As a company, they could make the finest audio and video gear in the world, but visuals were always so important and for so many years, the tech was used to make almost impossible shapes work, like the slim active pencil speakers they made with masses of clever volume-variable eq in the bass and chip derived amps to save space. the old 'Ouverture' style head unit with sliding doors (it became a Beosound unit later without cassette deck) made for a very 'Quad like' preamp to drive active ATC's with I remember - slightly safe sound though, no real drama..
Their listening and viewing panels judged the picture and sound for 'comfort' rather than excitement.
Random models and sonic memories - The Beogram 1700 and derivatives with 20E or EN cartridge bettered a Rega 2, the 8002 (and I suspect the belt driven 6002 as well) was better than a Rega 3 and almost as involving as an LP12 (probably better in it's restrained way). All their cartridges seemed temperature sensitive though, so wonderful in this hot weather... I have a 'Gram 3000 from 1972 and with an SP12 cartridge, it's great and well sprung, if a touch bland sounding (not the cartridge i discovered as I have a half inch mount version of it)
Beomaster 1000 was the first I ever saw B&O - no power but nice sound, 4000 was generally excellent compared to jap alternatives, the 4400 was sublime in any regard and was sweet and open unlike the 3000 predecessors, 8000?, Beolab 5000 amp from fifty years ago sounded amazing into Sara's - yes, really, as all B&O amps were designed to drive 4 ohm loads with ease as part of the now disregarded DIN 4500 standard. Their tuners were sensitive and picked up stations with crystal clarity as a rule. They used the short lived Roe electrolytic caps though, which seemed to have short lives despite being sealed. Those in beo-amps bulge sadly and all need replacing as they often do in Quads of the period and possibly early Naim too.
Beocentre 7000 series sounded nice, the Jap made 2000 and 2200 family models were ok too but aren't judged proper B&O as they're not Denmark made. Final 9500 was good but earlier ones with similar styling (centre 9000) sounded pants to me. The 'Sound Century' was a good looking ghetto blaster (mains only though) and perfect for secondary use in the dining room or breakfast room.
The first 5000 stack system was crap, the 5500 rather better andmore powerful, the 6500 more refined and the final 7000 rather nice indeed. The fan cooled airways inside was superbly ducted and crafted, unlike an MF A100 we had in with a fan just basting air randomly rather than precisely where it needed to go...
They were one of the pioneers of multi-room, but earlier setups were pretty dire I thought and easily mis-programmed. Current installs should have sorted this out many many years ago now though.
They made some fantastic tellies too, some with their own design chassis and other good ones with modified Philips innards. The monitor style ones with Thomson chassis (3000, 5000) were horrible and the thrashed tubes went home in a few years. The 7000 had active speakers in it and many of their tellies had really excellent (for TV's) speakers inside. This carried on into the noughties but..... We had an LX2500 at home and I enjoyed the sound on this until our then toddler son slid it off the cabinet in a flash.. We still have the Panasonic CRT that replaced it, but the sound is horrible and when my ears are bad, it's very difficult to follow dialogue.
Their speakers range from seriously good to absolute well finished terrible sounding TAT in my experience! Too many to mention but ones I remember fondly are - 'Vox 1000 (could have been 1200 or 1500 but late 60's anyway), 3800's were Goodmans Goodwoods in drag with different tweeter, 5702 were similar to Celestion 66's but more compact and heavy. I loathed the phase corrected things of which Macca here has a top model which may be ok - we had the S80's often sold and they were cack, The cheapo X25's used to be available used for twenty quid but not now. Smooth sound and good top from the cheap cone tweeter. Pentalabs in people's homes always sounded ok but not so nice in the shop. the pencil thin models the same, 6000's in corners and 8000's along a wall. Don't knock 'em, just use as designed - wifey here wanted me to have some after the ATC 'fridges' but I just couldn't!!! The 4000 actives were good in anyone's book. Some of these changed names a few years after I left the B&O dealership (B&O forced my previous boss to give up other separates brands and go B&O Solus, so I basically had to leave or become part of the installation team as I couldn't be trusted to flog the stuff as the boss wanted all the sales for himself and locals didn't like dealing with the oily rags, preferring the boss, who was the B&O type!)
Their radios were fun too but 1970's ones were frail and clipped together with plastic studs I remember.
As of the early noughties and after I had anything to do with them, they went 'Solus franchises,' and staff were recruited from outside the audio industry deliberately. Prices went even further through the roof and looks went even more outlandish. The Dalek-like floor standing active speakers they marketed had good reviews I remember but no idea on the current stuff which looks odder than ever... Business suffered I believe and the firm is a shadow of its former self. My old stomping ground gave them up ten years or so ago, sold other AV based gear and when the boss retired, it became a Musical Images shop, which closed this Easter when the new landlords wanted to redevelop the block of shops and the garages behind...
I've missed loads out, but that's the basics...
