Release Date: 1990

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Beovox RL 35

Bang & Olufsen Beovox RL 35

The idea behind Beovox Red Line speakers was one of flexibility. A Red Line speaker was so flexible that it could be placed anywhere. On the ceiling, the wall, or on the floor.

You could hang them semi-permanently on the wall, and if you had a party you could place them on the floor and thereby add extra emphasis to the bass. The different ways of placing them accentuated different frequencies. You could also tilt them if you chose to hang them on the wall. This allowed you to adjust the sound image and direct the sound right at your listening position. However, Red Line was more than merely flexible. It was an impressive bass reflex speaker with a revolutionary new cabinet that ‘curved’ round the sound thereby eliminating irritating resonance because there were no parallel surfaces.

Music that never stands still
Red Line loudspeakers followed your music tastes right up the wall if you wanted! All models except the RL35 could be hung on the wall or be suspended from the ceiling; and, if your dancing feet wanted to make the most of the bass notes, then Red Line could be positioned on the floor, supported by the built-in floor stand. By using Red Line speakers, you weren’t plagued by cables that wrapped themselves around your feet like spaghetti either; Red Line’s flexible spiral cables provided the decorative and practical answer.

The shell was cast in a hard synthetic material and the shape that was devised for the range was characterised by the fact that it allowed for practically no resonance whatsoever.

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BeoCom 2000

Bang & Olufsen BeoCom 2000

Beocom 2000, the classic telephone from Bang & Olufsen… what else is there to say?

Beocom 2000 was unlike anything which had been introduced by Bang & Olufsen before.

All the parts of the phone were made by the company itself and not imported from other manufacturers. A well-equipped telephone with extraordinary sound quality, a tradition carried on with all of the Beocom range of telephones.

The design is truly timeless. The display gave information on which number your were calling and the time connected. All standard functions were of course, also available, like volume control and numeric memories, and for the more advanced user there was a special headset available!

This phone was also available in a more simple version, Beocom 600, which didn’t have the display but had the same sound quality.

The memory bank of the Beocom 2000 enabled you to store your personal top twenty, and at the touch of just a few buttons you were connected. With display, bass reflex speaker in handset, 20 numbers of memory, quick call key for an often-use or ’emergency’ number, redial of last 3 numbers called, pause function, adjustable volume control, microphone mute (for secrecy), built-in speaker for listening, adjustable tone ringer with 8 settings plus off. There was even a hidden note pad which could be used by raising the lid on the right-hand side of the unit!

Up to 1993 Beocom 2000 was produced with different coloured keys. However, from this time a more mellow design was offered with all the keys complementing each other. On its bright display with large characters the Beocom 2000 could offer you the last three numbers for redialling

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BeoCom 1000

Bang & Olufsen BeoCom 1000

BeoCom 1000 was similar to BeoCom 2000 but it was not fitted with a loudspeaker or an LCD display. This lowered the cost while at the same time offering the usual high quality sound There was a choice of four colours: black, blue, green or red.

Bang & Olufsen did not invent the telephone. They just developed it a little further Bang & Olufsen’s Telecom Vision is to “constantly question the ordinary in search of surprising, long-lasting experiences”

Loudspeaker quality

Earphone coupling loss factor, receiver loudness rating value and acoustic leakage are technical terms that mean little to most telephone users. They are just some of the things that Bang & Olufsen test for to determine the sound quality of a BeoCom telephone.

The enhanced sound of the BeoCom telephone range is the result of Bang & Olufsen’s long-standing specialisation in the miniaturisation of high-performance loudspeakers. Every BeoCom handset contains a built-in pressure chamber loudspeaker that ensures optimal natural sound reproduction while minimising distortion and sound leakage.

But Bang & Olufsen telephones are not only the result of theoretical calculations and complicated acoustical analyses, the final test is the human ear itself. A listening panel made up of people with an extraordinary sense of hearing provides the most crucial evaluation of BeoCom telephones.

