Any experience with Bang & Olufsen?

filmis

Active Member
I may have the good fortune to come into possession of a Beomaster 4400 receiver for cheap. I've heard it said that this was the TOTL receiver for B&O at the time and that this in particular was the best unit they ever made. I kind of think it's ugly, but admire its daring design.

I was just curious if anyone has had any experience with these units or other B&O products, don't know how common they were here in the States.
 
I may have the good fortune to come into possession of a Beomaster 4400 receiver for cheap. I've heard it said that this was the TOTL receiver for B&O at the time and that this in particular was the best unit they ever made. I kind of think it's ugly, but admire its daring design.

I was just curious if anyone has had any experience with these units or other B&O products, don't know how common they were here in the States.
B&O was relatively common, though marketed more as high-end design ornaments for modern homes than as audiophile grade equipment. B&O had dedicated stores in high end malls although much of their gear sold through mass market TV/Stereo stores. Many of their designs were quite striking visually and some sounded pretty good too.
 
Jeez I see what you mean about that model being ugly!

B&O is still around, but they don't make components anymore. What they do make is really cool to look at though, I went to one of their stores in San Francisco a few years back.
 
At the moment, it looks like the only stuff is some active high-WAF roomcorrected speakers and wireless streaming boxes and some TV equipment, all focused on room interior design. They will be expensive and I do not know if they compete at price versus performance.
At least, the stuff they make now looks extremely nice.

Some of their old speakers sound really nice and neutral, although also expensive I think they were worth their money. (I have the M70 in small hobby room).
 
Have not used any of their receivers, but I have a B&O linear tracking TT that is pretty well built. I would certainly consider B&O electronics.
 
Plus didn't B&O invent Dolby HX-Pro.. that's a pretty big mark, being used on almost every pre-recorded cassette
 
B&O always cared about looks but some of the older units had very decent sound quality as well before they turned more to multi-room/lifestyle which sacrificed more SQ for flexibility and convenience. Always brilliant design however.

I think the 8000 series of separates were the high point from an audio point of view, but yours could be a good one:

https://beocentral.com/beomaster4400

https://www.beoworld.org/prod_details.asp?pid=350
 
I may have the good fortune to come into possession of a Beomaster 4400 receiver for cheap. I've heard it said that this was the TOTL receiver for B&O at the time and that this in particular was the best unit they ever made. I kind of think it's ugly, but admire its daring design.

I was just curious if anyone has had any experience with these units or other B&O products, don't know how common they were here in the States.

Well, how ugly can it be I said....so I Googled it figuring it can't be that bad. B&O gear does have a distinctive look but most is not unpleasant to look at.
OP nailed it.
But beauty is in the eye of the beholder according to an old Twilight Zone episode.
Hopefully it sounds better than it looks.
 
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Well, how ugly can it be I said....so I Googled it figuring it can't be that bad. B&O gear does have a distinctive look but most is not unpleasant to look at.
OP nailed it.
But beauty is in the eye of the beholder according to an old Twighlight Zone episode.
Hopefully it sounds better than it looks.
We have a tt & a Beoplay S3 Bluetooth satellite speaker we both love. B&O rigs are very good designs aesthetically, and sound very good, too. While beauty might be in the eye of the beholder, and everyone doesn't like the same style, good design is good design. I hear the electronics are cramped internally and may be a bear to repair, we'll have to cross that bridge when we come to it.
 
[QUOTE="Designdweeb, post: 10873656, member: 26213".... I hear the electronics are cramped internally and may be a bear to repair, we'll have to cross that bridge when we come to it.[/QUOTE]

That's an understatement.
B&O, no go
 
I've long been a sucker for Bang & Olufsen gear, particularly their turntables. Most of the gear I have is from the early-mid '80s, though I also have some from the '70s. I wouldn't mind owning a receiver like the 4400, particularly since it "matches" my Beogram 4002 turntable. To me, their coolest gear is from the Beolab 8000 and 6000 series, which I think wouldn't look out-of-place onboard the starship Enterprise, and was rather advanced for its time. Their modern gear strikes me as them trying to be the "Danish Bose", though I'm sure it still has their classic sensibilities behind it.
-Adam

bg8000_running.jpg

tx2_spinning.jpg
 
I've long been a sucker for Bang & Olufsen gear, particularly their turntables. Most of the gear I have is from the early-mid '80s, though I also have some from the '70s. I wouldn't mind owning a receiver like the 4400, particularly since it "matches" my Beogram 4002 turntable. To me, their coolest gear is from the Beolab 8000 and 6000 series, which I think wouldn't look out-of-place onboard the starship Enterprise, and was rather advanced for its time. Their modern gear strikes me as them trying to be the "Danish Bose", though I'm sure it still has their classic sensibilities behind it.
-Adam

bg8000_running.jpg

tx2_spinning.jpg
Bang and Olufsen were doing this "lifestyle" design thing long before Bose came along and appropriated it.
 
A few years back I went into a B&O store in a fancy mall in Columbus OH and saw a B&O system with sliding glass doors that covered the control panel. You waved your hand over it to open it. Pretty cool, as long as the motor holds up, but I think it cost a gazillion dollars. The salesman finally lost me when he showed off these tiny cube speakers mounted on the wall (we're talking 3x3x3 inches). They sounded pretty good - I was impressed for the size - but the guy claimed the system was 700 wpc and I just did not believe you could possibly inject that much power into a cube that size without setting it on fire. Plus, again, $gazillion. Just wasn't my cup of tea.
 
Bang and Olufsen were doing this "lifestyle" design thing long before Bose came along and appropriated it.
I suppose so, though B&O offered a more 'complete' package for much longer than Bose has. Bose started out as a speaker company that eventually branched out into home audio solutions, while B&O offered entire systems, including televisions, from just about the first time they started offering hi-fi equipment. The first example of that was the mighty Beolab 5000 System from the late '60s.

In a lot of ways, B&O took the "whole widget" approach, much as Apple has in the computer realm. Similarly, their equipment too relies on a fair amout of proprietary components, including just about every single phono cartridge used in their turntables. This has probably complicated things much for people in the long run, but it certainly made for a sleek combination which worked together well.

IMO, where they started to lose their way was when they tried to take this to the next level, discontinuing component systems like the Beosystem 7000 in favor of integrated solutions akin to the Wave Radio (which is why I use the "Danish Bose" appellation to describe their post-1994 systems like the Beocenter 2500). They discontinued their last system capable of driving passive speakers, the Beocenter 9300, in 2000. The vast majority of the equipment they've offered in recent years are in the vein of Bose's Lifestyle components, such as the BeoCenter 2, though I'm guessing there's still some substance behind the style.
-Adam
 
When the 1900 came out in 1976, it was a very cool looking receiver. I have one in the den and people still really like the way it looks. I have it hooked up to a pair of Rega Ara speakers. It sounds nice, but nothing special. http://beocentral.com/beomaster1900
BO-1900-2-Beomaster-Bang-Olufsen-stereo-receiver.jpg
Very nice!
Here is my 2300, which looks just about the same. I changed lamps to LED's, it took some effort to get the volume and the two tuner leds behave properly for appropriate dimming, when changing volume or tuning. I took me a day to find a nice solution.
b-en-o-2300led.jpg
 
I've had a few of their components and I had one receiver. It sounded good, but had an annoying hum. I wasn't able to find anyone to repair the Beomaster 2400. I still have a Beogram 4002 though with a second one plus spare cartridge as a backup. Plus a Beogram CD X. Nice units. The turntable is easy to open up. The receiver was not, nor was there any space to work.

IMG_3889.JPG IMG_3885.JPG
 
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