GE

geoffmartin

Bronze

112 posts

Posted January 12, 2024 at 07:19 GMT ? Edited January 12, 2024 at 07:25 GMT

format_quote

#706851

There may be some incorrect assumptions about what the terms "Frequency Range" and "Bass Capability" mean. I explained "Frequency Range" a long time ago in this blog posting: Hope that helps clear up any confusion. Cheers -geoff * It's important to remember that ABL protects the loudspeaker from clipping caused by over-excursion of the loudspeaker driver, or attempting to exceed the limits of the amplifier voltage / current or the power supply current. However, there is also thermal protection that pulls back the output of a loudspeaker driver to prevent it from melting the voice coil. If you play at maximum level for a period of time, the thermal protection starts working and the level will go down. So, the Bass Capability is the output level before that starts happening. If you're playing a sine wave, you can hear this behaviour as a simple ramping-down. However, since music & movie sound is much more dynamic, the behaviour is much more complex.

PLEASE READ before sending me a Personal Message. If you have questions about or problems with B&O equipment, these should be directed through your dealer and/or B&O's Customer Service department. I cannot be a "short circuit", bypassing these communication channels. Thanks -geoff

NQVHNWI

Bronze

1646 posts

Posted January 12, 2024 at 14:22 GMT

format_quote

#706861

GE

geoffmartin

Bronze

112 posts

Posted January 13, 2024 at 11:52 GMT ? Edited January 13, 2024 at 11:53 GMT

format_quote

#706874

There is no industry-wide standard for specifying the Frequency Range of a loudspeaker, so each manufacturer uses their own definition which allows (potential) customers to compare within a single brand. B&O has not changed its definitions for at least as long as the 20 years that I've worked here. (Note that this is not a new specification - I guess that it's just been newly added to the Beolab 8 page.) While it might be arguable that a single standard for passive loudspeakers is a good idea, this would not be applicable to active loudspeakers due to dynamic processing, which immediately raises the issue of which output level to use for such a measurement. (For example, when ABL starts protecting a B&O loudspeaker, it reduces the frequency range, if only temporarily.) I would argue that it's a bad idea to make an industry-wide standard unless it's generalised so much that it's useless. Consider, for example, the difficulty of creating a single standard that would be applicable to loudspeakers with very different directivity patterns: a dipole electrostatic and an omnidirectional loudspeaker. I certainly agree with your implication that it would be difficult/impossible to correlate loudspeaker sales with these technical specifications, which also would indicate that these technical specifications are not important factors for most of our customers. However, this does not mean that we should not make them public - we definitely should, in the same way that car manufacturers publish horsepower (despite the fact that most people only care about torque in most day-to-day driving). If our dealers (or their sales staff) don't understand what these specifications mean, then it means that there is a weak link in our internal education. I am one of the people who educate the trainers and develop the training materials to teach the sales staff. Of course, there are links in this chain, but our sales staff should either know what these specifications mean, OR they already have the resources to find that information quickly. That said, I completely agree with you that the biggest problem here is that our customers might make assumptions about what these numbers mean and assumptions are frequency incorrect. This means that I have a job this week to contact our marketing department to start figuring out how we can put an easily-accessible glossary on our website that explains the specifications so it's easy to find out what the numbers mean, and how they can be used correctly. This isn't as simple as it sounds due to the necessity of ensuring that it's available in a number of languages - so don't expect something to show up next week. However, I'm happy to spend some time here explaining how the measurements are done if there are any questions. That's exactly why I'm "allowed" to contribute to beoworld - to clear up technical questions and confusion. Cheers -Geoff

PLEASE READ before sending me a Personal Message. If you have questions about or problems with B&O equipment, these should be directed through your dealer and/or B&O's Customer Service department. I cannot be a "short circuit", bypassing these communication channels. Thanks -geoff

ZM

zmyslony

Bronze

8 posts

Posted January 13, 2024 at 21:49 GMT

format_quote

#706880

I currently have Beosound 2 and before I made my decision I have looked at the frequency range just to know which one of solo beo speakers is the best. Guess what? After listening to all of them, this one was the best sounding for my music mix. For me beosound has the deepest bass although balance and A9 on paper have similar specs. Comparison with horsepower is good, you can buy a 500 horsepower american musle car but 300 horsepower hatchbacks are just as fast and much more nimble and practical most of the time. And I have experienced it with beosound 2. I never use 90% volume nor deepest bass settings. It is just not practical in Real world to go full throttle. Most of the time I just want to relax listening my favourite music. I am looking at the Beolab range now, and I would also want to hear them all before deciding, but all other things aside, reading the specs one could think: beosound 2/a9/balance > beolab18 > beolab 8 > beosound Theater > beolab 28 Is that a thing guys? Considering specs only, and all other functions, stereo vs solo things aside. Reading just the specs: frequencies, 1m spl and bass possibilities? By the way Geoff it is so wonderful to read the thoughts of an artist about they work! I love interviews with movie creators just like I love reading Geoff thoughts about sound and Bang Olufsen has always been art for me while the others are just sound equipment.

SO

solidkd

Bronze

34 posts

Posted January 15, 2024 at 03:02 GMT

format_quote

#706905

Thank you Geoff, your blog just open my mind

Please Log In to Reply

You must be logged in as a BeoWorld member to post replies to forum threads.

Login

or

Join BeoWorld

Register to access the forums, reference material, and exclusive member benefits — including our monthly prize draw.

Become a Member

December 2026 Prize Draw

Gold Members Only

As a Gold member you're automatically entered into our exclusive prize draw — your chance to win iconic Bang & Olufsen products. A unique benefit of BeoWorld Gold membership, every draw brings a new opportunity to win something special.

View Prize Go For Gold

1st Prize

2nd Prize

3rd Prize