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
Looking at the Playmaker and looking back at past B&O designs, I'm having a hard time finding a worse folly.
These products were technical follies, but still had nice design:
Beo1
DVD2
AV7000
BeoSound 2
Whereas, these products certainly had questionable design:
Beovision 3
DVD1
HDR1
BeoSound 6
Still, I can't find any B&O product to rival the design folly of the Playmaker. With the Playmaker lacking N network support, it just might fall into the technical folly category as well.
You're right -hard to find anything worse than the Playmaker...
beojeff: Whereas, these products certainly had questionable design: Beovision 3 DVD1 HDR1 BeoSound 6
I don't quite agree about the BV 3...I actually think it was quite nice for a CRT tv...I remember I was a bit disappointed when it came out - we were used to the glossy painted cabinets of the MX and LX series...and then came this...with a dull matte black backside, which looked a bit strange...But it only took a little time getting used to. The idea, offcourse is that it looks a little like a flatscreen when you first see it (well- not if your first glimpse is from the back...)
About the DVD1/HDR 1...Agree!!! Terrible idea to put a DVD player in a VCR cabinet,,,at a time when the DVD players were getting slimmer...Offcourse it was to save money -but to put an average DVD mechanism in a VCR cabinet and then charge 3 or 4 times the price is simply rediculous.Just look at the Harman/Kardon models from thet era...They looked more B&O than the DVD 1 -and at 1/3 of the price...No wonder DVD1 didn't sell well...
All a matter of opinion, but IMO the BV3 is and was one of the most beautiful CRT TVs ever produced.
@kokomo: and the sound was stunning...
Absolutely DON'T agree on the BV3... Still in love with it..
But you've forgotten a piece: the wheelstand for the BV3... now that was something... totally made on a Monday.. after a weekend on whiskey & joints :-)
The one thing that bothers me most about the design of the Playmaker is that it seems so disconnected from the rest of the product range.
From another thread...
It simply looks like half-a-product... as though it were the wall trim plate for something yet to come...
maybe there is!
kuyttendaele: Absolutely DON'T agree on the BV3... Still in love with it.. But you've forgotten a piece: the wheelstand for the BV3... now that was something... totally made on a Monday.. after a weekend on whiskey & joints :-)
Indeed! I supposed that whenever I think of the BV3, I always picture it with that monstrous wheel stand. It always looks rather "pregnant" to me. Perhaps you are right, though, that I was unfair to the design of the BV3 itself. I never saw one in the flesh since the BV3 was not released on this side of the pond.
It kind of reminds me of a birth control pill dispenser. They should have offered it in black. Does it even have PowerLink connections, or just line outs?
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.
Owwwwwno, I never ever warmed to that BV3 sorry guys!
Funniest ever was that BS6 it even looked like the Samsung that it was! Damn! And that horrible nasty nasty BS1 yuck! Not keen on the BL9 or BL5. BL5 is really scary looking - it reminds me of something at a nuclear power station. There's NO WAY i'd EVER have a pair of those ugly things in my crib!
I bought a DVD1 because I was assured that it was top B&O quality. THEY LIED!!!!!! So glad their CEO got fired!!!!!! They robbed me in daylight!
But then youve got the beautiful iconic designs that make me smile - BL6000, BL8000, Ouverture AND in years to come BS8/BeoPlay A8 Iconic to me!!! AND BV10 with the Orange grill :)
I think it shows from BANG&OLUFSEN's very chequered history that you have to be VERY VERY VERY CAREFUL when buying their products. Often poor components, pure software and sometimes poor design. It's definitely a 50/50 and it takes a lot of research to buy a decent one. Right now, it's looking like the B&O range is a far better bet than BANG&OLUFSEN's current offerings!
Hungedu: It kind of reminds me of a birth control pill dispenser. They should have offered it in black. Does it even have PowerLink connections, or just line outs?
You might be on to something there. Perhaps B&O DID have birth control in mind when they designed the Playmaker! Likely, any "excitement" would be quickly extinguished as soon as one's date saw that hideous plastic thing.
I am sure I will get a load of disagreement about this but I am going to stand up for B&O, I am liking the design, not entirely in love with it yet, but I don't think any of us know the whole story yet... I am looking at this product as more of a simple accessory than an actual full on beosound equivalent. I will agree with most everyone that the Playmaker is very very different looking than the rest of the line currently for sure! however, I am thinking that this might be a sort of transitional product that leads the way for other products of a similar design. To me this might be the start of a sort of 1960's retro feel that they start to introduce, it can be pretty fun to mix retro with modern! Anyone agree?.....
2..
beojeff: Hungedu: It kind of reminds me of a birth control pill dispenser. They should have offered it in black. Does it even have PowerLink connections, or just line outs? You might be on to something there. Perhaps B&O DID have birth control in mind when they designed the Playmaker! Likely, any "excitement" would be quickly extinguished as soon as one's date saw that hideous plastic thing.
Paul W:Not keen on the BL9 or BL5. BL5 is really scary looking - it reminds me of something at a nuclear power station.
I'm not keen on BL5 either...It reminds me of a robot from a 50's sci-fi movie But the sound is the best...
I never bought the DVD1 because it looked so much like a VCR -so I bought a Harman/Kardon back in those days...It looked like the components of the 5500 system.
Damn I was hoping that the new Playmaker may look something like the BeoMaster 5500! I dont know why, but thats just the image that I had in my mind. I just cant imagine this connected to a pair of BL8002's it would look so wrong!
Steffen, I had Harman Kardon in my MINI COOPER and oh my gosh, what a fantastic sound!
I noticed that they have just launched new headphones & earphones and are getting a lot of praise!
Paul W:Damn I was hoping that the new Playmaker may look something like the BeoMaster 5500! I dont know why, but thats just the image that I had in my mind. I just cant imagine this connected to a pair of BL8002's it would look so wrong!
I fully agree that its design is not classic - not sure why you picked the BM 5500 as a theme but yes next to BL 8002s it would be silly
But I can see the PlayMaker being quite at home in an environment like this one - in fact it would be more invisible than the Beo6
BeoNut since '75
woooooo ORANGE!!!!!!!!!
I agree that it is appalling. The stand resembles something that one's mother would use to display a plate commemorating the Queen's diamond jubilee. You've got to love the B&O trick of just hiding buttons on the bottom or side where they are completely inaccessible - oops we forgot that function, just put it underneath.