ARCHIVED FORUM -- March 2012 to February 2022READ ONLY FORUM
This is the second Archived Forum which was active between 1st March 2012 and 23rd February 2022
My mothers MX 7000 stopped working yesterday. She had it for almost 20 years. I think she bought it the year the MX 7000 came out. It has been repaired once many years ago. So one can say it´s been reliable all those years. I was thinking of repair it before it stopped working, but now I think she better buy a new tv.
Have looked at the V1. To bad it don´t have Masterlink, but it is not a deal break when it comes to my mother. I also looked at the Beovision 10, but I think its not worth it´s price. It´s almost twice the price of a V1 and not that much better really.
I have also considered a second hand B&O tv. But I think a new V1 is a better buy.
A new good Samsung with quite nice design can be bought for almost 1/3 of a V1. It will not have so good sound, but the picture is great.
Any opinions?
I bought a new V1 about a month ago and I love it - I say go for it! I guess it depends on how important master link is to you :)
Not being funny but how's your mother's hearing? Is she an audiophile or does she just watch Eastenders? How much did she appreciate the audio of the MX7000?
Take her to Curry's and let her have a look (and listen) at / to the competition before deciding on the right way forward.
Ban boring signatures!
I noticed that you did not mention her use of devices like a DVD or VCR -- is that because she is a free-to-air person only, or does she have the bare minimum of an STB ?
And what B&O remote has she been using ? And has she been using other remotes with any of her accessories ?
You probably want to help make her life simpler - so I would like at the totality of her experience.
For example, could she take the set forward to an Apple TV or media server interface -- or would she say "Keep It Simple Son"
PS it is a wonderful thought and a sign of great generosity !!
BeoNut since '75
The new Sony tvs look nice. Certainly better than samdung and their garbage.
Id get her a nice new beovision 10 . The 32 inch version wise the floor with the v1 IMO.
She s your mum after all and you only have one ! :) spoil her !
Beosound Stage, Beovision 8-40, Beolit 20, Beosound Explore.
Puncher: Not being funny but how's your mother's hearing? Is she an audiophile or does she just watch Eastenders? How much did she appreciate the audio of the MX7000? Take her to Curry's and let her have a look (and listen) at / to the competition before deciding on the right way forward.
My mothers hearing is very good I believe. She is not an audiophile however, but I think she would apreaciate the better sound in the V1. Especially when tv-programs or films contains music. I told her that we could go and have a look at the competition, but she is not interested in visiting that kind of stores. She said that she knows what the tv´s looks like there. Between me and you, she has not a clue. But that is her way of saying that she does not want to run around stores. So tomorrow I will visit the B&O store with her so that she may have a look at the V1. Maybe I can get her to look at the competition but my hopes are not high.
Hi Hubbe!
I think the V1 will be superb for her! Speaking from experience, once you've owned a B&O tv, it is very hard to feel happy with any other brand. The B&O tvs seem to do everything very nicely. They are certainly very classy!
elephant: I noticed that you did not mention her use of devices like a DVD or VCR -- is that because she is a free-to-air person only, or does she have the bare minimum of an STB ? And what B&O remote has she been using ? And has she been using other remotes with any of her accessories ? You probably want to help make her life simpler - so I would like at the totality of her experience. For example, could she take the set forward to an Apple TV or media server interface -- or would she say "Keep It Simple Son" PS it is a wonderful thought and a sign of great generosity !!
One of the reasons I recommend her a B&O is that she is familiar with the brand. She use the Beolink 1000 remote for her MX 7000, but the Beo4 is not that much different if she does not use the sub menus under "list" button. She has a DVD that she does not use that often, it´s another brand. I was thinking that maybe I could teach her how to use an Apple TV or media server if it´s an easy interface in the V1 where I could download some of her favorite movies or artists. But I think she want to keep it simple. I will not put any pressure on her. I guess she will use a fraction of what a V1 or what the competition today offers. In that way her old MX 7000 would serve her well. But it´s and old tv and i don´t think its worth saving. But i was ready to get the MX repaired if she would say so. After almost 20 years of service I think she deserves a new TV.
