The Beosound 9000 was first introduced in 1996 as a differentiated music system featuring a six-CD changer with built-in AM/FM radio which offered visual playback at the height of the music format's popularity.
Bang & Olufsen has sourced 200 units of the original Beosound 9000 CD player and returned them to the company's factory in Struer, Denmark. The same place, where they were first created from 1996. The CD players are disassembled and thoroughly inspected by a team of skilled service technicians, including many of the same employees that worked on the Beosound 9000's in the 1990s, using the original workshop tables. Every component is painstakingly cleaned and repaired, and once they have been inspected, each Beosound 9000 is individually tested and fine-tuned to meet Bang & Olufsen's exacting specifications.
"With our Recreated Classics series, we are showcasing how Bang & Olufsen's unique capabilities within sound, design and craftsmanship are creating long-lasting, circular products. We want to demonstrate that a second-life product can be just as attractive as a new product and that a high-quality item such as the Beosound 9000 doesn't need to have an end-date," says Mads Kogsgaard Hansen, Head of Product Circularity & Portfolio Planning at Bang & Olufsen.
"More than showcasing our commitment to product longevity, we 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. Longevity in design and the passion for music listening are essentially what we are celebrating with the launch of Beosystem 9000c. It is all about keeping listening choices alive," he continues.
Building on the original design of the CD player, Bang & Olufsen's design team inverted the deep black and natural aluminum finishes of the original colours of the Beosound 9000 system. The matching Beolab 28's are a world-first premier design featuring natural aluminum lamellas on the speakers with a Cosmic Black aluminum base that has turned surfaces of deep black, creating infinite depth and layers.
"We wanted to enhance the graphic edge of Beosound 9000 whilst maintaining the integrity of the original design. To do this, we introduced a Cosmic Black finish to Beosound 9000's aluminum back plate so that the CDs stand out even more as artworks which was Lewis' original design intention. This creates a stark contrast against the Natural Aluminium on the control panel, creating a bold and modern finish whilst referencing the 90's aesthetic of the original CD player," says Tiina Kierysch, Head of Design at Bang & Olufsen. "The result is timeless and showcases that even though the two products were designed in different decades, they become closely related through the application of colors, materials and finishes."
The Beosystem 9000c showcases Bang & Olufsen's expertise in aluminum craftsmanship. To achieve the various finishes, the aluminum has been hairline brushed, etched and pearl-blasted in Bang & Olufsen's Factory 5 in Struer, Denmark. All aluminum elements of Beosound 9000 are the original parts that have been re-machined and re-anodized to create unity between products despite being decades apart.
An Icon Revived
The Beosound 9000 was originally designed by the revered Industrial Designer David Lewis, who believed in slow evolution. Lewis' ideology was that any product should have a long life, both in desirability and endurance, only producing new products when the customer really needed them. His long and successful collaboration with Bang & Olufsen was due to their joint philosophy towards longevity by simplifying technology to champion original ideas and designs.
The key to Beosound 9000 is the idea of 'autovisuality' where basic functionality is exposed so that music can be displayed, and the user is 'in touch' with the music. According to legend, the idea came to Lewis when walking past a record store in London where six CDs were laid out in a row in the window. This inspired his concept of displaying album art linearly rather than hiding it away in a black box. The visible six CDs, the swift movement of the CD clamper, and the glass lid relate to the user, showcasing Bang & Olufsen's tradition for mastering technology in an innovative way with a highly differentiated visual design and aesthetic expression.
Bang & Olufsen is renowned for creating magical moments, and the Beosound 9000 contains several mechanical movements that surprise and delight in multiple ways. The CD clamper's linear movement is a complex construction allowing swift and soundless movement between the discs. It moves from the first to the sixth CD, holds it, registers the information, and starts playback within seconds. With Beosound 9000 the auto-positioning idea was not essential for the use of the product, but it added an element of magic so that users are always able to read the text on the CD.
The motorized glass lid of the Beosound 9000 opens and closes in the same uniform movement whether it is lying down, standing up or hanging on the wall. Two optical sensors and a digital time control constantly monitor the door which opens and closes within the set time limit of 3.5 - 4.0 seconds.
When users switch on the Beosystem 9000c music system, the curtains on the Beolab 28 speakers magically slide aside and the speakers are ready to deliver powerful sound. The position of the curtains indicates whether the beam width is in narrow or wide mode, staging the listening experience where narrow mode minimizes wall reflections and wide mode widens the listening area by diffusing the sound around the room.
The music system comes with a Beoremote One that allows users to control their entire setup but can also be controlled via the Beolab 28 speakers as well as a smartphone.
Approaching the Beolab 28s, the physical interface on top of the speakers lights up, which makes it possible to playback, skip tracks and control the volume. With four favorite buttons, users are encouraged to add their preferred radio stations via B&O Radio or a playlist from their favorite music streaming service. Wireless connectivity amounts to a choice of Airplay 2, Chromecast and Bluetooth 5.0.
The revival of Bang & Olufsen's iconic Beosound 9000 coupled with the resurgent interest in CDs combines the nostalgia for both past products and physical music formats. The Beosystem 9000c Recreated Classic in Cosmic Black / Natural Aluminum (RRP 50,000 EUR) will be available in a limited number of 200 units, now available.
www.bang-olufsen.com
