The Beolab 11 is the new lower priced subwoofer, designed in particular to accompany the Beovision 10. It utilises a design principle seen in other subwoofers of having identical units firing in opposite directions and hence making the structure more stable. Indeed the B&W PV1 does just this using B&O ICE amplification.
B&O however have added a new twist to the equation by having the two 130mm drive units firing inwardly and so allowing the external casing to be made from the same polished aluminium seen in the Beovision 10.
Amplification is via a 250W ICE unit and so the speaker can be seen to fit below the Beolab 2 in the range.
Mounting Options
As a result of the balanced drive units, the Beolab 11 will be offered both as a floor standing model and with a wall bracket. This is again designed to match the Beovision 10. The Beovision 10 in both 40″ and 46″ versions is designed so that it can be used as a stand alone set but still utilise the subwoofer output.
This should add the lower frequencies not able to be produced due to the small speaker enclosure of the Beovision 10.
The Beolab 11 will stand just 320mm high on the floor stand. The cross over frequency and bass lift is set with a collection of switches on the base. There is a Powerlink connection and two Powerlink outputs so it can be used in a stereo system.
This advanced CD player was straight from tomorrow’s world – but it would still marry up happily with any Bang & Olufsen system created over the previous decade. It was as simple to use as a tape recorder. The track search system was invaluable for finding your way quickly around the disc. A display indicated the number of the track you’re on.
Recording was just as straight forward. And you could time recordings to the second – just press the sensi-touch panel and you could find out how much time was left on a particular track or on the whole disc.
This replacement for the former Beogram CDX used at that time, new 16-bit technology and an all-new optical system. The player itself though, was derived from the Philips CD150 machine; the same as that in the Beocenter 9000. After one year the machine was discontinued and replaced by the Beogram CD 3300 – a similar sensi-touch CD player – as part of Beosystem 3300.
A featherlight touch on the glass control panel brought up an illuminated display of numbers which corresponded to the tracks on the disc. You could select tracks in any order; you could see how long a track lasted and a motorised dust cover and automatic light were among the features that this stand-alone CD player possessed.
The CD player was based around the Philips CD104, built in Belgium.
As a standalone player, it lacked the Datalink and remote control facilities that its predecessor, the Beogram CD50, possessed. A good-looking CD player which performed well, it was later superceded by the Beogram CDX-2 in 1987.
Bang & Olufsen Sales Training System
Beogram CDX
Beogram CDX is a Compact Disc player in a classical Bang & Olufsen design
Features:
Top operation
Motor driven dust cover
Sensi-touch operation
ADVANCE and RETURN functions
Replay up to 4 times
Display with indication of playing time of individual tracks, elapsed time and index
Analogue and digital filter (176.4 KHz over sampling)
Connection with Phono plugs
Operation
If Beogram CDX is in standby position and there is a compact disc on the platter, one push at the PLAY button will start the playback.
If there isn’t a compact disc inserted, you push the EJECT button and the motor driven dust cover will open, the platter will lift and the compact disc can be inserted.
Apart from the above-mentioned PLAY and EJECT buttons, all operations are sensi-touch fields, which are operated with a slight touch.
When pushing the field PLAY, the dust cover closes automatically and playback starts.
The display indicates the individual tracks on the inserted Compact Disc. If it has more than 20 tracks, the two first digits in the time display will show the total.
The time display has 3 main functions, which can be ordered by pressing DISPLAY, namely the time of the individual tracks, the elapsed playing time and index, which is a sub-division of the time of the individual tracks.
ADVANCE and RETURN are used for jumping to the next or the previous track and are indicated with a flashing of the selected track on the display.
With the digits 1 to 0, a track can be selected at random and the jump is marked on the display.
With STORE and CLEAR you can select or leave out up to 40 tracks on the Disc.
REPEAT replays the Disc up to 4 times.
One push at STOP gives pause, and by keeping the finger on the field till the Disc stops, you get actual STOP. << and >> are used for fast search within the individual tracks.
