Beolab 8000 vs Beolab Penta Sound Test and Review 4K
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- Опубликовано: 27 июл 2024
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Steve from SoundsHeavenly.com reviews two of @bangolufsen 's most iconic speakers; Beolab 8000 and Beolab Penta. Also included are sound tests with original music from Marvel so that you can hear the speakers for yourself. Please check out Marvel's Facebook page for more of their great music: / marvelband20
Please use the links below to go directly to each part of this video:-
0:00 Introduction
3:43 Beolab 8000 - Sound of the Sunshine
4:59 Beolab 8000 - No Enemy but Time
6:18 Beolab Penta - Sound of the Sunshine
7:32 Beolab Penta - No Enemy but Time
8:48 Conclusions
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#Beolab #SoundsHeavenly #BangandOlufsen Наука
Steve from SoundsHeavenly.com reviews two of Bang & Olufsen's most iconic speakers; Beolab 8000 and Beolab Penta. Please check out Marvel's Facebook page for more of their great music: facebook.com/MarvelBand20 Every cable you will ever need for your B&O speakers can be seen on Steve's website here: soundsheavenly.com If these videos have helped you to enjoy your Bang and Olufsen products, please consider buying Steve a coffee at www.buymeacoffee.com/soundsheavenly - many thanks!
Hi Steve, I worked for an Independent Installer of B&O 22 years ago. One of my most memorable stories I have is about a client we had who owned 4 Pentas. He was a Priest who left the Church after his father passed away and left him with a multi million dollar inheritance. He left the church, because they demanded he use his inherited money to upkeep the church building plus they stopped paying him his salary etc. Anyways, one day the PA system at his church failed and he had it completely redone using his own money. His church building did not have an Organ so they relied on speakers to play the hymns etc. So he decided to Install 4 Pentas in his church, this all happened in the late 80s by the way. So for a good decade, all the music in this church building was being played thru 4 Pentas. He left the church in the late 90's and took the Pentas home with him. My boss who was the one who installed the Pentas at the church and then at his home, took me to this client's home. This was my second day at the job, so I never had heard Pentas before. My Boss knowing this, tells me that no other client he knew had 4 Pentas in one room and so this was a special place. He then looks thru the client's CDs and takes out Elton John's Yellow Brick Road, he looks at me and says "Are you ready?" I was only 20 years old at the time and had never heard "Funeral for a Friend". Needless to say I was brought to tears, I made a promise to myself that day that I would one day own 4 Pentas. I've owned 4 Pentas now for a couple of years and couldn't be happier. I plan on never selling these, they are staying with me till the end.
That is a great story, I once had four Pentas set up in the same room and the sound was just amazing. These speakers are certainly keepers, thanks for sharing this!
What an incredible story! Thanks so much for sharing.
We have a cathedral ceiling in our "cosy" front room with two Pentax's. Not quite 4 Penta's, but the ceiling makes the sound.
I imagine that sounds amazing!
Great story - shows how genius technic may rise life long emotion. I also 've had a very long story about Pentas -but it wasnt my first engamement - I was already looking for speaker that could match my unreal desire and heard them apparently 30 yerars ago when they were new in salon in B&O Singapore Raffles .
I was taken by storm but.... prize shifted my dream to far sky level shelf. Anyway it was that speaker that would make me happy by wiev and sound and I always kept it in my mind. Within years I made own system based on vintage separate amplifiers ans DIY speakers which also fills my desire but taking time and efford B&O would be for me economy solution 😄. Parts of my system are B%O turntable and B&O Ouverture which I also first time heard in Raffles B&O store.And 42" plasma screen I am fan of B&O too.
After 30 years in my opinion nothing more impressive by look than Penta was done by anyone.
Hi Steve! Thanks for another great video.
I'm going to go out on a limb and share my experience from selling and more importantly, installing, both BL Pentas and BL 8000s from the B&O Atlanta store back in the 90's. What I found to be true is that the best use case for either of the two speaker systems has much more to do with the size and shape of the listening room than almost any other factor in the long run.
