Moxxy, ever since the Avants and some later B&O products I have often started with the same opinion (The instant wow factor of the 80's / 90's seemed to be missing from a number of later products), but after initial dissapointment have grown to appreciate what has generally been good design.

There is no difference here, I find this design too imposing for what it does, especially considering it is a B&O product - I doubt seeing the thing in person will change this! No doubt it will grow on me, but I really don't know this time round.

However, as with every new item from B&O, I am looking forward to reviews from first buyers here!

Thanks for a great review.  I can't wait to see one in the flesh to hear it and see it.  It also gets me thinking...

I wonder if the bridge is long because of the rumored next ipad iteration of having the doc connector in landscape mode?  

And also I love that the speakers "scream" at you (in a subdued way), i think this will hit the target market spot on.  

I also wonder if B&O were restricted by apple so that controller and the volume and track selector on the bridge would not have a 'click wheel' because it's a 'made for ipod, etc' product?  

I love it and I love that it has RCA's.  I could potentially plug one in under my tv and have it connected to my airport express that's already behind the tv.

:-)

The Australian link/ first impressions.

"B&O seems to be quite a polarising brand. You either love its products because of their quality and design, or deride them for their high prices. Well, with the BeoSound 8’s reasonable price there’s now no reason not to love it. Sure, $A1490 is still a lot of money for most of us, but it’s a good price for this beautiful system."

They make a comparison with the . If first looks count, then the opinion of those who don't like the BS8 appearance might change after looking at this awful looking dock!

[quote user="johnnielse"]

I'm not a fan of the paid app. At least not for this product. I think B&O have done a stellar job at packing everything under the sun into one box at a great price point. To include a wall bracket and a remote for free, but charge $20 for the app seems like an unnecessary wet blanket. It's not that I think the apps should be free, but I think the "everything for one price" model works well for these smaller items. 

jldmelb wrote:

One question though, I find with my iPhone 4 that when I put it in a dock it pops up a warning that there may be interference and that the dock is not compatible. Any issues like this with the B&O dock?

I have a iPhone 3GS that brings up the same message when I plug it into iPhone/iPod connector in my car. I'm not sure whether it's the software in the phone, or the software in the third party hardware.

As for the BeoSound 8, I definitely need to see and hear one, but I'm definitely not in love with the design from the photos. I also don't think the pocket remote is so cool either. I would probably use a BeoSound 8, but for £900 the sound is going to need to be outstanding to make up for the design.

Lee, you have placed the sound in between BL6000 and BL8000, but how does it really compare with a BeoSound 1 (or even BeoSound Century) ... a much more attractive product too in my opinion? And in response to your question about alternative designs ... I was convinced (and hoping) BeoLab 11 was B&O's first iPod dock when I first saw it and had it been, I probably would own more than one!

vikinger wrote:

The Australian link/ first impressions.

"B&O seems to be quite a polarising brand. You either love its products because of their quality and design, or deride them for their high prices. Well, with the BeoSound 8’s reasonable price there’s now no reason not to love it. Sure, $A1490 is still a lot of money for most of us, but it’s a good price for this beautiful system."

They make a comparison with the . If first looks count, then the opinion of those who don't like the BS8 appearance might change after looking at this awful looking dock!

Graham

Dave wrote:

this looks like a great product, and it is very affordable in comparison to a BS1 or a pair of beolabs, while being more portable, and more user friendly for the avereage joe. What's not to like, please can some people stop scutinising, just for once, it's depressing ~~~~

I'm not going to blame B&O for coming out with this product, as for some reason people keep buying speaker/dock setups from all kinds of manufacturers.  I wish B&O the very best of luck, and chances are I will buy the app if it is just $20 as mentioned above.

Having said that, it will most likely be a cold day in hell before I ever purchase a speaker/dock combo.  This is  product I don't understand:

1.  If you want to plug your iPhone into your B&O setup, for goodness' sake buy a $10 input cable into your B&O Aux.  You will get top notch B&O audio quality that you can reach from any MasterLink-ed room.

2.  If you want to plug your iPhone into any other brands' stereos, do yourself a favor and buy a $1.50 input cable into your AUX.  Seriously, I see people with $2,000 worth of Sony stereo crap, and right next to it... a $600 B&W Zeppelin?  Are these people on drugs?  Have they never heard of AUX-in for their Sony?

3.  If you want to control your digital music via your Beo4 or whatever, why would you ever buy a BeoSound 8?  Have people never heard of BeoPort, BeoMedia 1 or BM 5, or even that little BOSSCOM iPod Dock doohickey.

Frankly, the only scenario where I see BeoSound 8 making any sort of sense is if I buy a summer house and absolutely don't have any sort of sound for it, not even an old TV with AUX-in abandoned by the former owners.  

Which for me is not even a scenario because I have my old 1998 BeoCenter 2300 in storage.  With a perfectly serviceable Aux-in port.