When activating it once, you search in jumps of 1 second
By keeping the finger on the field you search in jumps of 10 seconds and after 10 seconds the jumps are 1 minute
Connection
Beogram CDX is provided with a fixed signal cable with Phono plugs and can be connected to all LINE inputs. For amplifiers with TAPE inputs which are already being used, we can deliver a CD/TAPE adaptor, type 8950060 (accessory at additional price)
1985 Magazine Review
” The CDX is one of two ‘Beograms’ which have been promised by B & O for some considerable time. It would seem that to a large extent B & O have edged, their bets, for the CDX is a Philips-based machine while the alternative model uses Sony-sourced assemblies. The CDX is an extraordinarily beautiful machine yet, as we shall learn, is based entirely upon the ever so humble Philips CD?101 (the same player as used by Meridian for the MCD conversion). The styling is obviously intended as match the other B & O units and so the company has an untapped market of existing owners who have been patiently waiting for a CD player. But it is a player well worth considering in its own right as a separate purchase.
Unusually the CDX is a top loader but the lid assembly is powered and in response to the eject button the lid assembly smoothly folds back to allow the disc to be loaded. With the exception of the Eject and Power switches, all the controls are touch sensitive (using a type of capacitive sensing) a choice which I found far from reassuring since I kept wanting to use extra finger pressure to ensure a good contact! My overall lack of confidence was further encouraged by the all black control panel which reveals nothing until the power is applied. Perhaps it’s too much like computer screen ‘soft keys’ for me for I kept wondering if the Play switch would be still in the same place every time I went back to this player!
Two types of display are provided; a digital readout to show track time, total elapsed play time, and track numbers up to 99; and a bar scale of 20 LEDs to show the status of the first 20 tracks. A reasonable range of facilities is offered with both track skipping and fast searching (both backwards and forwards). Tracks can be pre-selected for playback and programming is possible for combinations of up to 40 tracks stored in the memory. Finally a Repeat mode allows continuous playback of the whole disc or of individual tracks.
Once the CDX is opened some idea of B & O’s inventiveness can be gained. Into the plastic casing has been dropped a Philips CD101 player complete down to the signal and mains supply cables but less the Switch/Display board. Instead B & O plug in wires from their own front panel and wire connections to their Eject and Power switches. The whole conversion is very neat and since the Philips player is left unmodified all the standard parts fit thus ensuring ease of service.
It has to be said that providing the last word in performance is not needed; the Philips CD?101 is an excellent choice with the CDM mechanism being recognised for its good build quality and reliable operation (it is also to be found in the expensive Revox B225 player). The electronics design largely follows the familiar Philips circuit with 4 times oversampling conversion using a separate 14-bit DAC for each channel.
In the laboratory the performance was much as expected with a generally flat frequency response except for a mild dip of 0.25dB around 7kHz; very low noise (?104dB); low crosstalk between channels and quite reasonable linearity. No problems were experienced when using the error testing discs and this player did very well in playing back some of my badly scratched discs with very few garbled passages.
Auditioning was conducted through my usual system of passive control unit and Krell power amplifier with LC connecting cables. Essentially in terms of sound quality this was very much a case of re-reviewing a Philips CD101 (or Marantz CD63) and the expected high standards were
achieved. The sound can be characterised as open, exciting with a fine sensation of space and depth, and good stereo focus. The weaknesses were primarily at the extremes of the audio band with a warm, stodgy bass and a degree of harshness at high frequencies. However within the context of the B & O system the sound quality of this player would be considered quite excellent.
VERDICT: A beautiful model which will appeal to a wider market than just the traditional
B & O owner. The overall performance of the CDX is excellent and this player can be considered as good value
PROS: Good sound quality. Very good value for money. Beautiful looks
CONS: Rather fiddly to use. Old fashioned top loading ”
Beogram CD 7000 was distinctive because of its authentic sound reproduction as well as its large dynamic range. It was equally suitable for symphonic music and rock. Its many functions allowed you to pre-programme tracks for playback in any desired order. This CD player was the last in line as far as separates were concerned, replaced with the likes of Beocenter 2300 and Beocenter 2500.
