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
The BeoLab 9s every time, they have a lovely warm, full sound, with lovely upper range detailing from the ALT. Connected to the right source you can enjoy them all day long, just lovely.
18s are more "harsh" (sorry for want of a better expression), sounding and therefore I for one, can't listen to them for too long.
With the Lab 9s you won't be sonically dissappointed :)
Hi.
Thanks for your experience. I have read elsewhere in this forum that the plancement requires a little attention. Have you had the same experience?
Mogens
Having never heard either I would assume the 9s to be 'better' simply because they're essentially a largeish conventional floor speaker. Whereas the 18 (or 8000 for that matter) are quite the statement piece as Duels said. Can't fight physics, larger drivers in a larger enclosure will have better low and low mid response hence sound 'fuller'.
Correct me if wrong but do the Beolab 18 also have ALT tweeters like the bigger Beolab 9 or 5?
IMHO the Beolab 9 are probably the most conventional and boring of recent b&o design.
Myself I have a pair of Beolab 8000 and a Beolab 2 sub, really they did need that low end help to clear up their midrange response.
Duels:Well I find the sound from my 18s to be excellent. Not harsh at all. And from a design point of view I think they make much more of a statement.
I meant by comparison to the 9s and not in general. Glad you are enjoying your speakers.
StUrrock:I meant by comparison to the 9s and not in general. Glad you are enjoying your speakers.
davidr: Correct me if wrong but do the Beolab 18 also have ALT tweeters like the bigger Beolab 9 or 5?
I always though the Beolab 9's look like a cat scratcher or a modern Christmas decoration. :D
The 18's look stunning though, I love mine!
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BeoLab 18's. Beolab 3's. A8. A9. A2. H7.
I think the design of the 9s are stunning. I also like the 18s but they were not a new design concept following on from the 8000s so didn't peak my interest that much. It's like the 35 following on from the 3500, bit of a poor effort from B&O in my opinion showing a lack of creativity. I was considering trading in my 9s for a different pair of speakers but actually, what would I change too? I spoke to a main dealer over the weekend about the 20s and he encouraged me to stick with the 9s suggesting they sounded better. I also 'tried' to buy a new TV; I was looking at the Horizon, which I liked in store, but he did everything he could to put me off buying one! Bizarre salesmanship. He said wait a few months until B&O have ironed out all the software bugs in the products, telling me B&O were all over the place at the moment with their product line. Hardly encouraging but intriguing either way! Not often you visit a shop who convince you not to sell their products! He really didn't seem to care about me visiting his store either way and was more interested in doing something else. I do laugh at B&O these days, from HQ to shop floor; quite a bizarre company/franchise in so many ways. Really not customer focused at all anymore. They are a world unto themselves.
B&O products are V1-32, BS2, H95, E8 and an Essence remote.11-46 now replaced with Sony A90J 65”, Sony HT-A9, Sony UBP-X800M2 and Sony SRS-NS7.
Hi Bundy,
I trailed the 18's and 9's to upgrade from my 8000's and lab2. The 18's are very nice, but the naturalness of the 9's and the integrated sound of a full range speaker made the 9's an easy winner for me. The 9's also made me realize how the lab 2 can "overspill" a bit in the bass. Also I like the change to the more organic shape of the 9's having had 8000's for 10 years. I tried to paste in a photo of them all but I am not sure if I managed it !
luthier:Hi Bundy, I trailed the 18's and 9's to upgrade from my 8000's and lab2. The 18's are very nice, but the naturalness of the 9's and the integrated sound of a full range speaker made the 9's an easy winner for me. The 9's also made me realize how the lab 2 can "overspill" a bit in the bass. Also I like the change to the more organic shape of the 9's having had 8000's for 10 years. I tried to paste in a photo of them all but I am not sure if I managed it !
BeoNut since '75
elephant:Just saying ... Listening to this on my BL20s and I am in bliss
Listening to this on my BL20s and I am in bliss
"The Curse" is one of my all time favorite Agnes Obel songs. So haunting!
Sal:"The Curse" is one of my all time favorite Agnes Obel songs. So haunting!
Bundy:Well the topic says it all. I haven't found any direct comparison in this forum yet. I like smooth sound and would like to avoid speakers that tiers the ears.
I've had both. Definitely - definitely - the 9s. Far wider range! 18's were very bright and need a decent sub (which is built in to the 9s).
