Bang & Olufsen needs to maintain the mechanical and haptic magic, the (old) timeless design (and IMPROVE their quality)!

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TWG Posted: Sat, Sep 12 2015 11:08 AM

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Dear Beoworld members and dear Bang & Olufsen,


there's a strong need to maintain the mechanical and haptic magic of Bang & Olufsen products!

What happened?

Last week we celebrated my wifes birthday with the whole family. 5 children involved from 2,5years to 7 years.
They all don't care about Hifi systems, they just want to play, love their toys, books etc.
But on that day one of them accidently discovered the automatic sliding doors of the good old Beosound 3000. They stopped playing because "Mr. Explorer" (one of my nephews) invited them to the living room to show them all what he just had discovered.
Since then 5 children where standing in front of the Beosound 3000, waving their hands and having fun while they where watching with their small happy and intrigued faces at the magical lights and sliding doors!
All parents had a hard time to get the childs away from that thing.

I guess the door mechanics had a real life stress test during that day.


EDIT: regarding nowadays product quality of B&O it is embarassing! They strongly need to improve that!

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Simonbeo replied on Sat, Sep 12 2015 11:37 AM

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Totally agree with the need for interaction with nice physical controls made from aluminium with knurling etc. 

The semantics of a rotary knurled control like that on the Predecessor of the Moment would have been nice. The joystick action of the Beotime and the magic doors gave the products a bit of theatre which was my first memory of aspiring to a Bang and Olufsen product.

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Paul W replied on Sat, Sep 12 2015 12:30 PM

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That's a lovely story :) I agree BUT and here is the but, they HAVE to be 100% reliable. The electric glass door on my Century has been a TOTAL NIGHTMARE from day one, minute one. I had two in the first three or four days. Most of the time, this door sticks but the carriage mechanism still travels. Sometimes it jams half way and other times it doesn't work at all.

For me, it's been total heartbreak and help felt disappointing. The sales brochure claimed that the Overtone mechanism was torture tested about 25,000 times well, that was either a pack of sales lies or it certainly did not filter down to the mechanism on the December 1999 Century model.

I'm totally for the magic of B&O BUT my God, it has to be totally reliable. This thing took me a year to save for and the purely unreliable. It was a true disgrace.  I'd had years and years of Technics hifi separates before this which performed superbly and to step backwards for this was a true disgrace. Whether it was a total cost cutting exercise from B&O i really don't know, but for me, it was a total disappointment and a true embarrassment to laughing friends who thought that it was a rip off.

This product truly upset me in every way. I know there's a few Century fans on BeoWorld and I say good for you. But to me, it truly did not deliver what I expected or was promised. Words can not describe for sincere disappoint and let down of this unreliable piece of plastic.

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Simonbeo replied on Sat, Sep 12 2015 12:37 PM

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My Century bought new in 1997 has performed totally reliably since complete with Beo 4 which I think is on its second set of batteries . And we still use them every day. That's magic to me !

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Simonbeo replied on Sat, Sep 12 2015 12:52 PM

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Thanks Mark.

the other factor is that the B&O products I always coveted were wall mounted and thus became integral with the house whilst being controllable remotely or with some introduction. Like our first MX which turned around when switched on or the century which is part of our house,in effect. 

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Sal replied on Sat, Sep 12 2015 6:59 PM

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Paul W:

That's a lovely story :) I agree BUT and here is the but, they HAVE to be 100% reliable. The electric glass door on my Century has been a TOTAL NIGHTMARE from day one, minute one. I had two in the first three or four days. Most of the time, this door sticks but the carriage mechanism still travels. Sometimes it jams half way and other times it doesn't work at all.

I had to have the doors/pulleys on a former Beosound 4000 repaired twice, but, admittedly that was an oddity in my B&O "magic" experience. I agree with Paul W, reliability is key.

The more moving parts you have the more  possible points of failure you have.

So my preference is on purity of materials. Heavy strong tempered glass, solid aluminum, Zinc, Magnesium, fewer plastic parts. I loved the heft and density of B&O, I don't mind the lack of motion if the materials are the differentiator.

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pf85 replied on Sat, Sep 12 2015 7:08 PM

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BeoBoy68:

Long time I note the lack of magic in the new Bang and Olufsen products.

 

 

It is disappointing.

 

What abou BS5 with the mechanical wheel and the pointer, the magic of BV7 or BV11 with curtains, movable stands etc. I see the magic in both vintage and new equipment but electronics that replace mechanical parts are a fact of live. 

The Moment is a new set where B&O tries to bridge. Each of us B&O enthusiasts must decide for themselves if there is magic left worth to pay the premium...

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pf85 replied on Sat, Sep 12 2015 7:21 PM

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(edited post)

What about BS5 with the mechanical wheel and the pointer, the magic of BV7 or BV11 with curtains, movable stands etc? I see the magic in both vintage and new equipment but electronics that replace mechanical parts are a fact of life. 

The Moment is a new set where B&O tries to bridge. Each of us B&O enthusiasts must decide for themselves if there is magic left worth to pay the premium...

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Simonbeo replied on Sat, Sep 12 2015 7:35 PM

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The V1 has the curtains and people comment on it. I'd have liked a motor for the wall mount but I can understand why this is reserved for the B&O TVs. I just prefer the  functional finish to the shiny steel/aluminium. 

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elephant replied on Sun, Sep 13 2015 4:35 AM

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BeoBoy68:

@ Chris

Congratulations for your purchase

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Simonbeo replied on Sun, Sep 13 2015 10:09 AM

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That looks tactile. Nice. 

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Mark replied on Sun, Sep 13 2015 11:26 AM

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Chris Townsend:

I'm only getting the X, but as it's made in their factory and not by Panasonic! I wanted to see about their factory. If anyone's interested they are a bargain at the moment. I got 25% off mine! Beovision 7-55 Mk2, Beovision 8-32, Avant RF 28, Beolab 9, Beolit 15, Beoplay A2, Beocom 2, Beotime, H6, Form 2.

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Dave Farr replied on Sun, Sep 13 2015 11:48 AM

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Very nice camera.  1,890 EUR is a lot to pay but if that's what you want - go for it.  Where did you get 25% discount?

Dave.

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valve1 replied on Sun, Sep 13 2015 2:30 PM

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Chris I think its discounted in the UK because of the strength of £ sterling.

Nice buy