Features:
Exclusive computer-controlled CD loading mechanism with extremely fast access time
CD tray machined from a 4mm solid aluminium plate for maximum mechanical stability and convenient loading
Disc tray cut-outs with rubber lining for 12 and 8cm discs
Spring-suspended CD mechanism and magnetic disc clamp
Special functions, such as scan and sequence programming, were carried out from Beolink 7000
Dynamic readout on Beolink 7000 of all functions, track bar, remaining time, elapsed time, scan, etc.
CD players are now among the simplest constructions in the electronic world and standard players are based on very few components, a simple electronic layout and use of economical materials, both inside the product and in the cabinet. In the construction of CD7000 the main objectives were the achievement of excellent mechanical stability, convincing sonic qualities and easy access to the CD functions.
The loading mechanism, the way the clamp function and the suspension of the CD mechanism were all points that received special attention. The high quality of the mechanical solutions was continued in the electronic circuitry and both were highly integrated and interdependent of each other.
The CD tray was very solid and elegant and the loading mechanism extremely durable. The tray was made from a 4mm thick sheet of aluminium and the conical recess for the CD was milled and diamond polished to the smallest of tolerances – to prevent dust gathering in the recess. The circular rubber profile protected the disc during loading and unloading, while the triangular cut-out facilitated unloading. To avoid static build-up the tray was connected to ground and to avoid ‘ringing’, a damping plate was placed at the innermost part of the tray, inside the cabinet.
The motorised movement of the CD tray was very fast and gentle. The movement was controlled by the microcomputer via an optocoupler and was a very stable mechanical solution with two parallel chrome plated brass rail tubes and precision plastic roller bearings. A nylon coated steel cord wire was applied for maximum duration and quiet transport. The electronically governed transport was very smooth, started the movement slowly, then speeded up very quickly, decelerating when the disc approached the clamp. Furthermore, it secured against possible damage occurring from obstacles either in front of the tray or in between tray and cabinet.
While the tray approached the clamp the disc was gently lifted off the tray and clamped between the CD mechanism and magnet. The magnet was placed on a bridge across the CD mechanism and when it engaged the disc the magnet was lifted away from the bridge. While the disc was rotating, the magnet was not in contact with the cabinet, but only the disc and CD mechanism.
This assembly was insulated very efficiently from the cabinet to prevent vibrations from the outside. A special suspension was designed, with 4 steel springs, encased in rubber. The springs ensured that the CD mechanism was fixed in the horizontal plane (i.e. across the disc), while a certain amount of movement was allowed in the vertical plane (i.e. up and down). Test showed that the servo system counteracts movements in the vertical plane better than in the horizontal plane, and the suspension thus was a good compromise with regard to immunity from external vibrations. The inherent frequency of the suspension was placed at 25 Hz to avoid tracking and focusing errors, which were prone to emerge if the CD mechanism was subjected to vibrations around 100 Hz and upward. Furthermore, at this frequency interference with the inherent frequency of the CD cabinet was also avoided.
The electronics
The CD format is one of the most precisely defined audio formats, but it is still possible to design differentiated products. The electronic solutions in CD 7000 were just as elaborate, the computer controlled loading just being one of the elements. Separate power supplies were available for the digital and analogue parts, and in connection with a careful print layout Bang & Olufsen achieved the most respectable electronic specifications. The digital-to-analogue filtering was special as well. First, a standard digital filtering (4 x oversampling) was applied to filter away the sidebands below 176,4 kHz. The analogue filtering at 176,4 kHz was carried out by a modified order filter. To avoid remnants of the 176,4kHz sideband having an effect on the filtering, a special suction circuit cut off the frequencies above 156,4 kHz. The modified filter was known as a ‘Bessel elliptical filter’. It had a very gentle filter characteristic and was not susceptible to ripple phenomena, phase distortion or ageing.
