Based on my experience of hearing both systems - a very close friend has the BL18/19 and it looks and sounds great. But the BL20 sounds at another level. I'd personally go with BL20.

Agree - I have 18s / 19, and am in the process of upgrading.

I'm most likely getting 50s.

When I was having a listening session at my dealer, he too made the point that while similar, the 20s would sound better for music.

For movies the 18s / 19 combination is excellent, and also very decent for music.

But for music the 20s would sound better.

Of course, there is not a big difference between the two choices, but my dealer echoed the view that 20s would be the choice, subject to the circumstances above.

Helpful, everyone. Thanks.

My situation is that I already have the 18s, which I got an insanely good price on, and I could get a 19 for a fraction of retail. Meanwhile, getting 20s would be a much more expensive proposition AND, while subjective, it must be said, I think they’re kind of ugly. Nowhere near the 18s. No wood. Barely any aluminum. Just a bunch of black fuzzy cloth. Not my cup of tea but for a tremendous improvement in sound, maybe I’d get used to them.

Really what I want is 50s and a larger space in which to enjoy them. One day. For now, 18+19 for me. Thanks!

Yes, the allure of having a simple 2.0 system (really a 2.2) consisting of two speakers that are each full range is what draws me to the BL20 despite its design shortcomings, in my opinion, relative to BL18.

I admire the 20s from a technical standpoint. A 10” driver in each tower! Amazing! I think few other manufacturers offer something similar. They exist but likely for much more money including outboard amplification (e.g., B&W 800 D3).

i just can’t get past the looks. To me, B&O is about aluminum and wood. The 20s basically have neither, just a bunch of cheap speaker cloth. In my eyes, the 20s and 50s are pure B&O design. A home run.

Sandy, please keep us posted on your 50s if you buy them!

I agree. And besides that, I really like the fact that those massive powered speakers seem to be balanced on the floor, instead of taking up a massive footprint. Just some of this old fashioned B&O design wizardry.

Curly wrote:

i just can’t get past the looks. To me, B&O is about aluminum and wood. The 20s basically have neither, just a bunch of cheap speaker cloth.

That's funny! I grew up with a Beosystem 5000, which I guess was about the first B&O set completely getting rid of wood, and for me B&O has always been about aluminium and black cloth 🙂. That's why for me, the standard BL6000's were a home run, my BL4000's are aluminium and black cloth and why, again for me, the BL20's are as B&O as it gets.