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
Am I the only one to feel that the true DNA of Bang&Olufsen is gone?
In my opinion B&O now feels like any other electronics brand out there (almost). Good TVs, both expensive highend speakers and more budget friendly speakers, headphones and, well... thats it...
What has happened to the old B&O tradition of producing cool lifestyle oriented products?
Such as the Beotime, the beautiful little keyring and other things like that. Those things that gave the lovers of the brand the posibility of surrounding themselves with clever and cool small gadgets, and most important beautiful and functional gadgets.
Those things that filled a little desire here and there. To live daily life with the influence of the brand!
I love that and I really miss all those things!
Sure we have alarmclocks in our phones now, and I dont know anyone whom is not using that function, but its not the same thing, its not even comparable.
We have the new beautiful B&O app that makes it possible to turn on the speakers at the door step, or even on the walkway going up to the house, so the old little keychain remote is not ”important” anymore, but its not the same thing!
I guess B&O as a brand is not in need anymore of showing their skills in aluminium work, ok I understand that, everyone understands that. They make so much other beautiful details on the products, to show that to us.
But I miss the old times!
I want to be able to get something fairly useless and expensive from B&O, because those things made me a little bit more happy (crazy materialistic thinking?), those small products and details were for me a big part of the brand and the B&O DNA.
Did those fun things go away with Jacob Jensen? Or is the reason for it, that the market simply is not in need of products like that anymore.
Things I would love to see;
A small keychain remote with IR/bluetooth, to turn on multiroom last played source, and change volume, simple as that. With focus on a cool minimalistic design in aluminium and leather.
A new version of Beotime with option to control the new TVs and multiroom products. Simple design as the old one and not that cheaper look that most Beoplay products have nowdays.
Instead of a bottle opener, make a simcard tool for iphone, with a unnecessarily big handle with the logo. Why? Why not, it’s just for fun!
I can think of several more things, but what do all of you think?
Any opinions and ideas for fun and functional things, or beautiful and unnecessary things?
or am I just an old fool indulging in reminiscence of the past glory days, having a hard time to appreciate all the new nice things?
Not sure I want the gadgets, but I agree that B&O has, at least for me, lost its magic. The demise of the music systems and the plethora of similar looking Beoplay speakers holds not interest. My last buy, the Beosound 2, is fiddly to use and unreliable so languishes unused in my daughter's abandoned bedroom (she is at university). The TVs are not that clever - and have lost the clever little B&O touches like the curtains. They are also outrageously expensive considering their provenance.
I still have a fair collection - Beolab 5000 system, Beomaster 8000 is use updtairs and a Beocenter 2, Old Avant and Pentas in the main room as a few highlights. And of course my sublime Beolit 700 colour radio!
Peter
I agree with you. I don't get the sense that the integration is as solid as it was with the MCL and ML product vintage. But it seems to me only the B&O Play products have a coordinated design language that is distinguishable from other manufacturers. But I guess you can argue the B&O Play products have a shared DNA and design language, but as far as the main line goes, it does seem a bit scattered.
Dom
2x BeoSystem 3, BeoSystem 5000, BeoSystem 6500, 2x BeoMaster 7000, 2 pair of BeoLab Penta mk2, AV 7000, Beolab 4000, BeoSound 4000, Playmaker, BeoLab 2500, S-45, S-45.2, RL-140, CX-50, C-75, 3x CX-100, 3x MCL2 link rooms, 3x Beolab 2000, M3, P2, Earset, A8 earphones, A3, 2x 4001 relay, H3, H3 ANC, H6, 2014 Audi S5 with B&O sound, and ambio
Peter, hold on to your old stuff!
Regarding curtains on the TVs, I dont see the reason to take that away. Its a trademark function and shouldnt be harder to make in the the LED and OLED tvs than the older ones.
I dont mean to only bash B&O, but it really feels like some force is pushing the brand against the ruin.
