I just got one this morning. Its really awsome, the pictures dont do it justice. Its easy to use and the sound quality is great. It seems more like an enthusiast thing though because the differences are not that drastic from any other MP3 player(IPOD) The build quality speaks for itself though. Also, the leather case is more like pleather.

Joe 

My main question would be: is the sound better than BeoSound 2?

I have a BS2 and would buy a BS6 only if the sound performance was better or at least as good.

Moreover, what about downloading speed? The Samsung player had a reputation of being very slow, USB 1.1 and not 2.0, is it taking 30 seconds or 2 minutes to store a full album on it?

Looking at the price, it seems to be almost a bargain in B&O world, it is marginally more expensive than BS2 with twice more memory, 40 hours playback time, a display, a direct USB connection for power & download, a leather case (OK, I still find this one horrible!), and it should be able to play higher bitrate files.

Ok, i've now used the BeoSound 6.

Build quality isn't as good as BeoSound 2, and it has samsung printed on the back. It seems that B&O are really embracing this partnership with Samsung. I don't have a problem with this as i think it will help to keep the prices of these sort of products down a bit (not a lot, but a bit).

The screen isn't as good as the screen on an ipod but is good enough for what is used for as there is no support fo photo's (but there is for album art).

The leather case is interesting. It's actually pretty good, and the clip on the back for the A8's is pretty good, but there is nowhere for the cord but it does keep the cord from getting tangled in the earphones. It is a little difficult to plug the earphones in with the case on and you have to take the case off to access the USB input. I'm sure some of you will simply cut a hole in the bottom of the case to allow easier access.

The user interface is nice, but takes some getting used to after using Ipods and BeoSound 2 for so long. BeoPlayer is good, but as usual very resource intesive so those with slow computers will find it challenging.

Now this brings me to the sound. OH MY GOD!!!!! As soon as i put it on i could immediately tell this was no ordinary MP3 player. The sound was so solid in the bass with out being oppressive and closing the sound stage. Infact the sound stage was so open it seemed like i was listening to speakers place either side of my head rather than earphones put in my ears.

I had my GF with me when i tested it and she thought the same. She doesn't tend to get excited by gadgets but she likes this product. She also liked the user interface and understood how to use it straight away and she has 2 ipods.

I own so many MP3 players it is crazy, but i think i'm going to add another to my collection.

I'm sure there will be many opinions on this product but i give it a big yes. I love it.

jazz

ps. To answer the question of file transfer speed. Much quicker than BS2 but probably not as quick as ipod.