The 8000s are extremely versatile. People that liked them in the store were rarely disappointed with them when they took them home. For the few people that were not completely satisfied, my colleagues and I found that we could almost always make them happy with a few discrete adjustments in room placement and tonal settings.
Pentas on the other hand required a lot more thought and effort to get the same level of satisfaction for a higher percentage of customers. This was not due to any inherent shortcoming of the Pentas! They are, as you clearly explained, the superior product but it is exactly that 'extra' that could make them far more difficult to correctly 'couple' with many customer's rooms. My lived history tells me that it is very important actively consider ceiling height in addition to room volume and surface treatments. The extra height of the Pentas allows them to energize a room in a very different way than the 8000s do.
The 'Cathedral Effect' is a very real thing!
I have installed Pentas into rooms where customers were very happy with 8000s and wanted to 'upgrade' to the Pentas in order to take advantage of their additional benefits but the actual performance in the room yielded marginal if any improvements. definately different but not necessarily better. Sometimes 'a bigger hammer' is not the right solution! Having said that, I can assure you that our Penta customers who had suitable listening rooms were VERY happy!
One other thing... BL6000s with a well chosen, installed and regulated active subwoofer are a force to be reckoned with in smaller rooms with less ceiling height. In that environment they were my 'go-to' recommendation for people that just weren't 100% sure about the 8000s because they listened at lower volumes or to more 'detailed' music.
In summary: Pentas and 8000s sound exactly like they look! If they look too big (or too small!) for the listening room they probably are. 8000s can often 'play-up' to a slightly oversized room but Pentas can rarely 'play-down' to an undersized room.
Oh well, that's my recollection of things so I am going to stick with it, LOL!
Thanks again for all that you do.
Thanks, that is a really helpful description - yes, I agree that when these speakers "look right" in a room, that is a good indication of when they will generally sound right. The Pentas are actually able to reproduce bass quite a bit deeper than their quoted 40Hz limit, which I think goes some way to explaining why they can be difficult to couple to some rooms as they can excite resonances within the room that smaller speakers wouldn't be able to do. That is a great point about adding the subwoofer, I plan to review Beolab 2 very soon, with both Beolab 6000 and 8000 speakers...
@@soundsheavenly I'm looking forward to watching your Beolab 2 review! We didn't have the benefit of an 'in-house' sub-woofer solution back then. My guess is that you will be surprised and delighted.
Remember this... BL 6000s were initially marketed (at least in the US) as rear surround speakers with Pentas or 8000s as the fronts. Their 'raison d'etre' was/is imaging!
Thanks, review to follow when I return from the B&O factory in a few weeks time!
Fantastic review Steve as always. I also have both brothers and couldn’t agree more with your assessment. I don’t know what my listening life would be like without my Mark 3 Pentas !! All the best Steve Alexander
Thanks Steve! These are great speakers!
I bought a pair of 8000’s after watching one of your videos….cables all came from yourself, I couldn’t resist adding a Beolab 2 and now I’m more than happy when listening to both music and watching movies, really made my tv and pre-amp sing….Thankyou for all your help - keep making the videos :-)
Superb! Glad the video was helpful, really pleased to have been able to help with your cables. Thanks for your kind words!
Thanks Steve for your very informative videos ! I owe a pair of Beolab 8000 with a Beocenter 2 and the sound is awesome. Keep on making those videos.
Thanks! These are great speakers, glad you like them!
I´m also lifelong B&O user and collector.I own 10 pairs of Beolab Penta speakers starting with Mk1,Mk2 and Mk3 and a pair of Beovox Penta too.I bought them all new as they came along on the market.I use them daily and just love the sound they produce and the way they look.I have also had,for a short time,other speakers but never got the same experience nor the need to change them into anything else simply because Pentas sound just right to my taste.There is nothing like having minimum of four Pentas playing at the same time and still getting goosebumps after decades of doing soo. Pentastic experience indeed. :)
Yes, I know what you mean, I also used to have four Pentas in one room and the sound was incredible!
