Meridian VS Bang & Olufsen

Hi Guys and Ladies, Can we compare Meridian to Bang & Olufsen? My Wife was put down at work today when she told her BeoLit 15 to work. Her Co-worker was saying Meridian is way Better System than Bang & Olufsen. I don't know how far that's true, but to me and my family, nothing compares to B&O. Please let me know. Thanks Guys.

Tell her to ask her co-worker to bring their Meridian Bluetooth speaker in to demonstrate!

Hi jowus, no idea where you are in world, but my B&O dealer in Bournemouth UK, is also an authorised Meridian and Linn showroom. I have listened to a set up and there's no doubt they produce very good system/speakers, but my impression was that I would have to spend a lot of money to get something that excited me - and the looks are more towards that of a traditional hi fi. Its all subjective of course.

Look at the specs, inputs, outputs, power, technology etc for the Meridian DSP8000 'flagship speaker' and compare to the BL90. Then you will see what a bargain the 90's are in comparison.

I have no doubt the Meridian is a fine speaker (enough people have said so) though I've never heard them.

The Beobashers will never be swayed, even in a blind test they will still find a reason to criticise B&O even if they did pick them out blind as being better sounding. Most other speakers in my view have either form or function but B&O have both plus the innovation to go with it. This is what the audiophile community don't like. That and the fact that Denmark is viewed as a small country which couldn't possibly be serious about creating serious Hi-fi, unlike the Brits or the Yanks!

I don't understand the attitude of 'the product/brand I like must be better than yours' no matter what it Is. It smacks of insecurity, envy, jealousy and is really quite sad.

I love B&O but that doesn't mean I can't like or admire other brands products if they suit my needs, situation, budget, lifestyle and where I want to use it.

I was once told by an avid Mancheser United fan the football isn't just a game, it's a religion! Some people seem to think the same about Hi-fi or a particular brand. If that makes them happy, good for them.

If they want to try to compare Meridian v B&O let them, just ignore them. It's not worth the effort and it's fairly pointless anyway. What does it achieve apart from the 'mine's better than yours' argument? If it leads to an intelligent debate about the merits of design, materials, technology, acoustics, company ethos, speaker development etc, then I'm all for it. Otherwise, I'd just brush it under the carpet.

Ramble over.

Dave.

Agree totally with Dave, it's actually not worth the argument, someone I know commented, oh well it's all Philips inside anyway and I wouldn't pay more than a couple of hundred for a tv or stereo. Best analogy is to compare to food. Basic ingredients remain the same but the quality and how a dish is assembled varies massively which is why you can pay £10 for a meal or £100. The £10 meal will be a very different experience to the £100 one. The hifi world is obsessed with cables and upgrades and phrases describing how something sounds that makes no sense to me, in actual fact if you enjoy music, good design, buying something to last more than a couple of years and quality then there's not a lot of competition.

I have recently been wondering this as well. In an effort to find something 'sweeter' than the BL5 that i had for over 5 years and not being able to afford BL90, i have read up on the Meridian solutions. I think they have been quite pioneering like B&O and quite sensibly moved to active speakers may years ago. Their Sooloos system looks like a good solution and a few years ahead of the recently introduced Moment but nowhere near as attractive to my eyes as the Moment. I'm not convinced that progress has really continued in recent years for Meridian. Where B&O have invested in wave guiding technology, room EQ and remain deeply committed to the design and feel, Meridian seem to be whipping the same ole DSP8000 solution all these years later in whacky colours with some recent 'refinements' in the drivers and their hardware they seem incapable of making big jumps in acoustic technology and design as marked by BL5 and the BL90 now and other beauties from the Struer stable. Meridian aren't any cheaper than B&O and in some cases their solutions are far more pricey especially when it comes to multi-room. I prefer the look of most of the B&O gear but i cant say that of Meridian which is quite boxy and typical hi fi. Whichever way you look at it, you have to like the sound and must agree with your tastes - all the analysis in the world won't help here. In the end, I'd rather stick with B&O and see if i can get a used BL90 in the coming years or even better see if something smaller and more suited to my lounge and wallet is released - I'm in no doubt that this is what B&O will be working on now after the release of their flagship. I admire both Meridian and B&O but for me I far prefer the look, feel, interaction of B&O more.

Stevegee:

Hi jowus, no idea where you are in world, but my B&O dealer in Bournemouth UK, is also an authorised Meridian and Linn showroom. I have listened to a set up and there's no doubt they produce very good system/speakers, but my impression was that I would have to spend a lot of money to get something that excited me - and the looks are more towards that of a traditional hi fi. Its all subjective of course.

Hi Stevegee,

I'm in U.S. I totally again on that, it looks more like a regular Speaker you can get from any local Shop. The Sound might be good but, the Artistry doesn't impress me.

This is their engineering design fabrication "complex"

Stuer.....

I'm not really sure I'd say Bang & Olufsen build better speakers because they have a larger factory. Most of Meridian's speakers outperform the B&O offerings - the BeoLab 90 seems to be B&O's first true attempt to build something both world class and innovative. The BeoLab 5 is absolutely superb and very innovative, but outperformed in many ways by a number of speakers out there.

