I absolutely agree with John and Michael. The last time I spoke to a B&O dealer the BeoVision 7-55 was AUD33k, thats a lot of money for something can will quickly be outdated by competitor product or new technology. With 33k I could purchase the new Sharp PRO-70X5FD (at 70inch instead of 55inch), a B&O BeoLab 7 and OPPO BDP-95 with quite a bit of spare change left. Give a year or two it might even be possible to get a OLED tv - which is highly likely to be far superior to the BeoVision 7-55.

Personally I'm more likely to get the BeoLab 5 as my next purchase (once I find more space and can convince my wife to like it's look) then any B&O vision product for all the reasons John pointed out.

Its a pity the BeoSound 5 Encore doesn't support two way remote, I've been looking for a slick front end device with good DAC and two way remote for my BeoLab 3 to play all my digitial music stored in my HTPC. I'd even stomach the AUD5k it cost to buy it in Sydney instead of USD3.7k it cost in USA.

As an Australian B&O customer, the one thing I would dearly wish they fix is their pricing practice. It is getting quite ridiculous, the Australian dollar has been over the last four years significantly higher than the aud/usd 0.65 conversion rate priced in B&O Australian prices. I could actual source B&O items from authorised overseas dealers, pay the extra shipping and GST, and still save money...

BillC wrote:

 With 33k I could purchase the new Sharp PRO-70X5FD (at 70inch instead of 55inch), a B&O BeoLab 7 and OPPO BDP-95 with quite a bit of spare change left. 

 

And with that spare change you can buy a surround processor to take the place of the Beosystem 3 inside the BV7. Or does the Sony have something similar  built in also?

The OPPO BDP-95 has 7.1 individual analog output

I am very happy with my Ipad. It's without any doubt the best gadget I received over the past year. Yet why can you not replace its battery? Countless updates will make this unnecessary I'am afraid. I do not believe B&O needs an introduction on repair service here. So let's not compare apples and peers on build quality here. Thank you.

Pauliander wrote:

I am very happy with my Ipad. It's without any doubt the best gadget I received over the past year. Yet why can you not replace its battery? Countless updates will make this unnecessary I'am afraid. I do not believe B&O needs an introduction on repair service here. So let's not compare apples and peers on build quality here. Thank you.

i agree, bang and olufsen all the way, service, design, repair, longevity, you name it!

nuff said!

I agree.

BillC wrote:

the new Sharp PRO-70X5FD (at 70inch instead of 55inch)

I have a sneaky suspicion that this (or very similar) chassis will be the underpinnings for the larger of the upcoming Apple TV panels...

moxxey wrote:

StUrrock wrote:

My BeoSound 5 customers, whilst enjoying the sumptuous sound and the benefits of MOTS, find all the levers wheels etc very confusing....

Amazing. I made this observation in a debate about the Beosound 5 UI and everyone who own's a Beosound 5 (forgetting I owned one for two months) jumped on my back saying it was perfect.

It isn't. That's also a reason I sold my BS5. I don't understand why, in 2011, we need 3 levers to scroll through and select music. Whereas everyone else is moving to touchscreen, we have levers. I got shot down for suggesting touch screen, but on a 11" screen, you should be able to swipe and select a track.

I own a Beosound 8 and have my iPad perma-connected. It's so easy to find and select a track. If I want a specific track (from my thousands of tracks), I go to the search function, enter a few letters and options are presented in seconds. Immediately. I don't have to scroll through tracks, to find the one I want. It takes seconds.

I also love the way I can move between tracks, add to a playlist, show the artwork and control using my finder. It's so intuitive and, frankly, the BS8 + iPad is one of the best recent B&O purchases, apart from the Beocom 5.

Since the Encore was released, I went back to my dealer to familiarise myself with the lever system and UI. Even I got confused and I regard myself as both a tech expert and used a Beosound 5 for a couple of months (two years ago). I had to take some time to remind myself which lever does what and how to find music (quickly).

Sadly that experience also reminded me that - as lovely as the Encore looks - the lever system can be complicated, when all you want to do is find a track, swiftly.

And look what Loewe is bringing soon in Berlin...

http://www.i4u.com/47327/ifa-2011-loewe-soundvision-audio-system-tablet-does-it-all

benoit wrote:

And look what Loewe is bringing soon in Berlin...

http://www.i4u.com/47327/ifa-2011-loewe-soundvision-audio-system-tablet-does-it-all

But that uses it's own proprietary tablet controller? What's the point of that? We've been busy talking about the lack of AirPlay support in B&O products and Loewe go one further by developing their own tablet (no doubt running a version of Android)?