I agree with the previous post. My Beolab 8000 sound 1000 time better in my living room than the B&O store I first auditioned them. It's actually surprising that B&O stores would have so bad acoustics!?!...
Anyway, I think $5650 retail is a bit much but anyone can get a used pair for about $2000 and at this price, they are definitely worth it (5 stars value rating based on preowned value, I'd give 2 for retail ; )
They have internal amps and can be used with any source with a volume control thanks to the RCA connections so kinda ideal for anyone using a Dac/preamp/computer. Fed with lossless music files, I am very happy with the way they sound now. I might add a little subwoofer down the road...

Hi



Im happy to say that I recently bought a new set of Beolab 8000's, a new Beosound 4 & a new Beo4.
Last night I unpacked every packages & then I spend a little time (a lot of time) to install it.
When the installation finally come's to an end it was time for some listening!

I didnt crank the volume up, just to 60 on the volume scale - but wow!!
I played Dire Straits - best of & John Lindberg trio.

The sound image was very big (the 8000's sound at home is magnificient - 1000 times better then in the store)
and the details are sharp, even though the speakers are not played in.

It hit me early, that the people who said "Lack of bass" about Beolab 8000 - certainly havent listen to them!

I was suprised/amazed when the bass from "money for nothing" & Brand new philosophy " streamed out from the thin pillars.

The sound settings is bass -1 & treble +1 & offcourse loudness off.

Before I bought the system I have a idea of acquiring me the BeoLab 2, but not anymore!

And the Beosound 4 is so beautiful and easy to use (my girlfriend's demands were just BeoSound 4,
she let me choose the speakers).



You should not listen to people who can't afford this loudspeaker, it's trulu one of the most refined theres is..
If you are fond by the look & you want a beutiful sound - BUY THEM!!!!!!!!!!!!!

These are the Ferrari of speakers. The Versace of handbags. Value/performance is no reason to buy B&O. My wife wanted these for one reason: they look great. That's right; the design. And they even look better in real life. The pictures do not do them justice. Its two pieces of art work adding to the designs of your living room. To me the sound is really good for such a relatively small pair of speakers. My wife could not wish for more. I am sure some people have higher audio demands and better ears and they are not cheap for sure. But they will last many years - and look great even longer. Choice is great. Fortunately there is an audience also for B&O.

It's been said many times before, and obvious for those who appreciate it. For those that don't get it, that's fine, but no need to be insulting about it. By the way, I do plan to buy the B&O sub-woofer, and plan to use the 6000s for the rear surround speakers. I want to also cast a vote for the 4000s which I use in other rooms.

This makes me crazy. - I like using "loudness" for some tracks, but not all. - I do not like "loudness" for TV. - Can only manipulate "loudness" through the Avant. - Once turned on, "loudness" impacts video and audio. - I expect more from B&O engineering.

My thoughts are more simplistic, and I should say upfront that I'm a long time (decades) B&O fan. Bottom-line, I did not give the 8000s a 5-rating due to the price. I have the 8000s mated to the 3200 and the Avant with a B&O matching cabinet. I simply use all factory settings, and I think for all the reasons stated before me, the 8000s are a cool speaker. Further, B&O is cool stuff, albeit pricey. Also, I have my entire house wired for B&O sound in every room including the outside deck and porch. I almost bought the new B&O 42" plasma, but anticipate buying the new high end speakers when B&O releases they're inevitable OLED screen.

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Too many to list at my advanced age.

superb sound, superb design, superb system concept

not everyone's cup of tea, if they don't appreciate what B&O's unique mix of sound and style. For them, B&O are way over-priced

