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
B&O should absolutely get a new marketing department, but at the same time I think their products are something out of the 1990-ties...
CD players... Who the heck needs them anymore?
BS5, a big clumsy black box with a bunch of different viring between the control module and actual "computer".
BS5 encore was definitely a step in the right direction. They should continue on this path, having Network accessed storage. Nice if it had video too!
There's excellent CEO's out there, Tue Mantoni has proven himself not to be one of them. Time to change B&O?
Too long to list....
bayerische: B&O should absolutely get a new marketing department, but at the same time I think their products are something out of the 1990-ties... CD players... Who the heck needs them anymore? I do - but I can do well with my Beogram CD4500 - no need for something 'new'. BS5, a big clumsy black box with a bunch of different viring between the control module and actual "computer". "clumsy box", that can easily be hidden away - "different wiring" because of different connection possibilties - "computer" because you need some kind of computing for digitized files. BS5 Encore was definitely a step in the right direction. They should continue on this path, having Network accessed storage. Nice if it had video too! The "clumsy box" of the Encore is called a NAS (or a Computer/MAC) with a DLNA server running - and is mostly hidden away! "Video" - on that small screen??? There's excellent CEO's out there, Tue Mantoni has proven himself not to be one of them. Time to change B&O? Keep it cool - that you don't like what B&O currently does, does not mean that it is wrong.
I do - but I can do well with my Beogram CD4500 - no need for something 'new'.
"clumsy box", that can easily be hidden away - "different wiring" because of different connection possibilties - "computer" because you need some kind of computing for digitized files.
BS5 Encore was definitely a step in the right direction. They should continue on this path, having Network accessed storage. Nice if it had video too!
The "clumsy box" of the Encore is called a NAS (or a Computer/MAC) with a DLNA server running - and is mostly hidden away! "Video" - on that small screen???
Keep it cool - that you don't like what B&O currently does, does not mean that it is wrong.
There is a tv - and there is a BV
For that problen there is a 'cable extension kit'!
To eliminate "the clumsy box" - whether it be a BM5 computer/server or a NAS with the server running - you would have go for a 'cloud solution'. Then the "clumsy box" would be out of sight.
Speaking of the BM5 - most people seem to forget that it has a superb soundcard built in, and that it reacts very quick - because it is a computer.
It has a ML, which for many is still important. And it can be controlled by the BeoLink app if used with a MLGW.
MM
B&O should engage a very good Hollywood publicist and give them a lot of well branded items.. Schmaltzy, I know; but it will pay itself off. B&O will show up in paparazzi photos, onto the sets of movies, and in to the minds of millions of fans.
There are a hell of a lot of people who have never heard of B&O, and people like to 'discover' what they think is the newest and latest thing
x:________________________
Hi Jonathan,
just spread the word - that is what BeoWorlders can do.
DoubleU:In some setup's it is not that easy to hide a BM5. Especially with the 3 cables with fixed plugs on both sides. But wether or not the BM5 can be hidden away, it's still a clumsy box!!
Millemissen:It has a ML, which for many is still important. And it can be controlled by the BeoLink app if used with a MLGW.
Just write B&O - I am sure the will create a 'Cloud-MLGW'
Ha, ha, he, he, ho,ho 👻
Millemissen: just spread the word - that is what BeoWorlders can do.
True. But when a lot of recent stuff is flaky, you have to be a slightly odd 'fanatic' to be constantly positive about the brand.
The speakers are robust though :)
moxxey: Millemissen: just spread the word - that is what BeoWorlders can do. True. But when a lot of recent stuff is flaky, you have to be a slightly odd 'fanatic' to be constantly positive about the brand. Our office BeoCom 5's have never truly worked, despite numerous updates and sending back handsets to B&O to be replaced The Playmaker MKI we recently bought often loses connection as an Airplay device, sometimes mid-playback Less said about the Encore, the better Or the BeoLit 12 The speakers are robust though :)
Despite the BL5, speakers don't have software inside
People don't have to like the stuff I like, and I don't have to like the stuff that others do.
But I can still 'spread the word' and give advice how people - interested in B&O - can realize what they want/need. There are lots of ways to use and to combine B&O stuff (even with 3th party products).
@Moxxey: My Playmaker runs from day one - haven't udated it - why should I?
To me it isn't fisky at all - best thing I bought for a long time.
Beolit12 - nice and working for some and obvisiously not for others.
I don't need it, but I have no problem in recommending it to those who do.
The Encore is probly best as an add-on for a BS/BM5 in a seperate ('link')room - if you can accept the wheeling/fissling with the userinterface.
