Active vs passive Penta

[swartzy.baby]

First time poster, I am a complete B&O newbie – please be kind 😬.

I’ve just started doing some reading and research this past week as I’m actively looking for some new speakers in my office (just sold off some lovely B&W Matrix 802 towers).  B&O wasn’t even on my radar, but then I happened across some listing for the Penta and fell a little bit in love with the looks.  I was 100% on board with buying into an active Penta, but then realized they also made a passive version under the Beovox branding (“Pentavox” ?).  I’ve read a couple of posts and comments that indicate the internal Beolab amp isn’t necessarily bringing anything special to the table, sonically, but I wanted to just ask the question before taking the plunge: Am I losing out on anything (other than maybe resale value) by going with the Beovox Penta instead of a Beolab Penta?  I have some solid amps already so I’m not worried about being able to provide quality power, but my concerns lie more with whether the internal amp was doing anything crazy with crossovers or signal processing that I’m not going to be able to replicate.

Am I being silly here by wanting to purchase a vintage, passive Penta instead of something modern (I can’t afford any of the newer Beolab offerings)?  Certainly there’s nothing that looks like it that I’ve found.  I love the idea of these speakers though.  Sadly, I will not be able to audition before purchase.

Location: Indiana, USA

Favourite Product: TBD!

[CharlieWednesday]

I’ve never owned Beovox Penta (the passive version) but I do own a pair of Beolab Penta (the active version).  Apart from the amplifier, the Beolab version also have a display in the centre which shows info such as source, volume, track number.  That display is only useful if connected to a compatible B&O audio system and/or TV.  Beovox Penta sell quite a bit cheaper than Beolab Penta so for you, I’d honestly recommend the Beovox passive version of these fine and very attractive speakers.

Location: Liverpool

My B&O Icons:

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