Let's make one thing clear: if the ultimate sound quality or bang for the buck is the primary criteria, then B&O is not for you. You can buy any number of components and speaker combinations that will sound as good or maybe even better at the same price, if you don't mind the "ugly" box or don't appreciate what B&O style brings you. B&O is for those who appreciate good sound TOGETHER with good artistic design. That aside, BL8000 is a fantastic speaker, period. In the 5 years I have had it, it has consistently delivered exceptional sound in style, literally. Its high is spine tingling, its mid mellow, its low tight and convincing. If I have to nit pick, I would say, compare to the better conventional speakers, its sound is somewhat metallic (heck, its housing is metallic, extruded aluminum). But that suits piano and string music just fine. And this is really splitting hair here. My music interest focuses on classical and some neo/pseudo-classical like Sarah Brightman. I can imagine BL8000 may be a bit lacking at the super low end if one is heavy into heavy metal or R&B. But that is not my cup of tea so it does not bother me. They are plenty loud, too, since I have no intention to compete with neiborhood kid's monster car stereo rumbling by from time to time. The built-in amplifier is an engineering marvel. It is not the technical complexity that makes it an engineering marvel, it is the concept. In one master stroke, many difficult engineeing problems are solved. You no longer need to worry about matching the amplifier to the speaker, or proper speaker cable. Technically, you can even daisy chain multiple speakers. I believe B&O sub can be connected this way, although I don't have one. If all we ever want is function, all we will have is match box buildings, there will be no Sidney Opera House, no Gugenheim, no B&O. Incidentally, many mainstream manufacturers are coming up with B&O look alike systems at much more affordable prices. I can only say that is a good thing. Good ideas should be shared and enjoyed by the masses. And then people will point back and say: B&O, that is the real thing.

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Pioneer Elite, Jamo, B&W, JM Lab

Very clean sound, lots of detail, great mid range and more than adequate bass for most classical music. Look good and of course work beautifully with B&O kit.

Wouldn't want to use them at a 'rave' - whatever that is!

Despite what you read about B&O being a triumph of design over audio quality, I believe the BL8000 are a truly fine speaker - as well as being very sitting-room and wife-friendly. They have a very clean sound, excellent staging and a great mid-range - particularly strong on piano and acoustic instruments. They have weaknesses though if you like lots of bass and play things really loud .. but then you should be buying a sub-woofer anyway. My listening tastes are mostly classical and particularly piano and baroque (Bach etc). For this genre of music, these speakers shine. The sound is bright, definitely no need for 'loudness', but not shrill or tiring. The midrange is accurate and clean - no harmonic distortion to my ear (or maybe it's the 'good' kind!). The bass is there and more than adequate for this type of light orchestral music. The detail is amazing at medium volumes - on some modern digital recordings you hear fingers on keypads, twangs from old baroque violins and every grunt and groan as Glen Gould charges through the Goldberg. These speakers are fine too with 'bigger' music like Carmina Burana or Mozart's Requiem. But if you really crank the volume up, the accuracy starts to go and the sounds start to get confused. The big bass - really big stuff like canons! - is boomy and not too tight. They look great to my eye and appear very solidly made. Of course you pretty much have to use them with other B&O kit (in my case a BS3200) and the whole experience is one of a well integrated system that's a real pleasure to use. And it honestly sounds good! They are expensive! Yes, they contain four power amps etc so it's not easy to compare apples with apples. But then you almost have to buy a B&O source - which are not cheap either. All in all, the combination of an excellent sound and the pleasure of using the system make them fair value for money.

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KEF, Mission

Clarity, control, midrange, imaging - WHEN you get it "tuned" in. (See text above).

Sub-bass. No output under 50 Hz, get a sub for hardcore or homecinema use.

First of all: Forget about placing these speakers where ever you like!. Like most other speakers, these must be placed correctly. It takes weeks of moving around!(for me it did :o). Once placed (in my case, 50 cm from backwall, and away from sidewall), next thing is adjustment of bass and treble (i use a beosound 3000 as source). To my taste, the treble level is about 3 dB to loud, and the bass something like 6-8 dB to loud. The sound with bass/treble adjustments (and loudness OFF!!!)in "0" position, is a little to "loudness-like" for me. I've ended up with "-1" on treble, and "-3" on bass. Remember that the acoustic's of your listening room playes an important role here!. But it has payed off!. This is now a very balanced loudspeaker, and because of the active principle, there's a very good degree of control. Midrange is absolutly amazing, something that is heard on voices etc. Very good with acoustic music (jazz etc). But... Put on a hardcore (and well produced!!!) rock/metal/grunge album, and it still delivers. Dont espect bass output in the sub-bass, the speakers cut off under 50 Hz (with a 24 dB Linkwitz/riley filter). Middle bass though is fine, but i will suggest to partner it with a decent subwoofer, like B&O's own Beolab 2. A notice to the ones with a bad experience with these speakers: If you, like me, have heard these speakers at local hifi-stores, most likely you have been hearing them with way too much bass and treble, and (gush!!) loudness on. I dont know wy they do it (the shop's), if it is to impress people, it dont work on me!. You should hear them in your home, tuned in, in order to judge them!.

