I voted 'Try and buy a mixture of new/ex-demo and used from official dealers or resellers.'

because that's what I do with audio equipment. But that's only for audio, I wouldn't dream of buying a tv that expensive with technology that goes out of date so fast.

Technological change is moving too fast. The old Avant was the best TV ever.... until CRT was overtaken by LCD. £5000 TV became worth £50 almost overnight. I'm even questioning whether vintage equipment is worth restoring with new capacitors etc. Maybe best kept as something just to look at whilst getting audio from latest tech from other than B&O (probably containing ICEpower .....)

B&O USP's are diminishing fast. Motorised stands are arguably less necessary when new screens are viewable from a wide range of viewing positions. Acoustic lenses seem to be being abandoned in favour of background music with no sound stage.

Visitors never fail to be impressed by my hinged BV11, but the day will come when visitors are no longer impressed and ask why I didn't get a competitor's more technologically advanced product at 10% of the price or less.

Graham

Reply gone to moderation. Maybe time to upgrade something else too!

Graham

(EDIT Post has now appeared above).

I voted, 'Had enough of B&O. There's just as good out there at the moment for way less money.'

For many years I have been B&Os biggest fan but in recent years my passion for the brand has faded a lot. I will try to be constructive with my criticism and share my honest feelings.

Looking at B&O historically - in terms of when my passion started to when it faded - it is obvious (in my case) that what I fell in love with was the David Lewis designs primarily, and Jensen prior to that. These designers are now gone, and with them their genius and imagination. It seems to me that B&O are trying to hold on to this design legacy by creating similar designs to the originals; some typical examples include BL17s (replacement BL4000s), BeoVision 10/11/14 & Avant (replacement BV5/9 & BCAV5), BL19 (replacement BL2), BL18 (replacement BL8000s) and so on. I find this a lazy effort and lack of creation from a company as established as B&O. If it were a different company I would expect it, but it is disappointing to see a leading design company such as B&O make such a small effort.

It is about the money in terms of having a product that feels it is value of money but only this. I would happily spend the higher price tag for a completely new radical design, utilising the latest technology, up to date connections, a product that has been built with care and attention and properly tested and quality controlled before put out for sale. Integration and software should be working at least to a 95% tested standard. Of course it would be unrealistic to expect a 100% working product from any manufacturer without leaving some room for bug fixing and updates.

To be perfectly honest, I think the W7 'wallpaper' television is the best set money can buy at this moment and I would (and will be) paying the full price tag to purchase this tv in the coming months. I am just hoping for a 55" version as I can't accommodate a 65" screen so fingers crossed for the next LG release. If B&O release a tv which at least equals (or betters) ALL current specifications from their immediate competitors at the same price range, then I am likely to buy into B&O. But really, what B&O equipment can offer me anything better the W7 at the moment? Nothing. Why on earth would I now buy an existing or older B&O television at the still 'silly' prices people are asking for them when you can get the latest all singing all dancing television for much less? Now that IS value for money and money well spent. Taking a step backwards in time (as I see it) is not for me. The current OLED televisions and QLED Samsung equivalents are so thin and beautiful looking wall mounted that they make any kind of B&O television, old or new, look bulky and out of date.

With all that said, this is just my opinion and what I am personally looking for at this time. People are different and so there may still be a market for current and older B&O televisions but I firmly believe this is very limited given the speed at which technology keeps pushing the boundaries. If I were a dealer (both B&O and pre-owned) I'd be getting rid of my stock as quickly as I could and selling up. The market just isn't what it was and everybody else has not only caught up with B&O and in many cases surpassed them and rapidly leaving them behind.

In wanting to try and offer something constructive, it's difficult to know what the direction is for B&O. We know they excel at all things audio so I might be tempted to pursue this direction with some much more interesting designs and at the more affordable market, i.e. £5,000 and/or under. A few at the £10,000 market perhaps to see if there's ay interest. As for the BL90s, well that's so limited and isn't really going to keep the business afloat.

Reading posts here on the forum it seems the BeoPlay range has done well. I am pleased about that and do own an A1, which I like, but let's be honest, the majority of speakers in that range all look exactly the same with the 'punctured grille' (call it what you will) look. Hardly anything earth shattering that's going to win any design awards.

When I buy property it's always "...location, location, location!" When I 'have bought' B&O it 'was' always "...design, design, design!" Alas, where is it? What does B&O represent in today's market ... and let's use forum facts to discover the true answer? Same old design, hardware failures, software failures, out of date components/connections/features, abysmal customer service, over priced, over rated, poor quality controlled and non Danish made products ... NO THANKS.

Bottom line, B&O are just not what they once were. I keep clinging on, hoping for something radical, but always another disappointment. You loose interest eventually and look elsewhere.

Simon.

It must be other.

B&O equipment is still very good as "output" equipment. I mean ... good speakers stays good speakers and good screens live for a long time.

It is the "input" stuff that are moving fast. Here B&O is always somewhat behind and way too expensive.

But you can easily combine modern and fast changing non B&O "input" devices like iphones, ipads, chromecasts, airports etc. with old school B&O stuff, and get the best of both worlds.

Keep your wonderfull B&O output stuff and change the cheap input stuff often.

Things like speakers and amplifiers have really not improved a lot over the last decades. Its mostly marketing and PR.

The exception to the above are the Beogram record players that are still hard to beat. And vinyl is the new black :-).

Lee, if you feel the strong desire for an upgrade or simply getting more B&O equipment:

- Get a Beovision 11 instead of the 14. The 11 has less problems and doesn't use that dumb Android thing.
- Buy the Beolab 18


The Beosound Moment... I don't know... for me it's one of the ugliest music systems B&O has ever done. It still looks unfinished with that cheap China-Android-Tablet thrown in... ;)

If you just need the services an Essence MK2 could be a nicer upgrade hooked up to your Beosound 3200.

I voted "Too much of a gap for me now. I'm leaving the brand but will always be a fan and may return"

The reason is simple. A few years ago I followed a tried-and-tested pattern. I'd buy a B&O TV, keep it for 2-3 years, go back to my dealer, who would nearly always look after me and give me a good trade-in deal from the new TV and I'd often have to find £2000 to make the change.

In 2017 the gap is too wide. Take my (not that old) BV12-65. Superb TV, but probably only worth about £1500 or so as a trade-in. If I wanted to move up to an Avant 75", I'd have to find a large 5-figure sum...for a slightly bigger panel. Same with the forthcoming OLED 65". I'd have to find £10,000, I'd assume, for the same panel size.

The key additional problem for me, apart from the trade-in price difference, is simply the quality of the new TV compared to your existing panel. Sure the BV14-55 has a brighter and sharper panel, but is it *that* much better than my superb BV12-65? No, minimal.

So, maximum outlay, for minimum visual return.