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Lee (and Keith),
Thank you for the time, money and enthusiasm over many years, rescuing the original site and helping make a wonderful and vibrant community Beoworld once was and still is to some extent.
I do completely understand where you are coming from and wish you both the best for your future endeavours and a proper retirement in Keith’s case.
I hope a buyer(s) can be found so the site can continue in some way to maintain the archives and forum, although I rarely use it these days but many still do.
Its been a great journey
Drew
Hi-Fi Wigwam is in its death throes and now Beoworld may have an uncertain future.
I need a lie down…
Hi Adam,
At least there is the new Maverick Hifi forum to replace the old Hi-Fi Wigwam Forum for our non-B&O audio needs 😉 This is at maverick-hifi.com in case anyone was wondering!
Hopefully BeoWorld will find a new owner and be restored to a new lease of life again soon…
Kind regards Steve.
I visit here little myself. Started to lose interest when B&O switched to high net worth individual pricing and became out of reach for the middle income earners who aspired, when B&O shut down its TV laboratory and wrapped Samsung and LG screens but kept the original suppliers wretched software and when B&O’s idea of a luxury streamer became a cheap plastic hockey puck with terrible software. It’s basically a speaker company with bad customer service and zero visibility/non-existent to the public. Can well understand why it’s not worth spending one’s time and money on. I remember visiting this place nearly everyday years ago and got so excited by B&O releases. Now, this passes me by. Well, I’ve not a lot to say that hasn’t been said or prophesied since the early 2010s. Thank you to all the people that kept it going for so long. You’ll be missed. RIP.
A number of very credible people interested in the site, so please don’t lose hope 🙂 Let’s wait and see.
Great to hear 👍
Meanwhile let us hope that the users of this unique forum will see the worth of keeping it alive.
Although important, it is not just about, who owns or finances such a forum.
It is about the daily applicability of the forum and about people using it….and participating in the threads.
Too many former users have already run away to other platforms and spend their time and – maybe even knowledge – there.
Even if some sort of ‘diversity’ is good – it will still be a challenge for the Beoworld (Forum).MM
I had to close a very modest website because of hosting costs. (No forum). No sooner had I done this that people came out of the woodwork who had been using the site as a free resource, and were really put out about the loss of the site.
It’s just reality. If Lee and Keith cannot sell Beoworld as a going concern then what next? A free transfer to B&O or to a U.K. B&O franchise?
Graham
Just came on here to ask a question, after a protracted absence, and saw this post, and would like to add my personal thanks and appreciation for all the work running this site over the years.
I’ve found it to be a very helpful and welcoming community, and I’m of course very grateful for my own prize draw win a long time ago!
It’s a real shame what’s happened to B&O, a sad shell of its former self, and that’s bound to have had an impact on their former customers and enthusiasts.
I do feel that, with some more intelligent and imaginative leadership, B&O could have forged a profitable path that remained authentic, but evidently that hasn’t been the case.
Like SAAB perhaps, a brand that resonated mainly with an educated affluent professional middle class (such as used to be featured in B&O catalogues!) that has been disappearing globally for some time now. Coupled with the tectonic shifts in audiovisual technology, that’s undoubtedly been difficult for B&O, and difficult for a community catering to their current and former customers.
But I’m rambling. I wish all involved all the best for the future and I really hope the site can be saved, in some form.
A few years ago, I to was sad to see the ‘demise’ of B&O, saddened by the lovely Avant being superceded by an alliance with LG.
Alas with the Avant, having spent £6K and with the unreliability that went with it ( 3 video boards just out of warranty) it all became an impossibly expensive proposition.
Now I have the Theatre, its a great product ( a few software bugs excluded) and I can change the screen for £1500 should it fail. The picture quality is way above what B&O could achieve in a superfast changing market.
Likewise, beolab 28, what a great speaker, sound clarity compared to the speakers of the age that some yearn for is leagues above what was previously possible.
Yes the preowned market has tanked , but thats due to rapid technology change not B&O, lets face it who wants to buy an Avant now? or beolab 8000 or lab9/20 unless its super cheap.
Times have moved on, im not sure what individuals expected B&O to do, but i think their product range is actually very good presently; sure the price has moved to extreme levels but so have motor cars ect.
Just a few thoughts
Forgive me if I am being pessimist, but B&O sooner or later will follow the path of Beoworld: being sold (for Apple?) and changing directions or be extinct: it looks that ir lacks direction, or worse, is going on the wrong direction.
Products used to have more appeal until David Lewis era. I remember the first time I heard about B&O in the early 2000s, in a Playboy magazine (I used to read the articles) hi-tech session about a Beoplay release, and entered the website: it was love at the first sight, the range looked like it was made for me (except the price tag). I had to wait about 12 years to have my first product: a Beoplay A2.
