Bang and Olufsen's new flagship BeoLab 90 speaker uses Scanspeak drivers

[Ray Tremblay]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U5gufdPM8iY

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LpKfhi3D_Iw

http://www.bang-olufsen.com/en/sound...kers/beolab-90

[dukeofdorkdom]

Re: Bang and Olufsen's new flagship BeoLab 90 speaker uses Scanspeak drivers

kinda reminds me of Shaninian Acoustics on steroids with the grills off

[philthien]

Re: Bang and Olufsen's new flagship BeoLab 90 speaker uses Scanspeak drivers

Huh.

It is interesting (to me, at least) to see such a wide and varied approach to loudspeaker design.

At the age of nearly fifty, I've come to the conclusion that loudspeaker design follows the 90-10 rule. A small two-way will get you 90%. And, you can't universally achieve 100%.

And there are no-doubt some very fine speakers that achieve very high 90's without going into the complexity B&O has employed.

Also, the video advertising is extremely poor. I understand a thirty second spot limits your ability to get technical details across, but that doesn't mean one should resort to showing a series of pretty pictures. If there was some groundbreaking research or effort involved, I'm none the wiser for watching either commercial spot, or casually looking at the website.

[carlspeak]

Re: Bang and Olufsen's new flagship BeoLab 90 speaker uses Scanspeak drivers

B&O comes up with some of the most innovative design concepts that marry industrial design (the look) with acoustic engineering (the sound).
This one would seem to not be favorable to those who prefer pinpoint, head-in-a-vice soundstage. YMMV as they say!

[dcibel]

Re: Bang and Olufsen's new flagship BeoLab 90 speaker uses Scanspeak drivers

Odd looking speaker, looks more like an architectural statement than an acoustic one.

I see B&O has presented the speaker with a perfect example of proper room treatments :D

[Paul Carmody]

Re: Bang and Olufsen's new flagship BeoLab 90 speaker uses Scanspeak drivers

That thing is pretty crazy. You have to scroll down pretty far down B&O's page, but eventually there is a 360 degree picture where you can click and take off the grilles. There are drivers everywhere. If there ever was a "kitchen sink" design, this is it.

[generic]

Re: Bang and Olufsen's new flagship BeoLab 90 speaker uses Scanspeak drivers

Huh.

It is interesting (to me, at least) to see such a wide and varied approach to loudspeaker design.

At the age of nearly fifty, I've come to the conclusion that loudspeaker design follows the 90-10 rule. A small two-way will get you 90%. And, you can't universally achieve 100%.

And there are no-doubt some very fine speakers that achieve very high 90's without going into the complexity B&O has employed.

Also, the video advertising is extremely poor. I understand a thirty second spot limits your ability to get technical details across, but that doesn't mean one should resort to showing a series of pretty pictures. If there was some groundbreaking research or effort involved, I'm none the wiser for watching either commercial spot, or casually looking at the website.

90% of what? Larger speakers generally have many advantages. Power handling, full range, and a powerful presence that smaller bookshelf speakers just can't give.
I'm not trying to take away how enjoyable a bookshelf speaker can be, or even some full range projects, but IMO, they just can't keep up. Now, 2.1 with the right combo can be a closer match.

[carlspeak]

Re: Bang and Olufsen's new flagship BeoLab 90 speaker uses Scanspeak drivers

That thing is pretty crazy. You have to scroll down pretty far down B&O's page, but eventually there is a 360 degree picture where you can click and take off the grilles. There are drivers everywhere. If there ever was a "kitchen sink" design, this is it.

It's all about a diffuse soundfield. Note the cement walls in the pic above in another post. Reflections aid in accomplishing that diffuse soundfield which some like and many don't these days. Just review the pioneering work done in diffuse sound fields done by Roy Allison. The vintage AR LST was his first stab at it. Then came his own company and designs with drivers pointing in a number of directions. And, of course, there's the Bose 901. ;)

[jclin4]

Re: Bang and Olufsen's new flagship BeoLab 90 speaker uses Scanspeak drivers

These do not look like speakers and so will appeal to B&O's customer base.

[philthien]

Re: Bang and Olufsen's new flagship BeoLab 90 speaker uses Scanspeak drivers

90% of what? Larger speakers generally have many advantages. Power handling, full range, and a powerful presence that smaller bookshelf speakers just can't give.
I'm not trying to take away how enjoyable a bookshelf speaker can be, or even some full range projects, but IMO, they just can't keep up. Now, 2.1 with the right combo can be a closer match.

