Bang & Olufsen brings back iconic 6-disc CD changer from the 90s

[Shawn Knight]

Why it matters: After two decades of decline, compact disc sales saw a surprising uptick last year, prompting cautious optimism about the revival of this once-beloved format. However, one audio hardware manufacturer is already seizing the moment with a bold initiative.

Bang & Olufsen has announced the revival of a classic directly from the 90s. The new Beosystem 9000c music system features a fully restored and reimagined Beosound 9000 CD player that is paired with the company's modern Beolab 28 speakers for a "powerful listening experience." The speakers alone sell for more than $20,000 for the pair.

Mads Kogsgaard Hansen, head of product circularity & portfolio planning at Bang & Olufsen, said that more than showcasing their commitment to product longevity, they wanted to celebrate the revival of physical media that has taken place in recent years.

"Vinyls and CDs have returned to being something special, where people invest time and energy to connect with the music and artists they love," Hansen added.

With the Beosound 9000, disc art is front and center as all six CDs are visible under the glass lid, rather than being hidden away inside the machine.

This isn't the first time Bang & Olufsen has brought back a classic from its hardware catalog. In 2020, the company found 95 examples of its Beogram 4000 series turntable and "brought them back home" to Denmark for restoration. Each unit was fully disassembled, inspected, cleaned, and repaired where needed.

For its latest run, Bang & Olufsen secured 200 Beosound 9000 CD players and brought them back to the facility where they were manufactured in 1996. The six-disc CD changers with built-in AM/FM radio were fully disassembled and worked on by a team of skilled technicians – some of which helped build the Beosound 9000s all those years ago. Each was individually tested and fine-tuned to meet the company's exacting specifications.

The system also comes with a Beoremote One for control, although users can optionally control the player through the Beolab 28 speakers as well as via their smartphone.

The Bang & Olufsen Beosystem 9000c is being showcased at select company stores worldwide. Pricing is set at 50,000 euro ($53,553.30) and remember, the production run was limited to 200 units.

Permalink to story:

Bang & Olufsen brings back iconic 6-disc CD changer from the 90s

 

[Uncle Al]

Had a 6 disk changer in my old car and loved it ..... losing it was the worst part of buying a new car!

 

[yRaz]

The hi-fi audio scene is absurd and not in a good way. We've figured out the engineering behind good sound decades ago and have been able to manufacture stuff that competes with hi-fi audio equipment cheaply for nearly 2 decades.

Studio monitors(speakers that reproduce sounds exactly as they come out of the amplifier) are pretty cheap these days. I hear people talk about the "character" of their $20,000 speakers which is absurd to me because they're basically admitting that their speakers don't accurately reproduce sounds. To me they're basically saying "I like the way these speakers distort sounds" which, by definition, would mean they aren't hi-fi speakers.

You can spend $4k on a hi-fi setup that will rattle your neighbors windows and sound better than these $100,000. There is not another group of people that lie to themselves more than the ultra high-end hi-fi crowd. They also have the most arrogant elitists of any fanbase/hobby.

 

[ActualViking]

The hi-fi audio scene is absurd and not in a good way. We've figured out the engineering behind good sound decades ago and have been able to manufacture stuff that competes with hi-fi audio equipment cheaply for nearly 2 decades.

Studio monitors(speakers that reproduce sounds exactly as they come out of the amplifier) are pretty cheap these days. I hear people talk about the "character" of their $20,000 speakers which is absurd to me because they're basically admitting that their speakers don't accurately reproduce sounds. To me they're basically saying "I like the way these speakers distort sounds" which, by definition, would mean they aren't hi-fi speakers.

You can spend $4k on a hi-fi setup that will rattle your neighbors windows and sound better than these $100,000. There is not another group of people that lie to themselves more than the ultra high-end hi-fi crowd. They also have the most arrogant elitists of any fanbase/hobby.

Sounds like sour grapes to me.

For starters I have to say, that anyone suggesting anything made pretty cheaply competes with good or great hifi is either inexperienced in what that actually is good or great hifi, or has a definition of competing based only on numbers and not actual listening.

Now like with all things, there are some that have gone to far down the rabbit hole and are forever stick in a chase for perfection. However there is just no real competition between say a $500 system and a $5.000 one, with the later budget something great is possible and if one makes the right choices a $2.000 can also be great. If you spend more then it is a question about diminishing returns only, for some a great system is not just about the sound it is also about the look and feel ie. how it is like to interact with the system, how is fits with the decor and so on.

Just as there is people who pay much money for other fine things in life, there are those that like their hifi gear and I think it is great that they do that. That some are willing to invest benefits us all.

 

[TheBigFatClown]

The hi-fi audio scene is absurd and not in a good way. We've figured out the engineering behind good sound decades ago and have been able to manufacture stuff that competes with hi-fi audio equipment cheaply for nearly 2 decades.

