The “New” prices might be comparable to products of old, I think the problem is they launched much cheaper and we watched the price climb over a couple years for the same product. It wasn’t the costs got that much higher for B&O to build. They were testing how much they can charge and still sell stuff. Also the colour variations are highway robbery.

Completely agree about the "New" prices.  It's especially galling when it's exactly the same product for 40-50% more. Pure money grab.

I also agree about a reasonably attainable ( $1 - 2K ) turntable.  See the following youngster story:

I gave my BL8000s to my son, and a BeoConnect Core perfectly fit his requirements (TV, streaming, turntable) for a source. Unfortunately, I couldn't recommend it. ~$1000 more than a WiiM Ultra (and another $450 for a remote), and it's not even good looking!!! Granted, the WiiM has no NL, but if he starts making B&O-level money and wants multi-room, he can easily replace the WiiM since it's wasn't that expensive. He has a inexpensive Sony turntable, but I could see selling him on a reasonably priced B&O turntable. It will look nice, last forever and the technology is mature so spending a couple $K isn't a terrible investment.

Slightly off-topic, but interesting that the current UK used prices for those 1987 items are pretty much exactly 10% of the 'equivalent new' prices, except for the Beograms which are proportionally much more

Back on topic re future directions, any (audio) brand sells on three or four things:

Brand desirability

Visual attractiveness

Technical capability (and sound quality)

Price/value

For B&O at the moment, no-one is buying the product because it's good value. Some people may be buying it because it's really expensive.

Technical capability is a bit problematic, as folk have noted upthread. Why are £1000 Cores lacking connectivity? Why was the Stage so crippled? Why have BL 17s and 18s not been updated to Mozart? Why am I looking at spending £1000 at Almando to get surround sound on my TV rather than B&O?

Sound quality is a difficult issue, as most punters (myself included) don't really have the capabilities to assess 'quality', but are probably capable of saying 'I like the sound of that more than that'. Let it be agreed that Beolab 90s sound amazing, but my friends who like hi-fi still think that B&O is not 'proper', not like Linn or something. Selling stuff on genuine sound quality is difficult and liable to lead to £1000 speaker cables and the like.

 

Visual Attractiveness has always been the big one for B&O, good design with nice actions that sound fine and have some other unique features like early multiroom. There are still some standout products like the Shape, A9 and BL18 but lots of meh too like the entry level M3/5, Levels, Balances, the late BL9s/20s, and even the mighty BL90. Could you get those past your wife, even if you had £120k spare? And as noted much of the streaming stuff does not look like it's meant to be on display at all, let alone pride of place in your living room.

 

So Brand Desirability. B&O is still a name, some guys at work were boasting last week about the B&O in their Audis. But Brand Desirability ultimately depends on quality products that people want and are able to buy. Lagonda is probably still a desirable name, but there's no products, no employees and no cars neither.

 

On that note I fear B&O might become the new Bugatti or similar. Bought out by e.g. LG or some Chinese brand we haven't heard of yet, one or two unattainable flagship products no humans can afford, no connection to the past, just a name to hang mostly identkit low-end Chinese-built disposables on. Let's hope not.

I would state that if you could scale modern streamers, DACs, Amplifiers and loudspeakers from mainstream at say GBP1000 and up to the very top and put BnO in that scale…..most products would not get above the bottom 3rd. So BnO contrary to popular belief is not the top end of the market by a long way.

As I’ve said in many places, BnO make very nice WAF-acceptable home entertainment equipment.  It is certainly not a “luxury” brand. It’s home electronics. (Keep a GBP20000 Hermes bag boxed and pristine for 10 years and amazingly, it will keep its value. Keep the same value of BnO in a box and it’s yesterday-years tech on eBay)

in terms of 4 categories, there is only 3. Brand desirability comes from the other 3 variables. The prices are as suggested by others more or less inflation adjusted (did the exercise with what I have purchased over the last 30-odd years). However, there was a big jump in Beovisions at the time of LCD and there is a big jump in the big Beolabs (50-90) inflation wise.

regardless, given the Mozart platform and ICEpower, products throughout the range are now modular and should be considerably cheaper to prototype and manufacture.

One of the biggest problems I see BnO having is too much mechanical gimmickry. I know most in here love this but it does take away from the seriousness of the brand. (Think about Roger Moore as Bond in Moonraker compared to Craig in Casino Royal. Back in the day, it was good fun, today, people would not put up with a new film like moonraker or similar).

Part of BnOs survival must be to make competent products that just do their Job. They need sound quality comparable to the mainstream at a similar price point.

The Company needs more Andrew Robinson and less Charles deClerks to promote the good name of BnO to those that lost faith or just read about the perpetual “better bang for your buck elsewhere” mantra

People are buying B&O presently, reference is made to BL9/20 , however , they are very old products; What about the 28s, Stylish, good performers, not lacking in tech, a bit of visual drama; does one not think that product represents B&O?

The stage was never ‘crippled’ clearly, market segmentation determined it would not be wise to offer wider connectivity; it was offered as a very good, classy looking stand alone soundbar, and it sold well.

B&O have responded with the premier that offers what one feesl the stage lacked; the same people that complain about stage connectivity will not be buying that either! because…… they want it at the stage price.

With the PRESENT product offering, I dont think one can say its a lightweight ‘designer brand’

I have had almost all B&O products from the past 25 years and the range now ( with a few exceptions) performs extremely well.

I think it does.

No more outdated flat panels before they hit the shelf and a good range of products from relatively cheap to very very expensive. I think it is one of the best line ups they have had.

Critique: I would be happy if the BeoLab28s were the last products made with these superfluous mechanical mechanisms. I know most people in here love this stuff but when you take the cost of that mech out, (and the side drivers continue to do what probably 99% of the work is), you will reduce manufacturing cost significantly. You reduce R&D cost and prototyping costs. It will go a long way. Look at the BS Balance and BL8.

I think also (but would need data on this), removing the superfluous “wow” and having a colourway/finish option that appeals more to the regular hifi buyer….may attract more customers from the Andrew Robinson/John Darko YT set??

just saying. I it’s think going in the right direction but Louis Vuitton Lady, Xi Jinping and Patek Philippe man are not coming to rescue B&O. Nor is a hifi product that doubles as James Bonds latest gadget. I think the only way out is sold technical products that can appeal to all customers that are well marketed as such.

@Critique: I would be happy if the BeoLab28s were the last products made with these superfluous mechanical mechanisms. I know most people in here love this stuff but when you take the cost of that mech out, (and the side drivers continue to do what probably 99% of the work is), you will reduce manufacturing cost significantly. You reduce R&D cost and prototyping costs. It will go a long way. Look at the BS Balance and BL8.'

Once one takes away any visual excitement , surely one competes with the other higher end audio brands? why would one buy B&O if that visual aspect has gone?

I am sure theb BL8 is a good speaker but I would buy the BL28 purely for the fact its so different to anything else.

 

 

I would love to get spotify back on my beomaster 5! Or an option to upgrade the Beomaster 5!

link

Once one takes away any visual excitement , surely one competes with the other higher end audio brands? why would one buy B&O if that visual aspect has gone?

I totally agree. For me, design, multiroom and magic moves" are B&O's signature. Nowadays, when mainstream brands care about design and multiroom is a standard feature, beautiful mechanical moves are the only remaining "oddities" of the brand. It would be very dangerous to put aside the last component of B&O's DNA. Yann.