Beolab 90

LL21

Well-Known Member
Dec 26, 2010
14,411
2,509
1,448
look forward to your review. intriguing. i genuinely believe these guys care quite a lot about good quality sound...yes, great visual design which at a premium, but quality overall as well. As an example, their flatscreens are sensational.
 

nirodha

Well-Known Member
Aug 11, 2010
679
294
975
Well....that was interesting! Oppo transport connected to the Beolab 90. How to describe the sound... on the positive: no constraint on sound because it is an active system. Very good transparancy and rhythm. Very good redition of actual instrument sound. Only one But: the sound lacked excitement and air. This might sound strange but I would say this is a high-end resolution transformed into a high-fi reproduction. But even now I am writing this down I feel I am too harsh. This speaker/system is quite an achievement. Maybe the system needed fine tuning and more playing time: the system had been playing for a day or three. Could I live with these speakers? Well,,, give me some air and recording studio / venue information and then hell yeah: I could happily live with these boys. BTW, I for one like the way they look. Thank you Poulissen Audio for giving me the chance to hear them!
 

kach22i

WBF Founding Member
Apr 21, 2010
1,591
210
1,635
Ann Arbor, Michigan
www.kachadoorian.com
Only one But: the sound lacked excitement and air.
Was the room perhaps over-dampened?

This design looks like it's supposed to engage the room with it's multiple angled drivers.

Bang & Olufsen has always been number one in Industrial Design with me.

I have a pair of their Red Line speakers in my HT system, always a simple joy to look at.

EDIT:
Another initial theory dispelled?

http://www.misterhagan.com/the-beolab-90/
BeoLab 90 is fitted with Bang & Olufsen’s new Active Room Compensation technology, which makes up for the impact of your room, your furniture, the placement of the loudspeakers and the location of the listening position. By this, it is able to stage the sound so superbly you can hear precisely where the individual band members or the actors in your favourite movie are placed.

“BeoLab 90 is the future of sound. This intelligent loudspeaker measures the acoustical effects of its surroundings and directs superb sound to your favourite listening position. You do not have to be close to the speaker or even in front of it to get an excellent sound experience,” says Bang & Olufsen CEO, Tue Mantoni.
 

nirodha

Well-Known Member
Aug 11, 2010
679
294
975
Was the room perhaps over-dampened?

This design looks like it's supposed to engage the room with it's multiple angled drivers.

Bang & Olufsen has always been number one in Industrial Design with me.

I have a pair of their Red Line speakers in my HT system, always a simple joy to look at.

EDIT:
Another initial theory dispelled?

http://www.misterhagan.com/the-beolab-90/

The room was not overdamped. I think that finetuning is essential. The speakers were close to a back wall en between the speakers was a HUGE B&O flatscreen. No matter if you use dsp: a flat surface between speakers is never ideal and placing the speakers 1 or 2 metres into the room would also help I think.
 

Kal Rubinson

Well-Known Member
May 4, 2010
2,360
697
1,700
NYC
www.stereophile.com
Agreed. I was greatly disappointed by the demo as I had the opportunity to spend extended, private time with the prototypes at B&O this summer. To encapsulate my experience:
"Demo at B&O. Very glitzy, nice wine, good food, beautiful people.
Presenter had no idea of what the speakers were about nor how to display
their abilities. No wonder B&O gets no respect."​

Also, I got the definite impression that the pair on demo were still very early product and not ready for retail because the presenter referred to several essential features as still to come although they were in use back in Struer.
 

DaveC

Industry Expert
Nov 16, 2014
3,899
2,141
495
“BeoLab 90 is the future of sound. This intelligent loudspeaker measures the acoustical effects of its surroundings and directs superb sound to your favourite listening position. You do not have to be close to the speaker or even in front of it to get an excellent sound experience,” says Bang & Olufsen CEO, Tue Mantoni.

I hate it when people claim a stereo system can sound good everywhere in the room. It doesn't, no matter the design. It always sounds best in the sweet spot. That's always where you're going to sit listening to music, and if not it's background music while you're doing other things and perfect fidelity is not important.
 

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