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
I'm thinking of buying a pair of Beolab 1's but have read for years they aren't B&O's finest. I've tried looking for past posts on the speakers but just end up with broken links to nowhere on this site. Would they be a step up from a pair of Pentas, or would I be going sideways, or down? I have a spare Beosound 3000 system in a room that I can put them in as a second pair or should I save up and buy a pair of Beolab 9's as my main speakers? I think I remember reading they were quite a 'clinical' sounding speaker, is this correct?
BL90, BL5 x 2, BL9, BL8000 x 2, Penta III x 2, Penta II, BL2, BL4, BL2500, RL6000 x 3, MS150, MS150.2, A9, A1, A2, P2, Beolit 12/17, S70, CX50, CX100, Beovox 2500, BS9000 x 2, BS3000, BS4, BC2, BS1, Moment, Essence MkII x 2, BS5 Encore, BG8002, BC8002, BM8002, BG5500, BV7-40 MkIII, BV11-55, BV Avant 85", BC5, H8, E8, Form 2, A8...Serene
Beolab 1's are very clinical and surprisingly bass light for their size.
The addition of a Beolab 2 makes all the difference.
Pentas will sound quite dull in comparison but averall I think Pentas are preferred (by me) .
I have not heard Beolab 9's
Regards Graham
I have both 9s and 1s. The 9s are different and I would say better. But, the 1s are spectacular. I find the bass totally adequate for music.
Beolab 28s Beolab 9s Beolab 12-3s Beolab 1s Beolab 6000s 2 pairs Beolab 4000s Beovision 7-55 Beovision 10-40 Beoplay V1 32 inch Beovision Avant 32 inch Beosound 1 (CD player) Beosound 3000 Beosound 5 Core Essence MKII Beoplay M5
I have the lab 1's with the bl 2 and find them fantastic for music. Must admit I never tried them without the lab 2.
A bit too bright for me but you can play with settings to change this. They are also big but my wife really liked a pair.
Peter
Car and Driver recently made decisions like this very easy by saying something along the lines of...
Given the choice of Corvette Z06, Porsche 911 and Nissan GT-R, you win any way you choose.
Just replace the above with PentaLab, BeoLab 1 and BeoLab 9
Beo4 'til I die!
I have them in 2 different rooms. One set without BL2 in the smaller room - very adequate. Two pairs in the main room supported by BL2. As I can juice up the volume, bass support by BL 2 is evident.
I would miss the BL1, presence in room is just beautiful and strong.
BL1 are a bit susceptible to poor music input but with WMA lossless their clarity and strength comes through.
After ~10 years with BL8000 + BL2, I bought a 2nd hand set of BL1s last year and really, really like them. I too was deciding between BL9 and BL1. My wife hated the BL9, a taller speaker was desirable given the room layout and I found a pair that were 1/4 the price of the BL9. I did think the BL9s sounded a little better, but I never got to the point of a home audition (I would not say they are 3 - 4 times better).
With a well recorded source, they are wonderful... so much better than the BL8000s (lots of detail and separation - I don't know if that's the right word, but when I listen to classical music it sounds more like individual instruments rather than the "blended" (but nice) sound of the BL8000s). Yes, they are a little "bright" (sharp/clinical) at times, and there is some music that I've found I need to turn down the treble - however, these are generally recordings that are too bright to begin with. Over the holidays, they did impress my "audiophile" neighbor who originally "sniffed" at my B&O, and pushed me to demonstrate them to him... for which I was happy to oblige and, in the end, he muttered something about "having never given B&O the proper respect".
I've gone back and forth with respect to whether they really need the BL2 for music (I only listen to music on this system). Right now, I have my BL2 hooked up with the BL1 mostly because I have it. I have gone a few months without it as well. I don't know if I'd buy one if I didn't already own one. The improvement is subtle and doesn't apply to all music (IMHO).
Bottom line: I highly recommend them. The folks at my local B&O shop said that when they were selling them, they got feedback that they sound better in a big room, and sometimes not so good in a small room. My room is not very large (~12' x 15' octagonish), but it does have a very high ceiling (18') which also seemed to make my BL8000s sound better.
Stan
I would agree about the high ceilings. My 1s sound much better in a room with ceiling close to 20 feet high at it its highest than they did in a room with 9 foot ceilings.
Thank you guys, I'll have to weigh it all up now. It seems whenever I read about the BL1 a BL2 usually follows it. I'd prefer to keep away from using a subwoofer so will give them a demo without one.
Luke: I'd prefer to keep away from using a subwoofer so will give them a demo without one.
I too came from years of 8000's so I had the bl2 in situ. But the bl2 is at its lowest setting for bl1 and I had the bl2 at mid setting for the 8000's.
Lots of valid comments but really needs to be qualified what style of music is being played - Beolab 1's for drum 'n' bass? Not really suitable.
Another customer swears by them for listening to Operatic media, without the Beolab 2! Gave my puppy dog sale back to me lol :)