DanTop wrote:

Am I the only one to feel that the true DNA of Bang&Olufsen is gone?

In my opinion B&O now feels like any other electronics brand out there (almost). Good TVs, both expensive highend speakers and more budget friendly speakers, headphones and, well... thats it...

What has happened to the old B&O tradition of producing cool lifestyle oriented products?

Such as the Beotime, the beautiful little keyring and other things like that. Those things that gave the lovers of the brand the posibility of surrounding themselves with clever and cool small gadgets, and most important beautiful and functional gadgets.

Those things that filled a little desire here and there. To live daily life with the influence of the brand!

I love that and I really miss all those things!

Sure we have alarmclocks in our phones now, and I dont know anyone whom is not using that function, but its not the same thing, its not even comparable.

We have the new beautiful B&O app that makes it possible to turn on the speakers at the door step, or even on the walkway going up to the house, so the old little keychain remote is not ”important” anymore, but its not the same thing!

I guess B&O as a brand is not in need anymore of showing their skills in aluminium work, ok I understand that, everyone understands that. They make so much other beautiful details on the products, to show that to us.

But I miss the old times!

I want to be able to get something fairly useless and expensive from B&O, because those things made me a little bit more happy (crazy materialistic thinking?), those small products and details were for me a big part of the brand and the B&O DNA.

Did those fun things go away with Jacob Jensen? Or is the reason for it, that the market simply is not in need of products like that anymore.

Things I would love to see;

A small keychain remote with IR/bluetooth, to turn on multiroom last played source, and change volume, simple as that. With focus on a cool minimalistic design in aluminium and leather.

A new version of Beotime with option to control the new TVs and multiroom products. Simple design as the old one and not that cheaper look that most Beoplay products have nowdays.

Instead of a bottle opener, make a simcard tool for iphone, with a unnecessarily big handle with the logo. Why? Why not, it’s just for fun!

I can think of several more things, but what do all of you think?

Any opinions and ideas for fun and functional things, or beautiful and unnecessary things?

or am I just an old fool indulging in reminiscence of the past glory days, having a hard time to appreciate all the new nice things?

Aussie Michael wrote:

Interestingly when I read the title “is the old b&o DNA gone” and when I read the opening sentence “the true DNA” I feel these can mean different things.

Each of the new products have the B&o DNA.

They may be different to what the B&O customers would have bought 20 and 30 years ago because the technology had changed.

I don’t believe it feels like every other electronics brand out there as the retail experience is different and the level of house wide integration is a little different.

I am glad that B&O don’t make those products from 20 and 30 years ago.

Sure some things from the current catalogue could express a little more magic in some regards but how the majority of people actually utilise their products nowadays has changed and as are expectations from a whole range of customers that have grown up with technology in different ways.

Your question about cool lifestyle products is also good. I guess you mean sort of “halo” products. Although b&o have the BL90 as their halo product, what type of other lifestyle products would people pick.

I wonder if B&O had decided to do B&O “Traditional” or “B&O Legacy” (read “signature) as a sub brand instead of Play (which I think they are getting out of by looking at the P6) , if that would have had the same rate of return and effect on the balance sheet ? I guess not.

When they become cashed up maybe a B&O nostalgia line would be their halo products. Re runs of the “old” stuff.

But has the B&O DNA gone forever ? No.

Who has a smile when they turn on their Avant or BV11,14 etc, or when they touch the wooden interface of the moment or when the other half has the BeoRemote hidden from your touch so you pick up your phone and turn it off from the app.

Smart touches. That’s B&O DNA.

BEOVOX141 wrote:

Jeff wrote:

Did you notice any difference in the bass due to the volume of the components, especially the toroid? Seems like depending on the transformer and such you could eat up a significant amount of the internal volume and change the bass alignment.

I was very much aware of this, but here is my thinking. as the driver's age, they go softer and thus the q lowers slightly. the total box volume is about 4 litres and a guestimate would be about 3 deciliters for the discrete solution, i.e less than 10%, so if anything here 20 years after the manufacturing date I'm properly @ original spec. Besides my reference track for the CX, Peter Gabriel, Sledgehammer, showed no sign of a difference. 

