oli wrote:
There is nothing more nothing less issue regarding reliability than any other speaker with a lot of electronic embedded. Don't forget that it is the first B&O speaker to have so much digital stuff built in. Reliability is of course depending of the stability of the electric network, like for all electronic devices, like with a computer for example. I am pretty sure that BL50 and BL90 will have exactly the same "reliability" issue in comparaison to more simple speakers like a BL1 or BL8000, or of course a Penta, even more than the BL5 probably with the amount of embedded software which is not really a B&O strength...
When I bought mine from the dealer, he told me that most of the failure he noticed with these speakers was due to either the electric stability (which can be easily improved), or the intensive use of them at a very high volume like if it was matter to sound a night club 24x7...
I do not agree with this.
First the software is rock solid stable and never fails. It's a standalone device (or max with another BL5 for communication).
I do not agree the comparison with BL8000 and Penta, which hardly fail either. (I know BL8000 with foam issues..). If it fails it will be due to common known reasons which occur in lots of other devices.
Thing is that designs of the past has changed, specially the power supply's in a lot of devices. Think of all the small regulators that come with your phone, settopbox, you name it. These converters are relative new when you compare that with the old traditional power regulators that consists of only a transformer, rectifier and voltage regulator. These older regulators weren't so efficient and are by now replaced with smart switching regulators which are more efficient and smaller than the older version.
That principle of switching technology has been more and more used. The things is that these PSU's fail more than traditional regulators due to leaking capacitors (which are more stressed than in traditional power supply's) and combination of higher demands and physically smaller components.
Now has the switching technology also made it's introduction in ICE power amplifiers, where it's design is clever, small and efficient. But with regarding to the amount of power it can produce the change that it can fail lies higher than average, I think. The combination of degration of the components, level of stress they are subjected to. The reliability of these ICE power amplifiers are and will design wise improve.
A friend of mine has a set of BL5's and demoed a track of the band "Infected Mushrooms" (not my cup of thee), and I thought I saw the BL5's really moving along the floor. So, they can produce such enormous amount of music, my hearing hardly can beare.
My advise, buy them when you can and enjoy them. But don't sell your Penta's. You might regret that eventually. And when the BL5 ever might fail, even the mk1 chassis can be fixed with the newer mk3 version. No problem.
