My new Bang & Olufsen speakers

[jinjuku]

After more listening hours with these B&O's, Im able to give more insight on the sound.

My number one complaint is the midrange. It still sounds "cloudy" to me, almost like if there were a blanket in front of the mids. (Ive checked the drivers and they are all original and hooked up properly.) As far as detail, these speakers display alot of the recording, probably as much as my Velodynes did. But as I said before, these sound warm and the uppermost highs are too recessed for my tastes. Even though the pentagon box was supposed to eliminate distortion, I still hear some and this is the cloud Im hearing. Its like everything is there, just too artificial and unrealistic sounding too me.

The imaging, depth, and width are wonderful though. I can pick out details easily because of this. The power response of these speakers is really good too. I can feel the distortion of the guitar in my shirt like at a concert, and I can walk around the room and still hear the music great in any listening position.

But I just miss that utter transparency and the "there" that was in the Velodynes.

If there is anyone in Arizona that wants to trade something for these B&O's, id be interested. Everything including the amplifiers are in perfect working order. Foam rot is just starting to develop on 2 of the 8 midranges, but there are foam kits and drivers available from B&O.

If anyone is interested let me know. But for now, Ill just enjoy them for what they are worth.

I am sure people will hop right on that...

 

[EYEdROP0]

Ok, havent been talking here for awhile. I relised I had to save some money and buy the refoam kit. So I went on a head-fi.org streak while the speakers were apart, picking up some Grado SR-125 on the cheap along the way. Had some fun with those...

The refoam went alright for a first time job. It was a bit messy because I was using tacky rubber cement, which got all over the place and dried quick. So it wasnt a clean job, but I made sure that none of the midranges would scrape. Everything sounds much, much better now. Ill upload some pics of the finished job soon when I get the chance.

Now that they are re-foamed, they really shine. The first thought I had while playing them was "Wow, this is high-end sound". The bass sounds very smooth and natural with just the right amount of impact. The midrange sounds unclouded, smooth, and much more detailed without being aggressive or forward sounding. The tweeters sound very balanced and clean with almost no sibilance. Running a frequency sweep dosent hurt my ears at all and sounds quite even. These things sound smooth all around. The imaging, soundstage, and depth are all very precise and big. These speakers dont fail to surprise me now.

 

[tmf123]

Replacement Grills for Penta's

Hi Camshaft,

I recently picked up a pair of Pentas (not sure what year they are) and they are incredible. I have always wanted a pair of these since I first listened to them 20+ years ago. I picked them up from an estate sale for $300. The only real issue I have with them is cosmetic. The grills are in really bad shape. They just sort of disentegrated due to age and rot.

Do you know where I may be able to get replacement grills for these?

Thanks for your thoughts!

Sincerely,
Tim

 

[TubeStack]

Nice deal.

 

[A/HTArchitect]

Thd???

Since when is THD measured on a speaker????
THD is measured on signal not a transducer. I.E. amplifier, or source. Most specifically amplification. More importantly THD is not the distortion that really matters since it is measured in the given harmonics of a wave, where unless its very high it would be very difficult for the human ear to hear or make sense of if it did. Intermodulation distortion is the only one that really counts since it occurs outside of a given harmonic and most likely to be the "squeaky wheel"
Let me know if you don't know what a harmonic is, especially as it relates to amplification. This post sounds like an electrical engineer run-a-muck, applying his "art" to sound reproduction. It makes it sound like he knows what he's talking about but the fact he even takes ANYTHING about Bose seriously really shows his lack of experience.
I had to run a B&O store for a couple of years for a former employer in NY, and the only difference really in mentality is their stuff is better built and more esoteric, otherwise they are manufactured to be sold without comparison to comparably priced equipment from the rest of he industry. Just Like Bose. They are sold as a solution for a specific type of person, not for their reproductive accuracy

 

[WaynePflughaupt]

Do you know where I may be able to get replacement grills for these?

If the frames are still good, it’s not hard to re do the grilles, with a hot glue gun and some grille cloth from a cloth store.

I had a chance to hear a pair of B&O’s back in the early 80s – nothing fancy, just regular 2 or 3-way box speakers, and they sounded excellent.

Regards,
Wayne A. Pflughaupt

 

[digitaljok]

Also, I have pdfs of the penta instruction manuals and factory service manuals. If you're interested send me a PM with your email. Also feel free to ask any questions at all.

Good luck,
Austin

Sorry to bump an old thread, but I can't PM camshaft for PDF manuals because I just registered.

I have a pair of Penta 1s that had foam rot (all 8!) and a buzzing amp on one side. It's at the local authorized repair shop right now getting worked on, but definitely want to avoid another expensive trip there in the future if possible!

Maybe camshaft will see this thread, or someone can forward my contact info: email me at digitaljok(at)yahoo.com Thanks! -Nathaniel

 

[fleelpNoulp]

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[cordobaman]

Penta 2 has a hum, even with no input connected

Great thread...! Hope it's ok to bring it back to life,

I've just acquired a set of Penta 2's. Unfortunately one of them has a hum, even with no input connected (It's the sort of hum you'd hear when if you put your finger on an input). Always there.

I have tried no input, speaker-level and RCA inputs and the hum is still there. Have even tried a different receiver. Have tried every position of the switches on the base. All components are plugged into the same electrical strip. The speaker plays fine...just that annoying hum.

Also, the green power light stays lit, even with no input connected. The other Penta turns on/off just fine when it detects a signal.

Any help or ideas would be greatly appreciated! Thank you.