I have been thinking of a V1 for myself, but I want to connect my old Beosystem 7000 and Beolab speakers. To bad they don´t offer the possibility of Masterlink connection. I think they would sell even more V1 to older B&O customers that are not ready to buy the more expensive Beovisions or second hand ones. Are there any more information about the new Beovision or Beoplay tv coming out this fall. Will it be something between V1 and a BV10?
Paul W: Hi Hubbe! I think the V1 will be superb for her! Speaking from experience, once you've owned a B&O tv, it is very hard to feel happy with any other brand. The B&O tvs seem to do everything very nicely. They are certainly very classy!
I know exactly what you mean. I owed a MX 7000 once, and own an AV9000 today which i still think looks great after many years. It is obsolete in many ways today. But I just can´t retire it just yet. One nice thing about the B&O tv´s are the interface which are easy to use. The remote feels like it will last forever. And they have put in good speakers that makes many HiFi stereos sound bad in comparison. But one must recognize that the competition has come far since the flat screens arrived. Many of the more expensive Samsung looks quite good, but the remotes feels cheep, and so does the overall feeling if you take a closer look at the tv itself. But its 1/3 of the price of a V1 so one can understand that many old B&O customers has second opinions when looking at the prices on the Beovisions. The V1 is in the right direction however if just they could offer a ML possibility.
Hubbe: She use the Beolink 1000 remote for her MX 7000, but the Beo4 is not that much different if she does not use the sub menus under "list" button. She has a DVD that she does not use that often, it´s another brand.
OK that's partly why I asked - the old Beo4 is an easy transition; however the V1 Beo4 uses what I call the joystick rather than the (GO) button. So I find the V1 remote a little annoying.
But the upside is having a PUC to control whichever DVD you have -- if chosen correctly & integrated I think the ease of use would lead to your mum exploring DVDs more
Hubbe:I was thinking that maybe I could teach her how to use an Apple TV or media server if it´s an easy interface in the V1 where I could download some of her favorite movies or artists.
I think the Apple TV interface can be easy to use. Most B&O shops I have seen fail to connect it -- so showing the value of trailer browsing is difficult.
Hubbe:But I think she want to keep it simple. I will not put any pressure on her.
Absolutely !
I once tried to be clever a choose a "simple" clock radio for my mother-in-law.
She could not use it and hated it.
So focus on ease of use for your mum !
elephant: OK that's partly why I asked - the old Beo4 is an easy transition; however the V1 Beo4 uses what I call the joystick rather than the (GO) button. So I find the V1 remote a little annoying. But the upside is having a PUC to control whichever DVD you have -- if chosen correctly & integrated I think the ease of use would lead to your mum exploring DVDs more -------------------- But the upside is having a PUC to control whichever DVD you have -- if chosen correctly & integrated I think the ease of use would lead to your mum exploring DVDs more -------------------- I think the Apple TV interface can be easy to use. Most B&O shops I have seen fail to connect it -- so showing the value of trailer browsing is difficult.
--------------------
I agree with your opinion of the joystick button on the V1 remote instead of the (GO) button. It feels a little aftermarket when compared to the original Beo4 remote, but overall I think its still a good remote. I bought her a Sony DVD player maybe two or three years ago. But I believe she finds it a bit difficult to operate with all kind of settings that must be chosen before a movie plays. Subtitles etc. And she is not familiar with the remote itself.
I was at our summer home a couple of weeks ago, and we installed a new antenna on the roof to be able to watch tv. We have and old tv and a digital decoder. I had to explain over and over again to my older relatives how to operate the tv and digital decoder. I guess we all reach that stage in our lives where we are not interested in taking in all that new technology that is presented to us.
The local B&O store had not connected the V1 to fully show what it can do. I think that is a mistake. But they are working on it. It would however be nice to se how it works, not just a trailer from an iPhone that happened to be in for repair when we was there this morning.
