ARCHIVED FORUM -- March 2012 to February 2022READ ONLY FORUM
This is the second Archived Forum which was active between 1st March 2012 and 23rd February 2022
I am considering either a BS5/BM5 combo or a BS5 Encore (it is incredibly cumbersome to browse very large libraries, but I love the design and I am not always rational...).
I will use it as a simple stand-alone player in a remote location and the most convenient would be to use a USB drive containing a copy of my library, so the BS5E would probably better suit my needs. But I am still hesitating:
1. Is the DAC/overall sound quality of the BS5E as good as that of the BS5/BM5 combo?
2. Which one has the most robust hardware? I want one that will work flawlessly during several years, but I read on this board that the BM5 motherboard is prone to failure and is not easy/cheap to replace. So I am wondering if the BS5E will be more reliable?
Many thanks
I am sure you will get different opinions on this!
Here are my thoughts:
1: never heard anyone compare these - or claim that one is better than the other.
I doubt, that you will notice any difference.
Which speakers to you want to connect?
With the BS/BM5 you would have the possibility to connect an external DAC (if that is what you want) - or go directly to the BL5's.
2: Robust? Well - the BS/BM5 hardware is getting old(er) and maybe a bit fragile. Will be hard to get spare parts for the BM5 in the future....
The Encore is pretty simple. Nothing really to break - apart from the 'mechanical parts'. But this will be the same with the BS5.
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If you connect a USB drive directly to the Encore, do remember, that you will have to remove it, when you want to add something or change something (tags in the files...). Best use it with an external DLNA server (best on a NAS).
The Encore is well suited, if you just want to use it as a standalone device ------ if you have no need for it to be linked up to other B&O devices.
If you consider using Spotify, you will have to go for the BS/BM5 - don't forget that either.
Overall - why do you want to buy a device, where it is 'icredibly cumbesome to browse very large libraries'?
Does the design really mean that much to you?
A lot of decisions for you to make.....
Please keep us informed how things turn out.
MM
There is a tv - and there is a BV
The BS5E has the great advantage of not requiring yet another big black box. It is very unfortunate though that it does not come with masterlink, which prevents me from connecting it with my BV5 (and have the BV play through its attached speakers without turning it on). if you don't need this, I think the BS5E is brilliant as it is much cheaper and accessing music from a NAS is most convenient anyways.
steve1977: The BS5E has the great advantage of not requiring yet another big black box. It is very unfortunate though that it does not come with masterlink, which prevents me from connecting it with my BV5 (and have the BV play through its attached speakers without turning it on). if you don't need this, I think the BS5E is brilliant as it is much cheaper and accessing music from a NAS is most convenient anyways.
There is this:
http://almando.com/index.php/b-o/bo-masterlink.html
It isn't true masterlink, of course, but it does seemingly allow an Encore to be connected to something with Masterlink, I think.
True, but js wrote in his initial post, that he 'will use it as a stand-alone player'!
I guess the decision will be either the simple Encore player (with an additional NAS/USB-drive) or the more sophisticated BM/BS5.
None of these will be futureproof.
10 years for spare parts - I doubt that!
js:I am considering either a BS5/BM5 combo or a BS5 Encore (it is incredibly cumbersome to browse very large libraries, but I love the design and I am not always rational...). I will use it as a simple stand-alone player in a remote location and the most convenient would be to use a USB drive containing a copy of my library, so the BS5E would probably better suit my needs. But I am still hesitating: 1. Is the DAC/overall sound quality of the BS5E as good as that of the BS5/BM5 combo? 2. Which one has the most robust hardware? I want one that will work flawlessly during several years, but I read on this board that the BM5 motherboard is prone to failure and is not easy/cheap to replace. So I am wondering if the BS5E will be more reliable? Many thanks
StUrrock:Enjoy whatever you buy, but pay no more than £1 for an Encore.
Can you elaborate?
Ban boring signatures!
StUrrock: Enjoy whatever you buy, but pay no more than £1 for an Encore.
Enjoy whatever you buy, but pay no more than £1 for an Encore.
If you can get me 5 of these for £1 each - I'd be interested
Puncher:Can you elaborate? Ban boring signatures!
