Beosound 5/beomaster 5 ...final stretch.

32 replies

I totally agree with Sturrock and Bentleyman on this!  I love making my own playlists and moving them around! I really don't want a machine forcing me to listen to its choice!

We have a software in radio called Selector that chooses a radio stations music and I really hate it - this is why I love our specialist evening DJs who spin on the Pioneer CDJ900s connected to MacBook Pro's - the music is chosen by Humans!

The review link below on you t u b e openend my eyes in how to control the BeoSound 5, go and see and hear in 3min how to operate:

 

who is joking who is joking?

StUrrock wrote:

can't find a track by genre that is just pathetic :(

Since when does the lady of the house chooses her music by genre? Does anybody ever considered to organize their CD or record collection by genre? this is a feature given by tags and only possible since digital stored music! 

StUrrock wrote:
No thanks - i'll stick to the old systems that will play what I want to hear, when I want to hear it. Otherwise I would have no use for a Bang and Olufsen product any longer.

I use BS5 and BS5e, and guess what? I will play what and when I want to hear it! And my music collection is much easier to approach then finding my cd's. This leads even to playing albums I didn't listen to for a long time, just because you simply have the choise on the screen.

Carolpa wrote:

who is joking who is joking? No joking just from personal experience and interaction with customers. Not saying my personal opinion matters but when my customers complain I DO LISTEN!

StUrrock wrote:

can't find a track by genre that is just pathetic :(

Since when does the lady of the house chooses her music by genre? Does anybody ever considered to organize their CD or record collection by genre? this is a feature given by tags and only possible since digital stored music!

Yes and the ability to search by genre (or artist or track or album) is recognised as one of the most useful (and basic) functions of a digital storage system. The lady customers in genral point to their iPod and say that it is so easy to use why can't B&O buils a better interface. Not heresay, not my opinion just FACT in my personal experience.

StUrrock wrote:
No thanks - i'll stick to the old systems that will play what I want to hear, when I want to hear it. Otherwise I would have no use for a Bang and Olufsen product any longer.

I use BS5 and BS5e, and guess what? I will play what and when I want to hear it! And my music collection is much easier to approach then finding my cd's. This leads even to playing albums I didn't listen to for a long time, just because you simply have the choise on the screen.

Carolpa, I am so happy you love your BS5, it has a of of plus points. However, my clients , in general, find it hard to use. This upsets me in 3 ways;

1. they will not recommend it and that hurts my business

2. I genuinely want my customers to enjoy what they buy from us, if they don't that really concerns us.

3. To make it easier to use (as good as many other digital systems)  should be as easy as pie for B&O and would cure points 1 & 2 :)

 

 

Agree. My BS5 also plays what I want, and sometimes it knows even better what I want...🙂. If you want hundreds of playlists and browse by genre, use Beoplayer. Sometimes I use it on my Mac in the office. But I recommend using MOTS. I don`t want to spend hours to create playlists, I want to use the system for listening to music. BTW I also still have a BS7000, a BC9500 and I love them, but it`s easier and faster to use the BS5.

Stefan

 

@StUrrock

Did you ever look at the Genres diplayed in tags? Did you ever experienced the unorderly choisses in the tags for genres? Ever used db like Gracenotes, Freedb, Musicbrainz and looked at the different possible genres for the same album?

Do your customers really understand how these tags are filled and how inappropiate they can be? 

 

Therefore I doubt the use of Genre, in general. Even if they say they use it on their iThing!

 

edit:

just an example, iTunes has placed New Adventures in Hi-Fi of R.E.M. as New Age on my iPod Touch & iPad??!!??

Actually i make my own genres in the genre section of iTunes, for instance if i think a sexy RNB or chill out tune is good for late night playlists, I label it as Beach House! Then i have se*y music to drive home to after the gym on my lil iPhone!

I think it would be awful if you could not make playlists - they are so valuable and essential!

Just as one can and will add high res coverart, one can also edit these tags, even create their own.

The one from grace note is merely a default, a suggestion.

 

That said, they may not fix this with the Beosound 5 but I would expect them to come up with more digital music products. At some point they will have something that will work for those, who do not buy into what the Beosound 5 is. I won't but am eagerly holding out for them to come up with something.

 

Carolpa wrote:

I use BS5 and BS5e, and guess what? I will play what and when I want to hear it! And my music collection is much easier to approach then finding my cd's. This leads even to playing albums I didn't listen to for a long time, just because you simply have the choise on the screen.

Thats great for you, Carolpa, I'm happy you like your BS5 & BS5e.

Personally, when I want to listen to a Billy Joel track/album I reach for that CD, if I want a Prince track/album I do same, a Vivaldi piece I do the same. If I want to listen to a radio station (preset) I press 'Radio' on my Beo4 or MCP and listen to it.

I dont actually want a suggested 'genre' when I want to listen to Billy Joel, that the clever machine suggests, I want to listen to Billy Joel playing that track or album that I wanted - not something that sounds vaguely familiar musically etc etc.

I agree that whenever I want to put a different disc on (every 2 discs actually as I have 2 cd units in my 7000) I have to walk across my room about 4 meters and physically change it in my BS7000 and I suppose that is a pain (being a lazy *** person), so I'm thinking of replacing my old 7000 with a BS9000, so at least I can load it with 6 discs.... I actually listen to the Radio more often than CD's in any case.

I dont actually know about sales figures, but I'd be willing to wager that, as a company, B&O sold many many more units of BS5000/6500/7000, BS9000, BC8500/9000/9500, Ouvertures, Centurys etc etc than they ever will sell units of BeoSound 5's. At the end of BS5's production run would you like to hazard a guess at how successful it has been as a product for B&O compared to those older 1980's & 90's units...?

As I said, I dont know any figures, so perhaps I'm totally incorrect. But something tells me the BS5 is going to be nowhere near as successful as previous Bang & Olufsen Hi Fi Systems and Centers. I just dont think they have the same appeal as systems of yesteryear.

Happy New Year.

jk1002 wrote:

Just as one can and will add high res coverart, one can also edit these tags, even create their own.

The one from grace note is merely a default, a suggestion.

True, and all tag-info is adjustable, but this is not the point made. Most frustrations with the BS5 comes from wrong expectation about the tags in digital music. Most people expect that from origine all tag are filled just like a "telephone book"; all info is organized the same way, even with a international standard. Let alone that the majority doesn't know that they can change and for sure they do not know how to change tags.

But one has to define his own tag standard and then has to keep to it and be consequent. 

This said I do not believe in the general use of Genre as tag information (keep in mind people tend to use the given info). The artist, the album, the track, the cover can be presented differently but stay "the same" : ' Jeffrey Foucault" or "Foucault, Jeffrey" is just a choise but still the same artist, whereas tags for Genre for one and the same album are given all kind of flavours. 

Somewhat the same of the year of an album. Is DSOTM from 1973 or 1992 (cd) or 2003 (SACD) or 2011 (remastered)? 

or
BeoWorld Gold Membership card
Join BeoWorld

Register to access the forums, reference material, and exclusive member benefits — 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.