If you watched this video when it was released there was a section about the speaker wobbling on the bracket. Bang & Olufsen contacted me, there was a missing rubber part from the bracket on both our display models. So, to be as fair as possible, I have removed that section from the video. It was an issue with a small batch of early speakers, if your Beolab 8 have too much movement on the stands please contact your retailer and they will help you. John
Hello! Great review on the Beolab 8. I would like to add these later to my main speakers, which I planning to buy now. I'm considering the Beolab 50 to pair with my Beosound Theatre 77. But I am curious if i am overkilling it as Beolab 28 is half the price. I have tried both in the dealership. Beolab 28 was great with maybe a little too leaned towards the bass than traditional B&O's that I'm used to. When I heard the 50, the difference was immediately felt through its clearer soundstage, better balance, and more natural sounding experience. But I'm still not sure if I should get the 50 as 28 was quite great as well. My listening would be 50/50 between music and movie. I'm also kind of concerned that it's been about 7 years since the 50 came out and it would be replaced in 3-4 years whereas the 28 is relatively new. I would like to own this system that im buying now far into the future. What would you recommend between the two?
I have B&O speakers in my car and they sound very good. I heard them years ago and they are very nice sounding speaker but a bit pricey, I don't think anyone in Maryland sells them anymore
Not a fan of the aesthetic compared to kef but the idea of using find my to target a sweet spot is a novel and amazing idea!! I hope AVR manufacturers get on this. Imagine a sweet spot that adjusts the trims and distances for all 12 of your HT speakers in real time
Looking out for a gold/oak Theatre second hand and much below the current new price particularly as they most likely paid 26% less prior to September 2023. BL8 when available in gold/oak and if I replaced the BL17.
Very nice walkthrough John, appreciate you putting it together. In terms of sound, the big question: a pair of these or a pair of Balances? :) My initial impression after one listen is that perhaps the 8s in stereo are pleasant while the Balances are slightly more capable - note that I love the Balance for its sound too but I might prefer the Beosound 2 for it being so clean and warm. Some have compared the Beolab 8 to the BS2 in terms of sound signature. Bonus question: what if you add the Theatre to the mix?
Priced similar to the Balance, depending on finish. If used as Mozart platform speakers the Balance has an extra bass unit, more amplifications and goes slighly louder. For use with computer or TV to watch a video the Balance has a latency on all inputs. The Beolab 8 can switch to powerlink or WiSA with an acceptable low latency (like the Beolab 28). I find the sound of Mozart of the BL28 to be close to that of the Beosound Level and Emerge and do not justify the price difference. Over WiSA it is a very different speaker, fuller, richer and more worthy of the ticket price. I suspect the BL8 will be the same. BL8 and BL28 are more flexible and can be used in more situations. If you never want to use them with a video then the Balance, Level or A5 might suit better. If you use with the Beosound Theatre or a WiSA TV then you might consider BL17 or BL18 (no Mozart options). the BL8 are also lighter and smaller than the Balance. go for a demonstration and make your own mid up.
Mixed with Theatre they work really well. In regards to what is best, Balance, Beosound 2 or Beolab 8....only you can decide that, it's really subjective. Personally I prefer both Beosound Balance and Beolab 8 over Beosound 2. Purely as a stereo pair on sound alone I prefer the Sonus Faber Duetto over all of them! But I like the design of Beolab 8 and Balance. Each to their own. - John
balance are a tad beefier, and theres ways to get around the audio delay which would otherwise ruin them for tv/movies, my tv has a sync feature, as do 4k appletv and nvdia sheild, balance and 8 do slightly different jobs, if you have a tv and surround sound get 8s if you want something as a stereo pair only or single speaker and you prefer the styling go balance, but then theres a few things 8s can do that balance cant.... wisa and powerlink for example
@@sakaspuds Thank you for your input :). Sounds like my impressions and that of others so far. I am thinking more and more about the 8s as something in addition to my Balances rather than a replacement. But time will tell. I’m in no rush to make a decision.
@@sakaspuds I play from a PC. VLC has a sync feature but over the length of a movie it drifts. There is no sync feature on RU-vid or facebook. There is an extension for Chrome but I can't get it to make the difference needed. Over Airplay 2 it seems to work, but is a stereo only solution. Ideally I would like to use Beosound Level on battery with my laptop which is okay for audio but not for video with a delay of around 2 seconds.
Great video again, Thanks. You find the speaker that is best for your ears and then you go for the size and look to keep your wife on speaking terms. That's why I had for many years the beolab 3 as back speakers. I like to know how these compare?
I can only imagine the horizontal paten of sound distribution those vertical strips give. With B&O it's all about design, technically completely wrong. All that sound processing to try and make it sound better. I would love to see a professional independent measurement on this pretty box. I bet it measures really badly in most tests.
BL18 cover the drive units. The BL28 move them out of the way. I would have thought covering with wooden strips to be a bad idea but it does not seem to effect the Level or the Emerge which has a solid panel over the bass driver. B&O have always some design flare and that does cost over a simple looking rectangular box. Still do not quote frequency response. Even with people praising the bass is that because it is good or because it is good for the size?
