Not sure I want the gadgets, but I agree that B&O has, at least for me, lost its magic. The demise of the music systems and the plethora of similar looking Beoplay speakers holds not interest. My last buy, the Beosound 2, is fiddly to use and unreliable so languishes unused in my daughter's abandoned bedroom (she is at university). The TVs are not that clever - and have lost the clever little B&O touches like the curtains. They are also outrageously expensive considering their provenance.

I still have a fair collection - Beolab 5000 system, Beomaster 8000 is use updtairs and a Beocenter 2, Old Avant and Pentas in the main room as a few highlights. And of course my sublime Beolit 700 colour radio!

I agree with you. I don't get the sense that the integration is as solid as it was with the MCL and ML product vintage. But it seems to me only the B&O Play products have a coordinated design language that is distinguishable from other manufacturers.  But I guess you can argue the B&O Play products have a shared DNA and design language, but as far as the main line goes, it does seem a bit scattered.  

 

I’m so desappointed by B&O at the moment that I don’t even want to talk about it... The DNA is lost in the chinese and korean skys.

Peter, hold on to your old stuff! 

Regarding curtains on the TVs, I dont see the reason to take that away. Its a trademark function and shouldnt be harder to make in the the LED and OLED tvs than the older ones. 

I dont mean to only bash B&O, but it really feels like some force is pushing the brand against the ruin. 

My Loewe that also uses an LG panel, albeit with its own processing has the curtains. Too many excuses for sub standard performance, from products demanding a price where you’d expect nothing to be left in the parts bin.

DMacri,

MCL/ML did have a solidity to them. Though of ocurse everything with cables with be much more reliable than products entirely based on fine electonics and wireless compatability. The new things are just as much in need of the other hardware/software we use(routers etc) as their own quality. That opens up for more errors and things which can go wrong. In this day and age B&O needs to rely heavily on other brands and their products as well, and that will never work 100%.

I guess in the good old days B&O was a somewhat totally locked system, and if something went wrong it was something within the own web and details of products. That makes for an easier repair and more options of optimizing the lineup for the brand. 

I agree with you in some ways regarding the Beoplay range. I do find it to be fairly in line, so to say. But I still dont feel the true essence(no pun intended) of the B&O brand. The design with the dotted aluminium and kvadrat covers binds it all together (Except BS1 and 2), but the soul is not there. 

Look at the old products, BL8000, Beotime, Ouverture and even Pentas. Vastly different in design and yet all so perfect together and so deeply connected in the brand feeling. Nothing today even comes close to that. 

I do need to pay my respects to the design of the Moment, in some strange way I do feel that it pays its homage very well to the old products. 

Regarding the Eclipse, a beautiful TV but not even close in my opinion, to what was done before. I assume it’s meant to give the ambience of the BV7 lineup, with its horisontal speaker, but no sorry, I dont feel it.

It feels more like any other LG TV with a soundbar, than like the pure sculptural feeling of the Beovision7 Compared to eachother in sleekness factor, the BV7-55 is a huge monstrosity, but I would all days of the week chose a BV7-55 with an Apple TV, rather than the Eclipse!

BeoGreg,

No arguing with you there! 

I know how you feel

Chris,

It’s the same with Samsung. They have curtains as well, except theirs open/close horisontally instead. 

I remember in the early 90s, all of my friends talked about how cool the curtains was when starting up the Avant. 

Why take it away!

it’s like if Rolls would take away their lady from the hood. It would never happen. 

Perhaps the B&O design team thinks people are to stressed nowadays to wait for the curtains to open. Everything has to start up in a second and be ready to use before you blink. Speed speed speeeeeeed!!

Thats not what B&O shpuld be about when it comes to ”presenting” the experience of their products. 

Sure the BS9000 change between disks in a second, but the entire glass lid doesnt fly open in a millisecond. Everything doesnt need to be about speed and efficiancy. Somethings are better if they are bordering to almost to slow. Savor a moment here and there!

BeoGreg,

I havent really understood how it’s done today, Is the design team in Denmark and production in Asia, or is everything done over there?

Sorry to say, but designers in asia will NEVER be able to do true Scandinavian design. Thats just how it is...

I guess that could be a big part of the problem, to little is left in Denmark and hence the brand is dying due to lack of proper inspiration. 

It’s impossbile to desig in china or korea and get proper inspiration for keeping a scandinavian brand scandinavian in it’s design and soul.