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Soundstages were a bit wider than with the BeoLabs in Narrow mode, and were free of the fuzzy aura of the B&Os' Wide mode. Sure, the center fill provided by the left and right B&W 802 D3s was good enough to convince me that the center speaker was on (it wasn't), and the soundstage depth was excellent. The tight focus in the soundstage that had been so impressive with the BeoLab 90s in their Narrow mode was gone. Nonetheless, as I continued to play my collection of usual suspects, it became apparent that something was missing.

I also reran and implemented Dirac's Live Room Correction software. That forced me to reposition the L/R speakers, including adjustment of their toe-in, tilt, and floor spikes. McClain's voice at center stage was stable but lacked physical authority, and the instrumental support was a bit lightweight. I played recordings that had impressed me through the B&Os, including Mighty Sam McClain's recording of Carlene Carter's 'Too Proud,' from the compilation BluesQuest (SACD/CD, AudioQuest AQM-1052). Then I decided to listen to it only in stereo for the next week or so.ДЄt first, it was a downer. Would my reference 5.1-channel surround system now disappoint when I played two-channel recordings? Would I still find multichannel to be a substantial advance over stereo, or no improvement at all? Would I need to come out of retirement and find a new day job so that I could afford the BeoLabs' price of $84,990/pair?ДЇollowing the B&Os' departure, I reassembled my system: three Bowers & Wilkins Diamond 802 D3 speakers for the left, center, and right channels, each driven by its own ClassГ© Sigma Mono monoblock two B&W Diamond 804 D3 speakers, for the left and right surround channels and two JL Audio Fathom f113 subwoofers. So when the time came to relinquish them, I was anxious.

Additionally, I and a few friends found that the two BeoLab 90s delivered an absolutely stunning and convincing soundstage. Bang & Olufsen's revolutionary BeoLab 90 loudspeaker, which I examine in greater depth elsewhere in this issue, has had some profound effects on me, not least of which is that the review pair prevented me from listening in multichannel for nearly two months.

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