Beosound Stage, Beovision 8-40, Beolit 20, Beosound Explore.
DMacri,
MCL/ML did have a solidity to them. Though of ocurse everything with cables with be much more reliable than products entirely based on fine electonics and wireless compatability. The new things are just as much in need of the other hardware/software we use(routers etc) as their own quality. That opens up for more errors and things which can go wrong. In this day and age B&O needs to rely heavily on other brands and their products as well, and that will never work 100%.
I guess in the good old days B&O was a somewhat totally locked system, and if something went wrong it was something within the own web and details of products. That makes for an easier repair and more options of optimizing the lineup for the brand.
I agree with you in some ways regarding the Beoplay range. I do find it to be fairly in line, so to say. But I still dont feel the true essence(no pun intended) of the B&O brand. The design with the dotted aluminium and kvadrat covers binds it all together (Except BS1 and 2), but the soul is not there.
Look at the old products, BL8000, Beotime, Ouverture and even Pentas. Vastly different in design and yet all so perfect together and so deeply connected in the brand feeling. Nothing today even comes close to that.
I do need to pay my respects to the design of the Moment, in some strange way I do feel that it pays its homage very well to the old products.
Regarding the Eclipse, a beautiful TV but not even close in my opinion, to what was done before. I assume it’s meant to give the ambience of the BV7 lineup, with its horisontal speaker, but no sorry, I dont feel it.
It feels more like any other LG TV with a soundbar, than like the pure sculptural feeling of the Beovision7 Compared to eachother in sleekness factor, the BV7-55 is a huge monstrosity, but I would all days of the week chose a BV7-55 with an Apple TV, rather than the Eclipse!
BeoGreg,
No arguing with you there!
I know how you feel
Chris,
It’s the same with Samsung. They have curtains as well, except theirs open/close horisontally instead.
I remember in the early 90s, all of my friends talked about how cool the curtains was when starting up the Avant.
Why take it away!
it’s like if Rolls would take away their lady from the hood. It would never happen.
Perhaps the B&O design team thinks people are to stressed nowadays to wait for the curtains to open. Everything has to start up in a second and be ready to use before you blink. Speed speed speeeeeeed!!
Thats not what B&O shpuld be about when it comes to ”presenting” the experience of their products.
Sure the BS9000 change between disks in a second, but the entire glass lid doesnt fly open in a millisecond. Everything doesnt need to be about speed and efficiancy. Somethings are better if they are bordering to almost to slow. Savor a moment here and there!
I havent really understood how it’s done today, Is the design team in Denmark and production in Asia, or is everything done over there?
Sorry to say, but designers in asia will NEVER be able to do true Scandinavian design. Thats just how it is...
I guess that could be a big part of the problem, to little is left in Denmark and hence the brand is dying due to lack of proper inspiration.
It’s impossbile to desig in china or korea and get proper inspiration for keeping a scandinavian brand scandinavian in it’s design and soul.
I loved the concept fo the B&O keychain, but feel it would have been better a decade earlier than when it was released. As nearly all cars started having their own remote fobs for the locks, adding the B&O remote made for a terribly bulky, awkwardly clumsy key cluster. That being said, I wonder what B&O could do with wearable tech with advancements now that could make the devices smaller, slimmer, and programmable. Perhaps a micro-usb connection that could charge it and allow us to program the functions from our computer?
hmmm
Beojeff,
I agree it was ”a tad” bulky. Most people I know just had it lose in the pocket. Like a part of the EDC.
I like your idea of a tiny programmable version. Perhaps it could link up with the app and be easily programmed that way. Like a drag and drop function sort of way.
Or if it would show up in the app like all the speakers and then just access it’s settings and there decide for different commands suitable to ones complete setup.
But regarding the charging, it should be a magnetic one like the in ear headphones have 👍🏻
Symmes,
what’s your thoughts?
