Product Review - BeoVision Avant 32 DVD Home Cinema System - Part 2 - March, 2002

Andrew Jones


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Performance

After watching part of the film, "The Mummy Returns" on DVD, my internal organs were probably just as rumbled as the actors running speedily from the nasty monsters on screen, and I think, overall, the sound quality of the setup was even more impressive than the television's video reproduction.

Picture & Receiver

With its excellent screen resolution, the BeoVision Avant's picture tube is in my opinion, one of the best, next to the one found in Sony's Trinitron set.

However, whilst the video reproduction is very good, the edging on bright colors is a little annoying. The tinted front glass shield on the set seems to darken the picture a bit too much, and that, in combination with the poor anti-reflective coating, causes me a little concern, considering this is a five grand telly.

Sound

Boom Boom . . . and yes it did indeed shake the room. The overall midrange and bass performance of this setup is so good, you can feel it . . . literally. I now know why the Bang & Olufsen salesmen don't offer you a cup of coffee until you have finished your demo.

However, try as I might, I couldn't balance the center speaker in the TV to give a more vocal presence to the sound. The high-end frequency performance was OK, but I've heard better. Perhaps a little tweaking would improve it, but I went on with other things.

Below and to the right are shown the specifications of the various Avant components.



The multi-faceted subwoofer (BeoLab 2) was as amazing a performer as it was sexy. I mean just look at it, it's been taken straight from the robot in the "Lost in Space" series. Although it really doesn't have much physical volume, it really packs a punch!

The Surround Sound Speakers (BeoLab 1s & 6000s) gave a good sense of space, atmosphere, and volume. Well, that's quite an easy task for a loudspeaker that's actually taller than you are. The BeoLab 1s were a whopping 184cm tall and have three power amplifier modules built-in. The BeoLab 6000s provided a reasonably good background feel, but without creating that true sense of realism, i.e. making me flinch to the side from time to time with surprise, when doors were being opened and gunshots were fired on screen.

Overall, a mighty fine sound setup, arguably and in my opinion, the most stylish on the market.

Price

I would have thought that this kind of prestige was definitely for the connoisseur or the super rich. Here is a breakdown of the system component costs: (Prices include VAT, survey, delivery and installation).



Conclusion

Not for the faint hearted or anyone with moths flapping from their wallets, a stunning surround sound set-up with a clinically smart telly in the center. However, I think a bigger screen is needed to do the sound justice, and all in all, it is a real music lover's system, perhaps more so than a movie lover's system. I wonder, do Bang & Olufsen do a budget range?

References

Paper - 26-29 August 2001, Aalborg, Denmark
Innovative partnerships and inter-organisational competence development elucidated empirically through two cases from Bang & Olufsen a/s
Morten M. Møller, John Johansen, Department of Production, Aalborg University, Fibigerstræde 16, DK-9220 Aalborg Øst.
[email protected], [email protected]

· Bang & Olufsen Catalogue – Feb 2001

· Bang & Olufsen Web Site – Feb 2002



- Andrew Jones -
 

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© Copyright 2002 Secrets of Home Theater & High Fidelity
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