The functions
As with the other sources, operation was via the Beolink 7000, with full display readout of all functions. Special functions available included: the space function, where a pause of 4 seconds was added between tracks to facilitate track search on a tape recorded from CD 7000. Scan gave playback of the first 15 seconds of each track and was especially useful in connection with a sequence programming.
While you were scanning the CD, tracks could either be selected (compiled) or omitted and when the last track had been scanned, playback of the programmed sequence commenced. Sequence programming could also be carried out independently of the scan function and if you used the select programming, playback could be non-chronological. If you used the reject programming to leave out specific tracks, playback would be chronological.
Beogram 7000 could, ideally, be used as part of Beosystem 7000
If you wanted to indulge yourself with the finest sound quality then you’d do no better than listening to your favourite pieces of music on Bang & Olufsen’s Beogram CD 6500. Beogram CD 6500 was a replacement for its predecessor, Beogram CD 5500.
It played both 12cm and 8cm compact discs, and housed sophisticated and advanced digital technology. And it offered sound reproduction which would satisfy even the most demanding of listeners.
Beogram CD 6500 could be used as part of the Beosystem 6500 hi-fi system.
Beogram CD 50 was Bang & Olufsen’s very first CD player designed to be part of a stacking system and first featured in the 1983/84 product catalogue and allowed Beosystem 5000 owners to use all the buttons on the Master Control Panel 5000. Beogram CD 50 was a front-loading CD player.
The disc was placed in the motorised drawer which opened at a touch and closed either by light finger-tip pressure or by operating the PLAY control. If the disc was inserted incorrectly (upside down as compared to most other CD players of the time) the drawer opened automatically to allow the user to replace it.
Although the CD50 is quite limited in operation from the front panel as a stand-alone unit, it is a very nice sounding and very functional machine utilising Burr-Brown decoders and a large array of RAM buffering. RCA outputs are available as well as the traditional DIN connection.
Since Beogram CD 50 was designed as a component of Beosystem 5000, it had a Datalink connection to allow remote control of all functions via the Beomaster’s Master Control Panel. Two phono output sockets and a 7-pin Datalink connection were provided for this purpose. However, since it was the only CD player in the B&O range in 1984, it was chosen for use with other Beosystems. An optional remote keypad – Terminal CD 50 – that could transmit commands to an infra-red sensor on the Beogram’s display fascia was provided to allow remote control of the unit when not used with Beosystem 5000. The optional Terminal was also recommended for those wishing to combine Beogram CD 50 with non-Bang & Olufsen hi-fi systems.
Strengths: the laser device is very beefy with plenty of heat sinking. Lots of shielding and grounding. Burr-Brown IC decoders utilised.
Weaknesses: without the remote control the unit will only carry out a few operations from the front panel: Open, Close, Display options, Play, Skip to selection, and Standby/Off. The CD must be inserted upside down as in some older Pioneer-type CD players.
The SCAN function was a feature unique to Beogram CD 50. You could sample the first 12 seconds of each track and either reject it from your programme or STORE its location for inclusion in a later playing sequence. A comprehensive display capability meant that you always knew what was happening, what CD track was playing or due to be played, elapsed and remaining time of each track, and so on.
Bang & Olufsen CD50 review
” This review was approached with more than the usual interest. B&O announced the fact that they were to introduce a CD player to match their 5000 system in the region of two years ago. For a long time however the promised player was not forthcoming, the main reason according to B&O being that they didn’t think the medium sounded good enough.
A few months back, B&O released first player, the CDX, and just before this went to press the CD50 designed to match the 5000 system was finally announced. The sample sent was a prototype and guaranteed to be ‘in accordance with specifications’. The usual warnings apply with such products and detail findings should be treated as tentative.