Great work Steve. My sound lounge is also my garage and it's a really BIG room. 18 cars and 560 sq/m of open area. With my 9000 CD unit feeding four 8000's, the sound was good but nearly impossible to fill the space hjust due to the volume of the room. Now with four Penta Mk III wired together with your cables and the room really rocks. And yes, my neighbours are five acres away but still call up every now and then.
Superb! That sounds like a wonderful place to enjoy your music! Glad to have been able to help with the cables 😎
I remember being invited to the B & O launch of the penta speakers and they were amazing, a very big speaker but beautifully designed as you would expect, I ended up buying the 8000 due to the physical size and have owned for many many years and they are still stunning in looks and sound.
Yes, I was at the Penta launch as a teenager and I was blown away by them. Years later, I'm still excited to be able to own a pair, plus the 8000s that followed on later. Neither speaker appears to have aged and they still sound amazing.
Great review,i own a pair of Pentas coupled to a Beosound 3000 and Rega planar 3 turntable,the soundstage is amazing,i once went to demo a more up to date set up which had a scary price tag and the sound was nowhere near as good as my B&O set up,no intentions of ever moving away from my current set up
Yes, these are superb speakers, certainly no need to replace them as there is little that can match their sound!
I'm in the process of fulfilling my childhood dream of a B&O setup. Such an incredibly well made video. Pentas are the one I will go with.
Thank you! Yes, these are amongst the best speakers that B&O ever made, they look and sound superb!
Hello Steve, I made the following experience.I bought a pair of Beolab 9, but keept my old Beolab 8000 combined with Beolab2. After 2 month I sold the Beolab 9 again. For me the best sound from my Ouverture is the combination Beolab 8000 together wir Beolab2.
Thanks, that is interesting to hear. I also love the sound of Beolab 8000 with a Beolab 2, the subwoofer adds an amazing level of bass depth to these great speakers.
Hi Steve .. I own the Beolab 8000 set and loved also the 6000 .To a degree of buying 4 pairs ..Then i had the idea that i could mount a pair in top of the other ..So i open one pair and removed the cap or top ..And passed a power cable and also an RCA cable soldered to the base of the lower set.Now this speakers a curved aluminum .But there is grove ..So i bought an aluminum plate that i curved and inserted both speaker /The one on the bottom to the one on the top ..I also removed the base on the one on the top ..so i was able to connect power and audio .And you end up with a masterpiece ..A very tall pipe that spreads sound on the botom .But also on the top ..It really sounds like a Cathedral ..The sound comes from below as any 6000 will do..But now is also present above your head ....My dogs tipped my unit now so i have to repair both pipes soon .. I happen to connect them to Sony PS F9 fantastic turntable with preamp .Nobody in the planet has this set up ...Beautiful,functional and design.
Wow, that sounds like an amazing idea, thanks for sharing this!
Hi Steve, my great dream of buying Penta one day, but for my daily use Beolab 8000 MK11 doing better!
My passive Penta still sounds good to my ears. Two brothers are great for our music lovers. All the best with your trip.
Thanks! Beolab 8000 are perfect speaker for everyday use. Glad you like them. Full update on my trip to follow on my channel very soon...
Hi Steve I'm lucky to have Beolab 1 And the Pentas Pentas were bought in 1989 and the Beolabs in 2001 I have to say iv always loved the pentas the big warm room filling sound Has always appealed to me .the Beolabs have been a totally different speaker yes I liked them when I first heard them but always knew they were colder and more forward sounding I really didn't use them much because of that reason ,then going on various websites some people were mentioning they can take up to 400 hours to run in so I knew mine were not run in properly so playing them for many hours they did sound alot better but the real game changer came when someone mentioned how to adjust the bass ..midrange and the treble level of the speaker .Well well all I can say now is that they are very close to superb sometimes they can sound simply astonishing. I'm not sure why B and O made them sound quite cold and forward sounding when they left the factory but anyway I'm more than happy with them now ..😊
Yes, these are both great speakers, but with very different sounds. I love my Pentas, but I know lots of other people also like the Beolab 1 as well. You are very lucky to have both speakers!
