out which one is best for you.

And happy B&O'ing. :-)

+1 for the new remote and it's ability to store 3 favourite settings ... I think I would reserve all 3 for my partner and save endless frustration from both sides of the digital divide

Michael has posted a black on black picture of the back of his Avant with his ATV secured inside - so it is real :-)

Thread for picture => http://archivedforum2.beoworld.org/forums/p/10418/93015.aspx#93015

Link to picture in the thread !!

juanp:

Hi all,

This is my first post on this forum. I would like to know which are the features that justify the premium price that you have to pay for a BeoVision Avant.

This is the Sony I am referring to:

http://store.sony.com/54.6-diag-x900b-premium-4k-ultra-tv-zid27-XBR55X900B/cat-27-catid-XBR-4K-Ultra-HD-TVs

Thanks in advance

Greetings and welcome to the forum

 

With respect to your query about features that justify the premium price:

To my mind it depends on what you want from a TV.

If it is purely going to be a standalone TV, then I'd suggest the likes of Metz, and possibly the Sony would equal the B&O's picture quality on technical grounds, albeit IMHO when it comes to things like authentic colour reproduction, from personal experience my money would be on the Metz and B&O over the likes of Sony.

I've owned numerous Sony products (TVs and ES series amps and sources) and been very happy with them, and were I buying a stand alone TV again, I'd certainly consider them.

However, if you are looking to use the TV as a display, in the context of a AV system, then things take on a rather different picture (excuse the pun).

Like all B&O TV's, the price seems excessive until you start to look at what you are getting and price what it would cost you outside of B&O product to gain equivalent function.

Specifically, 1) an active centre channel speaker.

On any technical grounds, where everything else in a given speaker is equal, active operation betters passive significantly, and you have the very real aesthetic AND sonic advantage of not only fully active operation, but no need of having to try and place a large, passive speaker box under or above the TV for a centre speaker role in an AV setup.  And of course, no need to spend extra funds to buy such a passive speaker (decent ones are far from cheap)  - or the amp to drive it.

Even being used as a normal stereo array, the sound quality of the B&O TV products are pretty much without peer across their product portfolio.  The ability to use such speaker as a centre channel speaker for AV purpsose, and one of very high quality at that, is pretty much unmatched in the industry.

Specifically, 2) an onboard state of the art surround sound processor.

Its not that easy to actually buy a separate SS processor; most are found in the likes of a surround sound receiver.

The cheapest separate SS processor that I could find at the time I bought a B&O TV, was a Rotel, which retailed at circa $3,000 Australian dollars.

If you go the Sony route, you will need to budget for a high quality centre channel speaker, and a surround sound processor.

You will also need an amplifier, almost certainly a surround sound receiver, (if you want to have matching amplifier channels all around) to drive the centre channel passive speaker box.

A high quality AV amplifier/receiver is not an easy thing to find these days - the Sony ES products currently available, whilst having all the latest SS codecs and such on board, are not a patch on the previous Sony 9000 series ES products in terms of build, finish, and most certainly amplification power.

That's important if you want to run high quality main left and right speakers and surrounds, for which you will need commensurate high quality amplification.

A separate Rotel SS processor and mutli-channel amp will do the job very well, but again is not a cheap solution.

And finally, an Avant, coupled with the likes of some B&O Lab 20's, is going to give you VERY high quality surround sound, as well as VERY high quality stereo for music, in a combined AV system of supreme elegance and aesthetic discreetness.  No need for a stand for the TV, to also house the centre channel speaker, and no additonal rack needed to house the surround sound processor + amplification.

I would argue that whilst the Sony might be the cheaper purchase upfront, that if you wish to build it as a centrepiece for an AV system, then the overall cost for the B&O active solution is almost certainly going to work out ultimately cheaper, and much better value as regards sound for the dollar.

My Beolab 9's better the likes of B&W 803D's and give the 802D's a run for their money to my ears, and yet, cost less money by the time you add in the need for high quality additional amplification for passive speakers like the big B&Ws, superb though they are.

So as I say, it depends on what you are wanting with a TV purchase.

Of course, even if it's only a standalone TV, some will argue the finish, elegant design, picture quality, sound quality in standalone mode, and the motorised stand etc justify the price premium.

I wouldn't argue with that, but on an out and out feature count, the incorporation of an active centre channel and state of the art surround sound processing puts the Avant in a league of it's own, along with the other B&O TVs if you're making a comparison to so called mainstream product IMHO & E.

Hope this helps and good luck in your decision

 

Kind regards

 

John...

 

 

 

 

 

 

Thanks for your comments! I have read very valuable information here.

Michael:

Where the Avant comes into its own is the motorised stand, motorised centre speaker and basically i would say that the TV comes with a surround sound decoder built in as you can connect speakers directly to the television; something you cannot do with the Sony. You would need a separate high end receiver.

Didn't know that! And it is a HUGE difference in comparison to the Sony.

 

You're welcome.

@ elephant & / John, with the picture that Michael took, what is the Common Interface used for?  Can we use it here in OZ? Ie plug in the card from Foxtel box and use it that way? Or is it euro only?

Hi Juan, there are some great answers above to your initial question, all of which are true about this brand. I would like to add that a BeoVision is more of a feeling rather than a television - the same with any of their products. This is difficult to describe until you experience it for yourself. To support this, I can tell you that I bought the Sony X9 (version 1) at full price when it was first released then sold it a few months later and bought a 7 year old B&O television! Perfectly true, and I couldn't be any happier.

If you can find a dedicated B&O store to visit for an afternoon, or better still the whole day, then do. Have a look at all the products. Have a play, and if you're heart skips a beat and you feel excited then you know you are in the right place. At aged 44 going on 45 I still have these very real feelings around Bang & Olufsen products. There is just nothing else to my mind that compares. For me it is about the solid build quality of their products, the unique designs, the imagination and thought process behind the scenes and the customer service that follows. It's not everyone's cup of tea, but then I have never seen myself as 'everyone.' I think B&O fits with an identity that you have about yourself and you're place in the world - a place that feels unique and special to you.

All the best...

There is one more advantage in my eyes (but it depends on your kind of use, of course). The AVANT is not just a television, it's an usable AV system

You take the really wonderful new remote and press radio - the avant starts in the radio section (cable, sat)

You press internet radio and the television starts directly the internet radio section with your favourites

You press spotify and the television starts the spotify menu

You press homemedia (i think so) and the media player plays your own music tracks, videos, photos you have stored e.g. on a NAS

You don't have to start the television and have to choose the source you want afterwards, so its very easy to use

And of course, the screen goes into a sleep modus, as long as you are in an audio source and there is no new command