Still have my B&O key remote on my house keys! Not sure I have ever used it as a remote to be honest but is very tactile and helps differentiate my keys from my wife's!!
Peter, its just as good as a beautiful decoration as it is as a functional product 🕹
DanTop: Symmes, what’s your thoughts?
I was going to write something brilliant then decided to go work on my deck renovation instead. Something about how A/V has gotten so complicated that mixing style, technology, and quality at a price that's reasonable for most people ends up like fruitcake. All the parts are there but the result is inedible. Add to that A/V is a business and you end up wanting to throw it all out and watch YouTube videos.
I ripped hundreds of CDs 3 time with different CODECs to match the brand of the year and ended up with a hard drive full of garbage. So now I connect Spotify by cable to phones or a box and listen to whatever at whatever Spotify offer for $15 per month. Today I have listened to Zappa and Neil Young and Crazy Horse concerts. Break time over and Tedeschi Trucks Band is next while I haul lumber.
Our 3 weeks of Spring started yesterday and all is good.
Maybe it is not gone forever - I like Beolab 18 very much for example. And there are some other products that I consider great success design and performance-wise like this gorgeous Beosound 2.
If only B&O would be able to sort out endless list of software problems across practically all products, and produce one iconic sound system to drive speakers.
This discussion had me inspired to pull out my old keychain remote to thread it with a chain to wear as a pendant -- to keep B&O closer to my heart. However, I realized that the B&O logo would be upside down.
Awards must go to the ultimate B&O fan who gets a "Prince Albert" to attach the B&O remote keychain.
"Honestly, I'm just grabbing there to turn on the TV. Nothing else."
beojeff: This discussion had me inspired to pull out my old keychain remote to thread it with a chain to wear as a pendant -- to keep B&O closer to my heart. However, I realized that the B&O logo would be upside down.
You'd have to wear a silk shirt, unbuttoned to your navel, to pull it off. Do you have enough chest hair for the look?
Jeff
I'm afraid I'm recovering from the BeoVirus.
Great thread and I have already expressed my own views many times over the years; they echo all of those in this thread of course.
As I read through, I can't help but post just to say how great it 'could' be if B&O HQ got us all in together, where, as a collective new team of enthusiasts for the brand driven by passion and experience we could help try to get back to B&O basics.
The wealth of ideas and passion (whether expressed positively or negatively, it only ever demonstrates pure passion) on this forum combined with the technical knowhow from the original (and upcoming) Danish engineers (if they still exist) has enormous potential to build next century's products today, something B&O used to represent for me, which was so exciting. They seemed to make the impossible possible.
I guess you need to be pretty open minded to do something like this but there's no reason to think it couldn't happen, or am I completely bonkers? Simon.
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.
Another accessory we often forget is the LC1. What a great, relatively inexpensive item to pick up at one's local B&O shop to add tremendous functionality from one's B&O remote. Let's remember, too, that it was a time when remote control of lighting was otherwise unheard of. A great solution for home automation at the time. Long before the days of Philips Hue.
beojeff:This discussion had me inspired to pull out my old keychain remote to thread it with a chain to wear as a pendant -- to keep B&O closer to my heart. However, I realized that the B&O logo would be upside down.
BeoNut since '75
beojeff:Awards must go to the ultimate B&O fan who gets a "Prince Albert" to attach the B&O remote keychain. "Honestly, I'm just grabbing there to turn on the TV. Nothing else."
Haha I love your ambition😄
I think your contribution and comment still came out pretty interesting.
You don’t feel to sell it? 🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻
Analog,
Well yes of course some things are still nice. I did not mean to make it sound like everything done by B&O today is bad. It’s just that I feel that that general amazing ambience is gone. It feels like the heart of it all is lacking.
I for example really like the Moment and I love BL90. I think the Moment and the 90 goes very well together as well. But it’s still that metal feeling missing. I dont like for example that the BL9 and BL20 are covered with boring fabric(yes the BL90 are as well). That obsessive fabric ammount for me is a good example of lost design.
