Anyone know Bohlender-Graebener...

[Xsound]

I am not familiar with this line of speaker. Just had someone tell me to give a listen. Curious if anyone owns any, or is familiar with them.
www.bgcorp.com

One claim that surprised me is that the planar drivers give a wider sweet spot. I had thought that ribbon type drivers had a more narrow sweet spot.

X

 

[Xsound]

No one with experience, huh?

Any comments on the dispersion characteristics?

The speakers are 4 ohms, and are between 88 & 90 dB, but the website says they are compatible 8 ohm receivers. I have some questions about how picky they will be on positioning. I did see somewhere that they make the drivers for martin logan. Interesting.

 

[JoeE SP9]

I believe they made the ribbons for the Carver Amazing's. They Also make a very high end speaker I saw reviewed in the absolute sound.

 

[VS540]

BG has been around for a while and as of late are making more news with their digital ICE amp's than speakers.

While I've never heard any of their products most people seem to agree that some of their higher end speakers are over priced for what they offer. Take that with a grain of salt though...

 

[InTheIndustry]

I am a BG dealer and thus am very familiar with their products. Very very nice. And yes, they offer a large sweetspot. Some of their higher end models are amazing because they virtually have no sweet spot at all. They aren't thirsty for power and are fine with an 8 ohm receiver. A $1000 receiver should provide enough power to even their top models. Of course, the more power the better !

As far as to "what most people are saying" I'd like to see how many "most people" have actually heard and listened to BG's high end products. They look great, sound great, and are unique. There aren't a lot of dealers out there so it may be hard to demo a wide variety of their models. IMO the reason that a lot of dealers don't carry them..... there's not a lot of margin compared to other more traditional brands and BG's demo discount program is one of the worst I've ever seen (they are working on this by the way). Why do I carry them? Sound wise I prefer them over the other planar brands out there. They offer a unique sound that is very forgiving to your room and seating arrangement. They stand behind their products with a lifetime warranty and offer strong customer support. I always know what my customer is getting when I recommend BG. I have yet to be dissapointed.


PS. You need to budget in a sub when going with BG. I always recomend a sub but BG is particualrly weak on the low end. They make a cool sub to though.

 

[nibhaz]

A BG review done by Audioholics can be found here.

 

[tedhontz]

bg speakers

I own a pair of BG Radia Z7 loudspeaker. These are on the lower end of their line but you'd never know it. They sound great! Company is goofy though. Their manuals are terrible. One model says 4 ohm and the other says 4 ohm (8 ohm compatible) which they told me one manual is more updated. Makes no sense. I have been told by many users they are EXTREMELY power hungry. I have an upper end Yamaha receiver with the 4 ohm switch and they've driven them without problem but beware as most receivers are not 4 ohm stable.

 

[chadnliz]

I own VMPS FF3SRE speakers wich feature the BG 53' midrange driver, I owned Electrostat hybrids, (Innersound Eros) which is similar to a Martin Logan Summit.
The VMPS with the BG ribbon offered about everything I really liked about Electrostats (which I still own in storage) but with a wider sweetspot and a much more dynamic sound. The sound more vibrant then say a Magnepan which I have also owned, Newform Research is a speaker maker who also used thw BG ribbon.

 

[silversurfer]

BG has been around for a while and as of late are making more news with their digital ICE amp's than speakers.

That is not Bohlender-Graebener, it is Bang & Olufsen.
http://www.icepower.bang-olufsen.com/

 

[chadnliz]

As with most if not all ribbons the Horizontal dispersion with proper set-up will give a average sweet spot of around 3 ft or so but have almost no vertical dispersion, but that is a good thing.

 

[Joe Schmoe]

They make some of the most beautiful speakers I have seen. No clue how they sound. Probably massively expensive.

 

[kappa546]

The sound more vibrant then say a Magnepan which I have also owned

care to elaborate?

 

[tedhontz]

I've owned 3 sets of BG Radia speakers from Bohlender Graebener. Just bought a set of Radia 520's yesterday believe it or not. All their speakers are way under rated and under priced IMO. Martin Logan's are said to be good but only for softer music. Magnepans and ML speakers are much more fragile. Bohlender Graebener speakers come standard with a LIFETIME warranty. Some will say they require expensive equipment to sound good. True for every speaker that better equipment will make them sound better, but they will run on standard receivers. If you plan to krank them, they will need a 4 ohm stable load at a minimum to avoid shutting down your receiver. Also, you will hear everyone say that they will need a powered sub. This is not a lie. These speakers, from the smallest set to the flagship model, don't have an ounce of bass. I consider this a plus. But, you WILL need a subwoofer to enjoy these with any kind of music. They also take a long time to break in. Double what the manual says IMO (100 hours). I turn them on at a low/medium level all day long. WWW.BGCORP.COM is their website.

 

[viking68]

I've had the Bohlender-Graebener Z7's, a Z5 for the center, and BG in-walls for rear channels and an SVS sub for a couple of years now, and they really are great! Currently have 'em hooked up to a Marantz SR8001 and have never had the desire to replace them. Cabinets are finished very nicely and have a small footprint - my wife even approves of them! This set-up is in a fairly modest sized room, and guests are consistently amazed with the sound, whether music or video, and shocked at how reasonable they retail for (I have the "unfair" advantage of being able to purchase them for considerably less than retail as I have an account with the local supplier). If you can find a place to check 'em out (easier said than done) I urge you to do so, particularly if your taste far exceeds your budget!

 

[tedhontz]

I own a pair of their BG Radia 520i's. The big 6ft tall ones. They are absolutely amazing, pair with the right subwoofer. I have a Fosgate Audionics FA15.0 sub and also an eD A5-350 subwoofer. This makes for an awesome combo!

Caution though, I've owned a pair of BG X3's and also a pair of Z7's and they've ran on a Yamaha receiver upper line series switched to 4 ohm mode. With the new 520i's they sound terrible on any receiver out there and must have a huge powerful separate 4 ohm stable amplifier.

I have a Parasound HCA-1500 amp running the pair right now and I couldn't be happier!

By the way, I got a pair of brand new BG Radia 520i's at an estate sale new in the box for $1300 for the pair!