My mother liked the V1 from the very start. She even took time to look at the other products and said that she liked what she saw. I seen some comments about the look of the Beolab 5 on this forum where especially women think they are to big and ugly. Guess what - my mother liked them!
She choose a V1 40" in black with floor stand. She even said that she would regret if she bought another tv than the Bang Olufsen. I never got her to even look at the competition.
I had some problems with the pin code that the dealer forgot to give me, but it will probably be solved later during the day. I have to check that he gave me the right code with the serial nr. Will install the tv for her once that is fixed. She did not want a B&O technician to install it for her. They just mount the floor stand on the tv and delivered it to her address. I must say that the V1 look much better in home environment than in the shop. It looked bigger too than when we looked at it in the store. It´s design has grown on me I must say. I even like the floor stand which I bought looked a bit out of place in the shop. If it had ML I would buy one right away. I have seen here that some people buying the V1 even if it don´t have the ML and they have older B&O gears. Is there a way to get around the ML to integrate a V1 to a Beosystem 7000 with Beolab speakers in a simple user-friendly way?
To day I have the Beolab speakers connected to my AV9000 with Masterlink to my Beosystem 7000. If I would be able to connect the Beolab speakers to a V1 and get the sound from the Beosystem 7000 to the Beolab without getting a lot of button pushing. Which is one of the reasons many of us bought B&O gears from the beginning, there would not be so much to think about.
The dealer mentioned a way, but that meant that you must change the volume on the tv and stereo separately. I think they used a cable via AUX to one of their customers. He was happy, but I´am not so sure about that solution. Changing the sound on the tv and the beolab speakers separately would be missing the point of B&O I think.
Hubbe: She choose a V1 40" in black with floor stand. She even said that she would regret if she bought another tv than the Bang Olufsen. I never got her to even look at the competition. I had some problems with the pin code that the dealer forgot to give me, but it will probably be solved later during the day. I have to check that he gave me the right code with the serial nr. Will install the tv for her once that is fixed. She did not want a B&O technician to install it for her. They just mount the floor stand on the tv and delivered it to her address. I must say that the V1 look much better in home environment than in the shop. It looked bigger too than when we looked at it in the store. It´s design has grown on me I must say. I even like the floor stand which I bought looked a bit out of place in the shop.
I had some problems with the pin code that the dealer forgot to give me, but it will probably be solved later during the day. I have to check that he gave me the right code with the serial nr. Will install the tv for her once that is fixed. She did not want a B&O technician to install it for her. They just mount the floor stand on the tv and delivered it to her address. I must say that the V1 look much better in home environment than in the shop. It looked bigger too than when we looked at it in the store. It´s design has grown on me I must say. I even like the floor stand which I bought looked a bit out of place in the shop.
congratulations to your mum and of course you -- I am sure she will be very happy once the PIN code is resolved
Hubbe: If it had ML I would buy one right away. I have seen here that some people buying the V1 even if it don´t have the ML and they have older B&O gears. Is there a way to get around the ML to integrate a V1 to a Beosystem 7000 with Beolab speakers in a simple user-friendly way? To day I have the Beolab speakers connected to my AV9000 with Masterlink to my Beosystem 7000. If I would be able to connect the Beolab speakers to a V1 and get the sound from the Beosystem 7000 to the Beolab without getting a lot of button pushing. Which is one of the reasons many of us bought B&O gears from the beginning, there would not be so much to think about. The dealer mentioned a way, but that meant that you must change the volume on the tv and stereo separately. I think they used a cable via AUX to one of their customers. He was happy, but I´am not so sure about that solution. Changing the sound on the tv and the beolab speakers separately would be missing the point of B&O I think.
If it had ML I would buy one right away. I have seen here that some people buying the V1 even if it don´t have the ML and they have older B&O gears. Is there a way to get around the ML to integrate a V1 to a Beosystem 7000 with Beolab speakers in a simple user-friendly way?
I think you should ask these questions in a new thread -- but post your update about your mum and her happy adventures here
Hubbe,
The AV9000 is beautiful, I remember as a child when this was introduced! I loved it!