Studio monitors(speakers that reproduce sounds exactly as they come out of the amplifier) are pretty cheap these days. I hear people talk about the "character" of their $20,000 speakers which is absurd to me because they're basically admitting that their speakers don't accurately reproduce sounds. To me they're basically saying "I like the way these speakers distort sounds" which, by definition, would mean they aren't hi-fi speakers.

You can spend $4k on a hi-fi setup that will rattle your neighbors windows and sound better than these $100,000. There is not another group of people that lie to themselves more than the ultra high-end hi-fi crowd. They also have the most arrogant elitists of any fanbase/hobby.

But that's the irony of life. I believe distortion was discovered by mistake from a damaged or faulty setup. And it just sounded "cool". Hence, the birth of Rock'N'Roll. Well, maybe it's not that easy but I'm just making a point here is all.

At the end of the day, it's "Different Strokes for Different Folks". If you got the money you can buy what you want. Let freedom reign supreme over all.

I personally think optical media is the coolest XXXX in the universe. I've burned many BD-R/DL+ discs. I just wish the XL versions were cheaper. Give me 1 TB BD-R discs at a buck a shot and I'll be happy for life. Or at least 6 months, whichever comes first.

 

[CrisisDog]

I still have a functional Sony five disc carousel, so hopefully I’ll be good for a while still…

 

[p51d007]

The best amps were the vacuum tube amps. You can oversample digital all you want, but it's still a digital signal. Old vinyl...but, having to flip the album and cleaning the record, replacing the needle etc.
Plus, I stream everything so I get a variety of music that I want to hear.
So, convenience trumps sound quality.

 

[yRaz]

But that's the irony of life. I believe distortion was discovered by mistake from a damaged or faulty setup. And it just sounded "cool". Hence, the birth of Rock'N'Roll. Well, maybe it's not that easy but I'm just making a point here is all.

At the end of the day, it's "Different Strokes for Different Folks". If you got the money you can buy what you want. Let freedom reign supreme over all.

I personally think optical media is the coolest XXXX in the universe. I've burned many BD-R/DL+ discs. I just wish the XL versions were cheaper. Give me 1 TB BD-R discs at a buck a shot and I'll be happy for life. Or at least 6 months, whichever comes first.

You produce the music to sound a certain way and you listen to recordings to hear the artists intent.

Sounds like sour grapes to me.

For starters I have to say, that anyone suggesting anything made pretty cheaply competes with good or great hifi is either inexperienced in what that actually is good or great hifi, or has a definition of competing based only on numbers and not actual listening.

Now like with all things, there are some that have gone to far down the rabbit hole and are forever stick in a chase for perfection. However there is just no real competition between say a $500 system and a $5.000 one, with the later budget something great is possible and if one makes the right choices a $2.000 can also be great. If you spend more then it is a question about diminishing returns only, for some a great system is not just about the sound it is also about the look and feel ie. how it is like to interact with the system, how is fits with the decor and so on.

Just as there is people who pay much money for other fine things in life, there are those that like their hifi gear and I think it is great that they do that. That some are willing to invest benefits us all.

We have DACs in cell phones today that are better than hi-fi DACs in the 80s. There was a period in time where amplifier and speaker design was an ART. It is no longer art, it's math. The math and engineering involved have been solved for decades. When you walk into a theater where money is no object, you don't see those $100,000 speakers that people talk about how great they are. The fact of the matter is that the loud speakers you see setup in concert halls or auditoriums have a more accurate sound profile than the "money is no object" hi-fi crowd.

And I'm going to bring Bose into this because what they showed is that you have an accurate sound profile of the driver then you can fix any issues on the amplification side of things. So what they did is bought a bunch of cheap drivers and just used math to flatten the sound curve then tuned the bass up a little bit. You don't buy Bose speakers, you buy a unit that is Bose sound. If you ever take apart a Bose speaker you don't habe a typical crossover in it for sending the highs and lows where they need to go, it's more of a unit that corrects for the inaccuracies in the driver that assumes the signal coming in Is flat.

Hi-fi is 99% marketing these days.

 

[passingposeidon]

The hi-fi audio scene is absurd and not in a good way. We've figured out the engineering behind good sound decades ago and have been able to manufacture stuff that competes with hi-fi audio equipment cheaply for nearly 2 decades.

Studio monitors(speakers that reproduce sounds exactly as they come out of the amplifier) are pretty cheap these days. I hear people talk about the "character" of their $20,000 speakers which is absurd to me because they're basically admitting that their speakers don't accurately reproduce sounds. To me they're basically saying "I like the way these speakers distort sounds" which, by definition, would mean they aren't hi-fi speakers.

