BL 3 vs. BL 4

9 replies

Hi. I'm new to this forum, and pleased to have found a place to communicate with other B&O fans.

I'm curently in the market for a pair of BL 3 or BL 4. What are your views? Spec. seem pretty similar, but something has to reflect the pricedifference?! I guessed bass-response, but it really seems quite similar.

On wednesday I'll get a demo of both, but would really appreciate your input.

Best Regards

Marius

No comparison! The BL3 is a superb near monitor standard speaker. The Beolab 4 is a not much more than a computer speaker. The BL3 is in my opinion a bargain at the price. The BL4 seems overpriced. Let us know what you think though. Speaker choice is a very personal decision though.

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Ah.. That's what I thought. The BL4's really isn't my cup of tea design-wise. Price-wise, though :)

The imaging and clarity of the 3's will probalby outrun the 4's. i understand that the 2 sidedrivers of BL3 are passive, but should probably help a littlebit in the lower frequency range.

Big deal of difference between these two speakers. BL4s are probay the worst in quality/cost rate (according to my B&O store) eventhough they are the cheaper in the range. BL3 are in a league on its own. Lots of power and clarity for your money. If yo finally go for the 4's, put them over a holder that could raise them one inch above the table level, that improves their poor bass performance.

In any case follow your feelings in the demo.

Yup, I will do so. Follow my feelings, that is. Oh well.. that's the most expensive way to do it anyway ;)

You're probably right about the 4's beaing the least cost/quality efficient. It's so frustrating; I just was outbid on a pair of BL3's here in Norway. My bid was app. 1200 Euros WITH floorstands ( 1 year old), and I got them. I wasn't able to pick them up this saturday. And today I received an email from the seller where he told me that I was outbid, and the BL3's were going to be picked up this evening. They went for 1500 Euros.

 I have a bad feeling about the BL4's. Even though they're 15% off the normal price and with wallmounts (customer had them for 3 days) and is to be sold from an authorized B&O retailer.

I have BL4000's which i love.  They look fantastic and sound great - but they aren't quite as good as the BL3's which are technically superior and utilise the AL tech.  There is no doubt that the BL3 are the better speaker overall.  It really comes down to what you prefer, sound and looks wise.

IMO just the difference in power between BL4s and BL3s reflects the difference in sound quality (even though the two aren't actually related). BL4s are 70 watts/speaker, whilst BL3s are 250 watts/speaker.

The BeoLab 3 is without any doubt at all a massively superior speaker...

I use both, the BL3 for front and the BL4 for rear speakers in surround setup and that is all they are good for. The 2 are worlds apart.

I auditioned the BL3's and BL4's today. The 4's were a huge disappointment. They sounded like if you place a speaker behind something. The clarity was.. there wasn't clarity at all. They remind me of a pair of Logitechs I used with a PC couple of years ago. Terrible.

The BL3's, on the other hand, was definetly something to crave for! They reproduced just enough bass to be proper stand alones. For my 3rd Sonos zone they're perfect. Distinctive and defined.

I was offered a pair of demo-used speakers, and I really have to think about it till next tuesday. Don't get me wrong; I don't have to think about which one to buy, I just need to count some cash :)

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