Millemissen wrote:

If you are the kind of guy, who needs to 'start saving up for these speakers', you probably aren't in the target group for these.

On the other hand: starting to save up isn't that bad at all - just in case something else would turn up within the next year or so....

.....whatever (speaker) that might be ;-)

MM

There is a tv - and there is a BV.

This is exactly the point. As you say. If one has to save up, then the speakers aren't for them? So for whom is it? Football players that also enjoy perfect sound? For what person is it designed? It feels, for me, as a product that is designed perhaps more for corporate use but at the same time not. It's marketed towards home use. A pair of beolab 90 in a big lecture hall perhaps? Or for a restaurant?

There are people, who have homes as big as 'big lecture halls' - and don't care for what is on the pricetag.

These speakers really show, what B&O is capable of. And they point towards a change in the construction (and conceptuion) of future speakers/audioengines - that is, what is important to me.

I guess, that is what Tue means, when he talks about them as a 'gamechanger'.

Even if I had started saving long ago, I would never be able to buy the BL90 - but I don't really care.

I am pretty sure, that I will enjoy them anyway, when I have the chance to listen 'through' them.

MM

Michael wrote:

This is exactly the point. As you say. If one has to save up, then the speakers aren't for them? So for whom is it? Football players that also enjoy perfect sound? For what person is it designed? It feels, for me, as a product that is designed perhaps more for corporate use but at the same time not. It's marketed towards home use. A pair of beolab 90 in a big lecture hall perhaps? Or for a restaurant?

There are plenty of people who could afford them. A very very small percentage of the total population but still plenty. The sort of people who buy exotic cars new just for example. Yes some of them might be footballers but they will appeal to some successful business people too. I don't see a corporate market or restaurant for these personally.

In order for Bang & Olufsen to maintain the perception of a luxury brand and experts on Sound and Vision, the Beolab 90 makes perfect sense. The price tag considering that capabilities of the speakers also makes sense. There are audiophile shops here in Stockholm where the cheapest speakers cost in the level of Beloab 90. So, of course the Beolab 90 will sell. However not like "hot cakes" but for sure so that they make perfect sense to Bang & Olufsen brand and image.

Thats my opinion 🙂

Michael wrote:

 So many questions I have about it but mainly the price and design sets it apart from the regular B&O that at least I am used to. Help me understand, and share your own opinions about the speaker.

 

Interesting question! Without any inside information, I guess there are several reasons for building them, and that the answer lies not only in whom it's for, but also what it's for.

It's for those that want the ultimate
While most people can enjoy music through a regular stereo set or enjoy driving a regular car, there are those that want the ultimate in performance, craftmanship, attention to detail, design etc. The BeoLab 90 caters to them. Some will buy it because they really can hear the difference and appreciate the sound quality, some just because it's the best, some because they want to show off.

It's branding
The BeoLab 90 is a true hero product, something that builds excitment, adds an aura of coolness, expands brand awareness and opens up the brands to people that before haven't considered it.

It's an aspirational product
It's a product that people will want, will drool over and will talk about. It doesn't matter that most people (me included) won't be able to buy it; it will attract people who then might end up buying something else from the B&O range.

It's R&D materialized in a product
The BeoLab 90 is obviously the culmination of a massive undertaking in research and technology. The cost for doing that almost always mean that the "gen 1" product will be very expensive, but then over time the technology will trickle down to cheaper products. I'd bet that's already in the pipeline.

It's fun! And a morale booster for employees
I guess it's everyones dream to design and build the ultimate, so it must have been really fun for those involved. And it must be a morale booster for everyone at B&O. Given the challenges that B&O face, it must be really nice to feel that "your" company still is able to produce really kick-ass products.

Again, I don't have any inside information. It would be really interesting to learn the inside story of when this project/product was approved and what benefits management expect from it.