Thanks for the video Steve! I have a pair of Mark II pentas I used for many years (donated to me via my great uncle in 2005 (1988 build date) for my digital pipe organ. They have produced a magnificent sound for my organ over the years (which needed a huge range of frequencies and volumes to reproduce its original sounds) sadly one speaker has died and I have brought a pair of 8000’s to replace it, I have already noticed a huge difference in clarity, although a loss in bass… i may need to purchase a 16hz subwoofer to meet my digital organs 32’ pedal demands, that which may be an svs system as its hard to reproduce such low notes (32’ low c) with even b&o subs…
These are great speakers, but getting 16Hz for pipe organ pedals is quite a challenge! Beolab 19 should be able to do what you need if funds allow
I love the bottom end of the Penta's they really are a powerhouse :D
Yes, they have a really nice deep bass
My God, the penta by far the best… 👍👍❤️😳 I like a good bass (strong but smooth)
Yes, I love my Pentas, I don't think I will ever sell them!
Thank you for video ! 👍
The Beolab 8000 weight is 20 kg: 10 speaker +10 stand :)
Thanks! I just showed the speaker weight in the video as the Penta doesn’t have a separate stand
@@soundsheavenly Thanks, that's what i thought :)
Super !!!
Thanks!
Hi Steve, this is a great video. Love the look of both but only ever heard 8000's.
How do the Penta's compare to the awesome beolab 28's? Would that be a closer match?
Thanks! Yes, the Pentas and Beolab 28 are very close in performance, I plan to compare them in the near future. The 28s hadn’t been released when I made this video
Hi Steve, love your videos
Any chance to compare Pentas vs Beolab 1's?
My dad has Pentas and I've recently bought Beolab 1's
I've fine tuned my Beolab 1 to have a little more low end, but still struggling to know which is better. Pentas are great, and Beolab 1 was supposed to be better, but are they?
Treble on Beolab 1 are superb, but kinda lacks mids and lows, but better if you fine tune them.
So an interesting video could be a comparison of the two speakers
Thanks! That is a video I would love to make, I just have the small issue of being able to get Beolab 1s and Pentas into the same room for testing, as they are rather large and heavy to move... Hopefully I can get this arranged soon!
Thanks Steve for this nice video. I have following questions:
1. I have options of buying these speakers but the used ones. How can I ensure that the person has not changed anything inside. My choice us Penta based on what you described.
2. Given that people use bluetooth these days, both these speakers seem to be wired ones. Is it the right choice to go with these old wired product? Perhaps wired speakers produce better sound quality.
3. My requirement is the watch movies on the television and these two speakers as a replacement of home theatre. Is this a right choice? Shall I connect with Smart TV directly or should I have receiver in between?
4. Do you think I should buy a Bose / Harman subwoofer for better experience along with Beo penta pair?
Hi, these are superb speakers, they can be used for music or movies and you can add a wireless music streamer if you wish. Quality is far better than other brands of sound bar in my opinion. Please feel free to get in touch at soundsheavenly.com once you have made your choice and I can help with connections
You always play those 2 songs in your videos. Are they on Spotify? Can we get the full version somewhere? I got some B&O speakers to test! ☺️
Hi, Marvel's music isn't on Spotify yet, but please contact them via their Facebook page linked in the video description and they can let you know how to get access to their music!
Thanks for the great vids u make 👍🏻I think it’s a little unfair to compare the two speakers. One little satellite speaker with 5.3 liter cabinet and one big speaker with 32 liters cabinet and 4 big woofers. Just my opinion 😊
Yes, I agree it is unfair on the 8000 as they are smaller but I think it can be helpful to anyone who is considering the speakers so they can hear the difference
Definitely 👍🏻
Hi Steve ,
An interesting video I own 8000 mk2 paired with Beolab 19 and a pair of Townshend super tweeters. Now I haven’t yet set this system up but I imagine the 19 will help hugely with the low wend and the TST will enhance the high end as they have excellent reviews in industry mags.
On this listen using a pair of decent headphones the difference between 8000 and Penta is quite striking .considering I nearly bought Pentas I can honestly say I glad I did not , ok I get what your saying about the volume size of cabinets which ultimately makes a difference that’s why audiophiles are hooked to colossal speakers that frankly don’t belong in most houses !! I could have fitted the Pentas Thu into my listening room as they are not overly huge and they have is it 12 or 10 drivers a speaker also ?