Wow, well done. Your Mum has made a FANTASTIC choice. Im sure that she will get a lot of pleasure from this V1. Very nice!
Just seen this advertised in GQ magazine!
elephant: congratulations to your mum and of course you -- I am sure she will be very happy once the PIN code is resolved
The problem was not the PIN code. The dealer delivered the wrong remote. The standard Beo4 instead of the Beo4 made for the V1. Thats why I could not get further in my installation process when I received the PIN from the dealer by phone. I must say that the installation itself was not that easy and logical as I expected. B&O should delivered better instructions with the V1 and more detailed information what different options do. Anyway, I made it just fine in the end with some trial and errors to learn the logic.
Now once the installation is complete I think there will be no problems to operate the V1 for my mother. When she is ready i might go further and installing a media server or just install her DVD. I decided to wait with that for the moment.
My mother is very happy that she bought the V1. She thinks it looks great in her home and so do I.
elephant: I think you should ask these questions in a new thread -- but post your update about your mum and her happy adventures here
Hubbe: I guess we all reach that stage in our lives where we are not interested in taking in all that new technology that is presented to us.
I had to have a little think about this one... heheh.... Actually, I think people who have a rich background in their lives, i.e. mature, or 'older' if you will, probably know an awful lot more about life and it's ups and downs, the various merits of this or that consumer choice etc, more than we give them credit for. I think it's generally called wisdom.
History gives us the ability to use hindsight to assist us in making fresh choices for the future, rather than simply being swayed by the tech of the moment, without any real sense of just how it will pan out for us in the future. Will it truly enhance our lives, or just be another piece of consumer junk, consigned to the dustbin once it's outlived it's usefulness.
It's taken me an few decades of dealing with 'tech' and Hifi etc, to come to the point of buying into B&O.
I've been down the obsessive audiophile route, dismissing B&O as overpriced kit for the rich and ignorant whilst I was a paid up member of the Naim 'PRaT' club, whereas, with hindsight and a little practical history in my life, I see the folly of it all re the neurotic and obsessed audiophool scene, and how much better balanced, for lack of a better word, the B&O approach is towards technology that we interface with.
Perhaps whilst your mum is not technologically up to date so to speak, she does expect a piece of technology to work for her, and not for her to have to work for it, which I would argue is how things should be, unless you're a home hobbyist tweaker.
Certainly in my recent search for a new TV, which culminated in a purchase of a 40" V1 in dark grey, coupled with the floor stand, and sitting upon a Beovision 10 cabinet, I found the plethora of otherwise useless feature bloat and children's colouring crayon menu layouts found in mainstream competing sets distinctly off-putting.
I want something that delivers optimal results, with minimal input from me. That's not because I'm lazy or incompetent, but simply that I've spent years playing with technology, and whilst fun at the time, I can't say it's benefiited my life much - certainly not as much as say a weekend away with the special person, or an overseas holiday.
There is a temptation I've found, for modern day technology to almost become the equivalent of a Meccano toy set, or Leggo, or a Hornby train set, Scalextric set etc, playstation 3 gaming - in other words toys for grown up boys. it's fun and a hobby up to a point, but there are many more rewarding things in life to get involved with in my experience.
Perhaps, being mature and wise, with a wealth of general life experience behind her, your Mum might sense some of this, and knows what she likes - which is perhaps why she has once again bought B&O and wasn't particularly interested in looking at the opposition/competition.
I once read "Once a Mercedes owner, always a Mercedes owner"
I now own my first Mercedes, and I can see why, whether it be in the driving or just the observing, that people might feel that way. Certainly it's looking that way for me - notwithstanding that I'm a keen motorist and like lots of different cars.
I've also heard a similar comment about B&O - re "Once a B&O owner, always a B&O owner". As I've had my first serious B&O purchase just on a week, it's early days, but I can already feel a great deal of that expression and sentiment resonating within me. Certainly even from my intial and still learning experience, if it were to die or be stolen, it would really only be another B&O set that could replace it, AND give me the overall ownership satisfaction and pleasure that I am thus far experiencing.
Kind Regards
John...