I wish luck for both.
I am pleased to announce that last Thursday, Lee and I signed a sale agreement whereby Beoworld is to be handed over as a going concern, meaning the new owners (Multicare Electronics Ltd) will continue the sites as they are today, initially anyway.
The sale will include everything that exists today on-line plus thousands of hard copy manuals, brochures and B&O technical/repair documents.
Under the agreement the transfer will take place over a period of up to 8 weeks starting last Thursday 15th February 2024. The first steps are for the new owners to setup their servers. The live forum runs on Linux, but everything else runs on Windows servers which also require SQL servers to be installed.
It is intended that during the transfer period the web site and forums will continue as normal, except for a period when the Domains (Beoworld.org) is transferred from our registrar account to theirs. Advanced notice will be given of the timing (Date & Time) of the Domain transfers and typically it could be up to eight (8) hours for the transfer to be completed assuming no issues are encountered.
After the transfer, everyone’s accounts will remain the same as today because all the databases will have been transferred as part of the process.
For me, this is a emotional period, given the years I have worked keeping Beoworld going, but I have accepted that it is time to pass the baton to others..
I would like thank everyone who has supported Beoworld over the years including you, our members as well as moderators past and present. I will be emailing all Gold and Silver members with details of the sale agreement. We still have 35 “Founder” members who are still paid up Gold members for which I want to offer a special thank you.
Regards
Keith..
Hello Keith
Thanks for letting us know about the proces, and great that a sale agrement that won’t affect. us users has come to place.
Thanks for all the great work you have done over the years.
After the transfer, everyone’s accounts will remain the same as today because all the databases will have been transferred as part of the process.
One thing which is not mentioned is if it will affect the member status/payment?
The reason for asking is that my membership renewal is coming up, and I would like to know if there should be any reason for not paying before the transfer to the new ownership?
Thanks in advance
One thing which is not mentioned is if it will affect the member status/payment? The reason for asking is that my membership renewal is coming up, and I would like to know if there should be any reason for not paying before the transfer to the new ownership?
Whilst I cannot speak for the new owners and their future plans, initially anyway everything will remain the same. HOWEVER payment is taken by debit/credit cards and as part of our agreement I will be cancelling our agreement with our credit card processor (Global Payments). When it is cancelled a message will be added to the web site asking members to pause renewal payment until the new owners payment system is in place.
Hi Keith,
That is great news, really pleased to hear that BeoWorld is safe and in the hands of MultiCare, a company I know well and trust with my own B&O repairs and servicing.
I look forward to continuing to support BeoWorld going forwards and to helping the site to grow under its new ownership.
Thank you for all the time, money and effort that you, Lee and the moderating team have given to this great community over the years, it is really appreciated!
Here’s to a healthy future for the site that we all love!
Kind regards, Steve.
Looking forward to Beoworld/the Beoworld Forum under the new ownership.
Hope it stays as open and accessible as of now.
A big thank you to Lee, Keith and all others involved in keeping Beoworld alive and kicking throughout many years.
MM
Just a quick note from all of us at Multicare Electronics Ltd.
We would also like to thank Lee & Keith for all the hard work they have put into the site over the years, not forgetting the moderators, subscribers and really anyone that visits the site.
Initially our plan is to keep the website and forums as they are with no major changes with how they operate.
That being said there will be some changes with the payments for membership, how we approach this is currently being discussed. It may be that we add the subscription as an item to purchase in our online store to facilitate payments in the interim.
If your membership renewal is coming up and we are not setup, will not remove your access until we have this up and running.
Our initial thoughts for some changes are as follows
The December prize draw will still be in place, we may adjust to 1st, 2nd & 3rd place with a view to having higher value items; this will be confirmed as soon as possible.
Membership may change to just two levels, one paid and one free.
The subscribers (whether paid or not) are what makes the sites possible, we would welcome any comments or suggestions on what you would like to see in the future.
Regards
Multicare Electronics Ltd
multicare.org.ukThanks Lee & Keith for keeping the site running all these years. Let’s hope Multicare can provide future success.
Graham
First my thanks to Lee and Keith for your marvellous work!
I hope you will stay around in this forum as members with so much experience.
Peter
PS
May your coffee always be strong enough for upcoming challenges!
Hi Lee, Keith,
Sad and good news then.
I have now been a member for 15 years and I must say that Beoworld has been a good part of my everyday life for all those years.
I know all the efforts you put into this beautiful project, and let’s hope that the database, the product section with the invaluable manuals and forum will keep going for a long time.
Does the Multicare person have a name?
Best wishes,
Jacques
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