The Pentas yes had a deeper bass undoubtably, the high end I found warmer than the 8000 the Pentas sounded very rounded and I can imagine they would boot out a tune .
Having said that so can my Beolab 3 with a Beolab 11 I played “one of these days “ by Pink Floyd , always a great band to test speakers with and people are blown away with what these innocent looking little speakers can do , typically B n O
The 8000 I honestly found more precise and the music altogether tighter I’m not saying the Pentas were woolly but 8000 just seem to have a more precise sound and high end sounded more acute . I prefer the 8000.
I agree if you cranked up your Beocenter up to the full volume , a visit from the Council would be a formality 😂, I imagine the 8000 may become distorted quicker than the Pentas .
Having said that my Beolab 3 do not become distorted at very high volumes in fact my ears which are in good shape and the Bl3 even with their tiny cabinets handle ridiculously high volumes without any real distortion Bang and Olufsen I think are the original masters of getting ridiculously great audiophile quality sound from UNBELIEVABLY small speakers and cabinets ..
I’m glad plumped fir the 8000 I was kind of thinking I be kicking myself before I watched the video or should I watch it lol 😂 however glad I did and again Steve your a credit to the hobby and like many other B n O nuts can’t wait to hear about the Struer trip 👍enjoy legend mate 👏👏
As Andrew Robinson a audiophile legend also and a huge fan of bang and Olufsen said he first went into a bang and Olufsen shop and still does thinking “where’s the kit” 😊 ie the massive amps the size of Austin allegros 😂😂in his top ten speakers of all time he entered “anything Beolab “ apologies for waffling but hey great video
Awesome, glad the video was helpful! That is a great setup you have got there, I would love to try out the super tweeters one day as I've heard good things about them. B&O make some superb smaller speakers, good that you don't always need a huge speaker to get great sound! Looking forward to being able to share my Struer trip with you in the coming days...
@@soundsheavenly brilliant Steve must visit it’s on me bucket list ENJOY 😊
Thanks! Full report to follow on RUclips very soon!
I love the penta mk3
Me too! I will never sell mine ;-)
Hi Steve. My QUAD floorstanders blew another set of tweeters. I had a beautiful Yamaha A1 amp. Great system.
Waiting fo new tweeters I installed a good soundbar and removed the amp and speakers to storage.
I have been blocked from returning them to the lounge.
Her Indoors likes the soundbar. Indeed, she claims that it's just as good as the QUADS. The only positive is that the Samsung control operates it seamlessly, and the wall mounted installation does look rather elegant and minimalist, I admit.
Still, I hate soundbars.
Which got me thinking...
Now, under the circumstances, I am.unlikely to have a large budget approved by the Minister of Finance.
But I could get a set of 8000s. The room would, based on my research, be a bit overwhelmed by Pentas, and Her indoors would probably throw me out with them.
But 8000s ... I can swing that.
Now I need to find a good set in Australia.
Which Mark do you suggest?
I have a pair of Pentas in a room 8 feet by 8 feet - they take up virtually no floor space and they can play quietly when needed so they don't overwhelm the room. However, they can blow my mind at a moment's notice when I feel the need for their power! Beolab 8000 are great, but Pentas are a big step above them in my view...
@soundsheavenly I must agree. Weight and Scale requires Weight and Scale. The issue is that I'd never get permission. The 8000 series, I could possibly sneak through.
The other issue is the age of the Pentas. Spares, repairs. Difficult. I live in a small city.
And then there's the issue of getting them here. The Weight of each speaker exceeds the max conventional limit. When I had my big yamaha sent here, the seller had to remove the transformer from the case and send it separately!
As it is, how I could get such long speakers as the 8k series here...Would be an interesting exercise, I expect. Pentas...That would require a removals company. The nearest would be around 12 00 km from here!
