The model of these loudspeakers is called the BeoLab Penta, and B&O produced them for over fifteen years, in three versions (Penta I, Penta II, and Penta III). The type 6623 is the Penta II for the US market.
This was B&O's first generation of active speakers, and actually uses a single amplifier driving a passive crossover to a total of nine drivers, in a 5-way configuration. The amplifier actually performs very well, with a conservative 150W output, three pairs of output transistors, good heatsinking, and a very robust power supply. The Penta Is had a somewhat different connection panel, and a different design to the crossover (and thus sound a bit darker then the IIs and IIIs.) The only difference between the IIs and IIIs is the display electronics. Pentas generally have a very good service history, with the most common problems being flakey bias trimpots (causes overheating) and various display issues (in the Is and IIs).
I personally own a pair of Penta IIIs that I use as the front left and right in my video system, and I like them very much. They are somewhat lacking in detail and imaging (they're better in a larger, more reverberant room), but the bass response is really nice . . . full and warm but not boomy - and they're relatively insensitive to placement. They can also play quite loud, and can do so easily all day without blowing anything up.
Here's a link for more info, and somewhere on the site you can download a manual as well:
http://beoworld.org/prod_details.asp?pid=808
This was B&O's first generation of active speakers, and actually uses a single amplifier driving a passive crossover to a total of nine drivers, in a 5-way configuration. The amplifier actually performs very well, with a conservative 150W output, three pairs of output transistors, good heatsinking, and a very robust power supply. The Penta Is had a somewhat different connection panel, and a different design to the crossover (and thus sound a bit darker then the IIs and IIIs.) The only difference between the IIs and IIIs is the display electronics. Pentas generally have a very good service history, with the most common problems being flakey bias trimpots (causes overheating) and various display issues (in the Is and IIs).
I personally own a pair of Penta IIIs that I use as the front left and right in my video system, and I like them very much. They are somewhat lacking in detail and imaging (they're better in a larger, more reverberant room), but the bass response is really nice . . . full and warm but not boomy - and they're relatively insensitive to placement. They can also play quite loud, and can do so easily all day without blowing anything up.
Here's a link for more info, and somewhere on the site you can download a manual as well:
http://beoworld.org/prod_details.asp?pid=808