BeoLab9 - 5 stars - What Hi-Fi

22 replies
In the May 2007 issue of "What Hi-Fi?" the BeoLab9s are given 5 stars, the maximum possible rating. I'll quote the summary:

For: A totally convincing and involving sound, combined with striking looks; compact, but sound much bigger.

Against: Need dedicated leads to connect then to preamps; you can buy a lot of amp and spaekers for GBP5000.

Verdict: Like the bigger BeoLab 5s, the new 9s defy expectations by working not just as style icons, but in pure hi-fi terms, too.

Great rating.

Thanks for sharing the summery with us.

Regards, Robert

For: A totally convincing and involving sound, combined with striking looks; compact, but sound much bigger.

Against: Need dedicated leads to connect then to preamps; you can buy a lot of amp and spaekers for GBP5000.

Verdict: Like the bigger BeoLab 5s, the new 9s defy expectations by working not just as style icons, but in pure hi-fi terms, too.

Cable nutters again. If it has a "totally convincing and involving sound", one can assume the stock B&O cables are doing the job and did not detract from the performance.
Also, how many loudspeakers/amps are there on the market that can run like the BL9's and still have the same sound for 5 grand??? Not so many as you may think I'm guessing.
10%
Must confess that my opinion of this rag continues to plummet. Not a proper review and not detail you could not get from the official site. The earlier review of the BL3 was also appalling with the reviewer seemingly unaware of any of the features. I am still waiting for a double blind test of power leads by them. Reviews of these items going into ecstasy about one product over another  makes me doubt anything they write. To be believable. a little honesty in testing procedures would be nice. I realise that these comments seem strange as this is a positive review of a B&O product,  but  i frankly despair at cable reviews.

My B&O Icons:

BeoCenter-9500.png BeoCenter-9500.png
Beoremote-Beo4.png Beoremote-Beo4.png
Beovox.png Beovox.png
Beovision-11.png Beovision-11.png
Beotime.png Beotime.png
Beosound-Stage.png Beosound-Stage.png
Beosound-Moment.png Beosound-Moment.png
Beosound-5.png Beosound-5.png
Beosound-2.png Beosound-2.png
Beoremote-One.png Beoremote-One.png
Beoplay-Portal.png Beoplay-Portal.png
Beoplay-Earset.png Beoplay-Earset.png
Beomaster.png Beomaster.png
Beolit.png Beolit.png
Beogram-400x.png Beogram-400x.png
Beocenter-2.png Beocenter-2.png
Amen! I bought the magazine just because of the BeoLab 9 review, and I was really disappointed. This publication used to be all about sound quality and enjoying good hifi. Now it's all about home theatre and MP3. No in-depth reviews of anything, and seemed pretty rushed to me!

HiFi News seems to be the best, and the other publication (Audiophile or something) which reviewed the BeoLab 5s in HUGE depth (several page review) and rated them very very highly seems to be another credible one.

How they always go on about how cables are so INCREDIBLY important, especially power cables, and yet the other half of their magazine goes on about how MP3 players can sound absolutely fantastic with the right system! I mean sure, they sound very very good, but my iPod playing AIFF isn't a touch on my CD7000, and I'm sure I can say the same for most other decent CD players...

i read the diapason (frensh hifi and music magazine) and the fono forum (about the same in german) monnthly. they both offer hifi reviews every month, especially the diapason. for the 5-6 years i get these two magazines, i never found a single mentioun about b&o. strange or normal?

Lets start another Cable debate.πŸ˜‚πŸ˜‚ Seriously though the price of some of these cables is just plain ridiculous. Nordost are one make that springs to mind. Just look at Ebay.

 http://electronics.search.ebay.co.uk/nordost_Cables-Connectors_W0QQfromZR34QQsacatZ116849

 In particular look for the Valhalla ones.😐

Craig😁 

I have found out that we can set the forum to automatically delete any post that contains certain words more than once! Don't make me use my power!πŸ˜‚

My B&O Icons:

BeoCenter-9500.png BeoCenter-9500.png
Beoremote-Beo4.png Beoremote-Beo4.png
Beovox.png Beovox.png
Beovision-11.png Beovision-11.png
Beotime.png Beotime.png
Beosound-Stage.png Beosound-Stage.png
Beosound-Moment.png Beosound-Moment.png
Beosound-5.png Beosound-5.png
Beosound-2.png Beosound-2.png
Beoremote-One.png Beoremote-One.png
Beoplay-Portal.png Beoplay-Portal.png
Beoplay-Earset.png Beoplay-Earset.png
Beomaster.png Beomaster.png
Beolit.png Beolit.png
Beogram-400x.png Beogram-400x.png
Beocenter-2.png Beocenter-2.png
Hmmm, Β£2000 on cables, or Β£2000 on albums? Which would be better spent? Let me think about that one... πŸ˜‚

And if you thought that was bad enough, there was a company making speaker cables which cost something like $16,000 a METRE (the link was on the old forum somewhere, I've googled but couldn't find anything).

Seriously, I believe that speaker cables can make a difference, and I did splash out on Β£15 a metre Chord speaker cables about three years ago, and it did improve the sound of my system, but I think the money would have been SO much better spent on CDs, or taking a load of friends to the cinema or pub etc...
I spent a bit of money on some SCART cables - money well spent - they had a special locking device so they don't fall out. I find cables work much better when connected!

My B&O Icons:

BeoCenter-9500.png BeoCenter-9500.png
Beoremote-Beo4.png Beoremote-Beo4.png
Beovox.png Beovox.png
Beovision-11.png Beovision-11.png
Beotime.png Beotime.png
Beosound-Stage.png Beosound-Stage.png
Beosound-Moment.png Beosound-Moment.png
Beosound-5.png Beosound-5.png
Beosound-2.png Beosound-2.png
Beoremote-One.png Beoremote-One.png
Beoplay-Portal.png Beoplay-Portal.png
Beoplay-Earset.png Beoplay-Earset.png
Beomaster.png Beomaster.png
Beolit.png Beolit.png
Beogram-400x.png Beogram-400x.png
Beocenter-2.png Beocenter-2.png
or
BeoWorld Gold Membership card
Join BeoWorld

Register to access the forums, reference material, and exclusive member benefits β€” including our monthly prize draw.

Become a Member

December 2026 Prize Draw

Gold Members Only

As a Gold member you're automatically entered into our exclusive prize draw — your chance to win iconic Bang & Olufsen products. A unique benefit of BeoWorld Gold membership, every draw brings a new opportunity to win something special.