B&O - purveyor of disposable hifi

Agreed - and the iPad Pro is also very very capable too.

 

Frederik:

Mikipidia:

Explore is tough as nails and I am very curious which actual laptop sounds better?! I haven’t come accross one yet and I’ve rently been laptop shopping.

Try the latest MacBook Pro 14 or 16 inch. These have the best speakers of any laptop you can find on the market with a very big margin.

 

Mikipidia:

I really disagree with the explore statement. Any of these products are always a mix of things that make it what they are. Throw any of those other speakers against a wall and see which one survives, for instance. I like it, but in the same breath i say buy an A1 most of the time if you’re not hardcore camping and such. Explore is tough as nails and I am very curious which actual laptop sounds better?! I haven’t come accross one yet and I’ve rently been laptop shopping.

 

If you don’t like it that’s fine, but it’s not that black and white at all.

Agree!

My wife is very happy with the Explore, which she mainly uses for audio books.

I bet she would not be that happy with an A2.

So each to it’s own - there certainly is room for the Explore in the portefolio of B&O products.

MM

Sandyb:

Agreed - and the iPad Pro is also very very capable too.

Agreed the Ipad pro is very good, i have one, but the explore is just better than it. Iam not saying laptop etc can’t sound good, just not equal to the explore. Again, Iam not saying the explore is for me as I’d rather have an A1 but the Explore certainly has it’s place for certain uses. It’s so much tougher than an A1 or just about anything else it’s ridiculous, battery life is also crazy good

schatzoy:

100% agree.

B&O was once known for top quality products, unrivalled customer service and high prices. All that is left are high prices, the rest is gone. I seriously doubt that this is a sustainable business model. Good luck B&O, you will not be getting any more money out of me.

The problem is dear fellow, the market has moved on and you haven't. Sad fact is, B&O can't rely on old farts like us who buy a TV every ten or so years, maybe a pair of speakers and then sit and make do for many many years. The profit margin is low, sales on these products are relatively low and there's simply too much competiion - from the likes of LG.

Just because B&O's business model isn't the same as was in the 90s, this doesn't mean it's the fault of the brand. The days of expensive stores with expensive equipment where us old farts bought infrequentely has long gone - there just aren't enough of us left, simple as that.

Also, I'm not convinced that the customer service was second to none. I think we look at history with rose coloured glasses and assume it was. It was only good as dealers were prepared to visit homes, install and charged accordingly.

I love the new products. Very happy with my BeoSound 2, Level and Balance. Happy with my two Stage. Not unhappy at all. Certainly no less happy than I was when I first found the brand in and around 2000, 22 years ago.

So B&O has to go after a new crowd. And, guess what? Sales are up, profits are up and things are looking good for the brand. And that's what matters the most.

moxxey:

schatzoy:

100% agree.

B&O was once known for top quality products, unrivalled customer service and high prices. All that is left are high prices, the rest is gone. I seriously doubt that this is a sustainable business model. Good luck B&O, you will not be getting any more money out of me.

The problem is dear fellow, the market has moved on and you haven't. Sad fact is, B&O can't rely on old farts like us who buy a TV every ten or so years, maybe a pair of speakers and then sit and make do for many many years. The profit margin is low, sales on these products are relatively low and there's simply too much competiion - from the likes of LG.

Just because B&O's business model isn't the same as was in the 90s, this doesn't mean it's the fault of the brand. The days of expensive stores with expensive equipment where us old farts bought infrequentely has long gone - there just aren't enough of us left, simple as that.

Also, I'm not convinced that the customer service was second to none. I think we look at history with rose coloured glasses and assume it was. It was only good as dealers were prepared to visit homes, install and charged accordingly.

I love the new products. Very happy with my BeoSound 2, Level and Balance. Happy with my two Stage. Not unhappy at all. Certainly no less happy than I was when I first found the brand in and around 2000, 22 years ago.

So B&O has to go after a new crowd. And, guess what? Sales are up, profits are up and things are looking good for the brand. And that's what matters the most.