John: I had to have a little think about this one... heheh.... Actually, I think people who have a rich background in their lives, i.e. mature, or 'older' if you will, probably know an awful lot more about life and it's ups and downs, the various merits of this or that consumer choice etc, more than we give them credit for. I think it's generally called wisdom. History gives us the ability to use hindsight to assist us in making fresh choices for the future, rather than simply being swayed by the tech of the moment, without any real sense of just how it will pan out for us in the future. Will it truly enhance our lives, or just be another piece of consumer junk, consigned to the dustbin once it's outlived it's usefulness. It's taken me an few decades of dealing with 'tech' and Hifi etc, to come to the point of buying into B&O. I've been down the obsessive audiophile route, dismissing B&O as overpriced kit for the rich and ignorant whilst I was a paid up member of the Naim 'PRaT' club, whereas, with hindsight and a little practical history in my life, I see the folly of it all re the neurotic and obsessed audiophool scene, and how much better balanced, for lack of a better word, the B&O approach is towards technology that we interface with. Perhaps whilst your mum is not technologically up to date so to speak, she does expect a piece of technology to work for her, and not for her to have to work for it, which I would argue is how things should be, unless you're a home hobbyist tweaker.
You are of course right. I was quite interested in electronics when I was younger, but I realized that many of the newer products did not last early on. They just made it cheeper. I was not interested participating in that game. I saw friends buy one new tv after the other and changed their amplifiers, cd-players, speakers like someone else change their pants. They where never happy with what they got.
I was the one who convinced my mother to buy the MX 7000, Beolab 8000 speakers and a Beocenter 2500. I recognized the timeless design compared to the competition at the time. I was around12 years old. My mother has always had a beautiful home. I remembered that it was a lot of money at the time, but if you consider that she kept all B&O gear until this day. I don´t think that it´s to bad. Not long ago she could have sold the Beolab speakers and gotten more than she paid for them. I think she is about to break even at this point. Even the MX 7000 did hold it´s price second hand many years and so did the Beocenter 2500.
I bought my own B&O gear when I moved to my own flat. I still own and use those speakers. After about 10 years I sold the Overture and bought a second hand Beosystem 7000 and a AV9000. Belive it or not I sold the Overture for the same price as I bought it new. On the MX 7000 I lost about 1/3 of the original price, but thats really good also. That was something I did not count with when I bought the B&O gear from the beginning. The market is a bit different now with new technology coming out. The flatscreen has killed the second hand market for the old ctr screens.
But truth to be told I don´t really care about second hand prices, but its nice to know that B&O gear hold its prices quite well. They are seldom the one that put new technology on the market. They wait and se where the technology leads before implementing it to its products. Sometime they are to late in the game in a negative way. With computers and internet changing the way of how we consume music, films and other kind entertainment. There has never been more difficult to choose path. Both as consumers and for the companies that produced and develop the products.
Hopefully it will calm down a little. I don´t really think the consumers are that interested in investing in new technology all the time even if it can be found cheep at the big warehouses that specialized in electronics. It´s nice that there are some manufactures like B&O left that brings other values to the table.
When talking about computers. I used windows computers until I finished school. After that I bought a Apple computer and has not looked back ever since. They to have had easy friendly interface just like B&O. I really is not interested in spending my time to optimize the computers or HiFi gears all the time. I want to use it as it was intended without fuzz.
About my comment that started this philosophy discussion. I still believe that there comes a time in our lives where we stop being interested in learning new technology. Part of it because of the reasons you mentioned. Part of it because we come to an age where new technology does not affect us that much. There are many older persons that don´t know how to use a mobile phone, computer. All the interface is like an alien language. They are afraid of the new technology because they don´t understand it - and they don´t need it. When I was installing my mothers V1 yesterday she did not have a clue what I was doing. In the same way I don´t have a clue about how to fix all conflicts in a windows computer and I am not really interested in trying to find out. I rather use my time to other more important things.
Hubbe:the look of the Beolab 5 on this forum where especially women think they are to big and ugly. Guess what - my mother liked them!
