marantz versus bang and olufsen

[james_audio]

hi all-

my boss, who is finally making good, wants to outfit his new house with a from scratch audio visual system. I have been recommending marantz with bose speakers for multi zone indoor and out application. he doesn't want complicated keypads in every room. He just asked if marantz was as good as bang and olufsen. He has a B&O system in his new york loft, and is impressed with it.

my opinion is that B&O is great equipment and very beautiful but only really applicable in loft and studio environments and that a component system as I described above is what he needs. He is not a classical music vinyl guy and the marantz and bose will be top of the line for his application.

Am I missing some other high quality brand I should reccomend? I think NAD McIntosh and Cambridge SOundworks may not be right for the music and movies he will be watching. basically I need supporting opinions to ensure him that he is getting the best system for him.

i'm not getting paid for this i just like audio visual and he knows it.
james

 

[Az B]

B&O makes some pretty nice stuff. It's very expensive and you can get others that sound good for a lot less.

Bose makes some really cute stuff. Sounds a little less than stellar and it's pretty expensive.

If you're really looking for style and function, I'd say B&O comes a lot closer than Bose.

If you are looking more for function and/or price is a factor I think you can do better than both.

Check these out for style:

http://www.artcoustic.com/index.html

I haven't heard them, but I bet they sound a lot better than Bose.

Meanwhile, if you want to give us an idea of budget, square footage, number of zones, etc, maybe we can make more specific recommendations. The more detail the better.

 

[Mudcat]

Back in the day - lets go back 30 years or so. Fischer and MacIntosh were the names to buy for receivers, Nakamichi and Teac for tape players, Thorens for turntables and then B&O for style.

I have always figured B&O to be a Danish version of B{L}ose. I'm only guessing, because there is a B&O store in Tysons Corner Mall here in Northern VA, that thing have not change much.

If your boss really wants a B&O, so be it. B&O does not have many options for HT though. Below is a link to the only thing that plays DVDs form B&O, and it costs a couple of grand. But with a little (very little) you'll be able to get much better performance and lower costs. Check out the systems guides here and work up from there. Put them in a spread sheet and get some B&O stats from their web site in figure where to place them in relation to the systems guides.

http://www.audioholics.com/showcase/systemguide/index.php

http://www.bang-olufsen.com/sw15494.asp

 

[jaxvon]

Rule #1: Stay away from Bose. They use cheap drivers and enclosures. They don't publish specifications like EVERYONE else in the industry. I'm not going to flame them more, but you get the point.

B&O Is definitely a good option. Expensive, yes, but definitely of high-quality. I'm not reeeeal sure about speakers and such, but you might also want to check out B&K Components. They have some interesting multi-room stuff. B&O is the prettiest though. In all honesty though, if he's going to do a whole-house audio system, there should be a control room. This allows you to centralize most of the equipment on racks and hide all the ugly stuff from people visiting the house.

And as AzB said, budget, size, etc. would be nice.

 

[james_audio]

there are two large rooms 20 by 40 feet that are living/study and kitchen/ dining with 15' plus ceilings and then two outdoor patios.

so far i chose marantz zs5300 amp and marantz cc4300 cd changer and he will be plugging his ipod in.

the speakers may be mostly in wall bose units with a couple of positionable on stand outdoor speakers per patio.

the visual may be a marantz plazma monitor and combo dvd vhs unit.

 

[Beegowl]

Boss buttering

Anyone considering a complete B & O AV system has a budget that should buy about the best sound available. In Houston several months ago, browsed the B & O store in the Galleria. Flat panel LCD TVs, $12K, strikingly designed audio components and speakers: expensive. All beautiful to look at, but these components scream conspicuous consumption, as do Rolex watches and Lamborghinis. If that's what the Boss wants and he can afford it, hey, he's not into sound, he's into impressing his high rolling buddies and their much younger girl friends: Go for the B & O.

If he wants a great AV experience, your Marantz suggestion is probably pretty reasonable. Bose? Well, no. Look for unobtrusive speakers with good specs and listen to them. Lots of suggestions on this and other audio centered website forums. Lots of speakers available with great sound, especially at a B & O price point. Call the local high end audio store, give them some idea of a budget and get recommendations. Also, consider an installation consultant. The general consensus is that room arrangement can make a huge difference in the quality of sound, so spending a little of the budget on correct arrangement should be money well spent. If the boss is not an audiophile, the implementation of your original suggestion probably is no problem, but just think how impressed he'll be with your audio knowledge when the finished system kicks serious audiophile derierre.

 

[james_audio]

i just talked to him and the marantz logic seems to work for him. he seemed puzzled as to why he would want to listen to his movie through the sound system and now wants a plasma tv with speakers instead of just a monitor. hey if he doesn't care about the sound coming out of the tv... OK.

any reccomends on plasma tv sound quality?

am looking into the artcoustic speakers for wall application inside, they seem like a nice clean design compared to some of the overly scultpted B & O stuff.

any suggestions on speakers for moveable outdoor application (might get drunk and leave them out overnite). They should sit on the ground without a big stand.

thanks for the comments saved me from going overboard on the bose equipment

 

[EAS1]

Budget?

If there is no budget and your boss wants the best of whats around - Here is what he needs:

Runco PL-61DHD (61" Plasma - Daytime Viewing)
Runco VX-5000d (Projector - Nightime Viewing/ Movies)
Stewart Firehawk 120" Screen
Lexicon MC-12 (Pre/Pro)
Lexicon LX-7 (7x200 Amplifier)
Lexicon LX-7 (5x200 Amplifier - Bi Wire the 3 Fronts and 200 to the surrounds)
Linn UniDisk SC (Universal Disk Player)
Triad Classic Gold (In Wall L-C-R)
Triad Gold (In Wall Surrounds)
Revel B-12 (Revel Subwoofer (he will need 2)
Crestron TPMC-10 (WiFi Touch Screen Remote)
RGPC 1200 (Richard Gray Power Company Power Delivery)
Audioquest (Interconnects)

That shouls wrap it all up. And just throw in some Energizer AAA's and your done.

Sincerely,

EAS1

 

[jaxvon]

WHOA THERE!

Your boss may want the best, but he doesn't need to spend money on useless snake oil!

Take a look around this site and you'll see what I'm talking about.

Specifically, in response to EAS1:

-Audioquest is overpriced. They also use very questionable techniques for their products.
-BiWiring: no one has proven a sonic benefit, other than lowered resistance.

Not so sure about the Richard Gray equipment. I know that Monster Cable makes some very respectable power conditioners that do indeed work.

There is no reason for your boss to waste tons of money on overpriced cables. Poke around this site for awhile and you'll come upon some respectable companies that offer top-flight products for real-world prices.

Also, I agree with the Artcoustic speakers. They do look quite attractive and have very good looking specs.

 

[Shinerman]

james_audio,

My suggestion would be for you to take your Boss to a good high-end audio visual store (NOT BEST BUY OR CIRCUIT CITY) and have a sales rep. show him some options and let him listen to some systems. Expl. what your Boss wants and let a Pro put a system together for him. No offense what so ever is intended but, it sounds like you may be in a little over your head and I would hate to see you spend a ton of your Boss' money and end up with a system that is sub par. If you are recc. Bose as an option for speakers, your Boss needs some professional guidance. Again, no offence intended, just trying to save you and your Boss time and money. You can spend a huge amount of money on a system but if it does not "blend" well to together, there is no point and the results will be crappy.

Shinerman