I'm fairly sure the Ferrari factory is a fraction of the size of a Ford factory so I'm not sure of the connection between the difference in site sizes between Meridian and B&O either?  You could counter by saying Meridian are the thouroughbred (Ferrari) and B&O the Donkey (Ford) based on floor volume.  I wouldn't but some could.

Killyp:

the BeoLab 90 seems to be B&O's first true attempt to build something both world class and innovative

Not sure about that either.  B&O have been innovative over the decades.  Flat panel speakers such as the Beolab 5000's for example.  Beolab Penta's for their sound dispersion principles. Beolab 6000 and 8000 active column speakers and yes, the BL5's which are now over 12 years old in design but still out-perform (apparently) newer speakers that cost a lot more.

How do you define 'outperform?  Are you comparing like for like or Ford to Ferrari?

Dave.

 

Killyp:

I'm not really sure I'd say Bang & Olufsen build better speakers because they have a larger factory. Most of Meridian's speakers outperform the B&O offerings - the BeoLab 90 seems to be B&O's first true attempt to build something both world class and innovative. The BeoLab 5 is absolutely superb and very innovative, but outperformed in many ways by a number of speakers out there.

For today's essay, define "outperform".

A large part of Struer is the aluminium anodising plant so comparing the two sites means little. Meridien produce superb products for the market they aim at - B&O do the same for their market.

B&O has other 'facilies' in Struer not shown on the pic.

And there is the factory in the Czech Rep, which is where the assembly takes place nowadays.

BUT - it makes no sense to compare these two companies. They are rather different in many ways.

MM

Exactly my point. A picture paints a thousand words, and it clearly shows why the original posters wife should ignore such ignorant badge snobbery.

You guys seriously need to get off your high horses. We are talking about a BeoLit 15 a cheaply made thing made in China with outsourced parts. Ugly as hell too. Come on guys, get real!

Paul W:

You guys seriously need to get off your high horses. We are talking about a BeoLit 15 a cheaply made thing made in China with outsourced parts. Ugly as hell too. Come on guys, get real!

Our high horses??

Isn't there an Apple thred somewhere you could be drooling in ?

Paul W:

You guys seriously need to get off your high horses. We are talking about a BeoLit 15 a cheaply made thing made in China with outsourced parts. Ugly as hell too. Come on guys, get real!

The orginal post is about Meridian vs B&O, not the Beolit 15 which just happened to start the debate.

Graham

Puncher:

Paul W:

You guys seriously need to get off your high horses. We are talking about a BeoLit 15 a cheaply made thing made in China with outsourced parts. Ugly as hell too. Come on guys, get real!

Our high horses??

Isn't there an Apple thred somewhere you could be drooling in ?

Drooling isn't exactly the bodily excretion that's appropriate...

An Apple fanboy complaining about Chinese manufacturing...oh the irony!

vikinger:

The orginal post is about Meridian vs B&O, not the Beolit 15 which just happened to start the debate.

Graham

I'm still waiting to see the Meridian Beolit/Beovision/headphones etc

Chris Townsend:

I'm still waiting to see the Meridian Beolit/Beovision/headphones etc Beovision 7-55 Mk2, Beovision 8-32, Avant RF 28, Beolab 9, Beolit 15, Beoplay A2, Beocom 2, Beotime, H6, Form 2.

Why? That is not their market. They do however make and sell a headphone amp and a usb powered DAC. Not to mention a dedicated CD player, amps and a video projector. B&O make none of that and I expect Meridian fans will say, 'I'm still waiting for B&O make these or restart making them'. It's a different company with a different focus.

Dave.

Dave Farr:

Why? That is not their market. They do however make and sell a headphone amp and a usb powered DAC. Not to mention a dedicated CD player, amps and a video projector. B&O make none of that and I expect Meridian fans will say, 'I'm still waiting for B&O make these or restart making them'. It's a different company with a different focus.

Dave.

"Hi Guys and Ladies, Can we compare Meridian to Bang & Olufsen? My Wife was put down at work today when she told her BeoLit 15 to work. Her Co-worker was saying Meridian is way Better System than Bang & Olufsen. I don't know how far that's true, but to me and my family, nothing compares to B&O. Please let me know. Thanks Guys."

So it would be fair to say both companies market different products, which goes to a long way to answering the original posters question. Which Meridian system do we think he was referring too?

I honestly don't know Chris - maybe the iPhone dock? Having looked through some of their products, I don't really understand what some of them are supposed to do!

I think the answer is that we can't and shouldn't try to compare the two as they are like chalk and cheese.

Dave.

Chris Townsend:

"Hi Guys and Ladies, Can we compare Meridian to Bang & Olufsen? My Wife was put down at work today when she told her BeoLit 15 to work. Her Co-worker was saying Meridian is way Better System than Bang & Olufsen. I don't know how far that's true, but to me and my family, nothing compares to B&O. Please let me know. Thanks Guys."

So it would be fair to say both companies market different products, which goes to a long way to answering the original posters question. Which Meridian system do we think he was referring too?

Hence my original reply - "Tell her to ask her co-worker to bring their Meridian Bluetooth speaker in to demonstrate"! They don't have an equivalent product to the BeoLit 15 for it to be better than or even remotely similar to, therefore the original coworker's comment is equivalent to "My favourite colour's blue and it's better than yours" i.e. nonsensical and irrelevant.