Bang & Olufsen VS ............................

[LDN]

Hi all,

Here's the story, my dad is moving soon and his new place has been wired throughout for B&O stuff by the previous owner. Seeing it for the first time, I couldn't believe the sheer scale of it all. It's a massive house and every single room is wired up for god knows what...

Now, my dad just got a quote of over £30,000 for the whole house to be 'done' with TV's in each room and audio kit throughout (some of which reconditioned but still under warranty). The amount of money sends a shiver down my spine - especially as I'm a techie and I would stick to Panasonic Plasma's and the like. B&O is a lifestyle brand IMO - like Bose - but I have been reading up about them and it seems SOME of their kit is good; just nowhere near as good as the money would have people believe.

Now, I told my dad to save his money and I'd find him the best TV's and audio stuff for a fraction of the B&O price BUT he thinks it's a waste having the house all wired up and not using it.

My questions are as follows:

• Do any other brands work with such a setup? i.e: a house wired up for B&O throughout - will only B&O kit work with it?
• Would you not plaster over every cable outlet and just buy better stuff for a lot less money?
• Would you buy B&O just because your place was wired up for it?

I told him that for £10,000 - he could have a nice setup in the main rooms with small tellys in the other rooms. The convinience of changing channels in any room and listening to music in any room etc etc is just OTT IMO - especially as he's perfectly happy listening to the radio on crappy stereo from what looks like 1970.

B&O thoughts?

[Plotloss]

Fairly sure B&O whole house audio runs over a proprietary interface but I'm not sure of the wire.

Basically if hes got a mix of cat5e, speaker cable and coax he'll be good to go with a variety of systems.

If its all proprietary (and I wouldn't be surprised) then he's stuck with B&O without a rewire

[LDN]

Plotloss said:

Fairly sure B&O whole house audio runs over a proprietary interface but I'm not sure of the wire.

Basically if hes got a mix of cat5e, speaker cable and coax he'll be good to go with a variety of systems.

If its all proprietary (and I wouldn't be surprised) then he's stuck with B&O without a rewire

It's proprietary as far as I can see. Plotloss, you know a lot about this stuff and I often refer to posts you've made previously. In your opinion, would you advise spending over £30,000 on seven TV's (reconditioned) - one of which a 65" for the lounge, the rest just 22" with one 42" - some speakers in each room and a stereo... or, ignoring the previous setup and just getting some nice TV's for a fraction of the cost? Would you go with B&O just because that's what the previous owner had? Are the tellys' actually any good?

[Plotloss]

Difficult to say, the B&O may have some cute features, I know nothing of it at all.

If its possible to control it via IR centrally, then you could potentially use 'normal' televisions and another control panel such as a Pronto.

[LDN]

Plotloss said:

Difficult to say, the B&O may have some cute features, I know nothing of it at all.

If its possible to control it via IR centrally, then you could potentially use 'normal' televisions and another control panel such as a Pronto.

OK, I will check on what you've said - I believe that it is possible to control it via IR centrally; so will look into this more and see if there's other options. I don't get why the B&O stuff is so expensive; makes no sense to me at all and this is the first I've experienced of it - so still coming to terms I guess.

[talkssense]

I'd suggest that you go and speak to the B&O dealer yourself, have a look at the equipment they have specified, and then see what you think.

It sounds like it's you that needs convincing (or not) rather than your Dad, and I don't see how you will get there from a web forum. Go and see the stuff, see what you think, approach it with an open mind, and then decide if you think it's a viable solution for him or not.

[LDN]

talkssense said:

I'd suggest that you go and speak to the B&O dealer yourself, have a look at the equipment they have specified, and then see what you think.

It sounds like it's you that needs convincing (or not) rather than your Dad, and I don't see how you will get there from a web forum. Go and see the stuff, see what you think, approach it with an open mind, and then decide if you think it's a viable solution for him or not.

No, my dad came to me as he knows nothing about this stuff so he wanted advice. I've seen a couple of bits and can't understand how a TV is worth £10,000 when it seems no better than a Pansonic for £1,500. I thought I might be missing something.

Coming onto a web forum has served me very well so far, thanks. You can tap into a wealth of knowledge from others who often know more; pretty simple really.

[headcase]

From what I have seen of B&O then for the price I wouldnt bother, 30k for 7 TV's and an audio system is a little too much, you would be looking somethng like 12k if you went Bose but even then its alot of money for what you get. You could think about a Sonos system or somehting similar, its basically a media streamer with stand alone modules for each room and its wireless so you wouldnt need to rip the house apart again.