Telephone competence: even good telephones have bad days

Telephones are used a lot more than other electronic equipment and sometimes under tougher and more hazardous conditions. Design and technological features mean little if your telephone lets you down when you need it most, so the anticipation of what can happen to a telephone has been turned into a fine art at Bang & Olufsen.

Our telephones are exposed to extremes of heat and cold, we spill coffee over them, blow dust at them, step on them and subject them to a whole series of bumps, vibrations and falls.

And it’s not only the unexpected that’s tested for, a robot assesses daily wear and tear by methodically lifting and replacing the handset of a telephone 100,000 times, while a mechanical finger dials telephone numbers over and over again. In a space of days, we simulate the life of a telephone and everything the modern world may throw at it.

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BeoCord 4500

Bang & Olufsen BeoCord 4500

Beocord 4500 cassette recorder housed exciting details and distinguished technology. Like Auto Reverse, so you did not need to turn over the tape. Automatic registration of the type of tape, and Bang & Olufsen’s patented HX-PRO recording system that provided optimal sound reproduction. Both in design and technology, Beocord 4500 was a direct extension of Beomaster 4500.

The cassette recorder featured Bang & Olufsen’s own HX-PRO recording system which ensures that recordings are made as perfectly as possible. With the Beolink 1000 terminal or by lightly touching the panel itself, you could select a particular piece of music you wanted to hear. The search system found it automatically whether it was on Side 1 or Side 2 of the cassette. For Beocord 4500 had Auto Reverse so you did not have to turn the tape over.

The recorder was also equipped with Dolby B and knew exactly what type of tape you were using. Beocord 4500 could be used as part of the Beosystem 4500 hi-fi system.

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BeoVox RL 140

Bang & Olufsen Beovox RL 140

The idea behind Beovox Red Line speakers was one of flexibility.

A Red Line speaker was so flexible that it could be placed anywhere. On the ceiling, the wall, or on the floor. You could hang them semi-permanently on the wall, and if you had a party you could place them on the floor and thereby add extra emphasis to the bass. The different ways of placing them accentuated different frequencies.

You could also tilt them if you chose to hang them on the wall. This allowed you to adjust the sound image and direct the sound right at your listening position. However, Red Line was more than merely flexible. It was an impressive bass reflex speaker with a revolutionary new cabinet that ‘curved’ round the sound thereby eliminating irritating resonance because there were no parallel surfaces.

Music that never stands still
Red Line loudspeakers followed your music tastes right up the wall if you wanted! All models except the RL35 could be hung on the wall or be suspended from the ceiling; and, if your dancing feet wanted to make the most of the bass notes, then Red Line could be positioned on the floor, supported by the built-in floor stand. By using Red Line speakers, you weren’t plagued by cables that wrapped themselves around your feet like spaghetti either; Red Line’s flexible spiral cables provided the decorative and practical answer.

The shell was cast in a hard synthetic material and the shape that was devised for the range was characterised by the fact that it allowed for practically no resonance whatsoever.

Great and small
You could choose Red Line in four sizes. They started with the baby 35 watt RL35 – perfect for a Beolink round-the-house system where you needed speakers all over the place. Then there was the 45.2, the 60.2 and the immensely powerful 140’s – big and beautiful with it. All the Red Line collection came in metallic grey with a distinctive red line around the edge. A matching cord was available to accentuate the red line after which the speakers were named.

In 1991 the former Redline series – RL35, 45, 45.2, 60, 60.2, 100 and 140 were superseded by the Mark 2 range of loudspeakers: RL1000, 2000, 6000 and 7000.

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BeoVox RL 60.2

Bang & Olufsen Beovox RL 60.2

The idea behind Beovox Red Line speakers was one of flexibility. A Red Line speaker was so flexible that it could be placed anywhere. On the ceiling, the wall, or on the floor.

You could hang them semi-permanently on the wall, and if you had a party you could place them on the floor and thereby add extra emphasis to the bass. The different ways of placing them accentuated different frequencies. You could also tilt them if you chose to hang them on the wall. This allowed you to adjust the sound image and direct the sound right at your listening position. However, Red Line was more than merely flexible. It was an impressive bass reflex speaker with a revolutionary new cabinet that ‘curved’ round the sound thereby eliminating irritating resonance because there were no parallel surfaces.