The CD?50 is one of the most impressively finished players in group; arguably the most impressive with its acres of brushed aluminium and immaculately moulded plastic parts The machine operates with utmost decorum, but allows the user plenty of thumb twiddling time whilst it laboriously retracts the drawer, reads the contents and initiates play. Tracking performance was good through to exceptional and immunity from shocks even better.
Description
A physically large player, the CD50 is an aesthetic match for B&O’s 5000 system and can be operated by the system remote control, which allows access to the play and programming features – the latter accepting sequences up to 36 tracks long. But it an also be used in foreign, non-B&O systems, either as is, or with an optional remote control. This is the £34 Terminal CD50, which is also advantageous even for 5000 system owners as many functions are not available without its help. System 5000 owners will therefore find themselves in the uncomfortable position of requiring two remote controls. I spoke to the company about this, who tell me that this will be taken into account (whatever that means) in a revamp due probably late 1986.
As a standalone item, the only facilities available to the user (unless I’ve missed something – there are no instructions) are play from the beginning or any other track, but the search is strictly sequential and in the forward direction only. The controls are micro switches behind the front panel: hit the right-hand edge and play starts, hit it again and the track count increases by one, though this can only be done with the disc loaded and table of contents in memory. The middle section toggles the excellent display between various time and track/index indications. The remote control, which was not ready in time for the review, adds the following: intro scan (which plays the first few seconds of each track), cueing (presumably with an audible output), index search, programming controls and a numeric keypad for direct track selection.
The Technical Bit
The CD?50 is based on an Aiwa transport, a fact betrayed by the upside down disc loading requirement. Even for a prototype the insides are a bit of a mess, the unit being crowded with wires everywhere and modifications by the bucket load. Decoding is 16 with 2x oversampling using a Yamaha chip and steep L-C aliasing filters. Component quality is just average. Measured performance is about average too. The frequency response is a bit wayward: there’s a small dip between above 1kHz, recovering to peak at 16kHz before slowly rolling away. Other figures were about average, but the low level waveform was better than usual.
Listening
B&O have accomplished in the CD-50 something which they may not have set out to do: to make a player that emulates much of the euphony and openness of good analogue sources e.g. records and combines it with typical digital strengths – low noise, convenience and the rest. There is a certain consistency, despite the 16KHz output peak, and the overall impression is one of pleasantness and clarity. However, the bass end is not ideally controlled and there was also some masking of fine detail.
Verdict
An excellent but costly player, sound quality is better than average and facilities pretty comprehensive if purchased with the remote control.
Pros…
A very pleasant sounding player that clearly benefits from the change that Bang & Olufsen have wrought to the off-the-shelf components used inside. Styling is excellent if you like this kind of thing – the player will suit those allergic to the knob-bedecked run of the mill.
… and Cons
Good as the B&O sounds, it’s a doubtful proposition in value for money terms ? the price is definitely on the high side. B&O also seem to have got their knickers in a twist with the control system and the 5000 system remote control, which controls every other part of the system, only accesses the most basic of facilities on the CD player. ”
Like many Bang & Olufsen turntables, Beogram 7000 was designed with a tangential arm, which ensured optimal playing of the record. It also came equipped with the patented OPP system (Optimal Pivot Point), so that the pick-up – MMC2 – was not disturbed by vibrations.
Fully automatic and remote controlled via Beolink 7000
Integrated MMC 2 pickup cartridge
Tangential tonearm with OPP (Optimum Pivot Point)
Pendulum suspended sub-chassis
Built-in RIAA amplifier
By the mid-1990s the CD had rapidly become a replacement for the black vinyl record with many new albums released only in the CD format. This is why Bang & Olufsen ceased production of its record decks, with Beogram 7000 being the last in a very long line of high quality turntables. However, even today the vinyl format is alive, as so many treasured record collections were originally based on the vinyl format in its heyday, with many more of the more esoteric albums still awaiting CD reissue. The requirements that have to be met by a record player have become threefold:
“The preservation of precious vinyl records in as perfect a condition as possible
The ability to pick up information from the grooves and reproduce them faithfully
The operation must be made as similar to the other sources in a system as possible.”
