Hi Olvisab,

Thank you for the speedy reply. You have confirmed my thoughts on this. I must admit it took a lot of searching to find some beolab 1's for sale. Plus someone that would ship them to Spain with a warranty. I would be interested in talking to you about the pair you have for sale. 

 

Thanks again. 

I think BL8000 looks more classy and that Bl1 is too big and sharp in its sound.

Hi Michael, thanks for your reply. I wondered this myself as I love my 8000's. They sound fantastic. 

I use the set up 50/50 music/movie. 

I think I'm going to have to listen to some 1's first. 

Thanks again. 

markemark wrote:

...as I'm not happy with the beolab 6000 being used as surrounds.

My set up is as follows. Fronts beolab 8000, Center beolab 7.2, Sub Kef ( to be changed asap for beolab 2), Surrounds beolab 6000....

I use Beolab 4000 as rears due to a) their improved sound in comparison to the 6000 and b) better options in setting them up (have them on table brackets).

Not having heard the Beolab 1 I cannot judge, but I could not convince my wife to swap...

Ralf

you will find always more negativ opinion than positiv because few have listened to them during a reasonable time, with a beolab 2, in its best set up and few can afford them compared to the price of a pair of bl8000 and their rarity.

it was not a widespread speaker because of its price. even the dealers had very few.

it is an excellent speaker far better than any bl8000. At 1000/1200 it is a really bargain.

I own bl8000 mk2, bl1 and bl5 and in the near past penta mk2, I have done every comparison possible with or without bl2. the bl8000 are good but bl1 can be considered as big 8000.

 

 

I can only confirm what olvisab is saying ! I have been a more than happy owner of the BL1 (replacing a 8000 pair), and I miss them each day since I sold them for space reasons after a move.

With a BL2, it is more comparing to a pair of BL5 in my opinion. It is just another world compared to a BL8000...

I have done the comparison myself with the bl5 in real time because each pair was at the opposite side of the room. the highs of the bl1 are excellent and if the music is not asking for deep bass, the bl1 really bright. if the bass are too deep, the bl2 cannot deal with them properly, then the quality of the sound decreases rapidly.

if I won't have my mint bl5000 to move from front to rear due to the size of my new 7 55, I won't keep them for rears.

 

... I concur with the previous posters. If you have the space, go for the BL1 with BL2 for surround. Once you have them, it is beneficial to test the settings (wall - free - corner) to color the lower frequencies. 

My BL1 soldier on for 10 years now - I would miss them. 

olvisab wrote:

you will find always more negativ opinion than positiv because few have listened to them during a reasonable time, with a beolab 2, in its best set up and few can afford them compared to the price of a pair of bl8000 and their rarity.

it was not a widespread speaker because of its price. even the dealers had very few.

it is an excellent speaker far better than any bl8000. At 1000/1200 it is a really bargain.

I own bl8000 mk2, bl1 and bl5 and in the near past penta mk2, I have done every comparison possible with or without bl2. the bl8000 are good but bl1 can be considered as big 8000.

beolab 5, beolab 10, beolab 5000, beolab 4500, beolab 8000 mk2, beolab 2, beolab 1, beolab 3500, IWS 2000, beovision 7 55 mk2, beovision 11 46, beotime, beogram 7000 white mmc2, beosound century, beosound ouverture, beosound essence and the collection continues...

Of course Bl1 is better than BL8000(!) but they do take up much more space visually. I enjoy the elegant construction of the BL8000 and almost got myself BL1 (I don't think they are so expensive) but I settled for a new pair of BL9 that has more or less the same technical design but updated and smaller, with much better bass. For this reason I could not find a reason to buy BL1 then. They would look to huge as fronts to my TV when they had to stand just a few meters away from each other.

Today most stores and many people buy small Sonia speakers that hides and plays really good for what they are. This has made visible speakers a bit of the past. That's also something I am considering while decorating. I never owned a pair of BL1 myself but two of my friends has them at least so I have listened to them quite a lot. They are nice but I don't see any audio advantages in them over BL9 for example. Of course they produce more sound than BL8000 but with a Bl2 the difference is less noticeable.