B&O Experience MK II
Posted by: Ancipital on 07 April 2004
Hi guys & gals
Whilst passing through Canary Wharf today, saw a B&O shop. Now, after my experiences in Selfridges, wondered what a demo in a proper shop would do.
I was more interested in those weird speakers they're doing.
Spoke to the bloke in the shop and he agreed to do a demo knowing that I had a Naim system and I wasn't actually going to buy anything! They had a Pink Floyd DSOTM cd in there so had a play through on that. Have to say, those speakers go pretty loud (they shut the shop doors for this!), but for me the life wasn't there though it didn't sound too bad and I can understand why people buy it. Unluckily there were some sound reflections in the room which I pointed out and also pointed out a couple of failings.
We played a bit of Gershwin which wasn't bad, you could hear that it was recorded in an auditorium though again, it wasn't really there with the "wow!" factor.
The bloke also wanted my opinion of the plasma TV which was set up better than the last attempt at Selfridges and though it had good clarity and was pretty sharp, there was something just a bit unrealistic about the imagery it was purveying.
All in all, I would say the bloke was pretty enthusiastic about hearing my comments based on the Naim gear I've got at home and was interested in me bringing in some of my own CD's to play and hearing my comments based on music I already know.
Didn't denigrate anything they selling, just stated it was going in a different direction from what I liked.
Quite a fun experience which also affirmed the correct way that I'm going.
Steve.
Whilst passing through Canary Wharf today, saw a B&O shop. Now, after my experiences in Selfridges, wondered what a demo in a proper shop would do.
I was more interested in those weird speakers they're doing.
Spoke to the bloke in the shop and he agreed to do a demo knowing that I had a Naim system and I wasn't actually going to buy anything! They had a Pink Floyd DSOTM cd in there so had a play through on that. Have to say, those speakers go pretty loud (they shut the shop doors for this!), but for me the life wasn't there though it didn't sound too bad and I can understand why people buy it. Unluckily there were some sound reflections in the room which I pointed out and also pointed out a couple of failings.
We played a bit of Gershwin which wasn't bad, you could hear that it was recorded in an auditorium though again, it wasn't really there with the "wow!" factor.
The bloke also wanted my opinion of the plasma TV which was set up better than the last attempt at Selfridges and though it had good clarity and was pretty sharp, there was something just a bit unrealistic about the imagery it was purveying.
All in all, I would say the bloke was pretty enthusiastic about hearing my comments based on the Naim gear I've got at home and was interested in me bringing in some of my own CD's to play and hearing my comments based on music I already know.
Didn't denigrate anything they selling, just stated it was going in a different direction from what I liked.
Quite a fun experience which also affirmed the correct way that I'm going.
Steve.
Two questions:
1. Why go in?
2. Did you convince him to buy Naim?
-- woody
1. Why go in?
2. Did you convince him to buy Naim?
-- woody
My two reasons were
1. 'coz I would've had to go back to the office earlier so it wasted a bit of time.
2. Think I may have sowed the seeds of doubt
No, my 3rd reason was
3. Really was interested to see what those weird speakers sounded like.
My 2nd, er...3rd...4th reason was
4. Seeing if an actual B&O only shop made a better attempt at demoing their wares and to give them their dues, they did.
I think they have a good placing for their shop due to the population demographic that works in Canary Wharf are more likely to buy B&O to go with their colour coded Porsches/wives/house.
Now, a ahop selling our favourite make would be even more interesting
1. 'coz I would've had to go back to the office earlier so it wasted a bit of time.
2. Think I may have sowed the seeds of doubt
No, my 3rd reason was
3. Really was interested to see what those weird speakers sounded like.
My 2nd, er...3rd...4th reason was
4. Seeing if an actual B&O only shop made a better attempt at demoing their wares and to give them their dues, they did.
I think they have a good placing for their shop due to the population demographic that works in Canary Wharf are more likely to buy B&O to go with their colour coded Porsches/wives/house.
Now, a ahop selling our favourite make would be even more interesting
[QUOTE]Originally posted by NAIMGAIM:
B&O SHOPS ARE FRANCHISED! I'd consider it, but one already exists in Austin. I'd still own Naim at home though. The only B&O item I'd buy is the telephone.
There is a TWELVE page spread / ad in this months Dwell magazine. Dwell is a architectural / modern furnishing rag that I drool over.
Let's face it. B&O is NOT for people who listen to music. It's for people who have lots of money and want to buy something to impress their neighbors...visually. It's Nuevo Riche Man's Bose! MARKETING BABY! Personally a BIG wall of Naim would look WAAAAY cooler IMO.Naimgai(n)!
i have a b &o in my dining room.WHy?aturntable
with remote control,and if there is one track i
do not like i can switch to the next track.(think there is a photocell inside)
And:As i know you,you would also like not to loose
your appetite while hearing Cds during dinner,and your soup will get cold while going
to change vinyl.
second thing:i m not a big fan of plasmatvsets,but i must admit that picturewise b&oplasma is
the best nonprofessional plasmatv on the market
(think there is aprofessionalpanasonic display
inside)
And i am not sure:was not b&o inventer of first
Multiroom hifi. Maybe this is not your point
of view ,but i like real technical innovations.(did not say that i am amultiroomfan)
O.J.
B&O SHOPS ARE FRANCHISED! I'd consider it, but one already exists in Austin. I'd still own Naim at home though. The only B&O item I'd buy is the telephone.
