BeoVision 10-40

By the time the BeoVision 10-40 was launched, B&O had developed their LCD range into 3 distinct groups. The BeoVision 7 held the spot at the top of the range with the biggest and best specified screens and making use of the BeoLab 7 series of loudspeakers. At the bottom of the range was the BeoVision 6, a longstanding model, which had remained with a few major revisions as the link room or bedroom choice, and the BeoVision 8 which was a budget (for B&O) main room set. Text copyright © Beocentral. Unauthorised reproduction prohibited.

Into this mix, B&O introduced the BeoVision 10. But where did it fit? On the wall was the obvious answer. This was by far the thinnest set that B&O had produced, being only 8cm thick. It echoed design cues of the BeoVision 5 plasma set, which had been the first B&O flat screen set, but refined the picture theme so that it could be realistically wall mounted. The wall bracket only added 8mm to the depth of the set, although unusually for a B&O set, there was no motor adjustment and the bracket only opened one way. There was also no tilt facility. Text copyright © Beocentral. Unauthorised reproduction prohibited.

The answer to its place in the range was answered by the chassis used – the same one that of the BeoVision 7-32 and BeoVision 8-40. This was a midrange set. Text copyright © Beocentral. Unauthorised reproduction prohibited.

The screen was a Samsung design, 200/240Hz refresh rate with edge mounted LED backlighting. For a short time, this made the BeoVision 10 the most advanced LCD set in the range, though the advent of the BeoVision 7-55 with rear mounted LEDs trumped it a mere matter of weeks later. Text copyright © Beocentral. Unauthorised reproduction prohibited.

Much play was made of the sound system, which employed a tweeter and midrange unit for each stereo channel and a shared bass unit. The bass unit was mounted in a specially designed enclosure to enhance the bass response from what was a very small cabinet volume. The amplification was Class D throughout, probably as much to save heat build up which was already an issue with a big screen in a thin case. Two internal fans were fitted to dissipate the heat. Interestingly, despite B&O’s pre-eminence in ICE amplification, these were not ICE amplifiers. Text copyright © Beocentral. Unauthorised reproduction prohibited.

In the UK, options were limited to choosing the colour of the speaker fret, the remote type desired (either Beo 4 or Beo 5) and the wall or floor stand. The floor stand was simply that of the BeoVision 6-26 with a different fixing bracket and this left the BeoVision 10 suspended about 10cm above the floor. It did at least allow motorised movement though. Connections followed the midrange pattern with 3 SCART sockets and 2 HDMI. However a DVB-HD module was included in the TV which used an internal connection. An analogue tuner was fitted but this could be disabled to allow the TV button of the remote to operate the DVB tuner and the DTV command to work an attached set top box. An Ethernet and USB port were also featured, initially for “service use” only. MasterLink was included though the BeoVision 10-40 lacked its own full internal timer so a B&O device so equipped was necessary to fully operate a timed BeoLink house. All connections were hidden behind a rather flimsy cover, but this was not on view and served its purpose adequately. Text copyright © Beocentral. Unauthorised reproduction prohibited.

So what was the set like? From a picture point of view, it matched or exceeded the LCDs that preceded it. Using the Samsung LCD panel gave better colour than had been experienced before with good motion control and a better contrast than the early BeoVision 6s and 7s had ever had. Early models seemed to suffer a little with edge bleed but this was only noticeable with very dark pictures in dark rooms. B&O wisely fitted anti reflective glass as standard to all UK market sets. Text copyright © Beocentral. Unauthorised reproduction prohibited.

The big stumbling block for the BeoVision 10-40 was the sound. When compared to a BeoVision Avant (which many BeoVision 10-40s were expected to replace) the sound was simply thin. The weight of the Avant’s sound was replaced by a top end with little support, making the use of a good set of surround speakers imperative. Even then, the centre speaker could dominate proceedings, replacing the Avant’s easy to listen to warmth with a more strident clarity. Text copyright © Beocentral. Unauthorised reproduction prohibited.

The BeoVision 10 did however stand out as a re-interpretation of a classic B&O design and as such offered choice in a market dominated by undistinguished black screens. Text copyright © Beocentral. Unauthorised reproduction prohibited.