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Marantz with B&W speakers. You pay for the design, and could get the same sound quality cheaper, but then again... If you can afford it, you get art and sound in one package...

Quality, sound, style, uniqueness, status. Also, the quality of the store personnel, the customer service folks in Chicago, and the installation folks is very top shelf.

Price for sure, and maybe bass.

First, I must say that I've been a B&O fan for decades. And, I do a lot of due dilligence on this stuff because I like doing it. It boils down to this ... I just like the stuff, and, it's about entertainment isn't it. The BeoLab 8000s are magnificent speakers; sound, style, quality, status, etc. I have them mated to the recently released BeoSound 3200, and the BeoVision Avant TV with matching component cabinet. I'm considering the BeoLab 2 for a subwoofer. Regarding price - ouch. What needs to be remembered, though, is that B&O builds alot of stuff into their product. the avant and BeoLab 2 are good examples of this. Do a real apples-to-apples comparison. First, you cannot really get another product / manufacturer like it. It is unique. On a comparative level the price is not exorbitant albeit pricey. I rate it a 4 overall, but I think it's better than that. I just don't think "it's far better than I could imagine".

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I've bought and sold lots of hi fi equipment over past decades, and I keep coming back to B&O.

none

way overpriced, no bass, cracks up even at moderate volume

i think B&O products are made only for the rich people who doesn't have better things to spend their money on. I listened to a pair at my friend's place. my expectations was high. it looked great and it is built like a tank. It actually sounded very good at low volume, with chrystal highs and although the bass extension was not great, it was quite fast and tight. Things quickly got worse when he turned the volume up everything broke apart. my logitech z-680 that i have at school sounded much better, it gets much louder then the B&O speakerswithout distortion(the logitech subwoofer is what makes the difference)although it did not sound quite as detailed as the B&O at low volume, it had power and clarity to spare even at a volume where staying in the room for more than 3 minutes is painful.(my room is pretty big) For $3000, you can get some amazing kit made by makes like B&W, NAD and even some high end sonys. they would easily blow my logitech away, not to mention the B&O towers. better sound could be produced for speakers that cost much less, maybe 10% of the the B&O towers, like my trusty logitech.

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logitech z-680, old B&W floorstanders(these thing rocks! that's what a pair of floorstanders should sound like)

Ease of use, integration, beo-link, design.

Sound, the separate CD does not support DVD, the integrated DVD is not at the level of the rest for audio.

Since I mooved to a new house near Florence, I decided to renew all my hi-fi equipement, with something stylish. B&O are famous for their design, and as i heard also for their quality. So I went to the nearest B&O center, and i fixed an appointment to carefully listent a complete system, the BeoAvant DVD, 2 Beolab8000's in the front and 2 BeoLab 6000 in the back. I was enthusisat on the ease of use of these products: i loved the idea to get rid of all those wires around, and to have an unique remote control for everyhting. I told to myself: if the sound is not very bad, this time i prefear the desing. I wished to choose the red color. First the salses man showd me a movie. OK. It was not bad. Evidently better than looking to my old italian TV set. But nothoing special. Then i asked him to put a CD (i brough with myself a Y. Malmsteen CD, i choose a song with classical guitar, then voice, then all the band togeather. The guitar had the sound of a Japanese Fender Copy. The vocals were lacking awful (actually even on the best equipment is not the best), and when all the band begun to play the speakers were suffering like a 20W radio. Without the subwoofer ... it was horrible. Then I listened some Pink Floyd. It was better. But still plastic. OK, I asked anyway the price quotation. Then it came out that while in the advertisement the BeoLab 8000 is available in all colors, in reality while the TV set is red the speakers has to be silver. Adio design. For this money there are lot of alternatives to see movies and listen music.