Stylo - Gorillaz for bass testing. The intro has a nice strong bass without being muddy. Beolabs really shine with this track

Stylo - Gorillaz for bass testing. The intro has a nice strong bass without being muddy. Beolabs really shine with this track

Thanks guys,

I am pleased to confirm that I spent a very enjoyable day today with Nick at B&O Wilmslow, filming the Beolab 5, 50 and 90 speaker comparison video, plus another video to follow soon that will hopefully also interest many Beoworlders.

It may take me a few days to get this edited and uploaded, but you will be the first to hear once this is ready!  Thanks for your patience......

I must add that if you are considering purchasing any of these speakers, the Wilmslow store currently have all three models set up in the same area ready to hear, so this is the ideal opportunity to listen to them 😐

Kind regards, Steve.

Razlaw wrote:

Looking forward to the video! Just hope it does not make me regret my decision to upgrade my 20s to 50s. 🤔

Even more worryingly, I hope it doesn't make me regret purchasing BL90s... 🙁

Hi,

I have last weekend got delivered my new Beolab 50. I have had Beolab 5 in 10 years.

I have calibrated the speakers for different listening zones have "learned" how to use them properly. I have my Eclipse connected with Powerlink cables to the 50:s.

So to my findings with the 50:s vs the 5:s:

I am NOT so convinced that this speakers are "better" than the 5:s. The high frequencies (vocals from tweeter) is rather sharp/harsh when I compare with the 5:s. Also the Bass is rather "light" when I compare with the 5:s. I have all Bass and Treble put to zero.

Someone will of course say that I have not set these speakers up properly. BUT I know that I have done it right both with the "B&O"-app (set-up) and in the Eclipse. I use "Music" sound-mode from the eclipse. I have also tried "Custom"-soundmode but there is no difference from "Music"-mode.

Conclusion: I will not say that I am unhappy with the speakers BUT the old Beolab 5 was at least as good when I talk about smothness in tweeter, bassrespons and so on. Of course I get maybe more detailed sound-picture when I use "narrow" beam vs the Beolab 5 but I still think that the TREBLE is to much in the speaker (especially when you listen to female vocals some times).

Any comments???

Best Regards
Martin

SWEDEN

Give yourself a week or two to adjust to the new sound dynamics of the BL50s.  I believe our brains adapt our hearing and adjust our perception of what sounds good.  I think this is one of the main explanation behind the "break-in" phenomenon.  Audiophiles are always recommend not judging new equipment until it has been "broken in".  Except in a few rare instances with certain speaker materials, I don't think the equipment is changing, it's the owner's perception.

In my own experience, when I first got my BL1s, I thought their treble was hard/harsh relative to the BL8000s they replaced.  After a few weeks, I thought they sounded superb - far more detail and better imaging than the BL8000s and only harsh on some badly mastered recordings - and now when I listen to the BL8000s, there's something missing (still like them a lot, though).  I don't think the sound changed.  I guess I could blame the change of the BL8000s on the fact I moved them to a different room, but that doesn't explain my perception of the BL1s - and it wasn't "break in" because they were well broken in when I bought them used.

Stan

Hi Stan,

You might have right that the speakers must "broke-in". But other parameters is done as the technical soundguide describes. I dont know what to alter/change in regards to change the sound picture especially the treble-part.

I have done a proper calibration and made "presets" and connected the different calibrations with the presets. I use "music-mode" (sound mode)in the Eclipse and all tone controls in both speakers and Eclipse is set to neutral. I live in a home with wooden floor and rather "soft" walls.

Maybe Geoff Martin can give some advice regarding my findings when I compare the 50:s vs 5:s

Best Regards
Martin

Stan wrote:

Give yourself a week or two to adjust to the new sound dynamics of the BL50s.  I believe our brains adapt our hearing and adjust our perception of what sounds good.  I think this is one of the main explanation behind the "break-in" phenomenon.  Audiophiles are always recommend not judging new equipment until it has been "broken in".  Except in a few rare instances with certain speaker materials, I don't think the equipment is changing, it's the owner's perception.

In my own experience, when I first got my BL1s, I thought their treble was hard/harsh relative to the BL8000s they replaced.  After a few weeks, I thought they sounded superb - far more detail and better imaging than the BL8000s and only harsh on some badly mastered recordings - and now when I listen to the BL8000s, there's something missing (still like them a lot, though).  I don't think the sound changed.  I guess I could blame the change of the BL8000s on the fact I moved them to a different room, but that doesn't explain my perception of the BL1s - and it wasn't "break in" because they were well broken in when I bought them used.

Stan

Excellent observation..."break in" is you adjusting to the sound, not the sound changing. Most loudspeaker parameters settle in very quickly, there's not much change after the first few minutes of play if that, but break-in is a great way to keep your customer from returning something before they adapt to it.

The only instance I've personally experienced wrt break-in being a thing was a pair of Magnepans, new out of the box, over a period of a day their bass response changed, measurably, but their design, a large membrane based speaker, is more apt to have changes in tension and response of the stretched Mylar menbrane than a cone driver.