thorne wrote:

Any thoughts? 

One.

Somebody dial 911 for Trip. He just face-palmed his nose through his skull.

I don't agree. I think digital media is the future and simply to abdicate and base products around another company will be disastrous.

On the products you mention:

The Beosound 2 was a fine sounding device when introduced eight years ago. It still sounds pretty good but clearly the lack of display and limited storage means that it is obsolete, as indeed are the competitors that it was up against then. It has continued only due to demand because of its inherent build and sound quality. I agree that the software is rubbish - this I am afraid has been a B&O failing. It is now not supported which makes life even more difficult. I would do just as you have done and buy an iPod - in fact I did many years ago!

The BeoMedia 1 was a first attempt and actually not made by B&O - this was the era of reacting to perceived demand by providing half developed products and letting the customer sort out the problems. I believe this period has come to an end.

I think the new generation of properly developed products will compete on a level playing field and will show that Apple, although excellent, cannot offer the true B&O experience.

I have no idea what that means!

thorne wrote:

After many frustrating years of dissatisfaction with my Beosound 2 (clunky Beomedia software, on numerous occasions failing to recognise there is a Beosound 2 attached, inability to work with itunes etc. etc., impossible-to-memorise press button combinations to, for instance, get it to play random), I have taken the plunge and bought myself an ipod shuffle for a mere £39.  It looks great, sounds great, works seamlessly with itunes (of course) and costs a great deal less than the Beosound 2.  In addition, the voice over function, lets me know what song is playing and which album it is from - all for £39

 

I recently tried to have a Beomedia 1 fitted to an early version of the Beovision 7, and that failed.  The dealer suggested Apple TV - it works fantastically, looks great and, again, cost a good deal less

 

So my point is, B&O make fantastic televisions, speakers and audio equipment and, indeed, telephones.  Stick to what they do best and get out of the digital media market.  Apple have it all sewn up.  If they did this, there would be no overlap of products.  So here we have 2 high-end manufacturers, each specialising in what they do best.  Why on earth did B&O collaborate with Acer (I think!) to produce fantastic sound for one of their laptops.  Why not collaborate with Apple?  In fact, why not merge retail outlets and have the two brands on sale under the same roof?  I think it would be a total success and ensure a successful continuation of the brand we all love

Any thoughts? 

You make some very interesting points, but except for shareholder performance and how they treat their employees, I wouldn't call Apple a high-end anything.  In my opinion, curved slick white plastic and complete market domination don't make an interesting bedfellow for Bang & Olufsen.  I think Bose and B&W would sell their souls to be on Apple shelves.  We will see, won't we?    

I agree with Doctor, there's no reason for B&O to leave this playing field, but they do have to recognize that the absolute convenience they once offered in the analog domain is something customers also expect in the digital. A BeoSound 2 without display, one-way remotes, and a BeoSound 3200 which you had to name the music in with your Beo4, keypunch by keypunch, as you stored 400CDs, are not good solutions. I will refrain from stating what I think of BeoMedia.

There are reasons why B&O didn't want to collaborate with Apple - they fell for Microsoft propaganda as to where that company was headed with its media centre, and didn't want to step on any toes in Redmond.

I have hopes for the Encore that's coming now, it's definitely a step in the right direction. I don't get the Apple hates/likes -- it's just the new format for the selling, reproduction, archiving and playing of digitally stored information. It is multi-platform and completely conversant with every protocol used for data transfer. Nothing else comes close, offering similar convenience -- it makes no sense to want to keep it away from B&O, as little sense as if B&O at one point refused to use LPs, tape or CDs.

burantek wrote:

thorne wrote:

Any thoughts? 

One.

Somebody dial 911 for Trip. He just face-palmed his nose through his skull.

LOL😂

symmes wrote:

curved slick white plastic

They have stopped using white plastic long time ago. Look at a recent iMac...  what do you see? Aluminium and Glass. Then look at a Beovision 7...

Apple is not high-end in sound quality (unless you invest in a decent DAC), but the build quality, design, ease of use is superior to all large consumer brands.

I had read a few years ago, that Apple wouldn't want to be seen near B&O as they do not want to be perceived as an exclusive brand.

---

Coming back to the subject, digital is here to stay. B&O have abandoned mobile phones and MP3 players, fine, but they have no choice but to update their TV, Hifi to embrace Digital, HD, etc... at all levels (reception,  multi room, ). They are late already, but it looks like it is coming. 

In my view digital is here to stay, so if B&O still wants a slice of the hifi market they should invest in this technology.