Beogram 7000 met and exceeded all these requirements. The MMC2 pick-up cartridge weighed only 1,6g – the lowest own weight of any pick-up cartridge – and had a very high compliance and low effective tip mass. The result was a very good tracking ability with little record wear and in combination with the contact line nude diamond the optimal contact with the groove walls was ensured – to pick up the full music information. The MMC principle – Moving Micro Cross – gave a high channel separation, especially in the bass range, a low distortion and very little channel difference, which are all elements that significantly contribute to the achieved sound quality.
The MMC cartridge was mounted in a tangential tonearm, which eliminated tracking errors. The unique Optimum Pivot Point and the pendulum suspended sub-chassis made the reproduction virtually immune to vibrations from the outside.
The tonearm’s axis for horizontal movement was positioned behind the vertical axis and thus behind the tonearm’s centre of gravity. If the pivot point for horizontal movements vibrated, the rear part of the arm with the counterweight also vibrated, whereas the stylus remained still, because it was in the centre of the vibrations. The MMC was completely integrated with the tonearm and the low weight of the cartridge meant that the tonearm resonance could be optimised to the ideal value of 10 – 15Hz.
The pendulum suspension efficiently insulated the inner chassis with tonearm and platter from the outer cabinet to prevent vibrations to affect playback. The suspension consisted of three pendulums and leafsprings and gave the inner chassis an inherent resonance of 5 – 6 Hz.
Operation of Beogram 7000 was via Beolink 7000. The turntable automatically determined record size and selected playback speed accordingly (33 or 45 rpm.). If no record was registered, playback did not begin. It was only possible to lower the pick-up cartridge if there was a record on the platter. When you operated Beogram 7000 from Beolink 7000 you could not by accident lower the stylus outside of the record surface. By preventing unauthorised operation of Beogram 7000, Bang & Olufsen gave priority to both the preservation of the pick-up cartridge and the vinyl records.
Beogram 7000 could ideally, be used as part of Beosystem 7000
Providing the ultimate true-to-life sound experience, BeoLab 1 will open your eyes and ears to what a loudspeaker should look and sound like.
“BeoLab 1 is for everyone who has a heart for superior sound. You can turn your stereo up as loud as you want and still experience music the way it was meant to be. ” The quality of a loudspeaker has never only been about its ability to play loudly. What’s just as important is being able to hear the finest nuances in your favourite piece of music – regardless of whether you’re listening at the highest or lowest volume level. As our most powerful loudspeaker, BeoLab 1 will fill the largest room in your house with a sound that’s as close to the original as you can possibly get ” – B&O catalogue 2001 – 2002.
“When it comes to sound reproduction we believe there’s only one relevant parameter: How close can we come to the originally recorded sound. We feel an obligation not to disturb the intentions of the artist by adding unnatural elements to the acoustic image. Therefore all Bang & Olufsen loudspeakers share the same goal. They differ in size and shape and in terms of sound pressure level. But they are all developed to reproduce the natural, unaltered sound as closely as possible” – Bang & Olufsen catalogue 2001 – 2002.
Eye-opening sound
If the sounds you listen to, reflect the mood you’re in, then BeoLab 1 is an invitation to express yourself to the full. Behind the elegant design lies a powerhouse of sound technology that can enhance the best of movies or take your favourite piece of music to new heights. BeoLab 1 will, quite simply, open your eyes and ears to what a loudspeaker should look and sound like.
