Legendary Danish audio brand Bang & Olufsen (B&O) is bringing back its Beosound 9000 CD player — a six-disc device that can lie flat or be mounted vertically or horizontally — as the limited-run Beosystem 9000c. Only 200 will be sold and each player will be paired with a set of B&O’s Beolab 28 speakers,. It’s a package that will set you back by $55,000. If that number doesn’t give you pause, you’ll be able to buy one starting April 24.
If that price does gives you sticker shock, B&O wants you to know just how much time and effort has gone into making this limited edition possible. The Beosystem 9000c isn’t a new manufacturing run. Instead, B&O collected 200 original Beosound 9000 CD players, which it then refurbished in the same factory (and with many of the same technicians) where they were first built between 1996 and 2011.
The timing of the system seems perfect: In the U.K. in 2023, CDs saw their first increase in sales since 2004.
The project was partially inspired by the success of its first Recreated Classics effort — the refurbished Beogram 4000 turntable that B&O sold in 2020. “With our Recreated Classics series, we are showcasing how Bang & Olufsen’s unique capabilities within sound, design, and craftsmanship are creating long-lasting, circular products,” said Mads Kogsgaard Hansen, B&O’s head of product circularity and portfolio planning, in a press release. “We want to demonstrate that a second-life product can be just as attractive as a new product and that a high-quality item such as the Beosound 9000 doesn’t need to have an end date.”
B&O is also using the Beosystem 9000c to show off its mastery of aluminum. In addition to completely disassembling (and reassembling) each CD player, the aluminum backplate has been given a new “Cosmic Black” color so that its cosmetics match those of the Beolab 28 speakers. It’s a process that involves hairline brushing, etching, and pearl-blasting of the aluminum pieces.
For those who may not be familiar with the Beosound 9000’s history, it’s claim to fame goes beyond its striking aesthetics. The six CDs are housed behind a motorized glass cover. Instead of moving the CDs to be read by the playing mechanism (the way typical turntable and carousel-style changers do), a silent, motorized CD clamper moves from disc to disc, where it begins playback within seconds.
Cleverly, each disc is then automatically reoriented after playback so that the text on the CD’s surface can be read easily beneath the transparent glass.
With the inclusion of the Beolab 28 speakers, which are Wi-Fi connected, the combined Beosystem 9000c isn’t just for playing CDs — you can also stream music from a variety of music services via AirPlay 2, Chromecast, or Bluetooth. The system can be controlled via the included Beoremote One, an app on your phone, or the physical controls on the speakers.
Though the price will put the Beosystem 9000c out of reach for most people, you may be able to save about $25,000 by assembling the components yourself. A new set of Beolab 28 speakers start at $20,250, but I’ve found at least one pre-owned Beosound 9000, rebuilt in white, that you can buy for 25,900 Swedish krona (about $2,400).
