Hi Fi Systems - most beautiful CD player ever?

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Have you tried the guys at Zerogain? Google it, I can't post the actual link as its against the forum rules.

just googled it. looks interesting. ive posted a few times on avforum.

at82 - do you know anything about subs? i'm not a hifi buff so i'm worried that my cash will be wasted. i definately need a sub, but i'm not sure what to look for.

Reply 22

The Boosh

holy ****!!! ive just read on that site that castle no longer exist. is this true?

Reply 23

AT82

cheaper subs will have very slow bass which will just spoil the music, you will need to spend about £300 for anything musical.

Castle went bust a couple of years ago, they could not compete as even most high end speakers are made in china these days. It is a real shame.

Reply 24

Choad

i wont be impressed 'till someone has a set-up of these

http://www.bang-olufsen.com/page.asp?id=10

quite possibly for people with more money than sense, but they are ****ing good :biggrin:

Reply 25

AT82

All the B&O stuff I have heared has sounded quite awful :frown:

Reply 26

Sync

B&O looks nice, but that's about it. There are loads of manufactures that offer vastly superior equipment for a fraction of the price - B&O is for the fashion-conscious, not the audiophile.

Reply 27

gurk

Sync

B&O looks nice, but that's about it. There are loads of manufactures that offer vastly superior equipment for a fraction of the price - B&O is for the fashion-conscious, not the audiophile.

I beg to differ. B&O offers beautiful sound quality, and combines it with a sense of style that you can't find in any other high-end audio equipment. It may be overpriced, but the sound quality will match anything else on the market.

Care to name some of this "vastly superior equipment for a fraction of the price"?

i wont be impressed 'till someone has a set-up of these

2 x Beolab 1
2 x Beolab 6000
Beosound 9000
Subwoofer (Beolab 2)
Beovision Avant

That makes for truly impressive surround sound (for both music, and video), and I'd like you to find a non-B&O set-up that can match it.

Possibly the best thing about B&O is Beolink - having music playing throughout the house, all linked from either the TV, computer (FLAC, obviously =) ), or CD player with such ease is impressive.

Edit: The latest Beolab 5's can look very out of place, depending on your style of room, and B&O's current TV's are matchable in quality by other manufacturers, for a lower price (Though, the Beovision 4 is style incarnate) - but B&O are far from perfect. :wink:

Reply 28

AT82

I would bet that a Cambridge Audio A5 amp costing £120 new would probably at least equal a B&0 system when paired with decent speakers and source.

The B&O stuff I have heard just sounds too mechanical like Bose stuff does, it sounds like the sound has been engineered, where as true audiophile equipment adds no character to the sound.

Reply 29

Sync

gurk

Well, in my opinion, the likes of B&W will make a vastly superior sounding speaker. Every time I've heard B&O stuff demoed, it's been uninspiring.

Granted, B&O are more stylish than B&W (if we ignore the Nautilus). But nobody puts style over function when it comes to hi-fi (or at least, they shouldn't). And you've already stated B&O are overpriced. So, to my mind at least, there is better sounding stuff out there for the money. There again, hi-fi is totally subjective.

Reply 30

gurk

Sync

I don't see why style shouldn't be an important factor influencing what you buy, hi-fi wise - no less so than any other prominent item you plan on putting into your living room. After all, you'll spend quite a lot of time looking at it, and you'd like it to be aesthetically pleasing, wouldn't you?

Reply 31

Sync

gurk

This is true - it should be a factor, but not the main one. But I wouldn't say the likes of B&W are exactly ugly? They'd certainly fit in well with most modern living rooms.

Reply 32

noaksey

I think those manufacturers look at styling their products, obviously B&O wanted a stylish design. I dont think speakers are exactly all ugly... If you look at some Castle speakers, they're not exactly stylish, but should give great sound. At this point, I dont know the first thing about 'what to look out for in buying speakers'. Style...may come into it...