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This is the second Archived Forum which was active between 1st March 2012 and 23rd February 2022
I'm looking at speaker options and considering some BeoLab 8000s.
I found a comment on the beocentral site
http://beocentral.com/beolab8000speaker
"Despite the drivers being permanently connected to an amplifier of known characteristics, the designers chose them poorly, during the life of the loudspeaker both had to be modified for satisfactory, reliable operation. Some of the woofers used had a plastic cone which would melt and become detached from the voice coil, whilst the tweeter was insufficiently robust and would fall into permanent silence if the full power of the amplifier was used."
I have no way of verifying if this comment is actually correct and wonder if people could provide their experinces with BeoLab 8000s, I must say when I read this I was disappointed.
If this was an issue, but was fixed after a certain serial number/date , then thats fine.
I did see a set of 8000s for sale that said the tweeters were less than "clean" which makes me wonder there may be some truth to the comment above.
As always, thoughts welcome. I prefer to have eyes wide open when looking at potential purchases like this.
Well, I can only report my experience. I've had mine since 1997 when I got them new, and as yet haven't had any woofer or tweeter issues in the past 15 years (gadzooks, has it been that long?). Of course I've not tried to listen to hard rock at head banging levels either, I'm aware of the limitations of what ar basically small speakers. I am unsure of the s/n's of mine, I need to crawl down and look when my back feels better just out of curiosity.
I absolutely love the speakers though, visually stunning, and to my ears audibly superior. Smooth, detailed mids, silky highs with no listener fatigue or harshness, incredible imaging rivaling planar speakers but easier to place. I'd buy them again. I use them with a similar vintage Beosound 9000, Mk 1 first gen one.
I have been toying with the idea of adding a Beolab 11 just for a bit more weight but remain undecided.
Jeff
I'm afraid I'm recovering from the BeoVirus.
I bought mine used in 2004/5 something, they are 2001 models, that is Mark 1, the mark 2 is after ser. no. 16992475. I have been playing very loud on these BLs and have never had problems, they have survived black outs, brown outs and main power overloads, and are still going strong.
But check here and here
Collecting Vintage B&O is not a hobby, its a lifestyle.
Hi
Thank you for your comments. Soren - I found the older posts with serial number ranges very useful !
Maybe avoiding ABL ( loudness ) might be a good idea? I'm a bit of a purist anyway with sound.
I also have a call in to our local B&O repairer to gently shake the tree ( so to speak ) and see what falls out.
Started down the slippery slope of B&O purchases........
I have owned my BeoLab 8000 speakers for 20 years, and they work as well now as the day I first purchased them. They have never had any trouble. No complaints here.
BeoLab 5, BeoVision 7-55 MK2, BeoSound 5 Encore, BeoSound 9000, BeoLab Penta III, BeoLab 8000, BeoLab 6000, BeoLab 2, BeoLab 7-6, BeoSound 8, BeoTime (analog clock), Beo 4 remote.
I have a pair of the first series from 1994. One started to fail 2 years ago because all the internal foam blocks detoriated and and were stuck on the boards causing the speaker not to start. So I had to disassemble the speakers, clean everything and order new foam parts from B&O (they are white rather than greyish). BIG MESS! Bear in mind that you'll have to do that someday... Other than that I would not part with that Beolabs, excellent combination of looks and sound (if combined with a sub)
So is it normal to need to overhaul b&o speakers?
Sounds like I need to schedule speaker work when I get car timing belt replaced.....he he
synth: So is it normal to need to overhaul b&o speakers? Sounds like I need to schedule speaker work when I get car timing belt replaced.....he he
All speakers when they get to around 15 to 20 yrs old need a bit of tlc to keep them in good order, bear in mind b&o speakers have a lot more technology and features inside to produce the best sound, all technology needs a bit of tlc once they get to that age in order to keep them fully functional, parts to do this are so cheap though, i recently replaced the dampening foam for my beolab 6000s and it cost me just under £7.
I've got MkII and I can hear clearly the cover/"cloth" vibrating caused by air which come out of the bass-reflex pipe.
Pushing slightly - tightening the cover helps but who wants to stand right next to the speaker while listening...
Regards Elmar
f5434964: I've got MkII and I can hear clearly the cover/"cloth" vibrating caused by air which come out of the bass-reflex pipe. Pushing slightly - tightening the cover helps but who wants to stand right next to the speaker while listening... Regards Elmar
Your dampening foam needs replacing as too much air is going through the bass port. Very cheap to get from b&o
Ronnie: f5434964: I've got MkII and I can hear clearly the cover/"cloth" vibrating caused by air which come out of the bass-reflex pipe. Pushing slightly - tightening the cover helps but who wants to stand right next to the speaker while listening... Regards Elmar Your dampening foam needs replacing as too much air is going through the bass port. Very cheap to get from b&o
Thanks a lot for your answer - I already had removed the covers but did not see any foam within the bass port... Maybe they have been removed? Got the Labs second hand...the foam should be placed directly into the bass port?! Bass should be a bit absorbed?
Do you have an official part-number?
f5434964: Thanks a lot for your answer - I already had removed the covers but did not see any foam within the bass port... Maybe they have been removed? Got the Labs second hand...the foam should be placed directly into the bass port?! Bass should be a bit absorbed? Do you have an official part-number? Regards Elmar
Not sure on the part number, the dampening foam is located in the cabinet i.e.: behind the speakers and other plastic bits on the front etc .it is there to dampen the amount of air flowing through, you are receiving a "chuffing" noise through the bass port caused by the lack of dampening foam as too much air is flowing through the hole. The need for it is due to the cabinet type as it is constructed of aluminium therefore if there wasn't any the sound would be shallow, therefore once you replace the foam the bass will be more taught and sound better and you won't get the "chuffing" noise.
Here is a picture i took when replacing the dampening foam of my beolab 6000s.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/75459170@N08/7122100525/
Thanks you Ronnie for your help!
Ok its not like I thought - the foam is not visible without removing anything - "behind" the speaker... But I'm very thankfull to know where the problem occures and that there is a way solving it (and maybe I could do ist on my own - would save some money) The sound is quite annoying!
If the front rattles you'll not only have to replace the internal foam parts, there are some foam strips on the front frames below the fabric covers. Just remove the cloth and you'll see them. They detoriate as well. Just order some single sided foam tape (not double sided, otherwise the cloth sticks there). After they have been replaced the frame with the cloth should sit tightly and should not move during listening.
When replacing the internal foam parts you should wear gloves, believe me!!! the stuff your'e trying to replace is no longer foam, it's glue...
I was speaking to an authorized repairer here in Australia about 8000s, and he said generally the electronics doesnt drift and the speakers themselves are pretty sound ( excuse unintended pun ).
He did say most issues he had seen seem to come from salt air exposure ( the speakers being near the sea ) and some corrosion can occur on circuit boards and the foam degrades due to the salt air. I guess if you live in a lot of european countries, this could be a potential issue. Where I live is over 200km inland so I should be fine. That said, if I sourced speakers from any city next to the sea, you may expect a few issues down the track ( possibly...) but I dont know if that applies to all 8000s.
Yeah I guess I can only go on what the B&O service techs tell me.....