Music that never stands still
Red Line loudspeakers followed your music tastes right up the wall if you wanted! All models except the RL35 could be hung on the wall or be suspended from the ceiling; and, if your dancing feet wanted to make the most of the bass notes, then Red Line could be positioned on the floor, supported by the built-in floor stand. By using Red Line speakers, you weren’t plagued by cables that wrapped themselves around your feet like spaghetti either; Red Line’s flexible spiral cables provided the decorative and practical answer.

The shell was cast in a hard synthetic material and the shape that was devised for the range was characterised by the fact that it allowed for practically no resonance whatsoever.

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BeoVox RL 45.2

Bang & Olufsen Beovox RL 45.2

The idea behind Beovox Red Line speakers was one of flexibility. A Red Line speaker was so flexible that it could be placed anywhere. On the ceiling, the wall, or on the floor.

You could hang them semi-permanently on the wall, and if you had a party you could place them on the floor and thereby add extra emphasis to the bass. The different ways of placing them accentuated different frequencies. You could also tilt them if you chose to hang them on the wall. This allowed you to adjust the sound image and direct the sound right at your listening position. However, Red Line was more than merely flexible. It was an impressive bass reflex speaker with a revolutionary new cabinet that ‘curved’ round the sound thereby eliminating irritating resonance because there were no parallel surfaces.

Music that never stands still
Red Line loudspeakers followed your music tastes right up the wall if you wanted! All models except the RL35 could be hung on the wall or be suspended from the ceiling; and, if your dancing feet wanted to make the most of the bass notes, then Red Line could be positioned on the floor, supported by the built-in floor stand. By using Red Line speakers, you weren’t plagued by cables that wrapped themselves around your feet like spaghetti either; Red Line’s flexible spiral cables provided the decorative and practical answer.

The shell was cast in a hard synthetic material and the shape that was devised for the range was characterised by the fact that it allowed for practically no resonance whatsoever.

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Master Control Panel 6500

Bang & Olufsen Master Control Panel 6500

The final incarnation of the MCP style, this was a re-badged 5500 with no new features.

As with all the MCP panels, the LED display was greedy for power, and the D batteries did not last long if used regularly. The replacement, the Beolink 7000, made the move to rechargeable batteries as well as a far more advanced specification.

MCP 6500 was part of the BeoSystem 6500

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BeoCord 6500

Bang & Olufsen BeoCord 6500

A light touch to the front of the Beocord 6500 cassette recorder released the loader which glided out slowly and silently in order to allow you to insert a cassette. You could use whichever type of cassette you prefer; or choose between Dolby B or C Noise Reduction systems… and rejoice in Bang & Olufsen’s patented HX-PRO recording system which ensured optimal sound reproduction, particularly in the difficult, high-frequency range. And, naturally, Beocord 6500 had auto-reverse so that both sides of the tape played as one.

Beocord 6500 could be used as part of the Beosystem 6500 hi-fi system.

Auto Record level

One of the less-pleasant chores in making a recording is setting level control to its optimum position. Setting it too low raises the level of background noise on the recording. Setting it too high makes the recording distorted at high music levels. With this in mind, Bang and Olufsen introduced an automatic record mode which was called ‘Auto Record’.

Auto Record worked in two steps: when the record button was pressed for the first time, the cassette recorder went into a record pause mode, where the incoming signal was monitored. Under microprocessor control, the highest level was monitored and the record level was set at the optimum level for that music. On pressing the record button the second time, the tape was set in motion and the recording started, but continuing to make minor adjustments. If at any time during the recording, the level of music rose above the monitored level, the level control was lowered by exactly the amount required for the new optimum recording level.

This method of setting the level control closely imitated the action of a highly skilled recording engineer, if asked to set the level for a recording. It was the best that could be done when the full recording could not be monitored before recording started.

This feature incorporated a new method of monitoring the signal, which proved to be a more effective method over conventional methods. It was patented by the company with the patent number 158702.