Bang & Olufsen has just presented a new music system, the Beosystem 9000c. The content is remarkable in many ways. And so is the price.
The new system is a fully restored and reimagined version of the classic Beosound 9000 CD player from 1996, combined with Bang & Olufsen’s Beolab 28 speakers from 2021. Every single component of the 28-year-old CD player has been tested and cleaned before it was reinstalled in the player.
The system was shown off at a sneak preview in Copenhagen on Tuesday night, which we attended.
This is the second time Bang & Olufsen has launched a restored version of one of its classic products. The first was the Beogram 4000c record player, which after many years of the vinyl renaissance was rejuvenated in 2020. Now is the time to give the CD medium a new life.
“We want to show that a used product can be just as attractive as a new product, and that a high-quality sound system like the Beosound 9000 does not need to have an expiration date”, says Mads Kogsgaard Hansen, Head of Product Circularity & Portfolio Planning at Bang & Olufsen.
He does not want to go so far as to promise that the CD is on its way to a renaissance comparable to the vinyl revolution. It’s all about opportunity.
“Except thatshowing our commitment to product longevity, we also wanted to celebrate the renaissance of physical audio media that has taken place in recent years. Vinyl and CDs have become something special again, and people are investing time and energy into becoming more connected to the music and artists they love. It is about keep listening opportunities alive.”
200 copies
Bang & Olufsen has bought 200 copies of the original Beosound 9000 CD player and sent them back to the company’s factory in Struer. Here, the CD players are taken apart and carefully inspected by a team of service technicians who helped build the Beosound 9000 in the 1990s. The player gets a new look with a deep black finish that B&O calls Cosmic Black.
Instead of buying in and refurbishing speakers from that time, they have chosen to combine the player with active speakers from the current program. It is the Beolab 28, which for this occasion is manufactured in the same black color as the CD player. As you know, the speakers are active and have modern streaming capabilities. You thus get the freedom to choose between all types of signal sources and everything can be controlled from the speakers.
The old Beosound 9000 CD players have been refurbished component by component at the factory in Struer. By some of the same employees who built them in the 90s (Photo: Bang & Olufsen)
Playlist from 1996
These days, it’s normal to put together our personal light tracks for everyday life from an infinite number of music tracks. Not so in 1996. The Beosound 9000 was among the first to offer some of this freedom of choice, with fast switching between tracks on six CDs.
The automatic glass door on the Beosound 9000 opens and closes in the same smooth movement regardless of whether it is lying down, standing up or hanging on the wall. Two optical sensors and a digital timer constantly monitor the door, which opens and closes within the set time limit of 3.5 – 4.0 seconds.
Price and unavailability
The Beosystem 9000c Recreated Classic in Cosmic Black / Natural Aluminum will be available in a limited number of 200 units globally. The price is SEK 545,000.
A set of Beolab 28 costs from SEK 175,000, so if you’re wondering if that means Bang & Olufsen is asking SEK 370,000 for a used CD player, the answer is yes. It does. But in return, it is a used CD player that has been rebuilt by hand, component by component.
Ljud & Bild specifies that the travel expenses for this report were paid by the manufacturer.
(b. 1964): Journalist. John has worked for Ljud & Bild since 2013. He writes about hifi, speakers, computers, games and technology history. John has been in technology journalism since 1982(!) and has worked for many different magazines in various roles, including GEAR, High Fidelity, Computers for All, Illustrated Science, New Electronics, PC World and Private Computer. He has also written many books and educational programs on IT.
