Stereophile | January 2017 Issue

[NorthStar]

There was nothing 3D about it in what I would consider 3D. Best way to describe the quality of imaging is artificial. Sure it is accurate but there was not depth, no air around the voices or instruments that sounded life-like. Like the best of hifi, but not reality

That is exactly what suggested to me that something was amiss in this setup because I have experienced that myself at 2 B&O demos. However, at B&O in Struer, at their London shop and chez moi, the imaging was stunning. Several experienced listeners were equally impressed. (FWIW, I have been generally disappointed with the audio at B&O shops in the past.)

Ok, two different opinions probably because two different setups; one not optimal...would you say, Joshua?

 

[Al M.]

Ok, two different opinions probably because two different setups; one not optimal...would you say, Joshua?

Precisely what I wanted to say...

I am now really curious to hear these speakers, in a good set-up.

 

[Kal Rubinson]

Precisely what I wanted to say...

I am now really curious to hear these speakers, in a good set-up.

I hope to get to the NYC B&O shop some time and find out how they sound there.

 

[MadFloyd]

I've never heard anything remotely close to what I would call imaging from ESLs. Detail yes, but imaging? No.

 

[Rodney Gold]

Always been fascinated by the Beolab 90's ... I was a Meridian fanbooi in a previous life
So Kal, should I cancel the order for my G1 spirits and cancel the 1000p upgrade to my Devialets and spring for a set of Beolab 90's ... ??

 

[sbo6]

True Joshua, myself and other were not impressed with the Beos. However, they weren't EQ'd appropriately as I understand it so there's that. We also found the salesman to be more knowledgeable about fashion than audio and the speaker placement reinforced this claim. Also, if you can hear down to 5Hz you've got abilities only a whale can relate to

Folks were in town visiting and took them to the B&O Store to hear these speakers. Heard them once before earlier this year, but the sales rep said the DSP software was not implemented at the time so we were not getting the full effects of what the speaker could do.

Everyone of my audio group did not like the speaker and left shortly after arriving. I remember the most impressive result from listening was a bass track used in car bass competitions. It rang 5 tones from 40hz down to 5hz and the sales rep challenged us to see if we could hear all 5 tones which were able to. The clean projection of the bass down to 5hz left me hopeful when we revisited the speaker today 6 months later.

The sales rep played several familiar tracks Eagles Hotel California, Steely Dan Gaucho, and a few others as well as a movie mode. We also went through all three DSP options Narrow/Wide/Omni. Movie mode was not bad.

Needless to say the result was the same. Bass was smooth in its response and the clarity was there as it was before. The imaging was pretty lousy, not the worst, but certainly not 90K level. The sterile quality to the sound made us take the least amount of time there without being obvious we were turned off. Wide mode improved the off axis response, but it didn't make the speaker sound any better

As we were leaving the sales rep said "So should we go ahead and wrap up the pair for you to take home". We had a good chuckle and thanked the rep for his time and left. My father said "I wouldn't even take them as a gift"...

I want to say for our ears it wasn't very good, but frankly it was just about as good as most speakers costing a 10th of the price.

Sorry..

 

[Al M.]

Always been fascinated by the Beolab 90's ... I was a Meridian fanbooi in a previous life

Love the Afrikaans (Dutch roots) spellchecker on your phone

 

[Al M.]

You mentioned some' to the effect of "imaging"; is this a general consensus by professional audio expert ears of reviewers?
To me imaging is the reason of existence. The more, the better, anywhere, everywhere, I feel 'holographically' alive (real 3D).

When well set-up, imaging actually seems a strong point of the Beolab 90, beyond anything experienced before (see last paragraph):

The Beolab 90 is designed to take readings of a room using a special microphone — sort of similar to the way an A/V receiver’s auto-setup works — and employ what it knows about what happens to the sound in the room to make virtually anything you want happen. Perhaps the most impressive part of the processing is its ability to deal with reflected sound (sounds that come at you after they bounce off the walls, a leading cause of degraded fidelity). Rather than try to squash some of those sounds using equalization, Bang & Olufsen uses active noise cancellation to effectively eliminate the reflected sound where the listener sits. Think about that for a second. The speaker itself becomes an active noise-cancelling system so that the sound it does produce arrives at your ear in perfect purity. Amazing.

The system can also use its processing abilities to put the sweet spot at any place within the room. Let’s say your favorite chair is well left of center but you want to feel like the soundstage is right in front of you; the Beolab 90 system can achieve that for you.

When we sat down for a short audition, we were gobsmacked by what we were hearing. Though we were in the very back of the room with enough people blocking our sight of the speakers that we could barely see the system, we heard a perfectly balanced presentation with the vocals seemingly coming from directly in front of us, just 2 feet away (someone’s head was in that spot).

