Thought this was interesting -- does anyone have any first hand experience with these??
http://www.time.com/time/2003/inventions/invspeakers.html
-chris
http://www.time.com/time/2003/inventions/invspeakers.html
-chris
No real first hand experience. I have heard very early lens prototypes of the lens system. It was about twenty years ago and they were impressive.
A few relevant links:
http://www.diyaudio.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=14935&highlight=
http://moultonlabs.com/index.htm
http://www.sawonline.com/index_flash.html
A few relevant links:
http://www.diyaudio.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=14935&highlight=
http://moultonlabs.com/index.htm
http://www.sawonline.com/index_flash.html
My experience with these speakers is short. It was only for about 3 minutes and the music was not of my taste.
However, the sound was more or less impressive. The soundstage was pretty wide, and the bass nice and tight! Still it didn't bring THAT to me..... I wasn't really satisfied!
I conversation in Denmark goes in 2 directions. Either people are delighted by the sound or they are dissapointed. Not really anything in between....
However, the sound was more or less impressive. The soundstage was pretty wide, and the bass nice and tight! Still it didn't bring THAT to me..... I wasn't really satisfied!
I conversation in Denmark goes in 2 directions. Either people are delighted by the sound or they are dissapointed. Not really anything in between....
Well Martin Colloms seemed to think that they were reasonably good and to that you get full aplification and DSP room correction in one packadge.
I have heard the Tact room correction with some Dali range toppers and subs with their digital amps. The sound of this was very impressive to say the least. Went VERY VERY loud, no distortion or fatigue or lack of power on transients. A very good drum track was played of a drummer going at it solo. Whenever he hit the snare drum it made you shut your eyes with the force of the sound, very loud very clean very sharp, pity I didnt have something to play that i was familiar with.
I have heard the Tact room correction with some Dali range toppers and subs with their digital amps. The sound of this was very impressive to say the least. Went VERY VERY loud, no distortion or fatigue or lack of power on transients. A very good drum track was played of a drummer going at it solo. Whenever he hit the snare drum it made you shut your eyes with the force of the sound, very loud very clean very sharp, pity I didnt have something to play that i was familiar with.
years ago,I inherited a bang and olufsen system from my grandfather...and it piqued my interest in sound!...got to looking at speakers (beautiful design) and realized the salesman sold the old man (originally from norway) two "left hand" speakers meaning the tweeter and mid were both shifted to the left in both 3-way speakers, rather than being mirror images. I remember him saying to me,"these are not quite right..! but they come from the land of your ancestors...and are in the smithsonian as an example of "design". These days, I take things apart, listen before buying, and feel sad that that old man bought something 'not quite right'. Also, (having tracked down the original seller) I will not deal w/magnolia Hi-Fi in the seattle wa.-area. Sorry for rant...hell, I retrieved some quality parts from those (old) speakers, and have built others...but it'd be 'better' if ol bang and olie knew what its agents are up to- Hmmm..perhaps the old man taught me something-
Ive had several experiences with those speakers....some ok and some real bad.
The general issue is by my opinion is that B&O have reached the point of tech level where they just add all kinds of features to their products, just for the sake of adding features(features= gadgets).
Subjective:
The upper end is not pleasent, its rather tiresome. That is unacceptable for a speaker in that price range
The mid is good...but then again, is that really an achievement in that class??
The base is ok in smaller rooms, but in bigger rooms its definitely out of membrane area.
The only thing about theese speakers thats really good must be the swwet spot....its very big, actually you dont have to place yourself within centimeters to get the full experience...its rather a matter of being approximately there(+/- a meter and a half or so.
Magura
The general issue is by my opinion is that B&O have reached the point of tech level where they just add all kinds of features to their products, just for the sake of adding features(features= gadgets).
Subjective:
The upper end is not pleasent, its rather tiresome. That is unacceptable for a speaker in that price range
The mid is good...but then again, is that really an achievement in that class??
The base is ok in smaller rooms, but in bigger rooms its definitely out of membrane area.
The only thing about theese speakers thats really good must be the swwet spot....its very big, actually you dont have to place yourself within centimeters to get the full experience...its rather a matter of being approximately there(+/- a meter and a half or so.