I used to ask my wife for permission, now I go ahead and ask for forgiveness later 🤣👍🏻
I was given some Penta 2 Model 6623. They sound great but I just ordered the re-foam kit to re-foam the mid-range speakers. I connected them to the Pre-out of my Denon Amp. Sadly, the I am getting "no contact" on the Beomaster 5500 system which i was given with the speakers. It included the receiver, cd player, tape player and master control panel. Hard to find troubleshooting information for this issue.
I am sorry that I don't stock any B&O spare parts or offer repairs, as I just make cables. I suggest contacting Multi Care at www.multicare.org.uk for B&O parts or repair advice. If you need any cables for your B&O system once you have got this working, please ask!
@@soundsheavenly Thank for the reply, I will check out the link you gave me.
Hello Steve, I have Beolab 8000 mk1, use them for everyday use (connected by your cables on my TV, watch TV channels, TV Shows & Movies, RUclips...) but I'm thinking of buying Beolab Penta 2 pair of speakers?
What do u think? I occasionally organize parties and it's noticable that Beolab 8000 has lack of bass.
Second question, If I keep Beolab 8000, I want to buy Beolab 6000 and make surround speakers of them. What equipment do I need?
Hi, Pentas are a great upgrade, I would consider using them as your main speakers and possibly using the 8000s as surround speakers. Please feel free to get in touch at soundsheavenly.com with the full details of your setup and I can help with the connections
I am more happy for my beovox mc120.2 after trying beovox Penta and beolab 8000.
These Beovox are still great speakers!
The 8000s are more clear than the Pentas but the Penta seem an absolute full range speaker what would the 8000 be like with a 19 ????
Either Penta or Beolab 8000 will be transformed by adding a Beolab 2 or 19 subwoofer, the extra bass depth really helps!
Can you get Spotify through this speaker and how
Hi, yes you can! This is too detailed to explain in a RUclips comment, but please feel free to get in touch at soundsheavenly.com and I can help further!
Considering buying a Beogram 1500 and mixing it with Beolab Penta. Good choice or any other suggestions?
Hi, you need a music system or amplifier plus a phono pre-amp connected between them to boost the sound and control the volume. These are both great B&O products, please let me know which system you decide to add and I can help with cables when you are ready!
@@soundsheavenly Sorry I meant Beovox Penta. Is a music system still needed?
Yes, also you will need a power amplifier for Beovox speakers as well, as they don’t have an amplifier built in
Hello Steve,
In your expert opinion, is there much of a sound difference between the Beolab & Beovox Penta’s?
Hi, the key here is which amplifier you use for the passive Pentas. Hardly any B&O amps will have enough power to give them their full potential, so unless you can find a really good 150 watt per channel amp then the Beolab Pentas will give much better results in real world listening
How about in comparison to Beolab 1s?
Good question! I suspect that the Pentas would win that one but I will see if I can arrange to test both speakers side by side for a future video!
@@soundsheavenly they haven't got a great reputation, I wonder if that's true.
@@alexadams1836 There is an easy way to resolve that issue, please check out my Beolab 1 video for all the details!
I have both and I’d never sell my either!!
Good decision, I agree with you 👍🏻
Better penta or beolab 8000 with beolab 2 ¿🤔
Good question! That will be a good topic for a future video...
@@soundsheavenly I will be waiting anxiously....happy new year…🙂
@@user-gw5iq3ft7jThanks, also wishing you a Happy New Year!
Can you contact to a tv
Hi, yes you can connect either of these speakers to a TV! This is too detailed to explain in a RUclips comment, but please feel free to get in touch at soundsheavenly.com and I can help further!
Pentas are great but the asthetic design and looks of the 8000s can be beaten in a modern living room style
Yes, I think the 8000s are a great choice as they fit in so well with any home. Penta are superb speakers if you can find the right space for them!
Are secondhand mk1 Penta's (6602) worth buying. They are to go with my beocenter 9300. I have noticed they aren't powerlink like mk2 or mk3 penta's. Are they still a good speaker?
Absolutely! I will shortly be making another production run of the special 4 pin Speakerlink cables to let you use these amazing speakers with your 9300 system - please drop me a line at soundsheavenly.com if you need any help getting them connected to your system!