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Beolab 5 - Four Questionable Technologies

I'm looking to buy a high-end speaker system and have become enamored by the Beolab 5 Powered Speakers by B&O.

In their literature the tout 4 technologies that set them apart.
I am not an audiophile (yet) but wonder what those with more experience think about these four ideas.

1. An Acoustic Lens technology
This means a much wider dispersion of high frequencies. Supposedly this makes sweet spot for listening is much larger. This means you can sit in different places or move around and still have optimal sound.

2. Adaptive Bass Control
This uses a microphone in each speaker to calibrate the low frequency interaction with the room. This permits a wider range of speaker placement. For example, one could be near a wall, or one could be near a corner and this would compensate.

3. Digital Signal Processing
Being all digital, each speaker is calibrated (tweaked) before leaving Denmark to match a reference speaker. This is not possible with analog systems. It assures a that all of the speakers sound the same, a sort of quality control.

4. Digital Amplification
Each of the speakers has four digital amps; one for each driver. Somehow, by being digital Class D amps they can be smaller and run cooler than other amps. That allows them to put 4 powerful amps insider the very confined space of the speaker enclosure. The high power allows peak sound levels of 115 to 120 dB.

Thoughts and comments on any of these four technologies would be appreciated.

And, if you have heard these speakers, do you think they are for real.
hdomke
hdomke OP
40 posts
 
After you audition the 5's track down Wilsons for similar money and I think you will find B&O is not in the same musical universe
Zenblaster, funny that you should mention the Wilsons. This week I did extensive listening to a pair of Wilson Sophia speakers.

The Wilson Sophia's have the best sound I have had the privilege listening to (so far). I will audition the Beolab 5 this week with my friend that owns the Wilson Sophia's. He remains skeptical, since B&O is not considered an Audiophile brand. Neither of us have heard the Beolab 5 before.

However, if I go with the Wilson's I'm not sure I would save money. With the Beolab 5 I can connect the CD Transport directly to it with no other electronics. With the Wilson's I will need to also buy a Preamp and an Amp and all the cables.
hdomke OP
40 posts
 
Duke,
In my opinion it's not the only speaker likely to have these characteristics.
What other speakers do you thing would have these characteristics? What other speakers should I be listening to if budget is no limit?

Thanks for your thoughts on reverberant energy. You seem to think it's primary advantage is that the sound would have a more natural timbre. I thought the key advantage was that the "sweet spot" would be a much larger area. This would give the listener(s) room to move around and still hear the music at it's best.
steuspeed's avatar
steuspeed
501 posts
 
When you go with a system like B&O you are pretty much locked into the brand. You can't change amps, cables or tubes. Many in this hobby enjoy the challenge of upgrading and tweaking their system to their taste. You pay a lot for the B&O look and style. They may perform very well, but there is a lot of other gear out there too. Other speakers with wide radiation patterns you might check out are Ohm, MBL and Gallo. Meridian is another company that builds everything into the speakers. I sold Meridian for years and it performed very well. However, for the same or less money you could build a system that would kill it. The Meridian buyers were usually more interested in the technology and equated that to better sound. Just because it is digital, does not make it better. Digital is an outstanding way to preserve data, but what ultimately comes out of your speakers is analog.
onhwy61's avatar
onhwy61
5,256 posts
 
B&O is not an audiophile directed product. It's a high end lifestyle product. It's aimed at a person who wants high quality sound, great looks and ease of operation and setup. I suspect that the typical B&O buyer enjoys music just as much as any audiophile, but unlike the audiophile they keep the same components for years without any changes.
audioinsane
3 posts
 
With regards to #4 i believe the digital ICE amps are found in other speaker products for example the Von Scweikert VR9 and VR11

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