Here is the kicker,- the CX design 2-2.5 way carried over into most of the B&O speakers you know,- about 4 litres- 2way almost the same crossover frequency. Check the specs of the BL4000 or the AVANT CRT for that matter, and you will see the DNA of the CX. 

Actually, if you scavenged the power amp from an AVANT you could run the CX with the active crossover, except that it wouldn't fit. Neither the Sanyo hybrid nor the LM3875 version. 

Well, I think your assumption about the drivers getting softer is questionable. Certainly any CX will have to have had the surrounds replaced, they tend to stiffen and crack and rot away, but also my experience with old drivers is that the spiders and such get stiff and even brittle as they age. So, say the surrounds are the same, the best I think you can hope for is that the speaker is the same as it was new, worse case is it will be stiffer with a higher Fs.

It would be interesting to test the speaker for LF response and compare it to one without the components inside.

Hi Aussie, I do agree that they can mean different things. I guess they for me mean one and the same. In my opinion the older style of B&O feels more true to the brand. 

I miss the old design and stability. With that said, yes I understand that the brand has moved towards new trends and that effects it in many ways. 

The BL90 is in my opinion a cool product. But I think that what i miss perhaps most, is the line of Beocenters/Beosounds. The head units. I am aware that they are not needed but I feel they are a part of that ”lost DNA”.

do I understand you correctly that you think the new P6 is a step out of the Beoplay range? If so, how? I am curious now. 

Does anyone here think that it could be possible to in some way include wood in the Beoplay products? And not like the legs on the A9, but somehow on/in the units themselves.

It will of course not withstand the ravages of time as good as an all aluminum casing, but could it be possible to implement the wood in some way?

Yes it was done on the moment, and very nicely so, but to put wood on for example something similar like the Beoplay A1, will requiere a smart solution.

Could it be done in a way of functionality as well and not only for the looks?

Any ideas? 

I don't think B&O has lost it's DNA. I think B&O has underestimated the rapidely changes in technology and price trends in the last years.

Many things, that conveyed the special DNA are found suddenly everywhere.

MCL and masterlink were unique for quiet a long time. Multiroom today works with a new B&O product after the 5th or 10th update. If you wanna have a multiroom music system that works with more or less no problems you have to buy SONOS.

Who needs the PUC, when there is HDMI-CEC, with the big advantage, it doesn't matter if the 3rd party product needs bluetooth commands.

TV technology has changed suddenly rapidely - better resolution, smart platforms, every year better screens. The B&O prices are beyond good and evil and technology was behind (especialy in the smart section).

I think B&O can't decide what kind of clientele they wanna support. On one hand side they need the masses to sell the required number of pieces, on the other hand side the costs are outside of the masses. B&O has to decide between 200 employees, and exclusiv systems (audio/video), where they just need to sell 500 pieces a year or 2000 employees and many sold units.

In my eyes B&O has killed the hearth of every multimedia system - their tv range. Why should someone buy a BV Horizon 40" (as the entry tv), when you get for less money a 55" QLED (the new ambient modus in the samsung 2018 is what i call magic) or OLED. I think a HDMI-CEC soundbar or a signal converter to control 3rd party tvs would be one of the best selling products. And many BeoremoteOne would be sold too.

B&O has to decide between 200 employees, and exclusiv systems (audio/video), where they just need to sell 500 pieces a year or 2000 employees and many sold units.

You forgot the third option they seem to be pursuing...20 employees and all design, engineering, and production outsourced to a company in China.

Brigantinus, thanks for your input👍🏻

Its true about the Horizon for example, I do really enjoy the look of it, but I ha e never meet anyone who even talked about buying it. I know it sells, but I have no idea who the buyers are. 

Old B&O costumers who just want a small TV for the kids or the guest house perhaps?

Jeff, it’s really sad but your third option is absolutely spot on... 

DanTop wrote:

Jeff, it’s really sad but your third option is absolutely spot on...