I don't think there were any changes in the design audio or otherwise in the 9's. Mine are 2007 which were when they first came out and are excellent. As regards the visual aspect of the design I find them very attractive and compact, the ALT I think is on of the most interesting visually - it looks as if carved out of a sphere, but the interesting intersection of curves create an unusual but compelling piece of sculpture, at the same time as being purely functional.
Here are is a photo of the 8000's, 18's and 9's (hopefully).
luthier:Here are is a photo of the 8000's, 18's and 9's (hopefully).
Hi Elephant,
The 8000's and lab2 are the speakers I originally had before trialing the 18's and 9's, I should have made this clear in the post but I referred to it a few posts back. I had the 18's and 9's for a couple of weeks to compare against the 8000's and lab 2. It was very useful to hear the differences before settling on the 9's - I didn't play them all together, although I did try the 18 as rears at one point. Also I accidentally suggested you post as an answer which I didn't intend.
luthier:Hi Elephant, The 8000's and lab2 are the speakers I originally had before trialing the 18's and 9's, I should have made this clear in the post but I referred to it a few posts back. I had the 18's and 9's for a couple of weeks to compare against the 8000's and lab 2. It was very useful to hear the differences before settling on the 9's - I didn't play them all together, although I did try the 18 as rears at one point. Also I accidentally suggested you post as an answer which I didn't intend.
Great photo of the different speakers together in situ. And, hate to say it, but I still think the 8000s are better looking than the 18s, but then I also think the 9s are better looking than the 20s. The amount of sound you get out of the 9s is astounding, especially considering their size. If you look at them, and think about massaging their volume into an equivalent box shaped speaker, you appreciate how truly small they are. There is a fair amount of electronic trickery involved that's apparent if you know something about both how speakers work sans electronic adjustments and how small the cabinet volume is for the woofers on a lot of B&O speakers. Take the 5s, a 15 inch subwoofer in a cabinet of 1.5 cubic foot volume that goes down well below 20 hz! Back in the 60s and 70s you'd need almost a refrigerator sized cabinet for that.
Years ago I encountered a device made called the Bassis. It was an electronic box that, for a sealed enclosure, let you force the driver to have whatever Q, resonance, and low frequency cutoff you desired, limited by the amount of power you had and how robust the driver was to handle the excursion and power. Since back then not many drivers in production speakers were not that robust there were limits to what you could accomplish, if you look at the woofers on the 5s or 9s you can tell they are very robustly designed and constructed to handle the boost and such. I find this a remarkably intelligent design approach, in general and especially for a company that desired to produce livably sized speakers with good bass response.
Jeff
I'm afraid I'm recovering from the BeoVirus.
Hi everyone.
Thanks for your advises. I will go for the Beolab 9s. Heard them at a shop and they sounded amazing and not boomy as I feared. Were open sound.
Brgds Mogens
Jeff:And, hate to say it, but I still think the 8000s are better looking than the 18s, but then I also think the 9s are better looking than the 20s. The amount of sound you get out of the 9s is astounding, especially considering their size.
I agree on all counts.
Jeff:Take the 5s, a 15 inch subwoofer in a cabinet of 1.5 cubic foot volume that goes down well below 20 hz! Back in the 60s and 70s you'd need almost a refrigerator sized cabinet for that.
Of the "new" generation speakers, I do like the look of the BL90s though -- they're the size of a small refrigerator :-)
Beolab 50, Beolab 8000 x 2, Beolab 4000 x 2, BeoSound Core, BeoSound 9000, BeoSound Century, BeoLit 15, BeoPlay A1, BeoPlay P2, BeoPlay H9 3rd Gen, BeoPlay H6, EarSet 3i, BeoVision Eclipse Gen 2 55", BeoPlay V1-40, BeoCom 6000 and so much else :)
Hi
Would love to, but can´t figure out how to upload pics.
Hi Hugo. Congratulations.
BeoLab 9 has always been a winner. I can recommend going to the old school.
I agree. It is one reason I haven’t upgraded my Beolab 8002 with 18s. Instead I got the Beolab 18 frets to for my 8002. The sound is warmer. The Beolab 9s are way better than the 8002 and 18 IMHO in every way. It’s a no contest if you are OK with the looks. I have a Beolab 2/8002 combo. One of my neighbors has a BL 18/11 combo and a friend used to have BL 9s but now upgraded to BL 5s. So I am writing from memory....the BL5s can be had used for less than a BL 18 pair and is truly amazing!
B&O in my life 😊: