A nice modern looking upgrade to the Beolab 8000, who after 15 years of use still performs excellent in my home and hopefully for many years to come. Are the BL 18 worth the upgrade? Maybe YES or maybe NO. It's something to decide for yourself and your ears, as you did. Would I buy them as a first speaker? Yes, without exception. Not many speakers have there mid's so correctly in place as those two 4 inch drivers in a slender cabinet. For myself, I found it not worth the extra cash to upgrade, but that could be because I did not find it a true sound revelation like when the original BL 8000 came as an active speaker. Sounding as a much bigger speaker from only a 5-6 liter cabinet, those were great engineering skills from the last century. I really miss the spirit of David Lewis in the new B&O products nowadays. You made a very nice video of the BL18.
Thank you Chris! I am not sure what to ad because I totally agree :p although I must say that these always sounded good, but when I went from a beovision 10 to the eclipse it's like they became a totally different and better speaker. I was always a fan of the bl8000 but I really enjoy the difference in clarity with the acoustic lens on the bl18's. I still remember when the where first installed and played, I was in another room and voices where so incredibly clear with the door closed compared to the bl8000's. In my opinion they are probably the most recommendable speakers B&O has at the moment. I also agree that probably everybody that loves B&O misses David Lewis, what a legend he was.. Thanks for watching :D
the lab 8000 were the most costly design cost to that date, it took me and the other 4 in the amplification team over a year to develop the fitment in the cone base, i personally loved the project and i loved doing penta too, i wasnt so keen on working on the wall mounted ones, it was like trying to make an old redline passive better and didnt inspire me, pentas and 8000 will always have a place in my heart, not least with the 8000 as my hobby was and still is playing church organs and keyboards, the organ pipe inspired design of 8000 had me inlove with the project from the start :)
Both the penta's and the bl8000 are so iconic, thank you for doing such a terrific job on them! Could you go into the difficulties of making the amps fit? Now everything is digital so it's probably a lot easier, but i have a feeling you were part of basically inventing the wheel as it were :p Thank you for watching and commenting once again :D
not a problem, the biggest issue was cooling, every heat sink design under the sun we tried and safety thermal cut outs would kick in after 15 mins at half power, the original plan was they were to be 255watt class As which had been developed by us to go in a speaker code named octagon, it never went into production (its was too expensive and had dynamic problems on sonic test bench) 8000 was also supposed to have twice as many drivers to be closer to a penta replacement in a smaller package, we just couldnt push to that boundry in a cost effective way, so it ended up that we designed a smaller and cooler running 174 amp peak, with better mid range and compromised on just using only mids and tweeters, with the tech at the time it was impossable to match the initial brief, so it was somewhat compromised, but end result still wasnt too bad eh? ;)
ps with the 255 we could just make it fit in there but production costs were gonna be huge and warranty claims woulda been in the 1000s and we never would risk the reputation so basically it was played a bit safer in gerneral terms my friend :)
Hi Mikipedia! I have an option to pick up a Beolab 18 manufactured in 2014; are there updated versions of the 18, released after 2014? Or is it the same speaker as you would buy today? Thanks!
They are the same speaker, only change ever was a software update that made wireless connection more stable. but other than that they function exactly the same and it's not a change you'll notice ever unless you plan to use them with WiSa in a highly congested network area. Mine are older than that and I'd have no issue buying them with that age!
Hi Mikipedia. Thank you for a GREAT video. I recently purchased Beolab 18 with oak, and are a little dissapointed about the bas-capability. Years ago I owned the Beolab 8000 MKII, and what I remember, they were more powerfull than the BL18. At the moment I have a Sonos Port connected with phono-plugs . . .do you have any idea, if there could be an improvement with Transmitter 1, so that the BL18’s own DAC’s comes in use ?. I might pull the tricker on the BL19 in the future :-l
The bl18’s are definitely more powerful than the 8000’s ever were, had them both. Is there a way to tune the sonos part? The 18’s will never be bass machines, but they are better in every which way than the older 8000’s, so iam thinking it’s the sonos part. Also, what setting is the position switch set to? That can also make a big difference. Let’s start with that before we do anything else :)
Mikipedia . . .thanks a lot for the reply. The bass are there, but at 60-70% volume it sounds like the drivers are reaching there max. And the Sonos is at treble 0, bass 0. I will definitely experiment a lot in the future :D.
Urtossen you could always try and set them to ‘’free’’ too and see if that helps. Also it has ABL, so if the bass was really at it’s limit you would notice as the speaker would pull it back automatically. But if the bass is really actually at it’s limit then you are at the limit and either need a bl19 or bigger speakers :p
as an oldie and havnt worked for B&O for over 20yrs all il say is it well known these arnt supposed to be near a CRT lol, amount of time that used to go into speaker sheilding and now doesnt matter lol, ie the magnets on wooden slats lol, no problem with lcds lol, god im old lol
lol, I remember those days :p back in early school days magnets were the thing to make funny colours appear and hold it too long and you'd have ruined to screen :p the magnets are tiny though, I would guess about the size of a 1/4'' jack plug and about 3mm deep. these speakers are properly good though :D thank you for watching!
I am not exactly sure what you mean by that, could you expand on what you'd like me to do? I think they weren't on entirely correctly because later they went on and off easier. It wasn't me who put them on last before shooting the video :p Thanks for watching though :)
that very much depends on what you listen to and prefer and how big the room is honestly, the best combo would be a bl19. I wouldn't say it's ''needed'' in general but it would be an improvement. however if you put these is a +50m2 room you're probably better off adding either sub yes, especially for movies.
@@Mikipedia are you saying audiophile speakers have to do with art. So u paid for a wood rather than speaker. While u wanted a speaker. Lmao. Rembrandt and van gogh are good for what they are. That is PAINTINGS. That is most ludicrous way to compare.
no, I am not saying that. You are saying that it's only those parts that are worth while(if that), which is a silly comparison to make as paintings are only paint on canvas after all. If you disregard all the rest you're lacking the total overview of why they came to be.
@@Mikipedia sir i owned and own various speakers. And i know BO very well since i used to live in copenhagen and been to their facility too. An art is art. And figuratively not right. At end it is about sound signature for me. These are not full ranged speakers. And i am since in market. I am comparing against bowers and wilkins 800diamond range or dynaudio. As much i think BO does fantastic job. At end they just use class d amplifiers and small to midrange drivers. U can put chrome diamonds gold on it. Still wont sound better.
A nice modern looking upgrade to the Beolab 8000, who after 15 years of use still performs excellent in my home and hopefully for many years to come.
Are the BL 18 worth the upgrade?
Maybe YES or maybe NO. It's something to decide for yourself and your ears, as you did.
Would I buy them as a first speaker? Yes, without exception. Not many speakers have there mid's so correctly in place as those two 4 inch drivers in a slender cabinet.
For myself, I found it not worth the extra cash to upgrade, but that could be because I did not find it a true sound revelation like when the original BL 8000 came as an active speaker. Sounding as a much bigger speaker from only a 5-6 liter cabinet, those were great engineering skills from the last century. I really miss the spirit of David Lewis in the new B&O products nowadays.
You made a very nice video of the BL18.
Thank you Chris! I am not sure what to ad because I totally agree :p although I must say that these always sounded good, but when I went from a beovision 10 to the eclipse it's like they became a totally different and better speaker. I was always a fan of the bl8000 but I really enjoy the difference in clarity with the acoustic lens on the bl18's. I still remember when the where first installed and played, I was in another room and voices where so incredibly clear with the door closed compared to the bl8000's. In my opinion they are probably the most recommendable speakers B&O has at the moment. I also agree that probably everybody that loves B&O misses David Lewis, what a legend he was.. Thanks for watching :D
the lab 8000 were the most costly design cost to that date, it took me and the other 4 in the amplification team over a year to develop the fitment in the cone base, i personally loved the project and i loved doing penta too, i wasnt so keen on working on the wall mounted ones, it was like trying to make an old redline passive better and didnt inspire me, pentas and 8000 will always have a place in my heart, not least with the 8000 as my hobby was and still is playing church organs and keyboards, the organ pipe inspired design of 8000 had me inlove with the project from the start :)
Both the penta's and the bl8000 are so iconic, thank you for doing such a terrific job on them! Could you go into the difficulties of making the amps fit? Now everything is digital so it's probably a lot easier, but i have a feeling you were part of basically inventing the wheel as it were :p Thank you for watching and commenting once again :D
not a problem, the biggest issue was cooling, every heat sink design under the sun we tried and safety thermal cut outs would kick in after 15 mins at half power, the original plan was they were to be 255watt class As which had been developed by us to go in a speaker code named octagon, it never went into production (its was too expensive and had dynamic problems on sonic test bench) 8000 was also supposed to have twice as many drivers to be closer to a penta replacement in a smaller package, we just couldnt push to that boundry in a cost effective way, so it ended up that we designed a smaller and cooler running 174 amp peak, with better mid range and compromised on just using only mids and tweeters, with the tech at the time it was impossable to match the initial brief, so it was somewhat compromised, but end result still wasnt too bad eh? ;)
ps with the 255 we could just make it fit in there but production costs were gonna be huge and warranty claims woulda been in the 1000s and we never would risk the reputation so basically it was played a bit safer in gerneral terms my friend :)
Hi Mikipedia! I have an option to pick up a Beolab 18 manufactured in 2014; are there updated versions of the 18, released after 2014? Or is it the same speaker as you would buy today? Thanks!
They are the same speaker, only change ever was a software update that made wireless connection more stable. but other than that they function exactly the same and it's not a change you'll notice ever unless you plan to use them with WiSa in a highly congested network area. Mine are older than that and I'd have no issue buying them with that age!
@@Mikipedia Thanks 🙏
@@StefanMischook You're welcome!
@@Mikipedia So many choices; was offered a 20 at a good price as well! You can argue the 20 has better sound but I prefer the look of the 18.
@@Mikipedia by the way beolit 20 paired is pretty impressive.
Hi Mikipedia. Thank you for a GREAT video. I recently purchased Beolab 18 with oak, and are a little dissapointed about the bas-capability. Years ago I owned the Beolab 8000 MKII, and what I remember, they were more powerfull than the BL18. At the moment I have a Sonos Port connected with phono-plugs . . .do you have any idea, if there could be an improvement with Transmitter 1, so that the BL18’s own DAC’s comes in use ?. I might pull the tricker on the BL19 in the future :-l
The bl18’s are definitely more powerful than the 8000’s ever were, had them both. Is there a way to tune the sonos part? The 18’s will never be bass machines, but they are better in every which way than the older 8000’s, so iam thinking it’s the sonos part. Also, what setting is the position switch set to? That can also make a big difference. Let’s start with that before we do anything else :)
Mikipedia . . .thanks a lot for the reply. The bass are there, but at 60-70% volume it sounds like the drivers are reaching there max. And the Sonos is at treble 0, bass 0. I will definitely experiment a lot in the future :D.
Mikipedia . . .the position-switch are set to “wall”, even though they are nearly corner placed with 25cm to the backwall and 50cm to the sidewall.
Urtossen you could always try and set them to ‘’free’’ too and see if that helps. Also it has ABL, so if the bass was really at it’s limit you would notice as the speaker would pull it back automatically. But if the bass is really actually at it’s limit then you are at the limit and either need a bl19 or bigger speakers :p
Mikipedia . . . I agree :D . . . thanks !
as an oldie and havnt worked for B&O for over 20yrs all il say is it well known these arnt supposed to be near a CRT lol, amount of time that used to go into speaker sheilding and now doesnt matter lol, ie the magnets on wooden slats lol, no problem with lcds lol, god im old lol
lol, I remember those days :p back in early school days magnets were the thing to make funny colours appear and hold it too long and you'd have ruined to screen :p the magnets are tiny though, I would guess about the size of a 1/4'' jack plug and about 3mm deep. these speakers are properly good though :D thank you for watching!
Best way to undress it is to push from down to up.
I am not exactly sure what you mean by that, could you expand on what you'd like me to do? I think they weren't on entirely correctly because later they went on and off easier. It wasn't me who put them on last before shooting the video :p Thanks for watching though :)
der doesnt know what hes talking about lol, probably an expert thru watching a vid about old 6000's or something lol
He might mean, to push down from the underside of the grill. I do that, and it seems like an easy way.
Do you need to join a BeoLab 19 for basses or not ? 😉 👍
that very much depends on what you listen to and prefer and how big the room is honestly, the best combo would be a bl19. I wouldn't say it's ''needed'' in general but it would be an improvement. however if you put these is a +50m2 room you're probably better off adding either sub yes, especially for movies.
@@Mikipedia Thanks for your answer 👍
@@pascalkrzeminski7341 you're very welcome!
Beolab18 & plastic flowers.
The hidios wall of wannabe bricks doesent make it for B&O.
apparently it does, it's there isn't it? Also the wanna be bricks are in deed ''wanna be'' as it's a huge bass trap lol
9000 USD for two small drivers and a TWEETER!!! WTF.... LOL
Do you say the same about a Rembrandt or van Gogh?
@@Mikipedia are you saying audiophile speakers have to do with art. So u paid for a wood rather than speaker. While u wanted a speaker. Lmao. Rembrandt and van gogh are good for what they are. That is PAINTINGS. That is most ludicrous way to compare.
no, I am not saying that. You are saying that it's only those parts that are worth while(if that), which is a silly comparison to make as paintings are only paint on canvas after all. If you disregard all the rest you're lacking the total overview of why they came to be.
@@Mikipedia sir i owned and own various speakers. And i know BO very well since i used to live in copenhagen and been to their facility too.
An art is art. And figuratively not right. At end it is about sound signature for me. These are not full ranged speakers. And i am since in market. I am comparing against bowers and wilkins 800diamond range or dynaudio. As much i think BO does fantastic job. At end they just use class d amplifiers and small to midrange drivers. U can put chrome diamonds gold on it. Still wont sound better.
lol, how about an apples and oranges comparison. Those are 3x the price so those should be compared to Beolab 50's.