Exactly, time to move on and embrace the changes that have been inevitable. The sales improvements and profits show that they have made the right choices. 

BenSA:

Exactly, time to move on and embrace the changes that have been inevitable. The sales improvements and profits show that they have made the right choices. 

Also, the title of the thread is utter b*ll*cks. Disposable hifi? So you're buying a £2695 Balance to 'dispose' of it. I don't get that at all. Sure they do some cheap products for low-end consumers, but they are designed to get people into the brand and get them to move up.

My little brother is a good example. He's 30, thinks B&O is a brand for oldies (partly true), his GF gave him an A1 for Christmas last year and he's remarked a few times on how good it is and has already looked at moving up asking me questions about the BeoSound 1 or Level. ie. these people get a cheap product that surpasses their expectations, then start thinking what else is on offer from the same brand...

moxxey:

BenSA:

Exactly, time to move on and embrace the changes that have been inevitable. The sales improvements and profits show that they have made the right choices. 

Also, the title of the thread is utter b*ll*cks. Disposable hifi? So you're buying a £2695 Balance to 'dispose' of it. I don't get that at all. Sure they do some cheap products for low-end consumers, but they are designed to get people into the brand and get them to move up.

My little brother is a good example. He's 30, thinks B&O is a brand for oldies (partly true), his GF gave him an A1 for Christmas last year and he's remarked a few times on how good it is and has already looked at moving up asking me questions about the BeoSound 1 or Level. ie. these people get a cheap product that surpasses their expectations, then start thinking what else is on offer from the same brand...

I am another example of what you are describing. I started with the H6, continued with the Beolit 15 (which is still going strong and that my 1-year-old keeps trying to destroy without any luck). Fast-forward some years while I was investing into other things such as a Clearaudio turntable, now I'm starting to move up the ladder with two Balances (one of which is Bespoke), a Beosound 1, two pairs of H95s, EQ, E8 Sport and hopefully this year I will get a Beosound 2 and a Level (not a current standard option). My next candidate after that is a pair of Beolab 28s. So my roadmap is pretty clear.

Moving on is fine with me. But that does not mean I have to give up on product quality and customer service. I don't mind pay high prices, but with high prices also come high expectations.

I can give you an example...I purchased a pair of H95 Gold with my dealer. They had a mechanical fault. I suggested to my dealer, that I will open an on-line repair request and send it in myself. That was a bad idea, because the process was anything but smooth. Only after I had contacted management in Struer, things got sorted.

Now, after only 5 months of use, the cushion of one earpiece is showing heavy discoloring. I asked B&O support to replace the cushion. They refused stating, that this is normal wear & tear. Seriously, after just 5 months of use of a product that cost almost USD 1,000 (900 Swiss Francs). I find this unacceptable. And honestly, that part probably only costs a few bucks to replace and would keep the customer happy. But they don't care, whether you buy BL90 or A1, you are treated the same.

On top, my H95 have difficulties connecting to any sort of Bluetooth source that is not iOS.

schatzoy:

Moving on is fine with me. But that does not mean I have to give up on product quality and customer service. I don't mind pay high prices, but with high prices also come high expectations.

I can give you an example...I purchased a pair of H95 Gold with my dealer. They had a mechanical fault. I suggested to my dealer, that I will open an on-line repair request and send it in myself. That was a bad idea, because the process was anything but smooth. Only after I had contacted management in Struer, things got sorted.

Now, after only 5 months of use, the cushion of one earpiece is showing heavy discoloring. I asked B&O support to replace the cushion. They refused stating, that this is normal wear & tear. Seriously, after just 5 months of use of a product that cost almost USD 1,000 (900 Swiss Francs). I find this unacceptable. And honestly, that part probably only costs a few bucks to replace and would keep the customer happy. But they don't care, whether you buy BL90 or A1, you are treated the same.

On top, my H95 have difficulties connecting to any sort of Bluetooth source that is not iOS.

I agree with the customer service part. But I do not think comparing lambskin leather (especially of a lighter colour) that you use all the time like clothes to, say, the aluminium work they do on many of their speakers, is a fair comparison.