BeoCom5's - I have no clue!?
Or in short: what is fisky to you doesn't have to be fisky to me.
Greetings Millemissen
Millemissen: For that problen there is a 'cable extension kit'! Right! Two extra boxes and an adapter to feed one of the boxes, where the original cables with their fixed plugs, still have to be used. On top of that the customer has to pay an extra €800. Problem solved! Are you serious? To eliminate "the clumsy box" - whether it be a BM5 computer/server or a NAS with the server running - you would have go for a 'cloud solution'. Then the "clumsy box" would be out of sight. Right! Again! Out of sight or not. It's still there. Speaking of the BM5 - most people seem to forget that it has a superb soundcard built in, and that it reacts very quick - because it is a computer. Is it? A superb soundcard embedded on a plain motherboard. The soundcard is just fine, but superb? I find that hard to believe. No audio-IN available, but hey, just add a USB-interface. One box extra, who’s counting... It has a ML, which for many is still important. And it can be controlled by the BeoLink app if used with a MLGW. Do you really believe people out there have no problems paying €2200 for another clumsy kit to have a free app working on their iPad?
Right! Two extra boxes and an adapter to feed one of the boxes, where the original cables with their fixed plugs, still have to be used. On top of that the customer has to pay an extra €800. Problem solved! Are you serious?
Right! Again! Out of sight or not. It's still there.
Is it? A superb soundcard embedded on a plain motherboard. The soundcard is just fine, but superb? I find that hard to believe. No audio-IN available, but hey, just add a USB-interface. One box extra, who’s counting...
Do you really believe people out there have no problems paying €2200 for another clumsy kit to have a free app working on their iPad?
In relation to this topic-title in the year 2013 where as solutions should be a lot easier, I see a lot valid replies here that B&O has lost the plot. Especially when it comes to the BM5/BS5 combi. The word clumsy doesn’t have to be quoted here. It just is!
Millemissen: Or in short: what is fisky to you doesn't have to be fisky to me
Or in short: what is fisky to you doesn't have to be fisky to me
Fisky? No idea what this means. I'm not recommending hugely expensive products that do not always deliver. Two BeoCom 5's for £1000? Should be perfect out of the box. The BeoLit 12 should have had Airplay issues resolved months ago.
Pardon me for for not being a 'master of the english language'
I should have used the word you used - flaky - or unreliable, but I am sure you know what I meant.
Anyway - please don't miscredit B&O for one failure - the BeoCom 5's.
Not all BeoLit 12's have AirPlay issues, and certainly not all Playmakers.
DoubleU:BM5/BS5 combi. The word clumsy doesn’t have to be quoted here. It just is!
I had several beosystem (4500, 5500,6500, 7000) , beocenter (2, 2500) and beosound (overture, 3000, 9000) and this fu***** clumsy BM5/BS5 is the best player I ever bought.
If nothing is perfect on this damn world, this "clumsy" is very easy to use and extremely well designed.
Yesterday I went to my b&o dealer in order to listen to the beolab 14 set. When I arrive, the seller was explaining how the BM5/BS5 works to potential client.
I was tempted to buy another one, just because I saw how it was pleasant to use and beautiful wall mounted.
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...
olvisab: Yesterday I went to my b&o dealer in order to listen to the beolab 14 set. When I arrive, the seller was explaining how the BM5/BS5 works to potential client. I was tempted to buy another one, just because I saw how it was pleasant to use and beautiful wall mounted.
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
Millemissen, of course computing power is needed, but a computer, don't have to look like a "computer" say a mini ATX box. Several companies has proven this. If you are asking high street money, you better have a high street product.
A NAS server is something that more and more people are running in their homes, something that is wireless and indeed very easily hidden, unlike the BS5 where the USB cable is the limiting factor. I'm sure the interface between the BS5 and BM5 could have been made with only one cable, but instead of doing that, what would obviously have needed more work, B&O once again rushed things.
Video would be nice, but of course not on the 10" display, think of the Apple TV, having a powerful BS5E, with unlimited NAS storage being able to stream video and sound wirelessly to ANY B&O device, TV'S, Beosounds and Beoplay products such as the Beolit!
Still, I'm entitled to my opinion on this board. What B&O is doing is obviously wrong if you look at their financial state. If they don't change soon, they're running out of money and then we will have no B&O.