90% of what can be achieved by ANY speaker, regardless of size or cost.

Yeah, your larger speaker may dig deeper (although many bookshelf designs can hit 40-Hz which is sufficient for much program material). It may play louder w/o distorting (lots of people don't play it that loud and many simply CAN'T play it that loud because they live in apartments and condos).

With any decent bookshelf, I can head and understand the lyrics, identify the instruments, at normal listening levels it is hard to imagine any speaker at any price doing considerably better.

[generic]

Re: Bang and Olufsen's new flagship BeoLab 90 speaker uses Scanspeak drivers

90% of what can be achieved by ANY speaker, regardless of size or cost.

Yeah, your larger speaker may dig deeper (although many bookshelf designs can hit 40-Hz which is sufficient for much program material). It may play louder w/o distorting (lots of people don't play it that loud and many simply CAN'T play it that loud because they live in apartments and condos).

With any decent bookshelf, I can head and understand the lyrics, identify the instruments, at normal listening levels it is hard to imagine any speaker at any price doing considerably better.

I get what you're saying. Not sure I'd agree with the 90%. I currently have 2.1 and the sub adds a lot. Someday, I'd like to go back to three way with a mid driver.

[r-carpenter]

Re: Bang and Olufsen's new flagship BeoLab 90 speaker uses Scanspeak drivers

I can head and understand the lyrics, identify the instruments, at normal listening levels it is hard to imagine any speaker at any price doing considerably better.

you can do all that with Bozze clock radio.
Large speakers definitely have a lot of advantages over small designs if your objective life-like reproduction of the recording. It's not just frequency range (all tho it is important), it is also how virtual image is presented, dynamic range and a few other things.

[philthien]

Re: Bang and Olufsen's new flagship BeoLab 90 speaker uses Scanspeak drivers

I get what you're saying. Not sure I'd agree with the 90%. I currently have 2.1 and the sub adds a lot. Someday, I'd like to go back to three way with a mid driver.

Yeah I get your point, too.

I built my first pair of speakers before I was a teen and have built many since, as well as having owned commercial products from Speakerlab, Genesis, JBL, Boston Acoustics, KEF, Rogers, etc.

My current system is a 2.1 with a repurposed Logitech Z-2300 amp driving an 8" home-brew "sub" and two satellites with full-range (Faital) drivers.

And I guess my take is that when it comes to "normal" listening levels in a "typical" listening room, all the speakers I've built or purchased have provided about the same degree of listening pleasure. If there was any exception, it would be speakers with more limited bass extension like the Rogers LS3/5A (and a few pairs I've built).

[philthien]

Re: Bang and Olufsen's new flagship BeoLab 90 speaker uses Scanspeak drivers

you can do all that with Bozze clock radio.
Large speakers definitely have a lot of advantages over small designs if your objective life-like reproduction of the recording. It's not just frequency range (all tho it is important), it is also how virtual image is presented, dynamic range and a few other things.

Well you say on the one hand that large speakers have a lot of advantages over small designs, but go on to mention virtual image presentation, dynamic range, and "a few other things."

Please don't take this the wrong way but it seems like you started out strong there, but kinda finished with a whimper.

I acknowledge my sentiment is going to be a bit controversial in a forum filled with guys into speakers and especially designing speakers.

And I hope I've been around long enough not to be considered a troll for bringing up a couple of points...

BUT...

When it comes to "virtual image presentation," I'd say my experience in talking to others in the hobby, and reading a great many magazine articles/reviews, is that imaging is exactly where smaller speakers excel. Maybe it is because they lack authoritative bass and people struggle to find something positive to say, regardless I've rarely seen imaging cited as a reason to upgrade to larger speakers.

I'm not even willing to buy imaging beyond what normal L/R separation introduces. I was at a demonstration once where several people indicated "astonishing imaging" but when asked individually to define placement, there was little consensus other than very approximate left to right locations, nobody agreed on front-to-back.

Dynamic range, well, if listening at high SPL, yes. But again I'm talking about typical listening levels most people would use in their living rooms. Sure, sometimes people crank it but most people aren't running the dial at eleven all the time.

[donradick]

Re: Bang and Olufsen's new flagship BeoLab 90 speaker uses Scanspeak drivers

you can do all that with Bozze clock radio.
Large speakers definitely have a lot of advantages over small designs if your objective life-like reproduction of the recording. It's not just frequency range (all tho it is important), it is also how virtual image is presented, dynamic range and a few other things.

+1 - try a good orchestral recording on a 6 inch 2 way. Lots of compromises.