Rightly or wrongly, Bang & Olufsen have always had the approach of, if it sounds good to human ears and makes you enjoy music then it's good. There are obviously measurements involved in development and I imagine that there is extra processing involved to get round some design elements. I suppose none of that really matters to people that buy it, if it sounds good to them, most people don't care how it was achieved, processing or no processing. It's not a product for everyone, but, it would be boring if we all thought the same. - John
Jan 2024 frequency response been posted as 28 - 23000 Hz where as Beolab 28 are 27 to 23000 Hz. No wonder B&O are so proud of the results from these small speakers. Figures are not everything and you have to listen for yourself.
Quoting ANY frequency response without a plus and minus dB is completely meaningless as are these figures. They rely on the fact that most people do not understand the subject. 28 Hz is simply a joke.@@geraldmcmullon2465
Had an ad for these pop up on my feed about a month ago. Thought they looked pretty nice, but was shocked by the price when i looked them up. Still think they look dumb choice despite the price.
Great video, thanks Peter. A question if I may, I would like to connect my ProJect turntable wirelessly to my beolab 8's - I was thinking a Beolab transmitter would be the best solution, but my dealer (here in France) says this isnt the solution. I have a feeling it may be a language problem as what read of the transmitter makes feel it's exactly what I need? thanks again
Hello Tim, I'm John (the host), Peter Tyson is the name of the company. My personal advice is to avoid the transmitter at all costs and find a way to use a cable instead. You'll thank me later! - John
Trying to change up my old beosound 9000 with a pair of beolab 3s. As I’m trying to slim down on cables and move to a more practical and compact digital placement I would only like to use my phone as a source to stream sound directly to the speakers without any additional systems between. What would a better choice be beosound balance stereo or beolab 8 stereo?
@@Peter-Tyson Thank you and how is the sound comparison in your opinion between the Beo products? I’ve listened to balance from a single speaker and it’s shocking how much power is in them. Beolab 8 aesthetically looks more pleasing with all the metal and wood. I’ll take a look at the Sonus.
Do you know if there will be an AppleWatch feature? Would make more sense as you would not have your phone on you all of the time at home @@Peter-Tyson
Beosound Balance has two bass drivers, so go a little deeper and more out put if you want it. They are not however the same type of speaker. Beosound and all Mozart platform speakers have poor latency including using Mozart on the Beolab 8 and Beolab 28. This is because of DSP and all the sound changing tricks to get that quality out of a "small" speaker. So they can't be used with a PC or television without lip synch issues. Airplay 2 users of Apple products might be better off as there is no noticeable lag on RU-vid from Apple devices. Beolab 8 (and Beolab 28) also come with powerlink and WiSA. The latency on WiSA is about 15ms (-15 to 35ms) and so no noticeable lag. With a WiSA transmitter (TV with WiSA or Beosound Theatre) they work perfectly with television and computers. They also scale up to full surround in 5.1 and 7.1 home theatre. I find that the Beolab 28 are a totally different speaker using WiSA to wi-fi (same source file, 16bit 44Hz from a CD). They seem fuller, wider sound stage, deeper just a league better. No idea why. WiSA is transmitted in the 5.2 to 5.9 GHz compared to wi-fi 5GHz similar technology. As good as the Beolab 28 are on internet radio and ease of casting over DLNA they are not worth the difference in cost to other Mozart speakers. Using WiSA they are. Beolab 8 also have choice of desk top stands, floor stands, wall and ceiling mounts. This is far more flexible than the Balance. If only interested in mono or stereo music and NEVER using them for video then what looks better for your home Beosound Balance or Beolab 8 because when you got them home it will not matter about how good they sound in comparison.
It's very subjective, only you can answer that. You can't stereo pair Naim Musu Qb2 so I'll assume you mean a single Beosound Balance or single Beolab 8. Personally I would probably choose a single Beosound Balance over a single Beolab 8. I prefer the sound of the Naim Muso Qb2 or the Naim Musu 2nd Generation over both. If you are looking for a stereo pair then Beolab 8 are very good, I personally prefer the sound of the Sonus Faber Duetto. - John
Mono, stereo pair (with another BL8), multi-room with other Mozart based speakers and using powerlink or WiSA part of a full surround sound home theatre set up with WiSA based television or a WiSA transmitter.
Beolab 17 31-24k 106dB, Beolab 8 28-23k 104db. 2 way compared to 3 way designs. Beolab 17 are available nearly new for a lot less but have not internet radio or streaming needing to have a Beosound Core or another streamer plugged in to the powerlink. Beolab 17 are a bargain and also very flexible in placement options.
@@geraldmcmullon2465 I already have Theatre and lab18s and I m considering 17 or 8 as the front L/R for my home studio,for that cases is 8 really worth double the budget?
There are a lot of amazing options for that kind of money, you're right. Beolab 8 really aren't for everyone, myself included. Some people have been waiting for a speaker like this from B&O for a long time. - John
Sorry you didn't enjoy it. This may not be the channel for you, I will never do 'sound tests' as in my opinion they are utterly pointless on RU-vid. You are hearing your headphones/speakers playing a compressed signal recorded from a shotgun mic in an open room. This does not relate in any way to how the reviewed equipment sounds in real life. - John.