jk1002 wrote:

I am awaiting "gapless" playing and a 2 way remote. Other then that I don't see anything wrong with it at this point. Maybe the christmas music issue but I would just remove that from the product during off season .... not having gapless though and no 2 way is a show stopper.

There is gapless playback when you encode your music in lossless WMA.

Stan

Here's my take. Rife though it may be with bias!

The BeoSound 5 has been a boon to many stores and a bust to others. B&O is mum on its performance overall and, while I suspect it is underperforming, I would take any one dealer's story and generalize it overall. That being said, we're in the very early stages of this product and with audio systems in the portfolio that are inching toward their second decade in production it's a little early to declare victory or defeat. 

Having lived with it now at home and sold it in the store (mine is one for whom it's been a boon), I think that it comes down to whether or not you think that Audio Systems as a concept have become obsolete. To my mind the BeoSound 5 relates to the Apple TV or other media servers the way the BeoSound 9000 & BeoCenter 2500 related to "CD decks" of the day. The thinking being that you can buy a cheap black box with a plastic tray if you'd like, or you can make your music listening a multi-sensory endeavor that brings you added measures of enjoyment with each use. Definitely not for everyone, but with the world population approaching 7 billion people I think there's a case to be made for variety!

Now the BeoSound 5 answers the complaints of people like me who find the Apple TV utterly incapable of fulfilling not only my needs, but most importantly my desires. It ties itself too closely to the iTunes music store and its content and navigating it is about as convenient and enjoyable as reading a phone book. It's just a database in a box. Competitors only get worse (and in most cases prohibitively complex).

Soundproof asked "what is it" and the answer is that it's a stereo!

Now as I said, if you believe that the stereo is a dead concept (and I admit that there's a case to be made for that, just as getting the NY Times on a kindle makes physical newspapers seem obsolete) than skip the BeoSound 5 by all means. But for me and most of my clients it's a concept that they've been longing for in a market that refuses to develop a multimedia platform beyond scrolling through lists.

The BeoSound 5, aside from it's emotional engagement and mechanical charm (which can certainly be debated or dismissed), it provides faster browsing, better playback quality, and the best IP radio interface going. It also has MOTS, which I personally find to be the coolest thing in a stereo EVER!

In closing, however, I will note my one major criticism: The BeoSound 5 should be wireless. It really should live on a coffee table and I've come to install it near the listening position in most of the units I've sold. I'm guessing that Moxxey would probably regret his purchase less (or even enjoy it!) if the BeoSound 5 was sitting on his coffee table with a 7-8 hour battery (like many new laptops) and could be replaced in a cradle overnight.

Thanks for indulging such a long post.  

Simply I think BS5 is B&O biggest mistake after CD-i and BeoCenter AV5, just to many reasons for "NO"! I don't want to state any of them because we already know.

My question is how come that company like B&O came up with an idea to realize such a product in the era of Apple iPod, iPhone, Apple TV ....

Do they think they can compete with them ? I'm agree Apple have bad quality sound reproduction, but also apple have lossless ! And which digital reproduction is perfect ?

I hoppe B&O iPod dock will be the best seller in the following years .... and I hope B&O will soon discontinue BS5 and stop embarrassment !

Come on, we need good audio innovation, stunning design, wow effect and little magic ! And ..... asking price of 7000 whatever ..... no problem ! Everyone is happy 🙂

I believe in B&O and I'm sure they will come up with something ..... something B&O !

 

I played with it several times now at two dealers. And I really like the design of the front-end. However, some important things as already mentioned multiple times above are missing. For me the most important are:

1. I already have a large digital collection on a server. I do not need /want another storage solution, I need a front-end enabling me to access that collection throughout my house..
2. I need integrated support for Apple iTunes (and I suggest B&O to support the major players in this field, including those offering high-end audio servers)
3. Integration with multiple devices like my iPhone, TV, (two-way) Beo 5, ...

>> and I hope B&O will soon discontinue BS5 and stop embarrassment !<<

I would like them to fix it. I still very much want something like this. Put few features in and get them right. Now about the "right" we can very much argue. For example I run a NAS as well and wouldn't mind the overhead of a beomedia type box. I must have though a solution other then WAV to get gapless .... make it work for AAC or MP3.

I am hoping in another year they get it right through updates ..... They need a concept like this to survive in the music market. CDs are getting harder and harder to come by these days ....