[Paul Drawmer]

Do B&O still use Philips electronics? Damned nice boxes though.

[blindswelledrat]

If your dad is quite well off I would recommend buying the TVs.
I don't care if they are overpriced- I think thier stuff is stunning and high quality (not the best obviously, but still good)
I reckon its a taste thing. If he sees what he is buying and thinks its worth it for the aesthetics- then why not?

Incidentally- has he contacted the previous owner to see if they will sell? He might get a much better deal doing that.

[Redmax]

B&O TVs (and everything else) are seriously expensive but they do generally have excellent sound and picture quality. I wouldn't consider them a Bose competitor, who really are 'lifestyle' in my opinion. You're paying for the name to a degree, their integration capability, the aforementioned sound and picture quality and the quality of the materials. Their prices have gone up by 30% over the last few years, presumably due to the pound more than anything. Getting second hand kit from a specialist dealer which comes with a warranty is a good call. I've bought lots of B&O stuff over the years and have a decent collection throughout the house but I can't justify the new prices.

They haven't been rebranded Philips for many years, but they do use, for example, LCD and plasma panels from other manufacturers such as Samsung and Panasonic. They then claim to use their own picture adjustment and other electronics to provide a better picture than would otherwise be the case.

The integration network, Masterlink/Beolink, is proprietary to B&O and it doesn't play well with others. Be aware it's becoming old technology now and B&O now recommend the use of Cat7 for each component going back to a central hub - a wiring nightmare unless its a new build. All current stuff can still use Masterlink as far as I know. Masterlink doesn't stream video, only audio and the control commands - you need RF to distribute video.

For me, I like the style of the kit and the fact I can stream video and audio into every room in the house. I don't know of any other companies who do both in such a seamless way.


Edited to add - the control from the remote rooms isn't via IR, the IR command in that room is sent over the Masterlink cabling to the audio or video 'master'.

Edited by Redmax on Tuesday 22 June 16:03

[LDN]

Redmax said:

B&O TVs (and everything else) are seriously expensive but they do generally have excellent sound and picture quality. I wouldn't consider them a Bose competitor, who really are 'lifestyle' in my opinion. You're paying for the name to a degree, their integration capability, the aforementioned sound and picture quality and the quality of the materials. Their prices have gone up by 30% over the last few years, presumably due to the pound more than anything. Getting second hand kit from a specialist dealer which comes with a warranty is a good call. I've bought lots of B&O stuff over the years and have a decent collection throughout the house but I can't justify the new prices.

They haven't been rebranded Philips for many years, but they do use, for example, LCD and plasma panels from other manufacturers such as Samsung and Panasonic. They then claim to use their own picture adjustment and other electronics to provide a better picture than would otherwise be the case.

The integration network, Masterlink/Beolink, is proprietary to B&O and it doesn't play well with others. Be aware it's becoming old technology now and B&O now recommend the use of Cat7 for each component going back to a central hub - a wiring nightmare unless its a new build. All current stuff can still use Masterlink as far as I know. Masterlink doesn't stream video, only audio and the control commands - you need RF to distribute video.

For me, I like the style of the kit and the fact I can stream video and audio into every room in the house. I don't know of any other companies who do both in such a seamless way.


Edited to add - the control from the remote rooms isn't via IR, the IR command in that room is sent over the Masterlink cabling to the audio or video 'master'.

Hey Redmax, thanks so much for this response - it puts my mind at rest a bit and I've absorbed what you say about the Cat7 and things becoming dated. My dad is working class boy done good and he often gets told what he's supposed to buy; by family and friends but he has no clue what any of it means. I have had to brush up on B&O as I'd never bothered before and it's true that they seem less of a lifestyle brand than I originally thought. Thanks to everyone else also, it's all been taken onboard.

[Chimpy Chompies]

If you want your Dad to experience a real quality HiFi sound and experience in the house, give B&O a wide berth. They are no way and never will be a match for similarly priced real HiFi manufacturers. And most mid range gear can hold it's own quite comfortably in the sound dept against it. Sorry to say this, but you will be paying for quirky looks and a name that quite frankly is not deserved. Save his pennies and buy sensibly.

[Phooey]

I will try and keep this short, rather than get into a 'which tv is better' contest.

If your father is adament on B&O kit, speak to Ian - http://www.morethanav.co.uk/

I have bought various bits off him in the past, can't recommend the guy more.