#beocenter

[stone-cold-groove]

From the classic audio files: a page from the 1982 Bang & Olufsen catalog.

[vizreef]

Beocenter 2800 (Denmark, 1978)

[formlab]

Beocenter 2800

[miesvanderho]

The yuppies in Xmas vacation have my beocenter sex machine!!! I'm a yuppie!!

[jet-teeth]

Ohhh I sure do have some Thoughts about this one! I'll put it under a cut because this is a long stream-of-thought ramble ahead, with lots of pictures:

First, as for why there is so little scifi design/tech sampling the industrial design look of this era, this is just my assumption but the rounded smooth-tech look fits a bit into a funny place culturally: I think "cassette futurism" has a lot of that tech-nerd appeal since it still has a very engineered look, aesthetic covering is minimal and there isn't much exploration in the variety of materials used, which also makes it fit very well into the "gritty" flavor of sci-fi which really seems to dominate a lot of our culture/is what seems to be the bigger interest The smooth, colorful and rounded shapes of that 90s/2000s era has this bubbly optimism about it, which I think is at odds with what the "cultural preference" is in terms of what kinds of stories are usually told in scifi (lots of dystopian stories, and a lot of franchises that have their aesthetics rooted in the 70's and 80s which have stuck around ever since.) So this might be one factor, another is that a lot of the "futurist" stuff from this era is often seen as "objectively bad design" - specifically I'm thinking of concept cars here, there seems to be a lot of hate for the 90s "jellybean era" and the sometimes-awkward futurist look of the 2000s. I think why we give this era a tougher time vs the older, more boxy cars, is because it lives in this odd overlap of sculpting/obscuring a lot of the engineered aspects, so it starts to put it into a different spot in our minds in terms of perceptions: it is now more of a sculpture, a rolling sketch, and the constraints the engineering/packaging of these vehicles can limit a lot in that respect (rules about safety have also kicked in by now, so all the crazy shapes like the tailfins and sharp corners of older car designs are not something that can be explored anymore.) The disconnect of intent and execution probably tainted this era of industrial design aesthetics, at least for automotive, for a very long time. Anyway, I think there are honestly some Vibes to be pulled from that era, so add automotive designs/concept cars to your search list, handled right I think some of the from language could totally work "Jellybean era" cars (90s): Izuzu vehicross (I unironically kind of like these, it's such a rolling sketch. There is Potential here)

Rando concept cars:

2000's "Futurism" industrial design:

Related vibes: B&O BeoCenter:

Which relates to the AIBO dog (the evolution/lineup of these toys is great ref too)

Additional mentions and thoughts: sure, the "translucent tech" craze is a very memorable aesthetic from this time, but I think there are more subtleties and common patterns to branch off this one We all think of stuff like this:

..when I think the "common thread" of a lot of the 90;s tech, toys especially, as well as phones and handheld gadgets, generally had this "overbuilt" look to them. I think that's more the thread to follow, since the translucent thing is just one additional color/material/finish choice that happens to be on top of this underlying trend in the shapes

(Everything very rounded, but also kind of tough-looking. Also, colors!! Maybe super funky graphics are another angle to explore)

Anyway, bit of an early morning infodump haha, but I hope you find this useful or at least interesting! Def made me think about it too, because it's true you don't see a lot of work out there that is inspired from this era, and especially not in any big media that I'm aware of

A robot from a world where the '90s never ended

The lore and story are good I promise

[llybaek]

My 10 year old TV gave up, so I replaced it with another 10 year old TV. This one is a whole different class of TV. I wouldn't have been able to afford this setup from new. But buying it defective and fixing it myself, it costed me almost nothing.

[ultimatebeo]

DE STIJL. BEOLAB 5000. 1988. Designer: Gideon Lindinger-Lowy Whilst being a trendsetter in their own right, be that through superb deign or technical innovation, B&O have also always been proud to communicate their influences and inspiration. And the Beolab 5000 is an absolute "purest form" example. A powerful and imposing wall-mounted active loudspeaker, it is a perfectly executed functional take on the classic Piet Mondrian abstract squares paintings from the modernist De Stijl movement of the early 20th Century. And they still sound beautiful. WHATS YOUR FAVOURITE 80s BANG & OLUFSEN LOUDSPEAKER?? SLIDE 2 - Lena Grummesgard assembles Beolab 3000 and Beolab 5000, Lemvig, 1988 SLIDE 3 - Anita Kjærgård assembles Beolab 5000, Lemvig, 1988 #bangolufsen #bangandolufsen #beolab #beolab5000 #coolspeakers #modernism #cubism #destijl #pietmondrian #mondrian #modernistart #beovox #beomaster #beocenter #vintagehifi #activeloudspeaker #wallspeakers #80sstyle #80sinteriors #retrointeriors #midmod #stylemood #hifispeakers #retroaudio https://www.instagram.com/p/CA2I_KGJBwE/?igshid=1r0pbcc8f0b47

[eightiesfan]

Bang & Olufsen 1985

[periodically80s]

[onlineantiques]

#bangolufsen #turntable #soundsystem #bangandolufsen #recordplayers #music #musiclover #hifi #stereo #beocenter #beocenter2200 #madeindenmark eBay item number 234103860966 https://www.instagram.com/p/CRwJHiYI1W3/?utm_medium=tumblr

[yodaprod]

Bang & Olufsen (1972)

[planetofneworleans]

Bang & Olufsen Beocenter Century (1993-2004)

[skynnexav]

Now at SkynnexAv bang and olufsen beocenter 2 dab version keep your eye pealed open 👀👀👀 shortly on our website #skynnexav #bangandolufsen #beocenter #beocenter2 #dvd #cd #iconic #design #art #sound #worldwideshipping #freedelivery #💶💴💸💵💷🇨🇳🇨🇦 (at Skynnexav)

[retroaudiophiledesigns]

Bang & Olufsen

[haverst]

Bang & Olufsen, Beocenter 2000 Hi Fi System, 1979-1981

source

Haverst on Instagram

[varshnarsh]

Bang & Olufsen, Beocenter 2000 Hi Fi System, 1979-81