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
Hi Beoworlders,
I have received more requests to make this YouTube video than any other B&O video this year... Beolab 9 vs Beolab Penta review with music AND movie sound tests! Are these B&O's best "Real World" speakers? Which one do YOU prefer?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ITcEGxwBHlw
Kind regards, Steve.
Steve.
www.soundsheavenly.com
Founder of Sounds Heavenly Cables and Brand Ambassador for Bang & Olufsen
Sounds Heavenly are proud to sponsor BeoWorld!
Please check out my YouTube channel at https://youtube.com/soundsheavenlycables
Brilliantes Video, herzlichen Dank
Im nächsten Video bitte: Beovox Redline 7000 / 140 vs Beolab 20 :)
Thank you very much. I really appreciate your work.
Thank you!
Yes, I think Redline 7000 / 140 would be great to compare to some new Beolabs, I will try to arrange this very soon!
Nice comparison Steve, thanks for taking the time to do it and share.
I had to listen several times! The background helicopter clip threw me quite a bit I must say. Initially I went straight to the 9s as a preference but then on repeating playback started to quite like the mids coming from the Pentas and wondering if at home and in the middle of a movie, would I maybe prefer those and find them more authentic? The Penta helicopter somehow sounded more like a helicopter while the 9s helicopter sounded slightly recreated. Sound is so subjective!
With the glass breaking clip, I thought the 9s were the clear winner and really, made the Pentas sound rather muffled (or trapped somehow) in comparison.
It’s interesting how a fair few of those leaving comments on the video clip don’t like the design of the 9s though as I have always thought they are one of B&Os best designs! Again, so subjective and we all have such personal and different tastes. I do think the Pentas look like they are from an older era and would be hard to make work in a modern home but the 9s would fit into any place and any era.
I am excited for when you get the 9s Steve and the wait and build up is often just as exciting so that’s a positive, no need to rush into it. I owned a pair for several years and they are easily the best speaker I have ever owned from any company. I used them side by side with the BV9 and when watching movies the sound was so incredible I didn’t even bother buying rears as I just didn’t feel I needed to. I still heard helicopters going behind me so perhaps I had some great room dimensions leading to better acoustics wh knows but I’ll never forget that experience. In terms of listening to music on them, just something else and in a league of their own. Such detail and clarity and can I say pure? Such a pure effortless sound at any volume. Really a remarkable and very capable speaker I think.
Now I just have a BV11-46 with no other speakers and while its still great its not a touch on what it would be with a pair of 9s attached! I have moved to a much smaller home though so had to make many sacrifices to conserve and make us of the little space I have. It’s all good though and I am grateful to have had the experiences I have in previous years. The Sony HT-A9s may well be by next purchase given my space constraints but its always a shame not to be buying B&O. Here’s hoping a new solution comes from them soon so I can stay with the brand I love.
All the best, 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.
"You think we can slap some oak on this thing?"
I had penta 2 and 3 and frankly compared to beolab 9, they are not in the same category for music or movie. I have never find a reason to keep them a long time except for financial reason.
The bass capabilities and acoustic lens do the difference. Each time I heard a penta, I come to the same conclusion, the sound is dull, closed in the speaker, position of the treble is too high, even the medium. Ok that's good for any flying machine but that's all.
The sound is also slow, the ice power tech helped to solve this.
The bl9 share the same quality of the bl5 at a lower level and between the penta and the bl5 there is the Grand Canyon.
This is my own opinion , I don't want to hurt the huge penta fan club, some member probably does some genuflection every day in front of this phallic monument. :)
4 beolab 5, beolab 9, beolab 10, beolab 5000, beolab 8000 mk2, beolab 6002, beolab 3500, beovision 7 55 mk2, 2 beovision 11 46 mk4, beotime, beosound ouverture, beosound essence, beoplay A8, beomaster 900 RG de luxe and the collection continues...
Thanks guys,
I have been amazed at how good the Beolab 9s are, but also how close the Pentas can still get for a design that is now 35 years old! Admittedly I use DSP software with my Pentas (this was disabled for the video), with the DSP activated they are still a match for almost anything but without it they can sometimes show their age.
There is still a lot of love for the Pentas (myself included) but I think they do need a bit of help to achieve their potential. In comparison, the Beolab 9s shine without any need for external EQ or DSP, they are wonderful for music and movies of all types.
Amazing to see what B&O could achieve as far back as 1986 and just how much power and sound quality you can get for your money now.
More reviews to follow on my YouTube channel very soon...
leosgonewild:I used to have a Beovision 7-40 with a Beolab 7.4 and 4 Beolab Pentas. The experience of watching Pacific Rim was out of this world. Now I have 6 pentas in my Atmos setup "You think we can slap some oak on this thing?"
lawrencejmcook:How did you mount them on the ceiling, Leo??
It is easy to upgrade Penta’s to modern standards and then they will outperform the Beolab 9’s.
Beobuddy is a specialist in upgrading them and when i first heard them, i was blown away and brought my Penta’s immediately to him. No more ‘dull’ Penta’s, they are legends!
Thank you steve for the video - really interesting, I always felt my Beolab Pentas sounded dull and put this down to probably needing refurbishing. I changed them when I got my M100s and different front end. Now the 9s sound amazing to me and much closer to the type of sound Ilike.
I did once commit a sin and changed the crossovers in a pair of really rough Beovox Pentas and this seemed to make them breath.
I'm interested though in what Beobuddy can do - is this something that you can send a pair in for or something you can do yourself? I changed the caps in my M100s with a kit from Dillen and this brought them alive so if you can improve Pentas to that extent that would be great
I brought the entire amps to him and took the filters out of the speakers and brought them to him. The amps were recapped and the filters got a new design. I’m not a technical specialist, so i can not tell you what’s technical different, but the sound improves massively. Now i have the settings of treble on 0 and sometimes i think i can go even to minus.
but the greatest strength of the Penta’s now is the real 3D sound. It you close your eyes, you can point where the musicians are standing. And that’s what the Beolab 9’s are missing.
If you want to know more about the upgrade; Beobuddy is a member on this forum, so it is easy to contact him.
leosgonewild:I wonder how a true active Penta could sound. Rip away the two crossovers, jam there icepower and sap inside and go crazy with tuning
Rip away the two crossovers, jam there icepower and sap inside and go crazy with tuning
Wouldn't be "true" Pentas then, - would it?
People finding Pentas sounding dull hopefully aren't comparing 30+ year old unrestored speakers to factory new modern, - right?
Martin
Hi Leo,
I use a PC-based DSP package with my Penta mk.3s and I absolutely love the sound. I use Room EQ Wizard to set up the sound profiles, then Equalizer APO to load the sound profile onto my PC. Both these are free Windows apps and they take some getting used to but they work superbly well once you are used to them.
I made a video about this here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4KN9ecGhDYk
In my view, Pentas with correctly applied DSP are a match for just about anything except Beolab 5, 50 and 90.