You folks obviously don't spend a lot of time checking out various Home Theater forums. $10K is nowhere near as expensive as a pair gets, and I'm not talking about super exotics that no one has ever heard of. B&W makes more than one pair more than this as does Wilson, JM Labs, Revel, Dynaudio, Von Schweikert, Sonus Faber, Thiel, etc, etc, etc. Certainly, each person has to decide for themselves how much is too much to spend and at what point they reach diminishing returns that they can't justify.

As for the balance issue, I hope you are referring to the BeoLab 3 mounted on its stand. That certainly would have me a little worried with kids around but the speakers themselves are fine. The base is part of the speaker (houses the amplifier and the low frequency bass driver) and those silver protrusions at the top are fastened securely as it's all one unit. Given the increased with at the base and the likely bottom heavy weight displacement, I wouldn't worry about those getting knocked over.

Jeff

Bang and Olufsen is the BOSE of the high-end hi-fi world. Some people swear by them and others say it's just hype and marketing. While i like the design, realistically i'd buy a different brand with better sound quality for the same or even less money than the B&O.

Ouch...I wouldn't say B&O were as bad as Bose, but they're more concerned with design than sound quality, and to some people that is more important.

Bose = Money Wasted
B&O = Money spent on design and aesthetics, instead of sound quality.

$10k for hifi floorstanding loudspeakers really isn't a big deal. if we were talking $100k, now THAT would be luxury.

well one could always invest in your own little PA system...definitely impressive. :P and very very expensive. it makes me tingly just thinking about the stuff...to heck with the price!

Back in the late 80's and early 90's, I think they were great contender. But know awadays, any $600 system can sound just as great. so basically you are just buying the design. And lately, even Sharper image (the crapy electronic store for tourists) is matching those design.

I definitely agree, usually I'm all for prosumer products enlightening the ignorant, but B&O have definitely taken the cake over the years for overpriced product that I would liken to Bose as well. Both are all hype, little to no substance.

I do have to admit that like the others who have commented, the aesthetics are appealing, but for the price, a set of Martin Logan electrostatics would be much more practical with much better performance and still have the space-age technogeek appeal.

Wilson Audio W.A.M.M. goes for about $250,000 a pair. The owner and president of the company, Dave Wilson, comes to your house and personally installs and calibrates them for you. $10K is a drop in the bucket when it comes to ultra hi-fi.

B&O have a $15k system that's very well regarded in the high-end world. Haven't heard these but while B&O are definitely on the form side of the form/function equation they do provide decent quality performance.

As for these? Thanks but no. I'll keep my B&W 802D's. I KNOW those sound damn good. And no, you can't find anything close for $600. $6,000, maybe. If you don't hear a difference, you're sooo lucky. Stick to the $300 HTIBs and put the money to good use.

OMG those Martin Logan speakers look like cheap bug zappers!

I highly doubt that the majority of gizmodofites have ever heard any of the B&O products in person. I have, and they gave me balsa. I will admit that their design plays a big role in my fascination with their speakers but I will not extend my fawning to any of the other products. In addition, I would judge that about 64.234% of the general populous, and nigh on 89.03% of gizmo lovers, have ruined any chance they had of discerning good speakers from bad with Whitesnake+Walkman back in the 80's. Aside from the tickle a good sound system will put in your bottom a rare few will skip the base comments and discuss the layer-cake of exceptional sound. I say worth the $. lay off with the hating my dear Giz writers. This new release is a happy day for me now that I have an alternative to dropping 20K on the BeoLab 5.

Thinking that the entire world is just like you has been called the mistake that runs the world. Whether or not that's true in general, it is certainly true here. Understandably there will be an element of editorializing on review sites, but one hopes that there will also be a degree of accuracy, no matter what the reviewer's personal feelings.

The initial review outlines two technologies: adaptive bass linearization and the coustic lenses. He claims that they adress issues that arise when playing the speakers at high volumes, but he is incorrect. Adaptive bass linearization, while offering protection to the amplifier's circuitry, is primarily designed to flatten bass response over a range of volumes. As for the acoustic lense, it is a true advance in the way a loudspeaker projects sound. The speakers that incorporate this technology are able to achieve acoustic transparency, where the speakers disappear from the soundstage leaving a 3 dimensional representation of the recorded music. Also taking into consideration the incorporation of digital amplifiers, the BeoLab 9s turn out to be a bargain for the performance they deliver.