There is a TWELVE page spread / ad in this months Dwell magazine. Dwell is a architectural / modern furnishing rag that I drool over.
Let's face it. B&O is NOT for people who listen to music. It's for people who have lots of money and want to buy something to impress their neighbors...visually. It's Nuevo Riche Man's Bose! MARKETING BABY! Personally a BIG wall of Naim would look WAAAAY cooler IMO.Naimgai(n)!
i have a b &o in my dining room.WHy?aturntable
with remote control,and if there is one track i
do not like i can switch to the next track.(think there is a photocell inside)
And:As i know you,you would also like not to loose
your appetite while hearing Cds during dinner,and your soup will get cold while going
to change vinyl.
second thing:i m not a big fan of plasmatvsets,but i must admit that picturewise b&oplasma is
the best nonprofessional plasmatv on the market
(think there is aprofessionalpanasonic display
inside)
And i am not sure:was not b&o inventer of first
Multiroom hifi. Maybe this is not your point
of view ,but i like real technical innovations.(did not say that i am amultiroomfan)
O.J.
quote:HY Derek! I am not a fan of multiroomhifi.
Originally posted by Derek Wright:quote:_amultiroomfan_
Is this an air conditioner <g>
I did not know that the English language was so aglutinative
Derek
<< >>
Excuse my bad english (cannot even translate
agluinative
But if you want so:Multiroom systems often do not make music,only move (non hot)air with its speakers and so the translation "airconditioner"seems to be also quite ok. O.J.(alwayswantingtolearnenglishbuttoolazy)
quote:HY Jayd!
Originally posted by jayd:quote:
B&O is NOT for people who listen to music.
Hmm. I'm a people who listens to music, and I can honestly say I've never let the details of a system determine whether or not I would enjoy music through it. When I hear music I enjoy, it's always beautiful. Sometimes the sound is beautiful too, but that's different.
Mozart or Muddy Waters through an AM transistor is still beautiful music. If there's good music on, I'll listen no matter what the system sounds or looks like. My life would be robbed of a lot of enjoyment if the only way I could bear to listen to music was on my "reference" system.
Maybe this means I'm more of a music fan than a hi-fi fan.
The fact is:neither am radio nor tivoli fm radio looses prat at any time and this must be
one of the hidden secrets of enjoying music through those radios.
O.J.
quote:Think B&O design is great,Unique,and continual overlong decades. I also do not like ,but i would not deny
Originally posted by Jun Keller:
_I just think it's maybe a bit snobbish to say that anyone who purchases something other than sonic perfection doesn't listen to music._
I agree. - BTW: Who does like the B&O design? Me not!!!
those qualities.(and if you touch B&0 you will notice it is well built too.)O.J.
And it sounds better than a lot of so called superhifigear to my ears.
O.J.(tryingtobeobjectiveinanotprimarysounddiscussion)
quote:Hy there!please can somebody explain to me the meaning of "aglutinative".
Originally posted by prowla:
Wow - we've got an alternative to "sistem" here!
(joiningthewordstogetherliketelegrams.)
Paul
I've also been educated - isn't "aglutinative" a great word?
earnest question.
O.J.
quote:Who does? B&O??
Originally posted by jekyll:
They do very good garden furniture, and it's 20% off this week
O.J.
quote:Hy Markus!
Originally posted by Markus Sauer:quote:
Originally posted by Derek Wright:
The German language is very agglutinative ie forms compund words very easily - my favourite compund word being the translation of "steam ship ticket" - which also involves triple consonants which get reduced to double consonants unless the word is split over two lines (hyphenated) - in which case the missing consanant is re instated.
We had a spelling reform a few years back (a not very popular one, it must be said). It is now okay to have identical triple consonants, e.g. "Donaudampfschifffahrtsgesellschaft" for Danube Steam Shipping Company.
Still looks weird to me.
triple identical consonant were also ok before
spelling reform if there was a consonant immediately behind those.
Examples:Fetttropfen or sauerstoffflasche.
These both dont look so,but are written correct
also as the words iare not split.
O.J.
quote:
triple consonants which get reduced to double consonants unless the word is split over two lines (hyphenated) - in which case the missing consanant is re instated.
Man, that's messed up. And I thought English had some crazy rules.
I too owned B&O when I was but a pup, actually kept the linear tracking turntable (with aforementioned MMC cartridge) until fairly recently. I even owned their RL-60 speakers (which the ex still has and enjoys). I had a lot of fun with it, including a considerable number of "golly gee whiz" comments from my low-rent friends.
The B&O wow factor tarnished slightly for me when a colleague accused me of owning "yuppie stereo" - he owned tube gear and humongous Klipsch corner horn speakers. Not long after that, I had my first "serious" (though entirely round-earth) hi-fi experience; SOTA turntable with conrad-johnson components and Magneplanar speakers. That led to an unhealthy period of spending too much time in hi-fi shops, which eventually led me to the flat-earth realm.
I like B&O stuff because I appreciate design. I don't see any reason components can't be pleasing to the eye AND to the ear. I mean, engineering the sonics is the hard part, isn't it? Should be a no-brainer to put it all in an aesthetically pleasing and user-friendly package once that's done. Seems like.
But no, I wouldn't trade my current system for even the highest-end B&O setup today. Different times, different priorities. I've found the perfect mix for me.