Unique cabinet
Three years of the toughest research and development have produced a loudspeaker at the cutting edge of acoustic technology. The BeoLab 1 cabinet is divided into three individually sealed units, utilising vibration-damping materials normally only seen in the car industry. The built-in amplifiers powering each unit are calibrated and customised to ensure a uniform performance in the soundscape that’s created
Top line loudspeaker
BeoLab 1 delivers the purest, clearest sound ever heard from a Bang & Olufsen loudspeaker. With aural reproduction as close as you can get to the original, it allows you to distinguish each instrument playing in an orchestra and every word of a song. A single continuous piece of aluminium forms the rigid backbone of BeoLab 1. Strong enough to withstand the powerful vibrations, its curved design also eliminates any sharp edges or joins that could compromise sound quality.
Why build amplifiers into the loudspeakers instead of keeping them separate?
Because you can reduce the size of the cabinet volume to one-third of the size of a conventional loudspeaker with the same sound capacity. The principle is called Active Loudspeakers, and what you get is a compact loudspeaker that can play at high volume without distortion or damage to its drive units. Furthermore, when amplifier, treble and bass units are paired for the same task, they can be tailored to compensate for each other’s shortcomings. What you hear is music that sounds exactly like the instrument it originally came from.
Adaptive Bass Linearisation
Adaptive Bass Linearisation (ABL) is a process patented by B&O and is incorporated in BeoLab loudspeakers. The idea is to use the surplus capacity in amplifiers and driver units, arising by normal listening levels, for a bass extension – a sound reproduction with more bass, than the loudspeaker otherwise would be able to produce.
The function is adaptive. This means that the loudspeaker adapts to the signal it receives. Loudspeaker drivers are therefore fully exploited, without suffering mechanical or electronic abuse, and the built in amplifiers are not subjected to signals would otherwise create an overload situation.
ABL gives stunning bass reproduction considering the size of the loudspeaker in which it is incorporated, under normal listening levels.
ICEPower®
BeoLab 1 also makes use of Bang & Olufsen’s innovative ICEPower® technology. With practically no electric power loss and a greatly reduced cooling space, the new, compact digital power amplifier allows the bass unit in BeoLab 1 to produce a sound far beyond the dimensions of the cabinet.
The speaker with many names
“When the concept for BeoLab 1 was decided on almost two years ago, there was a lot to live up to. The loudspeaker project changed names several times during the process. First it was called Loudspeaker 8, then 12, 14, X and finally 15. Later on the commercial name BeoLab 1 was chosen.
From the start it stood tall at two metres. Then it was reduced by a few centimetres to the present 1.84m. Nonetheless, BeoLab 1 is actually only half as large as the Penta in terms of physical volume and only three times larger than the BeoLab 8000. The basis for the development work was to create a loudspeaker which delivers perfect sound in terms of tonal balance and authentic reproduction, with compactness of expression but also high sound pressure, which is easy to integrate with the design and furnishing of the home and which can be placed anywhere. It was truly a great challenge to achieve all this in one and the same loudspeaker.
There was no doubt that sheer amplifier power was needed to replace high volume. However, this also entailed a risk that a loudspeaker might burn up. So the department designed a completely new protective circuit which automatically turns down the amplifiers in extreme conditions, to reduce the heat in the loudspeaker units. So there is no risk of it burning off. BeoLab 1 also features ICEPower®, which is a revolutionary new Bang & Olufsen technology entailing high energy savings due to the low heat development.
Robust, sound craftsmanship
Another difficult problem to solve was that it had to be possible to adjust the loudspeaker to any room, to achieve the optimum listening experience. This is a question of avoiding too much bass when the loudspeaker stands in a corner and too little bass when the loudspeaker stands freely. The solution is the option to adjust the loudspeakers manually to give the same tonal range, no matter where they are placed.
Throughout the production process the loudspeaker is developed to ensure simplicity at every production stage. So this is an extremely robust, soundly crafted, product.
Hermetically sealed
During the process the department received a nasty shock, however, when they carried out the first tests in a hot, humid environment. The loudspeaker just would not function when it was released from the artificial tropical paradise at the Struer site. A new trial was run and the same thing happened. Now the department’s engineers were sweating as much as the loudspeaker had done in the heat cabinet, until it was discovered that the temperature had been turned up an excessive 15 degrees Celsius and the humidity by 3% more than the already very stringent test requirements. So when the loudspeaker was opened, the water practically flowed out of it.
