In the early 80's I was visiting my girlfriend at the time in Michigan, her family owned and operated a very successful shoe and womens clothing store in the burbs. Upon my intial visit I had be guided into the livingroom of her home to take a seat on the couch. Sitting there awhile when all of a sudden the sterio in the room just came on. My girlfriend was quick to tell that the system was broken and had a habit of just coming on whenever. I remember getting up from the couch and going over to the unit, and well that's when I first, fell in love.........with B&O. Upon returning to Boston, having just graduated from college and starting a career I was really in no position to purchase anything. More than a few times I stopped in sterio stores that carried B&O and to be honest the Tweeter Stores up in Boston at the time really knew the product and at least the guys I got were very knowledgeable about the B&O product as well as their philosophy. Picked up a catalogue then really started to save. A few months later I purchase  my first B&O system, a 3300 with wall mount and a pair of CX100's. What can I say over the years I've gone nuts. Later purchased the  Beosystem 9500 with RL 60's then added Penta II's, BeoLab 5000 panel speakers, Beo remote 5000 and 7000. Later added the MX 5500 television system, had kids and juggled my stuff alittle, Beosystem 2500, Beolab 8000's, Avant televisions and we'll leave it at that. At this time I would like to confess I have loved every single piece of equipment I have had, reliability has been phenominal, I just hate it when people constantly complain B&O is not worth the money. I say this at a time in my life that I can know longer afford B&O, with a family of 9 it's alittle tough. But, all my children are growing up to appreciate the B&O quality. We still have two old MX's that are rocking along for the older boys and their occasional video gaming, both Avants are still in use, Beolab 8000's in the living room and a Beosystem10 in the kitchen. So don't feel sorry for me, I'm still BANG'IN along. B&O for me has always been about quality first, style second, company a very close third, and finally the COOL factor. Good luck, God bless and thanks for sharing.

Dave 

I bought my first B&O item in 1986. I've bought a few non-B&O items of AV equipment since then and, although I saved money, I never achieved the same joy of ownership.

For me it's the design and the quality of B&O products that hook me in. Everything that leaves the factory looks as though it was designed and manufactured by people that want to produce something beautiful. Even the best of the alternatives look as though the final decision on cabinet materials and styling was made by an accountant - probably one with challenged vision and no sense of touch! 

We all know - there are plenty of threads on this site that hammer this point - that B&O equipment is not the at the forefront of technology in every (some would say any) area. And of course its very expensive. But, to be honest, there is no end of AV and hifi equipment makers that can give you all the techie stuff. B&O give you a reasonable level of technology and performance in a beautifully assembled package that will last a good few years (my 1986 items are still functioning).

And, of course, it looks as good when its switched off as when its on.

oh just look at beo4 best remote control by a country mile made of zinc  (now joined by beo5)

a lot of the bracketts and stands are also so amazing its just small details that count

 some items like bs 9000 and bl 8000 have stayed with inflation in the uk and have been in production for many years without any real changes

i just hope that they offer better technology like bluray quick,it cant be that difficult to adapt to new ideas

also the porsche 944 had lovely quality i was always looking at the engine 

ive just bought alessi coffepot by richard sapper superb design most impressed

I'm always wary of these discussions. It's like we have to justify our reasons for our purchases. I don't discuss why I buy Audi on the Audi forum or Panerai's on the Panerai forum.

I only really bought B&O as I liked the idea of using one remote to control everything (or just about everything - I have to have two B&O remotes as some of the units overlap). It built up from there, I guess.

....the heavy-oil-damped volume control on the Beomaster 8000 butters my sprouts in a 1980s kind of way. On a 1960s tip, I value the potential to use my Beolit 800's signal strength meter to take bearings in conjunction with a compass, map, and known transmitter location.

For me it's the design, quality and longevity of the products - home wouldn't feel like being at home without it. It's great looking forward to coming home and having the whoel flat linked and have music and tv follow you round everywhere.

I was at some friends houses over New Years and they have just bought a brand new Sony LCD TV with a Panasonic 5.1 decoder and a seperate DVD - to play a film was a nighmare and listening to music is on a seperate system - I counted about 5 remote controls and they had problems getting the sound right and TV on the right AV socket etc. With B&O it's all on the one remote - and the picture and sound was far better on my ten year old Avant and Beolab 4000's. I guess then that another reason could be the ease of use, integration and accessibility to music and video.

I very much doubt I would ever switch brands as there's nothing out there that compares - if it gets too expensive brand new there's always used equipment out there all the time and with B&O's reliability it's likely to last longer than a brand new item from another manufacturer.

To me it's the design first. I noticed that allready as young kid at my grandparents.

Then I find out how good it is by daily use. This will quickly decide if it's staying or going next time I will make a change for other audio or video.

 With B&O I find the sound great and the units very well done. When serviced even the top notch old Beolab 8000 and Beosystem 6000 from 1981 forward can really be very impresive on a daily use on all accounts. Easy to use and timeless really.

At the same time the question of HIFI goes away. It's B&O for a reason. It feels 100% right. Anything else is whatever. I get everything I need in B&O. That's all I need to know.

Keep you B&O happy and it will keep you happy.