From:
http://www.digitaltrends.com/home-theater/hands-on-with-bang-and-olufsen-beolab-90-video-review/

 

[spiritofmusic]

My experience of the Beolab 90s at Munich was that imaging was excellent, but hard to truly say because the demo was comprised of short snippets/greatest hits, and no extended immersive listening on the same piece of music was available
I am a little concerned that the only places to demo at length are B&O centres where correct set up may be a lottery
Certainly my short chats w such centres in London don't fill me great confidence demos will be optimal
Additionally, the thought of multiples of multiples of Class D ICE amps fills me with a certain foreboding that the spkr might not be so good at intimate and delicate
But the killer aspects of this spkr, dynamic prowess, room interaction control, and bass extension, seemed superb to my ears

 

[bonzo75]

My experience of the Beolab 90s at Munich was that imaging was excellent, but hard to truly say because the demo was comprised of short snippets/greatest hits, and no extended immersive listening on the same piece of music was available
I am a little concerned that the only places to demo at length are B&O centres where correct set up may be a lottery
Certainly my short chats w such centres in London don't fill me great confidence demos will be optimal
Additionally, the thought of multiples of multiples of Class D ICE amps fills me with a certain foreboding that the spkr might not be so good at intimate and delicate
But the killer aspects of this spkr, dynamic prowess, room interaction control, and bass extension, seemed superb to my ears

You can demo it at Selfridges

 

[audioguy]

I don't think the majority of posters on WBF are the target audience for the B&O speaker. (I might be an exception assuming I had an extra $90,000 to spare). First of, it has DSP in it and that unto itself would eliminate a large portion of the group. If an audiophile won't use DSP for room correction for more traditional speakers, they sure has heck wouldn't consider it in this speaker. Secondly, it is offered by B&O which is not exactly a name associated with "high end audio"; and lastly it is way outside the "conventional speaker approach".

I have heard it in less than an ideal environment and the potential is obvious (at least to my ears).

 

[microstrip]

I've never heard anything remotely close to what I would call imaging from ESLs. Detail yes, but imaging? No.

You have to listen to a properly set and amplified Quad ESL63 - IMHO imaging at its best. Fine detail can bring an huge amount to imaging.

 

[microstrip]

Ok, two different opinions probably because two different setups; one not optimal...would you say, Joshua?

Yes, I have also found that setups can make us change our opinions. However I would note that most of the time the promise of DSP was that once you have DSP setup does not stay critical anymore ... It looks we have more pair of fat diva's!

 

[microstrip]

Always been fascinated by the Beolab 90's ... I was a Meridian fanbooi in a previous life
So Kal, should I cancel the order for my G1 spirits and cancel the 1000p upgrade to my Devialets and spring for a set of Beolab 90's ... ??

Do not cancel the 1000pro upgrade - IMHO it the most significant upgrade you can do in your system!

 

[Al M.]

Do not cancel the 1000pro upgrade - IMHO it the most significant upgrade you can do in your system!

Aah, but what if your system should consist of Beolab 90?

 

[Al M.]

Secondly, it is offered by B&O which is not exactly a name associated with "high end audio";

Yeah, but wouldn't it be beautiful if you could blow away all your audiophile friends' systems with a B&O? What delicious irony if that were true.

 

[microstrip]

Aah, but what if your system should consist of Beolab 90?

My point is that in order to decide the comparison to be carried should be Beolab 90 versus 1000 pro, not versus an old Devialet. The difference is really enormous ...

 

[Al M.]

My point is that in order to decide the comparison to be carried should be Beolab 90 versus 1000 pro, not versus an old Devialet. The difference is really enormous ...

So Rodney should first buy the 1000 pro upgrade, then listen to the Beolab 90, and then again sell the Devialet with the 1000 pro? I see. Just kidding.

 

[Al M.]

Additionally, the thought of multiples of multiples of Class D ICE amps fills me with a certain foreboding that the spkr might not be so good at intimate and delicate

From Kal's review:

Dynamics seemed both subtle and unconstrained. B.B. King and Eric Clapton's Riding with the King (24/96 DVD-A, Duck/Reprise 47612-9) has real kick in the percussion, as well as from the stars. The BeoLabs seemed to unleash even more dynamic contrast and impact than I'd previously experienced with this disc, whether I played it at normal levels or let it rip. With "Ride Across the River," from Dire Straits' Brothers in Arms: 20th Anniversary Edition (SACD/CD, Vertigo 9 87149 8), there were clarity and delicacy in even the softest sounds.

 

[Believe High Fidelity]

Ok, two different opinions probably because two different setups; one not optimal...would you say, Joshua?

No I would have to disagree. The hallmark of the B&O speaker is the technological innovation especially with the DSP and driver arrangement in the cabinet. The first time I listened to the speaker I could agree that it would be a setup and/or lack of firmware to not get the full 100% of the speaker capability.

Having now heard the speaker at its full potential and in the same room placement I can attest that the speaker is just ok and for 90K that is really disappointing. The imaging was just fine in the room. No smearing of the sound or out of balance between left and right channels. I could place the singer and instruments in the room without any trouble so I don't see how a better setup would make any substantial difference.The real heart of my problem with the speaker and that is the sound and tonal quality being just lifeless and artificial