Look at BL4000, BL8000 and BL1 for example. Beaituful sharp finish with amazing luster in the fabric, beautiful colours and a generally more complete over all design.
BL18 are a good follower to the BL8000, but I hate the foot. It doesnt have that perfect symmetry the BL8000 have. I feel B&O really should have left the foot/base just as square and big as the 8000 one.
Besides that it’s a top design on them.
I am waiting for that unit as well. Honestly nothing after the different ”Ouverture” and BS9000 models have been even close to setting the iconic bar as high as they did
Haha I was actually going to suggest in me previous comment to have the remote as a pendant on a necklas. I am rrally happy that this thread made you take it out again to use it.
When I started this thread I wasnt really sure that anyone would care to comment in it, since I was thinking as well that I was just complaining and bitching.
But it makes me really happy to see that some of the fine people here on Beoworld actually agreed with me. I dont feel as bitter anymore 😂
Regarding the prince albert, consider how fanatic we B&O lovers are, I would not be surprised! Haha
Band’oh,
I am happy to hear that you share opinion as well in this matter👍🏻
I was hoping that the thread would kick of with some amazing new ideas for fun products. Thats why I wrote my two cents in my initial text.
Would be amazing if we actually came up with some things here that would catch the eye of the R&D over at the B&O HQ!
I cant imagine a better place than this community for the R&D people to look at for inspiration and ideas. The wealth of interesting threads here are amazing. People showing there lineups, their homes, discussions about products and improvements.. All B&O ever could want is here. I have never seen any other brand have it’s own forum like this one. And honestly the ideas B&O could get here would cost most other brands millions to scrape together in market research and focus groups.
Only thing what we ask is working products....
Yes the LC1 is amazing, and so is the LC2. I prefer the design on that one. I do not really think(sadly) B&O willl go back to light control again though, considering what philips have done with their Hue system, and the options Lutron gives for total control. And all other brands with options of using IFTTT.
But I can say for sure that, if B&O released a new version of the LC, controllable from the app and remote, I would get that in a heartbeat.
B&O should go back to a total-concept again, control of the entire house, and not leave some parts of that to other brands.
Luckily enough I have a couple of LC to enjoy, and I would never get rid of them for all the cheddar in Somerset!
Imagine an LC3, with app conectivity, control of both LED and normal lights, and why not use them as a WiFi extender as well at the same time!
Koning,
Haha well that is indeed the base of it all. And most certainly NOT to much to ask for!
But as I wrote before, when a brand depends on other brands, other products and other product standards, well that’s just a thing that invites to problems and complications.
I assume some of the things you are unhappy with would be with the new app and how the speakers and units are having problems connecting with esch other and working together in a multiroom setup?
Or are you having problems with the products themselves? Such as internal functions?
One thing that B&O recently released is the kit to convert any old beovox speaker into a modern bluetooth speakers.
B&O really deserves credits for making something like that!
No other brands out there have (to my knowledge) done anything similar to that. To let the buyers of the brands products go back and make their old stuff up to date. Usually nowadays it’s all about buy buy buy new stuff as often as possible and discard the old things, and even throw out the things which are not so old.
Most companies release a similar product to the one previous year, with just a small update(which they of course could have implemented from the beginning) but they want to sell more and have people change things every year. Of course to keep a steady turn over on their income and get more money from withholding goodies here and there.
I do feel that B&O still thinks about the concept of long term quality in many ways. For customers to keep their things for many many years, and I salute them and tip my hat as well for that.
This latest thing is the perfect example of a company philosophy of enjoying the old things they know we love.
Correct me if I am wrong please, but I do think it’s called BeoCreate...?
No,not the fault of other brands.
Cheap hardware with bad software for a premium price.
Well it depends on what the problem is.
If you for example have a problem with getting multiroom function to work, that is just as much depending on your router as the B&O app.