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  3. 974123360

B&O, overpriced artistic piece of audio?

I have always had some sort of fascination to all things nifty and modern looking. Since 1982, before coming to this country, I was able to look into a B&O advertisement page in the NYTimes. Are B&Os a compromise sonically compared to my current system (Preamp SFL-2, Amp, Sonic Frontiers Power 2, speakers Gershman X-1 and Sw-1 subwoofers, Japanese DVD+Bel Canto DAC-1, Tuner MCintosh Mr-78)? Can I be enamoured just for the looks and this sense of nostalgia or should I simply say that B&O does conquer sonically? PAUL
bemopti123
trelja
3,223 posts
 
Stepping down? You had better hope there is a safety net to catch you at the bottom.
bob_bundus
1,834 posts
 
Paul please sober up! I use to service audio gear in a retail shop. B&O = B.O.! Looks snazzy, but the build quality is, well let's just say that it ISN'T. Sounds OK but just OK. Would make a good basement-bar system (or for the garage). Or put it in your office if you want to impress the clients; that would be a fitting application (sound quality in the office isn't really a primary concern anyway). Yeah it looks pretty cool though. I liked the Euro-style Bose analogy hee-hee...
swampwalker's avatar
swampwalker
5,138 posts
 
My folks brought one back from Denmark. I agree with the others, it would be a major step down. Looking good but sounding mediocre.
bmpnyc
713 posts
 
I agree about the audio aspect of B & O products, but I must say that their widescreen televisions with the Runco line doubler built in look as good as anything I have seen for DVD playback, and their phones look cool. I wonder if they are any good or if like their audio gear, they are pretty on the outside, ugly on the inside.
onhwy61's avatar
onhwy61
5,218 posts
 
Sound quality is not the sole criteria for equipment selection! The visual presentation of a product is critical. Bemop, if the looks are that important, then go for it and be happy. You will lose sound quality, but so what. After all, even the most passionate B&O distractors seem to say their products sound OK -- not horrible, not unlistenable -- but OK.
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