From my previous posts some of you will know that I was looking for a BS3.
I bought one ex-display from a B&O dealer with a full 2 year warranty- I decided not to buy from eBay after some words of caution on this forum. I was a little apprehensive at first, given some of the comments about it, but my initial thoughts are as follows:
It looks even better in real life than in catalogue pictures, it looks very much like a baby BS1, complete with automatic aerial, red led readout, and aluminium grill (I have a silver BS1, so the look is very similar).
I had a Bose Wave Radio CD, complete with remote control; I was initially reluctant to forego remote use, but have found that once the controls on top of the BS3 are used a few times they become very intuitive. I love the circular scroll wheel and soft touch aluminium, it makes me yearn for a BeoCenter 2!
The sound is MUCH better than the Bose, even though it's mono, it has excellent clarity for both speech and music.
I was also worried that I might not be able to pick up radio clearly as I had an external aerial attached to the Bose, and the BS3 didn't allow for connection of one.
I needn't have been concerned as the reception is excellent on the stations I listen to-Radio 2,3, 4, and Classic FM-although not so good on some others. This is not a problem for me, but I still think provision should have been made to connect an external aerial in case of poor reception for those used in a fixed setting, e.g. by the bedside.
As I have a BeoSound 2, I already have a good selection of music on SD cards, much more convenient and quieter than the Bose; it could only play standard cds, so 60 minutes of music was the maximum, with the BS3, even at a very high bit rate, I can fit 10 cds on 1 sd card. The Bose was also mechanically noisy when playing cds, and had underlying circuit noise (I assume) as it hissed even when volume was at zero!
There are a few negatives here however:
Firstly I don't understand why the sleep timer, or whatever B&O call it, can't be used with the SD cards, only the radio, this limits its functionality, I think.
Secondly it should be capable of recording to the sd card from radio. I know the BS4 can do this, and I think it ought to have been implemented here.
Finally, and especially given the recent Digital Britain Report :( DAB, for all its faults, ought to have been included. I know it's not clear where radio is going over the next few years, but the addition of DAB might have futureproofed it somewhat.
In conclusion, despite the caveats, I really like the BS3 and would be happy if it could give me a decade of full functionality; I suspect that vested interests in the government, the BBC and DAB radio manufacturers will mean I get significantly less than that if they have their way and the radio section of the report is implemented in 2015, and the BBC FM stations are switched off.
Steve