Guess what your mum has her eye on for christmas......... :-)
Hubbe, a well considered, well thought out, carefully stated philosophy of life. It is a lovely reminder of why many of us first chose B&O, and then chose to remain with B&O.
Hubbe:I rather use my time to other more important things.
Such as enjoying music.
Or listening to music while restoring wonderfully crafted designs
On a complete side topic about the V1, I was talking to my dealer yesterday and he was telling me that their customers hadn't taken to the V1 and they are looking forward to the BV11 (which might have no centre speaker?) for this reason. He said that the V1 didn't appeal to the traditional B&O userbase and new customers were fewer than expected.
Hubbe, I really enjoyed reading your story! Really inspiring and definitely something that I can relate to in some ways :)
moxxey: On a complete side topic about the V1, I was talking to my dealer yesterday and he was telling me that their customers hadn't taken to the V1 and they are looking forward to the BV11 (which might have no centre speaker?) for this reason. He said that the V1 didn't appeal to the traditional B&O userbase and new customers were fewer than expected.
Shock, horror gasp!!! ................. who saw that coming?
duplicate
My local dealer has sold a lot of V1. As an traditional B&O owner my only reservation about the V1 is the lack of Masterlink. At least it could be an option. That way the traditional B&O customers would be satisfied. I think they must be patient to reach new customers. It´s not like they just walk in to a B&O. Many of them think that B&O gears is out of reach for their wallet. Just look at the prices on BeoVisions the last 10- 15 years or so. If any of them has visited a B&O store during those years they will probably not return. The MX BeoVisions was the last tv that ordinary people bought. I think that the V1 could be a tv for the more ordinary people that appreciate good design that stands out. It is still expensive, but not that expensive that it´s out of reach. Not many in their right mind would pay 6000- 7000 Euros or more for a tv, but they could pay 2000- 2500 Euro.
Before the V1 the traditional B&O customers that bought an MX many years ago choose to buy something else from another brand instead of a new BeoVision because of the prices. One can say that B&O priced out their customer base. That is one of the reasons why they has been in financial problem ever since. Lately they took steps in the right direction to reach out to new customers, but at the same time they forget their old customers. They too want to be able to buy a tv in the price range of a V1 that they can connect to their old B&O gears.
I would like to know more about the new BV11. But I fear that it will be priced out for the regular customers. Just about the only thing I would buy lately new from B&O is the speakers. It´s the only thing that will last. B&O has released new BV and dropped them after a short time lately. That is not very reassuring. I think it´s because of the prices more than anything else. Customers are not stupid. They now how much they can buy better Samsung for. And there are limits how much they would be ready to pay for a B&O branded tv. I would say about twice the price or a bit more. That is where B&O customer base should be.
But B&O biggest problem now is the second hand market. Why buy BL 8000 new when you can buy second hand ones that looks and operate like new ones for 1/2? The same goes for their whole range of speakers. I don´t think that many customers buy the BeoSound 5 Encore, Beosound 5 or the Beosound 4. They rather buy older vintage B&O gear or just use their computer to stream music to their B&O speakers.
Speaking for myself I would never buy the Beolit 12, Beoplay (A)8 for Beoplay A3. They are cheep for being a B&O branded thing, but to expensive for what it is. In my opinion it´s just like Ferrari selling cloths, model cars, umbrellas, suitcases and so on in their Ferrari Stores. The brainchild of accountants.
Hubbe: I would like to know more about the new BV11.
I would like to know more about the new BV11.
Dealers get to know in September. Only thing my dealer mentioned yesterday, that we didn't already know, is that it might be similar to the BV10 without the large speaker - more of a TV you can use on a table. Maybe it will ship with a small BV12-style centre speaker and rely on external speakers to compliment the small centre?
I still wonder how they are going to get all these TVs in a dealership. I was commentating yesterday that my local dealer looks a bit of a mess as they have all sorts of different TVs, rather than, say, a couple of designs in multiple sizes. No idea why we don't have a BV10-55, for example.
I have said this a few times and agree with you aswell