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84k speakers... Big disappointment

Hello
Im in Germany for vacations and today I listened for a while for a pair of Bang & Olufsen Beolab 90 on a dealer here, a pair of Spears that cost 70.000 euros (about 84.000 dollars). 
Even though I heard a few songs and they were not the best for testing speakers (chill out music selected by the dealer) I was very disappointed. Let me tell you why:
1- They are active speakers, so they have their own DAC and amp inside of them and, as I understand, they shouldnt be influenced by the electronic behind them (amp, pre, DAC, cables, etc). 
2- The dealer told me they were voiced to the room, wich I also saw not to bad treated with accoustics (it had a carpet on the floor and the wall next to the speakers had courtains or something similar). 
3- Even the kind of music selected was not the best, as I said, the things that were lacking in the sound were so obvious that I think no other music could have changed my mind. 
I have a budget, but a very nice, high end system, consisting in Audio-gd R2R-2 DAC, Audio-gd Master 1 preamp, Line Magnetic LM-508IA valve SET amp and a pair of Q Acoustics Concept 500 speakers, voiced to my room and with a LOT of tweaks (fuse, cables, AC filter, Dirac Room Correction, etc). 
To be fair, the thing I like the best of the Bang & Olufsen was the punch in the bass, it was very strong, deep and fast, a very good one. In this field, the B&O were better than my system. 
I didnt hear the tone in the bass because the music was not the best for that, but I guess it must be also a good toneful bass. 
What I didnt like was a really poor soundstage (flat and narrow), a mediocre instrument separation and ping pointing, bright highs and hollow sound.
I was waiting to be blown away (considering the price), but I prefered my system BY FAR. 
I dont think the dealer is so stupid to show this very expensive speakers with out voicing them properly or with music that dont make them justice. 
Any thoughts? Has anyone heard them? Am I missing something? 
Pedro

PS: I sorry for my english, its not my native language.




plga
gdnrbob
4,444 posts
 
I have Bang and Olufsen in my car ('16 TTS), it has to be one of the most disappointing systems I have ever heard. Even my '12 TTS with Bose sounded better-well, at least I could listen to it.
B&O has been bought by corporate entities. They really don't care about sound, and just want to cash in on the name.
There are plenty of better speaker manufacturers out there in Europe.
I say, drop B&O.
Bob
shkong78's avatar
shkong78
1,485 posts
 
How about trying Lansche Audio?

You may like it..

I had been using it for 11 years now.
mlsstl
1,436 posts
 
When I worked in a stereo store in the mid-70s, we sold B&O. I did like their turntables, but was never impressed by the sound of their speakers. They looked impressive -- very Scandinavian -- but forget the sound. Looks like they've kept with the "house sound" after all these years. ;-)
caphill
674 posts
 
I had same experiences when demoing the B&O speaker system at one of the B&O exclusive showroom which recently closed down for good here in my area. 
Not worth it at all. They look very stylish though good for home decor or interior design. All B&O speakers look very unique almost like fancy art sculptures but they don't perform well.
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