"Innovative Conservatism": The History of Bang & Olufsen
Bang & Olufsen is a Danish company that develops and manufactures Hi-End audio equipment, televisions and accessories. The company is 92 years old - Bang & Olufsen technology has been considered a modern classic for decades.
At the heart of the company's ideology is at the same time focus on innovation and preservation of traditions, faith in eternal values. This approach is applied both in design and in technologies - we will tell about everything in more detail below.
Photo by Jimmy Baikovicius CC
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Bang & Olufsen was founded in 1925 in the small Danish town of Struer by young engineers Peter Bang and Sven Olufsen. It was a time when in every country there was an active development in the field of radio engineering.
Peter Bang worked for six months at the American radio factory and therefore was aware of all the latest discoveries. Returning to Europe, he invited his friend Sven to open a business together. The history of Bang & Olufsen began in the attic of Sven's parental home.
First B & O Lab (1925) PD
Interestingly, the founders of one of the most popular technology brands of our time were very different characters and often quarreled - their “startup” was not at all a wonderful creative symbiosis, but rather the result of rivalry.
The only thing that united them was the desire for experimentation and the spirit of entrepreneurship. In this photo, Sven Olufsen is on the left, Peter Bang is on the right.
Peter Bang was a classic inventor who “fell ill” with the radio industry in the 20s, at the very peak of its development. He could work on a new idea 24 hours a day. Therefore, in the company he was engaged in technology and development.
Sven Olufsen was a charismatic and sociable person who loved innovative solutions and could find his own approach to everything. At Bang & Olufsen, he was primarily responsible for the business component.
Their first product was the Eliminator home radio. From many other receivers in the then (not very wide) market, it differed in that it worked from the AC network, and not from batteries.
Clashing different ideas and approaches, design and technology in search of a better solution is still one of the company's values.
In 1927, the founders opened a small factory in Struer - it still remains the main factory of the company.
The next in the lineup were tube receivers - 3lamper in 1927 and 5lamper in 1929. In 1938, B & O developed and launched the Master-39CH, the world's first push-button receiver. It was possible to switch between 16 radio stations on it, just by clicking the buttons - a great achievement for those times.
In 1939, the Beolit ​​39 iconic receiver appeared - the first product with the prefix "beo", which remains in the names of the company's developments (Beosound, Beoplay, Beovision) to this day. The end of the naming - “lit” - arose because the receiver casing was made of bakelite, the first synthetic plastic.
Peter Bang first encountered this material in 1924 in the United States, but could only use it to design his receiver in 14 years. The design, which became canonical, also came up with Bang. To create a white grille, his dynamics were inspired by the design of the Buick grille.
On the photo Beolit ​​39 / CC BY
During the war, production had to be suspended. The first factory in Struer was destroyed in January 1945 by local Nazi supporters for refusing to cooperate with the Germans.
But by 1946, production was restored, and the company again set the course for innovation. In 1946, Beocord-84U, the first reel-to-reel tape recorder assembled in Europe, went on sale. In 1950, the first TV model came off the B & O conveyors.
In the 60s, the company was left without its founders. However, at the same time designer David Lewis (David Lewis) came to B & O - he developed some iconic models (Beocord VX-5000, Beolab-6000 and others). Lewis became the leading B & O designer in the early 80s. Three of the models he designed for Bang & Olufsen are now included in the permanent collection of the Museum of Modern Art in New York. For his outstanding work in 2002, Lewis was awarded the title of knight in Denmark.
In the 1990s, the company almost ceased to cooperate with major retailers, opened its boutiques and began selling equipment directly to consumers. The product line began to expand - the company began to produce not only audio equipment, but also TVs, mobile phones, MP3-players and so on.
These plans came to an end during the crisis of 2008 - revenues and stock prices began to fall, the company went through restructuring and layoffs. Now the main direction of work of B & O - Hi-End audio and video systems, as well as audio for high-end cars. Bang & Olufsen audio systems are installed on many Audi, BMW and Mercedes-Benz models.
Aesthetics - one of the main advantages of Bang & Olufsen. This is recognized not only by fans of Hi-End technology, but also by art lovers. For example, in 1978, the Museum of Modern Art in New York made an exhibition of Bang & Olufsen products - only 5 companies arranged this for the whole history (the exhibition was dedicated to another outstanding industrial designer who collaborated with B & O, Jacob Jensen , and was called Design for Sound from Jacob Jensen ").
This direction was also taken by the company's founders - when developing the design of their receivers, they were guided not only by pure functionality, but also by aesthetics and convenience. For example, they were inspired by current trends in interior design and tried to come up with a receiver that would complement the look of the living room.
Now one of the most memorable features of Bang & Olufsen products (and at the same time the ground for criticism) is a retro-futuristic design that resembles a props for sci-fi movies.
Touch and feel is another important component of the Bang & Olufsen identity. Each item - from the audio system and the TV to the portable speaker or headphones - is made with great attention to detail, to how this item will exist in the user's life since the opening of the box.
Now Bang & Olufsen releases an interesting podcast about sound in the broadest possible sense - the authors claim that the person actually knows very little about the sounds that surround him. They study the “noise space”: how and what we listen to, tell stories about sound, describe interesting ideas, inventions and possibilities of the audio world. In 2017, the podcast was awarded the British Podcast Awards.
More “historical” materials in our “Hi-Fi World”:
Audiomania is an authorized Bang & Olufsen dealer. Bang & Olufsen special offers as part of our grand New Year sale (lasting January 9, 2018).
