10/25/2007, 5:55pm, EDT

Thursday, October 25th

Bang & Olufsen debuts $600 MP3 player

Looking to establish its own class of portable music players with a device priced far above competing products, Bang & Olufsen has debuted a $600 MP3 player that the company claims has a "very clear and pure CD sound quality, due to its high performance on signal to noise playback," when compared to competing products. The new player, dubbed BeoSound 6, claims 40 hours of playback, includes a a stainless steel frame and features a black soft-touch lacquered surface and a black scratch-resistant glass display (with a resolution of 128 x 160 pixels). Included is a slim fit leather case.

Alongside the BeoSound 6, Bang & Olufsen introduced the the EarSet 2, a wireless, Bluetooth headset with two omni-directional microphones (that are placed 30 millimeters apart) and a closed cabinet and miniature speaker unit. The unit is supported by air vents and a bass port. It carries a price of $350. Also new is a BeoCom 4, a handset and base combination, asymmetrically divided into two halves that 4 comes in black, blue, and beige, has caller ID and call waiting functionality. It is also priced at $350.

Finally, B&O is offering the BeoLab 4, a self-amplified loudspeaker for attachment to desktop Macs and PCs. It is is approximately 8 inches high and 9 inches wide, and uses a normal mini-jack plug. The speaker is available in red, blue and black for $1000.

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128x160?!

10/25, 6:04pm, EDT

It may have good sound but that screen is way too low resolution. For $600 one would at least expect an ipod-res 320x240 screen and some kind of video playback…

LordJohnWhorfin

Good old B&O

10/25, 6:06pm, EDT

Hifi supplier to the wealthy, ostentatious and clueless. Nothing says brain-dead "nouveau riche" like a splashy B&O system :)

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climacs

B+O

10/25, 7:01pm, EDT

don't be so quick to dis B+O... they used to be the best game in town. I still remember the B+O turntable a friend's parent had. It was spring-loaded, you could give the unit a good hard whack with your hand and the needle wouldn't budge. Nice.

I don't really know about where they stand today... I'm not sure about their claim about the superior sound of their player, seems to me that you can't regain the dynamic range lost by file compression and that's why MP3/AAC doesn't sound as good as a CD when listened to on decent headphones/speakers.

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jarod

LOL

10/25, 7:01pm, EDT

Sure...ya...right away!

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cmoney

funny mac people

10/25, 7:36pm, EDT

don't you realize that's exactly what people used to say about the mac when compared to PCs? "bah, why would I spend $3000 on a Mac when a $500 PC is good enough?" or "why would I get an iPod when X player does this and that and has higher resolution?"

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derbbre

Sound QUality with mp3's?

10/25, 8:14pm, EDT

If you're listening to mp3's, you already don't care too much about sound quality. If this thing played FLAC or ALAC, or a similar lossless format, I'd believe in it. Anyone who's willing to listen to 128 mp3 files doesn't even know what a s/n ratio is.

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ClevelandAdv

Been there....

10/25, 10:59pm, EDT

I already have my $600 MP3 Player, it also has a phone, web browser, email, maps, video and more. Plus it looks cooler than the B+O device. (Oh and it will play lossless AAC or my 192 AAC files).

iPhone!

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bibbsy

smells like...

10/26, 12:44am, EDT

drakkar noir

this looks so 80s

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chrissyboy

4Gb ain't enough

10/26, 3:54am, EDT

Woohoo - 4Gb ;-) Bearing in mind you'd probably want high bit-rate mp3s with this that's, oooh, about 15 albums?

I love the copy from the website though! These guys are pure class: "If you find yourself in adverse conditions like an ocean squall or a New York subway car, you will appreciate the grip of the soft-coated back and the decisive operation of the large buttons."

And there's more! "And why not share your music with your friends, invite them to a party, connect the BeoSound 6 to a set of ... speakers and dance the night away! " Ok Dad...

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climacs

give 'em credit

10/26, 2:07pm, EDT

not once did the phrase, 'iPod-killer' appear in this article.

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