Bang and Olufsen ultimate home entertainment experience: BeoVision 9 with BeoLab 5

CES 2007 – Today we met with the “haute couture” manufacturer of the audio and video industry: Kim Gravesen, President, and David Zapfel, product manager at Bang and Olufsen America gave us an extensive demo of the BeoVision 9. This state-of-the-art audio-video unit combined with the Beolab 5 loudspeakers delivers the ultimate surround sound experience one can dream of for a home theater. BeoVision 9’s digital sound processor is designed to drive the sound in up to 7.1 channels (the predominant format is still 5.1). You can connect up to 10 BeoLab speakers - our demo was done with 6 of them, but the results were breathtaking!

Indeed, they were using the BeoLab 5 loudspeaker, with its unique elliptical design (I love it). The “space ship” like form factor is driven by theAcoustic Lens Technology (ALT), which delivers a unique 180 degrees of horizontal dispersion that maintain a constant tonal balance in all locations, both from direct and reflected sound. Another exclusive feature is the Adaptative Bass Control (ABC): at the press of a button the speaker measures the acoustic properties of the room and adapts its performance accordingly.

The BeoVision 9 is a complete home entertainment solution with a 50 inch HD plasma TV, a powerful center speaker (with ALT) and a built-in Beomedia. It can be connected to other manufacturers set-top boxes, and has an integrated access to net radio, digital music, photos and the web. In addition, this intelligent device automatically adjusts the brightness and contrast to the ambient light using a dedicated sensor. You can navigate the TV guide, the music and photo files, control the BeolLab5 sound volume, orient the display around its axis, all from the Beo 4 remote control.

David Lewis, the designer, thinks that a TV is not an appealing object, so he succeeds in transforming it in a beautiful piece of furniture. BeoVision 9 is available in six different color combinations of silver, black, dark gray, red and blue.

BeoVision 9 has been available since December in the North American Bang & Olufsen stores.

Even if “B&O is for those who consider taste and quality before price”, we did ask for the price of this audiovisual jewel: $21,900 with the Beomedia integrated and $19,900 without (BeoLab 5 loudspeakers are not included).

Unlike the majority of consumer electronics manufacturers, Bang and Olufsen’s product life is 20 years on average. For music and image lovers, it might be worth the investment!