I'm in the bought both new and used, but now only buy used if I buy at all. B&O's direction is depressing and I don't like the new products as well as the old, or trust their reliability. Unless and until B&O starts building better kit that's stylistically improved, if I need anything it'll be used, and older, not used new generation stuff.

In the context of this discussion, are we treating ex-demo as "new" or "used"?

i guess ex-demo from a dealer would be classified as new, as its still from the dealer?

Rob - Danish AV wrote:

i guess ex-demo from a dealer would be classified as new, as its still from the dealer?

The last "new" B&O product I bought was a pair of ex-demo Beolab 9s. New or used? Live or Memorex? Depends on your point of view I guess, but I got the full warranty on them as if they were new.

if ''ex demo'' is new, is a secondhand (under a year old) also new? I would rate ''ex demo'' as second hand, because dealers tend to push them harder to show them of vs ''normal'' customers. Nothing wrong with ex demo though, I kind of like that it's an option.

I used to buy new when it was affordable, now I buy used as you can get some great refurbished stuff and don't have to bother with controlling it all with an iPhone and no software issues.

Recently I have bought new valve equipment rather than B&O, mainly because I love the sound and look of it. Still love B&O classic equipment but buying new competes with other hobbies like Sailing and Amateur Radio. I doubt I would change my M100-2s though as they sound superb through the new system.

At some point I need to change my BV8 - it doesn't get used much and is in a cabinet anyway so I will most likely buy a non B&O set and control it with a lintronic code converter - a fraction of the cost of a B&O TV and the first time I will not have a B&O TV in 30 years of adult life. If it wasn't in a cabinet then I would but a second hand B&O set rather than stray away. 

I do still love the brand and it would be a shame to see it go, but the prices are way too high and technology is moving in a different direction to me.

The sad part of it is that I am now in a position having paid of my mortgage, not having kids and having disposable income, after many years of not having it, to be able to buy brand new B&O but would rather now spend my money on other activities. Perhaps that's just something to do with getting older and personal preference coupled with the fact that there isn't anything new from B&O that I feel a need to own.

Andrew wrote:

I do still love the brand and it would be a shame to see it go, but the prices are way too high and technology is moving in a different direction to me.

I used to be in my local (Bath) dealer at least once every other week, just keeping up-to-date, looking for ex-demo offers and more. I'd trade in my TV every 2-3 years and receive a decent price, meaning I could upgrade often and I'd regularly upgrade my speakers and buy some ex-demo kit, too. Often spent £3-5000/year if not more.

Now? Almost nothing. Can't remember the last time I was in any B&O dealer (I didn't bother visiting the 3 in Munich when I was there in January!), rarely purchase anything, keeping my existing products and only occasionally invest in "BeoPlay" products. To be honest, I'm much more critical of B&O products, too - the BeoSound 1 was rather disappointing and the A6 only a shade better. Both were sold on.

For the sake of argument, I would class Official Dealer shop floor ex-demo products as 'new' because they should not be older than 6 months old and will come with a fresh manufacturers warranty as if you were the first owner.

'Second Life' from an Official Dealer, a reseller, or eBay all count as 'used'.

Lee

I'm in the US, there's not really an after-market for B&O, except e-bay which is fraught with peril (unknown quality, massive shipping charges).  After I bought my first system new (BL9000 + BL8000), pretty much everything else was "open box" from the dealer.  I determined that "new" wasn't necessary because of the robust build quality and slow product cycles, but buying "used" in the US is more hassle and risk than I care to take on.  I did buy some used BL1s from a pawn shop (found them via ebay, but purchased only after looking/listening at the pawn shop).  I did break the open box cycle and buy a new Eclipse last year.  However, now that my local dealer is closed, there's no more readily available open box so I don't see buying much - although, to be fair, I'm very well stocked with B&O so I'd probably not buy much even if my dealer was still open.