Magura
Before I continue ranting about them (I already did in another thread) I will have a listen at them at a local dealer.
But I still doubt that they have a reasonable complexity/performance ratio.
One example: Even though they use DSP within their crossover (which by itself is badly restricted to an upper f3 of 22 kHz, rater a no-no nowadays !) they are not time-accurate which could be achieved quite easily by the use of DSP.
Regards
Charles
But I still doubt that they have a reasonable complexity/performance ratio.
One example: Even though they use DSP within their crossover (which by itself is badly restricted to an upper f3 of 22 kHz, rater a no-no nowadays !) they are not time-accurate which could be achieved quite easily by the use of DSP.
Regards
Charles
I feel that some credit must go to B & O for these speakers. At least they've identified that the room is one of the most important 'ingredients' of a speaker system and they've made a reasonable and fairly innovative attempt to cater for this.
Apart from Martin Collom's positive review in HFN, Paul Messenger also gave them a quick going over in a recent Hi-Fi+ and was reasonably positive.
The reflective lens has been done before by a number of companies. While I don't think it's the best approach for true audiophiles, it could result in a better sounding system for B & O's target market - lifestyle, post-millenium yuppies and BMW owners - who don't know or care about the best way to poistion their speakers.
The bass compensation system is also interesting. The biggest failing would seem to be that the sound is 'equalized' at the speakers rather than at the listening position. Personally, I'd prefer a simple analogue parametric equalizer which could be adjusted to boost (slightly) or cut two or three frequencies below 150Hz but this would really require setting up with measurement software.
No, I don't think this speaker will capture the audiophile market (or do much for the DIYers). Still, I must confess to a grudging respect for B & O. Hands up everyone who would love one of those cd players that opens automatically when you approach it - if only it could be made to sound as good as it looks. I would.
Apart from Martin Collom's positive review in HFN, Paul Messenger also gave them a quick going over in a recent Hi-Fi+ and was reasonably positive.
The reflective lens has been done before by a number of companies. While I don't think it's the best approach for true audiophiles, it could result in a better sounding system for B & O's target market - lifestyle, post-millenium yuppies and BMW owners - who don't know or care about the best way to poistion their speakers.
The bass compensation system is also interesting. The biggest failing would seem to be that the sound is 'equalized' at the speakers rather than at the listening position. Personally, I'd prefer a simple analogue parametric equalizer which could be adjusted to boost (slightly) or cut two or three frequencies below 150Hz but this would really require setting up with measurement software.
No, I don't think this speaker will capture the audiophile market (or do much for the DIYers). Still, I must confess to a grudging respect for B & O. Hands up everyone who would love one of those cd players that opens automatically when you approach it - if only it could be made to sound as good as it looks. I would.
It is good to see that someone is actually doing groundbreaking work in terms of integration. This industry is slow moving to say the least.
Now, from a technological point of view, there is the sampling rate issue which prospective users should consider. I seem to remember it was fixed to 48KHz - possibly not a problem, but certainly something to consider.
Petter
Now, from a technological point of view, there is the sampling rate issue which prospective users should consider. I seem to remember it was fixed to 48KHz - possibly not a problem, but certainly something to consider.
Petter
I have had a listen to the B&O's at our local dealers and they seem to be pretty good. It will beat your 'average' system hands down with a bigger sweetspot and some decent quality. However I found it wasn't on par with the high-end of today. The placing of intruments etc. isn't as good as you could get for a 7500EUR speaker. I guess I will go and blame it on the relative newness of the system. In time it will improve I would think.
Also, my wife really likes the B&O setup. The UFO speakers, the cubic sub (which really sounded great for its size imo) the huge LCD television which you can set nonchalantly leaning against your wall. All that made it a set she would be very willing to live with in our livingroom. And believe me, she doesn't say that quickly even though she is very supportive of my audio hobby and likes to listen in from time to time.
Arne
Also, my wife really likes the B&O setup. The UFO speakers, the cubic sub (which really sounded great for its size imo) the huge LCD television which you can set nonchalantly leaning against your wall. All that made it a set she would be very willing to live with in our livingroom. And believe me, she doesn't say that quickly even though she is very supportive of my audio hobby and likes to listen in from time to time.
Arne
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