We mentioned in an earlier post that we at Fillion have decided to dedicate an entire room to demonstrate products from the company Bang & Olufsen. But let me say that this company is in the business of much more than just selling products. They’re first and foremost designers who develop truly iconic pieces! The company has existed since 1925 and has no reason to be envious of the big boys. An example? Take for instance, the Beosound 9000 6 CD Player that came out in the early 90s. Truly a masterpiece of design and technology. Whether it’s mounted vertically or horizontally, lying flat or hung, you get to choose how best to position this audio system with its 6 separately playable CDs. It allows you to personalize your selection of favourite music or to assign a particular style of music to each compartment. Just one touch allows you change from one CD to another in an amount of time that’s no longer than the normal interval between tracks. I don’t know of too many products out there that are selling with just as much enthusiasm now as they did when they first came out 15 years ago. The Beosound 9000 is one of those products because Bang & Olufsen have a passion for creating icons that stand the test of time. The designers at B&O are at the heart of research and development – the engineers only intervene afterwards and are required to “fit” the technology around the design. In the end, what the customer gets is a absolute work of art, no less. Does this remind you of another company? Apple, perhaps? I think that there are definitely parallels to be drawn between Apple and Bang & Olufsen, as both companies have the same love of design and are often the first to come out with products that spark emotion, elicit everyone’s interest, and sometimes even, provoke debate. Is it worth it to pay more because something’s beautiful? Umm, it’s not just beautiful, these products immerse you in a complete sensory experience. Just a little acknowledgement in passing… The ubiquitous “wheel” that appears on the iPod and that revolutionized forever the way we intuitively search for and select music, was actually first invented in the 1970s by Bang & Olufsen. To be precise, it was invented in 1974 with the release of the Beomaster 6000, designed by Jacob Jensen. Having whet your palette, I’ll be going into a new icon from Bang & Olufsen, released worldwide and already on display at Fillion… But that will be in another post!
For more information on the history of Bang & Olufsen up to the present day, feel free to consult this site.
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