 

 

I honestly think that the product is a step in the direction of where the world is moving, but is not the step I would have taken.  While not a fan of the interface type, I can see why there would be desire to go this route (buttons and wheels vs touchscreen).  What shocks me are some of the design decisions that make the system far more limited in use than it could be.  I say that knowing full well what others in the market are already doing and have plans to do.

I posted an encounter I had in my local B&O store today regarding the BS5, and after seeing this thread just now, I'm even more surprised by the salesperson's attitude:

TripEnglish wrote:

Here's my take. Rife though it may be with bias!

...

Thanks for indulging such a long post.

You are a consummate salesman!

Harry2008 wrote:

 

I played with it several times now at two dealers. And I really like the design of the front-end. However, some important things as already mentioned multiple times above are missing. For me the most important are:

 

1. I already have a large digital collection on a server. I do not need /want another storage solution, I need a front-end enabling me to access that collection throughout my house..
2. I need integrated support for Apple iTunes (and I suggest B&O to support the major players in this field, including those offering high-end audio servers)
3. Integration with multiple devices like my iPhone, TV, (two-way) Beo 5, ...

 

I agree, a front end to existing storage systems does make sense. Why reinvent the wheel.

On-screen navigation of music with the TV is a must. I don't listen to digital music the same way I listened to CD, Cassette Tapes, or LPs. That means that I  don't navigate the same way. We live in a world where it's ok to listen to digital music, and navigate your collection through a six foot interfacce.

Two-way navigation. Open the platform up to other technologies. For example Sonos offers an Iphone app to control its servers. How difficult can this be?

Integration with Itunes. I'm not an Apple fan-boy, but let's get real; Itunes is the defacto standard.

An integrated CD player and FM radio. Yes, I know how 20th Century. Do we have to be purists about everything? It's been a while since I've seriously listened to CDs, but now I have to rip my entire CD collection or have two stereos. One for digital files stored on a B&O server, and another for CDs and FM radio. Please don't tell me about internet radio, there is still a bit of local content left. If only the traffic report? Yes FM. Sorry gentlemen, FM is still important for my morning NPR fix.

I so much wanted to like this product. I have played with it at the store, and I love the look and feel. There is some magic. It's just not enough to want me to try too hard to fall in love with it.

I remember the magic of that first BM2400 I saw some 30 years ago. I later bought my first B&O it was a BM3000. You knew what it did, and you knew it right away. You didn't have to learn to love it or live with it. It also did more than other products at the time (not less). For example Datalink, and IR remote control.

Again, I'm not BS5 expert, but with the exception of MOTS, the design, and the materials, it seems that this product does less than products costing a fraction of the price. It's really hard to design more into a product while appearing to have less (these were the minimalist designs of old), but that's what makes it worth paying more. Give me that minimalist design that blows me away, not the one that makes me say, "but my AppleTV will do that for less." It pains me to say, that that is what I say.

Soundproof asked "what is it" and the answer is that it's a stereo!

Yes! I do most of my music listening to stereo, I enjoy the interaction of the BS 5, and the fact that it integrates well with other B&O kit.

As I said in my initial comment, the only thing missing is that B&O should have made this an uncompromisingly audiophile stereo playback unit. High-grade, multi sample-rate DAC, ease retrieval and playback of high-res sources, maybe even offer a generation 2 BeoLab 5 that accepts higher than 24/96 sample rates.

Why - because then you would have created a big splash in the audio market, it would have given B&O a lot of needed attention, and people wouldn't be expecting it to do a lot of other stuff (video, etc.) - they would have gotten what it was: a high-end stereo playback unit that was nonpareil.
If it had been sufficiently uncompromising, I might even have considered resampling a lot of my music to BS/MB5 spec's, instead of expecting it to integrate with my iTunes/ReadyNAS from day 1.

And I agree, wireless. I would have loved to have this beatiful unit at my hand, as I picked music and started it playing from the hidden docking station that was connected to my BL5s.

With the above, there would have been one in my listening room. As it is spec'd now? No.

Well I agree with Trip...I find the Apple TV great for downloading or renting the occasional film or tv show, but for listening to music it is pretty clumsy; for my part I do not want to switch the television on to listen to a song.
I have had the BS5 since the start of the year and for its role as a stereo it is simple and convenient - even the kids use it.
I don't have a problem lifting myself out of a chair to change tracks, anyone who is familiar with the days of vinyl will appreciate this is a small inconvenience, though will still look forward to a two way remote when this eventually comes (maybe an iPhone app?).
I note that the automatic update feature has upgraded the software recently - now that was a surprise!

P