Graham is absolutely right and at least he dares to criticise his own business where it comes to high end! B&O is absolutely no high end, just a brand with lots of bling bling and maybe "high end" materials. I've heard better for much less. 

Leslie,

Be just serious one minute.

How could you collect so much b&o devices and accessories and doesn't consider "in a certain way" that b&o is an highend brand.

For such a compromise between sound quality/technical reliability/timeless design, I would say IT IS AN HIGH END AUDIO BRAND.

According to the fact that b&o used a lot of Philips component, this manner you don't consider philips as a great manufacturer of audiophile component.

A Krell cd dsp has just been sold on ebay with a philips cmd 1 built in and 20 years later it is always considered as one of the most cd player ever made.

There are better high ends brands for sure but that doesn't mean b&o doesn't desserve this name.

Leslie wrote:

Graham is absolutely right and at least he dares to criticise his own business where it comes to high end! B&O is absolutely no high end, just a brand with lots of bling bling and maybe "high end" materials. I've heard better for much less. 

Welcome to the world of subjectivity and subjective opinions in audio.

I've also heard highly touted and vaunted high end systems, vastly more expensive than B&O, sound an awful lot worse than B&O's mid level efforts.

I've also heard very expensive high end two channel systems beaten in terms of natural instrumental reproduction as regards timbre, by relatively cheap, mainstream, home theatre in a box systems from the likes of Sony.

Measurements, and an scientific lead engineering approach towards the closest approach to the original sound and psycho-acoustics, executed at the highest tertiary trained levels, are the way forward, not subjective opinions, or pseudo-science marketed by an arguably disingenuous so called high end specialist manufacturing industry, to gullible, and unhealthily obsessive audiophiles.

I used to own an exceptionally expensive full fat, complete Naim Audio system, which many audiophiles would argue is the bees knees; however that didn't stop it being outdone by a much cheaper, Sony ES system, when assessed against musical criteria as regards it's reproduction and presentation, when the measure was the closest approach to the original sound.

You may feel that B&O is not 'high end' - but their R&D and the tertiary level and training of their staff is without peer, matched only perhaps by Harmon International - and perhaps the majors such as Matsushita, Sony, Yamaha etc when it comes to electronic engineering - but certainly not any so called high end specialist assembler brands that I can think of, or have had experience of, in the industry.

John..😐

Steve, 

I think this project has a lot of merit. As someone who both sells and owns a lot of B&O equipment I think that the relationship to your gear changes from the shopping stage to the ownership stage. Initially you hear lots of different speakers and are impressed or unimpressed with each, though without nuance. You make your selection and live with them for a while. 

Then comes the nuanced familiarity that develops over time. This is where your cable experiment makes sense. If I had access to them as a dealer, I could probably only sell them to clients who've owned their speakers for enough time to have intimate understanding of their performance. That's when you can swap out something like a cable and hear a big difference. 

So kudos for the experiment. 

olvisab wrote:

Be just serious one minute.

How could you collect so much b&o devices and accessories and doesn't consider "in a certain way" that b&o is an highend brand.

Olivier, B&O is my lifestyle, I own a lot (older stuff) and will not buy any other brand than B&O just because of the design and 2ndly for the sound.

But being honest (and that's my opinion) B&O certainly does not deserve the name high end, maybe as you already mentioned yourself "in a certain way"! 

Optimizing cables is one of many ways to improve the sound you hear from your loudspeakers.

Often a carpet on the floor or curtains in a "somewhat naked" room can do wonder.

Rearranging the loudspeakers in the room, connecting the speakers to the audiosystem instead of routing the signal through a modern BV are examples too.

Much of what we 'hear' as 'good sound' depends on the source: Lossy/Losless/HighRes-files - and as Steven notes on how the music was produced/mastered.

Remembering these facts, it is nice that Steve is working on this project.

He (or she) who wants to improve the sound of the speakers, now will have the opportunity to do this in yet another way.

With the 'return-policy' of Soundsheavenly I don't think there can be any risk in trying out. (@Steven, I do not want to make promises on behalf of you - but that is how it normally works when buying cables from you 🤒)

If these cables can improve the sound to some of us, Steve's effords certainly isn't a waste of time.

P.S. This is not about 'High-end' or 'not High-end' - this is about improving the sound of the speakers in the surroundings that we have at home.

Greetings Millemissen

TripEnglish wrote:

Steve, 

I think this project has a lot of merit. As someone who both sells and owns a lot of B&O equipment I think that the relationship to your gear changes from the shopping stage to the ownership stage. Initially you hear lots of different speakers and are impressed or unimpressed with each, though without nuance. You make your selection and live with them for a while. 

Then comes the nuanced familiarity that develops over time. This is where your cable experiment makes sense. If I had access to them as a dealer, I could probably only sell them to clients who've owned their speakers for enough time to have intimate understanding of their performance. That's when you can swap out something like a cable and hear a big difference. 

So kudos for the experiment. 

Sorry but that sounds more like a salesman's requirement than a customers!

TripEnglish wrote:

Steve, 

I think this project has a lot of merit. As someone who both sells and owns a lot of B&O equipment I think that the relationship to your gear changes from the shopping stage to the ownership stage. Initially you hear lots of different speakers and are impressed or unimpressed with each, though without nuance. You make your selection and live with them for a while. 

Then comes the nuanced familiarity that develops over time. This is where your cable experiment makes sense. If I had access to them as a dealer, I could probably only sell them to clients who've owned their speakers for enough time to have intimate understanding of their performance. That's when you can swap out something like a cable and hear a big difference. 

So kudos for the experiment. 

Steve,

I agree with Trip.  I think your project has merit.  I have a pair of Beolab 3s that I would love to try your new cables on.  Your current product line is of such high quality and service is so good that I would be more than willing to try your cables.

Bill

Leslie wrote:

Graham is absolutely right and at least he dares to criticise his own business where it comes to high end! B&O is absolutely no high end, just a brand with lots of bling bling and maybe "high end" materials. I've heard better for much less. 

Thanks for your support, Leslie.

I lusted after my first B&O in the early 70's and bought a Beomaster 1900 when they first appeared in 1976. This was followed, soon after, by a Beogram 1902.

That is how I started with B&O. I appreciated the design and the engineering excellence together with the ease of use. I didn't think I was buying high end audio then, nor did I when I bought my Beocenter 9000/RL140's some 10 years later.

Like Leslie, I have heard a lot of better sounding but cheaper audio systems over the years and I don't have to like it just because it has Bang & Olufsen on the front of it.

Most professional salespeople are realistic enough to know that they are not necessarily selling "the best" all the time, they are just very good at convincing the buyer that it is the best!! If you do believe it then they have done a very good job.

Hi Millemissen,

You are quite right, I am always happy to accept any item back if the buyer doesn't feel that it has completely fulfilled their expectations.  I've always believed that online shopping should be completely risk-free to the buyer, which is why I give a money-back promise which includes the shipping costs.

I will be interested to hear what other Beoworlders think of these cables and to find out whether they do make a noticable difference to the sound quality in different homes, with varying combinations of systems and speakers.

I've written a few notes on optimising speakers positions within a listening room (see: