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Just curious :)
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I'm doing a project for school on B&O and am interested in learning what makes them standout among all the other options in the market. Any feedback is helpful!
Although their designs are absolutely stunning, what do you think attracted you to B&O products initially? And how in the world do you afford them? haha
simonsj: Although their designs are absolutely stunning, what do you think attracted you to B&O products initially? And how in the world do you afford them? haha
I think you already answered your own question - the design is what attracted many of us to B&O. I'm sure I'm not alone in that I fell in love with B&O when I was a kid, but never owned one of their speakers until I was in my 30s. You afford them because you've worked hard and made enough money to pay what it costs.
Beolab 17, A9 MK IV (soon to be sold), Stage x2, H95, E8 Sport, A1 V2
Couldn’t you say exactly the same for the products that Apple makes - the price tag for a new iPad Pro or the newest iPhone is rather defty IMO.
As for the B&O products, there are many factors there - design/appearance and materials, the build quality (as already mentioned), but also the way these products work seamless together….you can even make 30 year old products (that you still have) work together with the newest products.
Also the fact that you can control all these products (and in many cases - via the PUC solution - also 3rd party products) with one single remote is appealing to a lot of the costumers. HomeAutomation can be integrated in a similar way.
It is the fact that these people have created products that have an overall unified way of working, that makes these product uninique - and that for decades - that draws people to B&O.
These factors may be weightened differently by different costumers, of course.
In a way the same goes for the Apple products. But Apple is basicly a tech company , which you can not compare directly to an A/V company like B&O.
It is well known, that a lot B&O users also prefer the Apple products, and use e.g. an iPad with their B&O setup.
So, it is not one of these over the other - it is mosly a combination of both.
A Sony product on the other hand would hardly fit in there……....unless you - as a B&O costumer - buy e.g. a Sony blu ray player and let it be PUC controlled with your Beovision/Beoremote.
MM
There is a tv - and there is a BV
Bang & Olufsen: Design of glass and aluminium, the finish of the aluminium AND the mechanical magic of their products: Sliding glass doors on Beosound 3000, , butterfly wings of the Beocenter 2, the aluminium wheels and levers of a Beosound 5, motorized antennas of Beosound 1 (the old one with the CD player) and Beosound 3. The control wheel of Beosound 1 (the newer Bluetooth/Wifi speaker) etc. Discovering the little secrets of B&O products reveals the knowledge and thought B&O put into developing them. Although it's sometimes sad that they don't communicate all the bells & whistles of their products. There are things many of us discovered by accident and through this forum.I don't know any other audio video company that allows backward compatibility for legacy devices over decades! I really appreciate, like and support that! They (started to) listen to their customers, too. Apple:I belong to the minority that chooses Sony over Apple. What is great from Apple:- iPad. For me the only really great product is the iPad. It's somehow "the gold standard" when it comes to tablet computers. There's often simply no other choice if you want good tablet software. I bought an iPad for flying as it is certificated and reliable during flight and simply 99% of the airplane mounts are made for iPads. - Airplay: For music easier than Google Chromecast when streaming to multiple devices and works local without internet connection (which Google introduced later, too).And I do not like Apples behaviour. Apple forces you into their "golden cage" eco system - which is understandable. But they tried hard to prevent the repair act in the USA etc. and this is something I do not agree with. They have fantastic marketing allowing them to demand abnormal prices for e.g. thin plastic cases that aren't worth more than 5$ from any other company. Their computers have issues like all other computers, too. No magic here.
Sony:Some very great designed (okay, highly subjective) and reliable products and marketing wise the complete opposite of Apple: Sony sucks at marketing. Completeley. They act like "Hey, we have a great new product, but DON'T TELL ANYONE!" Their service is mediocre, too. But they compensate with the reliability and perfomance of their products (not all, of course).We use Sony Blu-ray players with Bang & Olufsen combined. Control over PUC as Millemissen already mentioned and it works fine. Nvidia shield with PUC control on any B&O TV for all streaming services. How to afford them? I use the old school approach and work. ;-)
I agree with most of the comments so far. The initial attraction is obviously the design. You can't say "aside from the design, what's the initial attraction". However, that's just the initial attraction. Is there more than a pretty face? Yes (see above). Posts above have mentioned the decades long backward compatibility, but there's also just the longevity of their products. The products are usually built to last, and they don't release new versions every year so you can buy without worrying too much about what's new in next year's new model.
I believe you did some pre-work on your own. Just afraid you won't hear anything you haven't (or couldn't) figured out yourself anyway.
You're right in that I did some research prior to posting this thread. It would be wrong if I didn't do my due diligence and relied on everyone hear to do my work for me. As to your point on fear of figuring out things I already know, I disagree, I think it's important to my project to learn from people who use B&O products, what makes them special to them, and why they choose x-brand over y-brand. Thank you everyone for entertaining this thread, you've been super helpful in explaining what makes B&O so special!
I know I've asked a lot from y'all, and have learned a lot along the way, but I'm curious to know if anyone would be willing to hop on a call with me for like 15min this week? This project ends in about 2 weeks and I still have some work cut out for me.
Thank you!
John