You can spend $4k on a hi-fi setup that will rattle your neighbors windows and sound better than these $100,000. There is not another group of people that lie to themselves more than the ultra high-end hi-fi crowd. They also have the most arrogant elitists of any fanbase/hobby.

Not to mention that the listening environment is absolutely as important, if not more important, than your speakers. Give me a $1000 speaker in a room with $1000 of acoustic treatment in it, and it'll sound miles better than a $50,000 speaker system in some designer living room. And yet I am pretty sure B&O have no interest in selling room treatment, probably because they can't charge $50,000 for it.

 

[Underdog]

The best amps were the vacuum tube amps. You can oversample digital all you want, but it's still a digital signal. Old vinyl...but, having to flip the album and cleaning the record, replacing the needle etc.
Plus, I stream everything so I get a variety of music that I want to hear.
So, convenience trumps sound quality.

In other words, quantity over quality.

 

[user478318]

yRaz I agree with everything you commented on this article, however I'd like to add another issue except money when it comes to good sound, and that is living space!! I started investing in hi-fi pre pandemic, just before prices exploded, and faced issues with both classic stereo self-standing hifi speakers that have no room next to my large 55inch tv in my living room... Not to mention two cats that would have climbed on them and probably crashed em... I dont wanna even go into the surround bullshit 5.1, 6.1, 7.1 speakers where 99% of the people living on this planet just cannot implement that solution even if money is not in question

 

[BogdanR]

Not to mention that the listening environment is absolutely as important, if not more important, than your speakers. Give me a $1000 speaker in a room with $1000 of acoustic treatment in it, and it'll sound miles better than a $50,000 speaker system in some designer living room. And yet I am pretty sure B&O have no interest in selling room treatment, probably because they can't charge $50,000 for it.

Actually B&O used to sell speakers with motorized (!) microphones which popped up and were used to measure room response and adjust the sound via DSP. Last time I saw those listed they were somewhere North of £20k.

 

[passingposeidon]

Actually B&O used to sell speakers with motorized (!) microphones which popped up and were used to measure room response and adjust the sound via DSP. Last time I saw those listed they were somewhere North of £20k.

Thats great but it still doesn't stop room reflections. Yes its going to improve the sound but it's still fundamentally not going to make a harsh room sound good. If you buy a cheap calibrated mic yourself and get some free software you can also do this yourself in your room. Put the mic where your head is, run the software and voila. Nevertheless, the physics of soundwaves bouncing off surfaces and hitting your ears a second, third, fourth time moments after the first wave from the speaker hits it, cannot be cured just be doing something on the speaker side. Tempering those reflections through absorption and diffusion surfaces is required.

 

[Burty117]

Not to mention that the listening environment is absolutely as important, if not more important, than your speakers...

Very true, I have an assortment of speakers and amps, some brand new (Denon Amp and Wharfedale speakers) to some 5-10 year old setups (Audioengine HD6's, UltimateEars HyperBoom, Bose SoundLink Mini) to 20+ year old Yamaha amp and speaker setup.

That's just what I own at the moment, had other stuff over the last 20 years as well. One of the biggest fundamental hits to sound quality is the environment you're putting the speaker into.

Having the correct speaker for the job as well, the Bose SoundLink Mini has stuck around for so long because it just sounds good in most environments, while the Denon and Wharfedale setup, needs cabling in, the speakers need to be away from the wall a certain amount etc...

yRaz is right overall though, Studio Monitors are pretty cheap for how good and accurate they are these days, the ultra expensive stuff really is just some "legendary" sound engineer tweaking the sound to his own preference then selling it for a massive premium.

 

[BogdanR]

Thats great but it still doesn't stop room reflections. Yes its going to improve the sound but it's still fundamentally not going to make a harsh room sound good. If you buy a cheap calibrated mic yourself and get some free software you can also do this yourself in your room. Put the mic where your head is, run the software and voila. Nevertheless, the physics of soundwaves bouncing off surfaces and hitting your ears a second, third, fourth time moments after the first wave from the speaker hits it, cannot be cured just be doing something on the speaker side. Tempering those reflections through absorption and diffusion surfaces is required.

Indeed it cannot cure reflections but it is an essential first step. Besides there are a few things working in our favour. First is that people already have their rooms carpeted and stuffed with various furniture which will prevent echoes, standing waves or really nasty reflections. Second, most speakers will have some directivity so playing a little with their placement cures quite a lot of issues and could improve the sound significantly. DSP to tune the response of the system according to the room response around one listening position improves things further. Room treatment brings it all full circle, as close as possible to what the system is capable off.

Because you have to start with a good system. No amount of room treatment will get you 20-30Hz in a meaningful way for instance if your system can’t output it.