At the heart of the company's ideology is at the same time focus on innovation and preservation of traditions, faith in eternal values. This approach is applied both in design and in technologies - we will tell about everything in more detail below.
Photo by Jimmy Baikovicius CC
')
Start
Bang & Olufsen was founded in 1925 in the small Danish town of Struer by young engineers Peter Bang and Sven Olufsen. It was a time when in every country there was an active development in the field of radio engineering.
Peter Bang worked for six months at the American radio factory and therefore was aware of all the latest discoveries. Returning to Europe, he invited his friend Sven to open a business together. The history of Bang & Olufsen began in the attic of Sven's parental home.
First B & O Lab (1925) PD
Interestingly, the founders of one of the most popular technology brands of our time were very different characters and often quarreled - their “startup” was not at all a wonderful creative symbiosis, but rather the result of rivalry.
The only thing that united them was the desire for experimentation and the spirit of entrepreneurship. In this photo, Sven Olufsen is on the left, Peter Bang is on the right.
Peter Bang was a classic inventor who “fell ill” with the radio industry in the 20s, at the very peak of its development. He could work on a new idea 24 hours a day. Therefore, in the company he was engaged in technology and development.
Sven Olufsen was a charismatic and sociable person who loved innovative solutions and could find his own approach to everything. At Bang & Olufsen, he was primarily responsible for the business component.
Their first product was the Eliminator home radio. From many other receivers in the then (not very wide) market, it differed in that it worked from the AC network, and not from batteries.
Clashing different ideas and approaches, design and technology in search of a better solution is still one of the company's values.
Bright future
In 1927, the founders opened a small factory in Struer - it still remains the main factory of the company.
The next in the lineup were tube receivers - 3lamper in 1927 and 5lamper in 1929. In 1938, B & O developed and launched the Master-39CH, the world's first push-button receiver. It was possible to switch between 16 radio stations on it, just by clicking the buttons - a great achievement for those times.
In 1939, the Beolit ​​39 iconic receiver appeared - the first product with the prefix "beo", which remains in the names of the company's developments (Beosound, Beoplay, Beovision) to this day. The end of the naming - “lit” - arose because the receiver casing was made of bakelite, the first synthetic plastic.
Peter Bang first encountered this material in 1924 in the United States, but could only use it to design his receiver in 14 years. The design, which became canonical, also came up with Bang. To create a white grille, his dynamics were inspired by the design of the Buick grille.
On the photo Beolit ​​39 / CC BY
During the war, production had to be suspended. The first factory in Struer was destroyed in January 1945 by local Nazi supporters for refusing to cooperate with the Germans.
But by 1946, production was restored, and the company again set the course for innovation. In 1946, Beocord-84U, the first reel-to-reel tape recorder assembled in Europe, went on sale. In 1950, the first TV model came off the B & O conveyors.
In the 60s, the company was left without its founders. However, at the same time designer David Lewis (David Lewis) came to B & O - he developed some iconic models (Beocord VX-5000, Beolab-6000 and others). Lewis became the leading B & O designer in the early 80s. Three of the models he designed for Bang & Olufsen are now included in the permanent collection of the Museum of Modern Art in New York. For his outstanding work in 2002, Lewis was awarded the title of knight in Denmark.
In the 1990s, the company almost ceased to cooperate with major retailers, opened its boutiques and began selling equipment directly to consumers. The product line began to expand - the company began to produce not only audio equipment, but also TVs, mobile phones, MP3-players and so on.
These plans came to an end during the crisis of 2008 - revenues and stock prices began to fall, the company went through restructuring and layoffs. Now the main direction of work of B & O - Hi-End audio and video systems, as well as audio for high-end cars. Bang & Olufsen audio systems are installed on many Audi, BMW and Mercedes-Benz models.
Attention to details
Aesthetics - one of the main advantages of Bang & Olufsen. This is recognized not only by fans of Hi-End technology, but also by art lovers. For example, in 1978, the Museum of Modern Art in New York made an exhibition of Bang & Olufsen products - only 5 companies arranged this for the whole history (the exhibition was dedicated to another outstanding industrial designer who collaborated with B & O, Jacob Jensen , and was called Design for Sound from Jacob Jensen ").
This direction was also taken by the company's founders - when developing the design of their receivers, they were guided not only by pure functionality, but also by aesthetics and convenience. For example, they were inspired by current trends in interior design and tried to come up with a receiver that would complement the look of the living room.
Now one of the most memorable features of Bang & Olufsen products (and at the same time the ground for criticism) is a retro-futuristic design that resembles a props for sci-fi movies.
Touch and feel is another important component of the Bang & Olufsen identity. Each item - from the audio system and the TV to the portable speaker or headphones - is made with great attention to detail, to how this item will exist in the user's life since the opening of the box.
By the way
Now Bang & Olufsen releases an interesting podcast about sound in the broadest possible sense - the authors claim that the person actually knows very little about the sounds that surround him. They study the “noise space”: how and what we listen to, tell stories about sound, describe interesting ideas, inventions and possibilities of the audio world. In 2017, the podcast was awarded the British Podcast Awards.
More “historical” materials in our “Hi-Fi World”:
- Museum Bang & Olufsen: radio, radio, radio, tape recorder, cassette player, iron
- History of the Ortofon brand: from sound films to pickup heads
- Soviet legend: the history of the plant "Radiotekhnika"
Audiomania is an authorized Bang & Olufsen dealer. Bang & Olufsen special offers as part of our grand New Year sale (lasting January 9, 2018).
Source: https://habr.com/ru/post/371129/
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