Regards,

Mattias

 

Duels wrote:

There are plenty of people who could afford them. A very very small percentage of the total population but still plenty. The sort of people who buy exotic cars new just for example. Yes some of them might be footballers but they will appeal to some successful business people too. I don't see a corporate market or restaurant for these personally.

Very true, but it is a very big jump up from the previously most expensive speaker nonetheless. I admire it and it is an awesome speaker but I still don't like the design that much. It will grow on me I am sure. 

I understand this is like a race car in R&D terms and of course it is awesome for the company but as I said before in this thread, the company have been having some economical issues, and many stores has shut down. I am happy that B&O does invest in speakers like the BeoLab 90 but it still confuses me plenty :). I thought my Beolabs was expensive, which they are. But compared to the Beolab 90 they're really a bargain 🙂.

By the way I think they could be found in restaurants later. Who knows! With all that power in such small cabinettes. Why not? The money is certainly there.  

Geoff Martin wrote:

Michael wrote:

One question I was thinking about was if two Beolab 90 could be used as a full surround setup, in the sweet spot. I mean to simulate surround sound almost like a sound bar.

Ah! Now I understand the "surround" part of the question. The short answer to this is "no". In this regard, the Beolab 90 currently behaves as a "normal" loudspeaker (with one small caveat...). In other words, each loudspeaker only reproduces the audio channel that goes into it: left front input, left front output.

The caveat is quite specific. Since the Active Room Compensation is multichannel in its design, then this means that the room compensation signal for each audio channel is output from both loudspeakers (albeit differently). So, the left loudspeaker is producing the left input AND the room compensation signals for the left and the right channels.

However, you cannot buy a single Beolab 90 and use it to produce a pseudo stereo effect.

Cheers

-geoff

Thanks for explaining! That was something I wasn't thinking about, the noicecancelling system. I am a bit curious about it. Since for example, headphones have microphones that constantly listens and adapts to its surroundings but BeoLab 90 does not. How will that affect slight changes in the room? If someone would move a piece of furniture a little bit, or if more people are in the room? Or if the owners five dogs are sleeping on the floor? Open windows, moving walls. All kinds of strange things might change in a home very easily and frequently. 

On a side note, I realize that both speakers R + L interacts with each other and compensate for each other but what if four BeoLab 90 is used. Will they know?

By the way, the huge power potential in the speakers is crazy. I wonder how the test chamber (and the speakers) looked like and sounded like when they were tested on full volume :D. I would probably NOT connect an AirPort Express, or Sonos base directly to the speakers, haha. (And now I realize that perhaps the speaker could notice these high levels and automatically adjust it to a lower volume in the start to save ears, dogs, and thin walls from destruction).

Cheers!

/Michael 

 

 

 

@Mattias

Great post - thank you

The law of diminishing returns applies here just as in any other field. It costs a given amount to get to 90% of whatever ultimate performance you are trying to achieve, and most people are happy with that 90%. Maybe you have to pay double to get to 95%. Maybe another 10 times to get near 99%. Is the BL90 at 99%+ on what is desireable or achievable in sound systems? Would the BL5 or 9 be almost as good for my domestic situation...... and so close that I wouldn't notice the difference most of the time?

As it happens I get a remarkable performance out of my early S45s which cost less than £100. I hope the BL90 raises B&O's profile in audio circles, but there is no way I would personally save to buy such speakers. And as Peter has said in other threads, your hearing capability tends to diminish with age, so for many people by the time they might be able to afford these speakers they will be beyond being able to appreciate the output!

Graham

Come on, you hardly need to be an oligarch to buy these. These cost, what, 75,000 euros per pair? That's less than an entry level BMW X5 without any options in Finland, yet I see several of those each day.

Whether anybody can afford them is not an issue at all. The question is how many of those who can afford them will actually buy them.

Frankly I don't even believe B&O expects to make much money on these directly, they may be just an investment into brand awareness. Obviously later, more affordable speakers with the same technology could then sell in large numbers.