cooldude wrote:

@soundproof ..... LMAO 3.5 min to change records , that must be a new .....record. 😂

Is exactly what I would hate it to be.

Indeed.  Plus, he's fairly useless with a carbon fibre brush, and he gave the arm a mighty thump when cleaning the stylus.  I wouldn't let him near my Koetsu, that's for sure! (not that I have one...)

I don't think B&O should do turntables again as they need to look forward and not back.

What they could do is allow a 3rd Party Company to make a turntable to one of the vintage designs like they did with Soundsmith and cartridges. They could find a niche market if well made.

Simon

wirralsimon wrote:

I don't think B&O should do turntables again as they need to look forward and not back.

I agree with forward technologies, and indeed I have grumbled about this in the past - that B&O gets out-tech'd and out-spec'd by some stuff that costs much, much less, but...  I don't see why making a turntable should prevent any of that?  I'm not suggesting they stop making digital equipment:

Look at Gibson guitars - a premium brand that makes some new tech, but also produces guitars that are almost 100 years old in design... Sure they took a bashing as the market changed, but they're not doing bad at all with a mix of old and new....

or Marshall Amplifiers...

or Caterham cars...

or Aga ranges...

wirralsimon wrote:

What they could do is allow a 3rd Party Company to make a turntable to one of the vintage designs like they did with Soundsmith and cartridges. They could find a niche market if well made.

That's true enough, but then someone else would get the profit/kudos... I mean, some Beoworlders were talking (however idly) about buying a £100,000 giant plasma.  And if B&O believe there's profit (albeit probably indirect) in that....

If there is one company in the world that can produce a turntable that is ergonomic, subtle and good enough to make that Cleartone and its ilk look like pretentious tat then it is B&O.  

I do use my Beogram 4000, and buy the occasional record -- while I also register that my record store keeps adding more and more vinyl. Statistics show that vinyl is the fastest growing category -- so it's not a wild idea. But audiophile sound is going in the direction of high-resolution and multi-channel, and B&O should be well placed to gain credibility there, while it also supports their desire to sell more speakers ...

Record players with audiophile credibility are wildly complex Rube Goldberg contraptions that sell at absurd prices, we wouldn't want that.

I kept my Beosystem 6500 and got a Beolab 5000 precisely because I wanted to have the option of playing records, so don't think I'm against the format -- just don't know if it's what B&O should focus on, now that they are pressed for funds?

soundproof wrote:

<snip>
don't think I'm against the format -- just don't know if it's what B&O should focus on, now that they are pressed for funds?

 

I certainly don't think it should be the focus of their cash, or their efforts, or their strategy. And yes, I agree about multi channel being a good vehicle for B&O's speakers (which has been where the money is...)  

Does anyone else think that a turntable could make a profit for B&O?  I am not thinking of iPod ubiquity of course, but then I'm not talking about re-inventing the wheel (pun intended).  Directly from sales, or indirectly from publicity which leads to sales of other products I think it could make money.

Combining the strengths of previous Beograms into a turntable that has the looks, the tech and the sound to grab a share of the new vinyl pie - however much of a fad it may be - seems to me like a probable good return for putting together stuff they already know how to do.

Going back to valves/vacuum tubes:  a comparatively ancient technology that has found a new lease of life.  Once dormant factories in Russia, waiting to be pulled down and redeveloped have now been dusted off and are making valves again.  Chinese factories are making 50 year old valves...

From high-end thousands of pounds monobloc power amps, phono preamps, headphone amps, even iPod amps...  this is a technology that was once labelled deceased that now is in demand and making money, and the same is happening with vinyl.

Of course neither are mass-market items found in every home, but then since when has that been B&O's territory anyway?   B&O have always been a high-end niche market brand, and I don't think that a turntable is a departure from that.

Of course I may be wrong...

That turntable in the video is ridiculous, but i want one.!!!

I love my vinyl and play it more than CD (but not as much as MP3). There is something interactive about putting on a record. It somehow makes you listen. I listen to full recordings when i play a record when i play CD or MP3 it's all to easy to skip over stuff i wouldn't ordinarily give a chance to. With vinyl i am forced to listen and this gives me a better insight into the artist.

That being said, B&O should definately not make another TT. I think there are two ends of the TT spectrum. Those who will spend 10's of thousands or those that will maybe spend $1000. B&O would fit right in the middle of that, and those with 5k to spend on a TT will spend 10K for a far superior product and those with 1k to spend won't spend 5K. Then of course there are those who will only spend a couple of hundred and buy a cheap plastic piece of rubbish that will probably do more harm than good to their vinyl. But that's another story.

I know what you mean.  I have almost never not listened to an LP in entirety  🙂

Harry1 wrote:

That being said, B&O should definately not make another TT. I think there are two ends of the TT spectrum. Those who will spend 10's of thousands or those that will maybe spend $1000. B&O would fit right in the middle of that, and those with 5k to spend on a TT will spend 10K for a far superior product and those with 1k to spend won't spend 5K. 

Well I can see what you mean.  But then I think that B&O's turntable qualities combined into a new machine would be able to compete with exotica that is much more expensive.  B&O has always avoided the plethora of knobs/dials/switches for stuff that most people simply don't need, and eschewed the nonsense of 'cables rolled on thighs of virgins' and other such bilge that so often goes with Hi-Fi.

Some people think machines like the Cleartone are marvellous - and in some ways they are.  But some people will be put off from vinyl because such a machine is an almost impenetrable faff of epic proportions.  

Centre clamps, vacuums, edge rings, air pumps...manipulating an arm that is as fragile as it is unwieldy as it is expensive....  some people want to put a record on the turntable and press play. B&O can make a turntable that is simple to use, unobtrusive, and sounds very very good indeed - better than some of the stuff costing much more.

They did it in the 70's-mid 80's, and I believe they could do it again...

To cover the high cost, you could always get a combination oil rig and turntable!

Well it has the ergonomics, size and price, so why not the looks?

Actually, some of you might remember its older brother... 😂

rayfenwick wrote:

I agree with forward technologies, and indeed I have grumbled about this in the past - that B&O gets out-tech'd and out-spec'd by some stuff that costs much, much less, but...  I don't see why making a turntable should prevent any of that?  I'm not suggesting they stop making digital equipment:

Look at Gibson guitars - a premium brand that makes some new tech, but also produces guitars that are almost 100 years old in design... Sure they took a bashing as the market changed, but they're not doing bad at all with a mix of old and new....

or Marshall Amplifiers...

or Caterham cars...

or Aga ranges...

All of the above companies combine modern technology with 'Retro' appeal which is a valid strategy for making money, but it isn't the market space that B&O operate in.

Simon