:(So here is an update of the sound quality after at least 200 hours of pure music playback. Every time I have a listening session with these aluminium beasts; it is a bit like going on a rollercoaster ride! There is definitely the feeling that they are taking control of the listening room. These speakers produce a very exciting, wide open soundscape.
The quality of the bass response has taken a very long time to develop to what I now believe is it’s full potential. I would now describe the bass as punchy, full and deep. However; before the speakers had reached the 200 hour mark, the lower registers were very slightly restrained and possibly a little uneven. This issue has now been eradicated, and is no longer audible. The 3D soundstage is super holographic, with superlative width and depth, that comfortably extends far beyond the side and rear walls. I can also hear instruments taking up ghostly spaces, positioned well in front of the speakers, sometimes all the way up to the sides of my ears (DEPENDING ON THE QUALITY OF THE RECORDING). The treble is very well extended right up to the very top octave, stopping just shy before sounding overexposed. The midrange is truly magical with a very addictive ‘hear though’ ability.
In my lifetime I have listened to some seriously decent high end speakers like Martin Logan, Quad electrostats, Sonus Faber, Proac, Lowther, Castle Acoustics, Kef etc etc. However, These modified Beolab 1’s are among the most exciting loudspeakers that I have ever experienced so far. They appear to combine the best qualities of electrostatics (zero cabinet colouration) with the bass punch and grip of traditional box speakers.
I am now entirely convinced that I chose the correct size of bass reflex tubes, which were successfully installed into the front baffles. OK, so after modifications were completed, my recommended settings for the built in midrange, tweeter and woofer potentiometers is displayed below.
MIDRANGE TWEETER WOOFER
6 6 4
The very best results that I achieved, was when I used these modified Beolab 1’s with a traditional B&O Beosound 4 or 3000 hifi unit, connected to an Ifi Zen Blue V2 Bluetooth music receiver. However, when I replaced those with a Beosound Core, the soundstage width definitely becomes narrower, and the excitement factor is slightly reduced. The Beosound 4 is definitely the optimal choice, with the most holographic sound quality, even far exceeding that of the Beosound 3000.
I find it best to set the bass very slightly lower than the treble, in the settings of the Beosound hi-fi unit.
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((Please Note, that the original factory settings of Beolab 1 speakers are below..))
MIDRANGE TWEETER WOOFER
5 3 2
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