9 LEE: Chris Townsend:Well if you visit my local store you would come out with a rosy must work harder feeling, but if you had come with me today to Harrods you would have come away with all of these negative feelings that Paul W was always complaining about. What a perfect opportunity to retail B&O with a constant huge customer through put, but I'm actually ashamed to say I spent about 10 minutes of my time away from my son demoing a few products for some Americans just moving into London. Eventually I had to move on and they were swallowed up with aplomb by the excellent staff of Loewe. The LG and Samsung staff were also.. I have a suspicion that B&O are looking to eradicate the franchise model altogether. They know that many stores are a bad ambassador for the brand - and not only do they have more control over staff performance, they will also be able to get rid of the "middle man" - aka "the fanchisee" and take more profit from every sale... That said, I'm sure Harrods is company run - so feel free to name and shame, I'm sure B&O would thank you for it ! Lee
Chris Townsend:Well if you visit my local store you would come out with a rosy must work harder feeling, but if you had come with me today to Harrods you would have come away with all of these negative feelings that Paul W was always complaining about. What a perfect opportunity to retail B&O with a constant huge customer through put, but I'm actually ashamed to say I spent about 10 minutes of my time away from my son demoing a few products for some Americans just moving into London. Eventually I had to move on and they were swallowed up with aplomb by the excellent staff of Loewe. The LG and Samsung staff were also..
What a perfect opportunity to retail B&O with a constant huge customer through put, but I'm actually ashamed to say I spent about 10 minutes of my time away from my son demoing a few products for some Americans just moving into London. Eventually I had to move on and they were swallowed up with aplomb by the excellent staff of Loewe. The LG and Samsung staff were also..
I have a suspicion that B&O are looking to eradicate the franchise model altogether. They know that many stores are a bad ambassador for the brand - and not only do they have more control over staff performance, they will also be able to get rid of the "middle man" - aka "the fanchisee" and take more profit from every sale...
That said, I'm sure Harrods is company run - so feel free to name and shame, I'm sure B&O would thank you for it !
Lee
I would agree with this entirely. To my mind, B&O has lost a lot of credibility and certainly a lot of business since franchising the brand. This was probably the underlying reason I decided to sell all my equipment only 18 months after purchase (from new from a dealer) and leave the brand, as I had no support or relationship with a good/nice dealer, which obviously put me off adding further products to my home setup.
Since a franchised network has been in place I have experienced 'shady' workmanship from installs (not altogether bad, but a lack of attention to detail and very rushed work making expensive mistakes along the way), trying and difficult relationship(s) with new dealers (who I don't believe understood what the existing B&O customer base liked about the brand and why they bought into it in the first place), a lack of what I consider to be good customer service and of course the product line up looking less and less like traditional B&O aesthetics with that 'magic touch' that I had always loved so much about the brand, i.e. electronic curtains, sliding doors on older BeoSound models, DVD opening trays on the BV7 televisions etc.
I have no understanding of the BeoPlay range whatsoever, but that is just me. David Lewis was responsible for many former great designs and I believe that since he has left on a mainstream basis, nobody that has replaced him has the same ideology from an aesthetic point of view that he had, and for me, this is the missing magic. I was drawn to B&O because they stood out from the crowd. Now they do not, apart from their speakers which I have always liked and nothing has changed here apart from the BV14s which I am unsure about. The sub looks rather messy in design and build quality to me.
I do agree with the original poster and feel very disappointed that B&O has nothing of interest for me personally. Its not a question of money necessarily. I would happily spend my money if I had a nice friendly relationship with a dealer who I knew would 'genuinely' want to 'look after me.' I used to like that a lot about the brand to begin with. A franchise model is usually about making money as quickly as possible and has little concern about the customer after the sale unless the product is faulty and they have a duty, for example. This is such a shame because you would always make your money, and more, if you focussed on building up a relationship with the customer and getting to know them etc. I suppose it comes down to your people skills at the end of the day. Some have it, some don't, and that is the difference between a sale and a non-sale. I also have a passion for watches and on other forums I frequent they always advise people to 'buy the seller, not the watch.' This sums up everything I have said.
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.
Thats a great shame. Whereabouts do you live(roughly)?
Beosound Stage, Beovision 8-40, Beolit 20, Beosound Explore.
echo echo echo
Chris Townsend: Thats a great shame. Whereabouts do you live(roughly)?
Simon is in Bath :)
Welcome back Simon. It's been a while.
Simon, you really need to visit Newcastle.
Chris Townsend: Simon, you really need to visit Newcastle.
I'll add that I have zero issues with the Bath store (although, ironically, the Newcastle store is probably my closest, back up North. That or the Yarm store, both owned by MartinW)!