Admittedly there are people who would not spend money on items like this. We all have our indulgences and "worth" is a difficult property to asess when it comes to luxury goods. However, there are people who do purchase Aston Martins, Hermes bags, and vacations to exotic destinations and it is nearly impossible to imaginge just how different these people's lives are when compared to yours.

As far as I'm concerned, people who try and talk to me about BOSE and Polk and Monster Cable etc. are like people who put spoilers on Honda Civics. They're simply not serious people. We all want to fancy ourselves savvy to some degree about things we care about and I applaud people who take care in what they spend their money on. But frankly, if you're a person who is not willing to spend large amounts of money on speakers, keep walking. There's nothing wrong with that, they simply weren't made for people like you. Friends of mine spend boku bucks at restaurants becuase gastronomy is their indulgence. I would never spend as much on food, but I also wouldn't attempt serious criticism of it either. The reality is that people who look at review sites are often looking for information and are not served by ameteurs throwing bricks.

P.S. Having listened to the BeoLab 9s in person, they captivate you almost immediately. With over 2000 watts of power (the review failed to mention that they each have multiple amplifiers built into the chassis!) they are able to reproduce the physicality of music in a way that requires a truly transparent rendering mixed with raw power. Although they cannot compete with the BeoLab 5s, they are more than adequate for most crital listening applications.

The acoustic lens, which was given only a cursory mention in the review, is possibly the most significant innovation. Aside from expanding the sweet spopt to a larger area to accomodate multiple listening positions, it allows the speakers to physically disappear on the soundstage in place of the performers. In fact, if you were to listen to them behind a curtain and asked to point to the speakers you would probably point to ten different places before you found them. Instead your ears would lead you to the location of the musicians on the stage.

All in all, if you're looking to spend $10,000 on speakers and amplifiers, you can't match the quality for the price.

Cheers,
Matthew

Many of the above entries on the Bang & Olufsen Beolab 9 are quite amusing. $10,000.00 for a pair of speakers in the world of high-end audio is not unusual at all. To those who compared them to Bose, I can only say you may want to go to your doctor and get your ears flushed. Comparing Bose to B & O is like saying a Chevrolet Cobalt drives as well as a Lexus ....there is no comparison. Please consider that you are not only getting a good quality pair of speakers, but also good quality amplification built in! There are other speakers for less money, but keep in mind you will need to purchase a a good quality power amplifier to drive them. Speakers are very subjective and no doubt each persons taste will vary. I use a complete high audio system from Krell that is in excess of $100,000.00 and also use a complete B & O System in my master bedroom. While I can't tell you the B & O is up to Krell standards, what it is capable of in it's given price category it does extremely well. As for the person that said his $600.00 system sounded just as good.......get a life! Just an FYI, I've been an audiophile for 33 years now and I have been written up in Sterophile magazine on two occasions for my contributions on speakers set-up and the laser alignment process.

I went and listened to beo lab 5 and 9 today...being a B&W fan I was hoping to be seriously impressed for the amount of money that these speakers cost. All I can say is that a fool and his money are soon parted. Disappointing. Not only were the shop assistants woefully inept at selling their product, they could not fully explain the capabilities of their product (glad I knew a bit before I walked in). However, getting past the fact that they were playing cds on a dvd player (gag) and that the system seemed to like accepting the stores celine dion cd rather than my solomon burke cd, I knew we were in for an interesting listening session. Soundstaging was lacking - it was fat and flat. Poor in the midrange and bulbous in the bass. My ears were offended. If you are going to spend this much, then go and get your ears checked and book in with a shrink....and if you do have audiophile friends, for heavens sake, don't invite them around for a listening session.

I have tried Beolab 9 for som days with Electrocompaniet CD player EMC 1Up and EC 4.6 preamp. A very good mach. The sound cannot be compared when used with B&O Cd/dvd players and preamps. What B&o need to do next is to make HighEnd Cd player and preamp that can fit the loudspeakers.