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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
 
Shadorn,
the Beolab looks like it came from Forbidden Planet
I agree that it looks odd, but I'm okay with that. I am pleased that they are relatively small for their capability and the fact that there may be more freedom in room placement due to the adaptive bass control and acoustic lens technology.
Since you listen to music as a background thing then it may well be the correct choice.
I think these speakers would be overkill for background music. I'm looking forward to becoming an Active Listener

The Wilson's may not elicit automatic comments from guests but they are a more conventional tried and proven box speaker design
I'm not trying to impress guests with the looks of the speakers. I live on a farm in the middle of the Missouri and I don't have many guests. But my wife and I care what the listening room (read: Living Room) looks like.

The Wilson's (at least the Sophia's and the WATT Pupplies) are quite a bit bigger than the Beolab 5's and with room placement issues, I think they actually might dominate the room more.

However, having auditioned the Wilson Sophia speakers last week I have to say I was deeply impressed - the best I have ever heard. When I audition the Beolab 5 speakers if they are not at least as good at the Wilson Sophia's then I won't get them.
onhwy61's avatar
onhwy61
5,256 posts
 
Hdomke, I've been reading and posting these forums for a number of years and I've come to the conclusion that for many audiophiles swapping equipment frequently is normal and expected behavior. They think of it in terms of "upgrading", but to a large extent I believe they just want to change something for change sake. Nothing particularly right or wrong with that. Music lovers, musicians and others just don't seem to have that constant need to change things.

B&O is nothing like Bose. A better comparison is Meridian. If it were me, I'd take the Beolab over the Wilson any day, but YMMV.
macrojack
1,303 posts
 
I'll second Onhwy61's recommendation. Wilson doesn't have and cannot match B&O's technological resources. The fact that one company has buddied up with the reviewing community and the other one has not makes for a higher audiophile profile but not necessarily a better product.
When I heard the Beolab 5, I was very impressed and would have bought them if I had had the money at that time.
Bear in mind that many of the comments you read on here are the AMEN CHORUS from Stereophile, etc.
mount_rose_music's avatar
mount_rose_music
116 posts
 
The Sensible Sound, of all magazines, highly recommended the B&O, for the sound and technology. I've never seen such an effusive review of a piece of high-end equipment in that magazine before or since. They usually love things for two grand and other. See if you can get an archived copy of the review, well worth reading.

For this amount of money, please please audition two or three different speakers in your home. You can find dealers who will do that, and maybe, if B&O isn't willing to do that, maybe they are not the ones for you.

A general comment, if you plan on keeping these for a long time, they have many moving parts, built-in amplifier, etc. In other words, more stuff to go wrong, and if it does go wrong after the company stops supporting it, what, for instance will you do to replace the internal amps?

I am not a big fan of Class D amps, not any I personally have heard, but that does not mean YOU may think they are the best thing since the cheeseburger.

I would also consider not listening to those who say they might not be "audiophile speakers".... and their point is????? If you like how they sound, and if you like how they look, and if you have tried one or two other speakers and you still like it, then at least you know you made the right decision for you.... Not trying speakers in your home with your electronics is like not bothering to test drive a car because somebody gave you a ride, close but no cigar.
\

Cheers,
Chris
hdomke OP
40 posts
 
Chris,
Thanks for the tip on the Sensible Sound Review. You are right that David Moran gave it a rave review. Here are some quotes:
In my view the BeoLab 5, with its exceptional horizontal radiation, is demonstrably the finest loudspeaker system designed and manufactured thus far...

To get right to the point, in every instance I heard things I had never noticed before in quite that way: inner details, lines and strands that were newly followable, everything revealed under fresh, clear lighting. I worked my way through Mozart string quartet passages, then '60s and '70s rock (and not in gussied-up new mixes, either: old Fleetwood Mac, old live Cream). From CD to CD, tonal balance seemed oddly right--neutral, accurate were the words that kept coming to mind...

I don't know who David Moran is.
Is he a respectable reviewer?
Can I believe him?
Is the Sensible Sound a reasonable publication?
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