I like having the BeoMaster 5 as a box that handles all of the connections and that can be hidden away. It makes for a very clean installation. It seems to always be the case that people are attracted to the Encore but then find the Encore lacking and want to make it more like a full BeoSound 5 / BeoMaster 5. The solution is simple: if you want MasterLink connectivity and Spotify, get the full BeoSound 5 / BeoMaster 5.
The Encore could have been the new Overture.Unfortunately B&O never used this potential. I think there were a lot of wrong decisions made around this product.
The mayor one was the choice of a very slow SOC / CPU. I think this 400 MHz Freescale SOC was already outdated when they released the Encore.Even if they really wanted to integrate more features they soon should have noticed that this is a very hard and nearly impossible task.
Nevertheless it is the most elegant musicsystem they have made so far. With an good app for controlling, spotify, airplay and NL support they could have sold so much, much more. BR,BeoMotion.
Wondering if the op/js will return to this thread
Seems that we are more interested in this comparison, than he is
BeoMotion: Nevertheless it is the most elegant musicsystem they have made so far. With an good app for controlling, spotify, airplay and NL support they could have sold so much, much more.
Nevertheless it is the most elegant musicsystem they have made so far.
With an good app for controlling, spotify, airplay and NL support they could have sold so much, much more.
Totally agree
Millemissen: Wondering if the op/js will return to this thread Seems that we are more interested in this comparison, than he is MM
The OP has a full time job, is business travelling, has children, a real life and only 24 hours in his days. So although genuinely interested in the discussion and thanking everyone for the input so far, answers will not always be immediate.
Many thanks to you all for your comments, much appreciated.
I think that in this specific case the Encore is better suited to my needs. I am just looking for a simple stand-alone player (no MasterLink, no Spotify, etc.) and it will be in a remote location (no NAS and no network there). So the most convenient approach would be to plug an USB drive with a copy of my library and for this the Encore is the simplest choice. Now the question is how long will it take to scan the drive when I add new music and plug it in again (library with 1,000+ albums)?
Why I would buy a player which I find cumbersome to use was a fair comment. I am very meticulous with metadata, which I fine-tune manually for each album, especially for the genre field which I use very much (I created several genres for classical and jazz). The absence of a genre browsing option on the BS5 will make it cumbersome to browse my library the way I want and the interface is not well designed to navigate easily and quickly a 1,000+ albums library. Nevertheless, although I recognize this is not really rational, I may be prepared to take the pain as this will not be my main system and I find the design so elegant. Maybe I will create a copy of my library and add a letter in front of each artist or album name to regroup them by genre when I browse the Encore wheel (e.g. CB for classical baroque, CC for classical chamber, CO for classical opera, JB for jazz be-bop, JF for free jazz, etc.), but this will take more time than I have available. A rational alternative would be to use a laptop/DAC/preamp, but I am looking for a simpler, one-box and elegant solution at this location. And again I so much like to design of the BS5 that I am looking for excuses to buy one.
I am more concerned with reliability (I understand that the hardware of the Encore is probably less prone to failure, right?), sound quality (I understand the Encore sound quality is equivalent to the BS5/BM5, right?) and software issues (I read on the forum that there are miscellaneous small frustrating issues, I will have to see if I can live with that).
Another question is whether WiFi can completely be turned off so the Encore does not emit any waves at all as I don't want to expose the brain of my baby to WiFi waves.
Best regards, js
Double post
js: Millemissen: Wondering if the op/js will return to this thread Seems that we are more interested in this comparison, than he is MM The OP has a full time job, is business travelling, has children, a real life and only 24 hours in his days. So although genuinely interested in the discussion and thanking everyone for the input so far, answers will not always be immediate.
No offense meant!
Good to see you back here
We will be happy to hear how things get along.....with the Encore.
Let me build on this thread rather than opening a new one.
I am still tempted to buy a BS5 or BS5E. I will eventually use it as a DLNA player, so either way will work and I don't need the BM5. I would prefer to have ML, so this may play to the advantage of an BS5, but it is also $1000 more expensive...
One other question I had is about the "snappiness" browsing through large libraries via DLNA. Woudl the BS5 be much "snappier" than the BS5E given its better CPU? Or irrelevant for this purpose?