It must have entered as steam, the same designer states today and cites an example of how a BeoLab 1 was shipped as air freight to Singapore. On its arrival, faults were found in the mid-range loudspeaker where the membrane had subsided inwards. The simple explanation was that the cabinet behind the mid-range unit was so impermeable that it could not equalise the changing air pressure during the flight. So the solution was to make a small hole in the mid-range cabinet, to avoid this problem.
Difficult cabinet process It is not the intention to adjust the cabinet to excess. It is the largest aluminium profile B&O has made so far and in fact one of the largest in Europe within high-gloss alloys. In practice, the profile consists of a very fine surface which due to its size is very difficult to manufacture without flaws. However, using specially manufactured equipment technicians have managed to achieve a polish which is both beautiful and perfect.
The process is difficult, however, primarily because the profile is both flat and round. This in itself makes the polishing work difficult.
Sheer force and true to nature
Despite its complexity the BeoLab 1 has a shorter production time than the Penta. One reason is that the entire amplifier section is received ready-assembled from a sub-supplier in Scotland, but according to B&O’s design and instructions. Furthermore, the technology is generally very compact. Engineers have devoted a lot of time and resources to this work. However, the investment is expected to be recouped via faster, more effective production.
If you ask three of the men behind it – Villy Hansen, Poul Praestgaard and Henrik Sjostrand – to say what is most wonderful about the BeoLab 1, they all agree that its supreme quality is that when the user listens to music, he or she will forget to listen for the bass, mid-range tone and descant, but simply enjoy the music. Nobody remembers that the sound is emitting from the loudspeakers. Another aspect is the interplay between form and function. It lives up to what its appearance promises, even the great expectations of the sound experience created by its height. in addition to this comes its sheer force, the high precision of the bass and the authentic reproduction, as well as the simple and robust structure, which is also to the satisfaction of the customer setting up the loudspeakers.
“It really is the best ever. It cannot be followed, and we have to say that an era is now over. We have quite simply completed the portfolio as it stands today. Now we have to use other methods to surprise. Idealand has been working on this and we will be back” the acoustics team state.
Now they are all waiting in great anticipation to see whether the demand for Penta continues, even though it is no longer produced. As was the case with the BeoLab 5000, of which an American recently ordered 30 sets. When told that production had long since lapsed, he asked quite seriously what it would cost to start it up again.
Taken from Beolink magazine 7, 1999
Superior sound quality
What does sound look like? What colour does it have? At Bang & Olufsen, we believe it should be as clear and precise as possible, but that doesn’t mean it has to be invisible. With BeoLab 1 sound makes a statement. It takes our pursuit for natural sound reproduction to a new level and delivers the ultimate true-to-life audio experience. We believe it’s the purest sound ever heard from a Bang & Olufsen loudspeaker. Since no two loudspeaker units have exactly the same physical characteristics, we calibrate them individually to make certain that the sound of each and every BeoLab loudspeaker leaving the factory is identical
Performance
To ensure an optimal performance every time you listen to it, a BeoLab loudspeaker constantly “fine-tunes” the signal received from the sound source before distributing it out to the separate bass and treble power amplifiers
Appearance
Using aluminium for the cabinets is not just about looking good. Despite a thickness of only a few millimetres, it’s a remarkably strong metal that’s easily shaped to eliminate the problems normally experienced with loudspeakers made by traditional materials
Colours
Once the surface has been polished until it shines like a mirror, it’s dyed and given a tough ceramic coating that seals and protects the coloured exterior. The 5 strong colours match with the existing Bang & Olufsen range, and have been carefully chosen to compliment any environment in which they’re placed. Choose between silver, blue, black, red or green (1999 – 2003 range).
