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
With new products coming out, does anyone have any expectation of a new Music system
I understand that the Essence is being discontinued, when i don't know, but thats what my dealer told me today. That would leave only the Moment, which is a few years old now. I was also told a while back that the Moment was going to be discontinued. Timing unclear, but if this is indicative a decision having been made, that leaves the question "what, if anything, will replace these" ?
I'm intrigued by this more than any new TV - my 12-65 and Avant do their job extremely well - but i'd still open to a high quality music system (the Moment is fine, but obviously has scope for such improvement).
Of course some are very happy using iOS devices and the like, but for those who value / prefer to have something separate / discrete, i really hope that B&O move forward with a new slick music system.
Here's hoping we have something to talk about come early next year.
It's been discussed here already that the BeoSound Core, as found in BeoSound Shape, would be the direct replacement to the Essence.
— Tuomas | Bang & Olufsen | Bang & Olufsen Create
Sandyb: Here's hoping we have something to talk about come early next year.
What is it, that you are missing?
The Moment plays for you (if you don't desperately want it to be a fully fledged media player for a XXXL collection of NAS based files) using MoodWheel and Pattern Play.
The Essence/Core let's you be more in charge using the app - or can be a 'music servant' using the wheely.
The (BSys4 based) BV's have a Media Player built-in and can be played to from any DLNA-enabled app/software (and has Netradio built-in).
The Bang & Olufsen app will mature over time (I hope) making it easier to play local and remote content on our NL devices.
What do you/we need more?
MM
There is a tv - and there is a BV
Beosound Stage, Beovision 8-40, Beolit 20, Beosound Explore.
A disc player in 2017..i don't think so.
Make a good audiostreamer that works from day one.
With a nice design (no cheap brick)
Give me a modern / updated Beosound 5 with local storage, and STANDARD DLNA support, done. Don't even want MOTS or Moodwheel, etc. Straight up local storage player. License the tech from an established player like Auralic, but use B&O design.
If you have a large collection of music mots works very well
It would be quite nice to see something that wasn't so reliant upon an internet based subscription model. Not that these services aren't good but I'm not going to be putting down money for something that won't work if the internet goes out (like when you move and it takes weeks to get a working connection). If I already have a vast music collection, I don't want to pay hundreds per years more in fees to be able to use a music system I've already paid thousands for.
Is it so much to ask for them to stick in a $5 AM/FM circuit? It's the thing that put me off buying a BeoLit, the fact that a decades old portable can be taken on a picnic and pick up the cricket for hours. When I moved house a few months ago, it took 6 weeks for them to get the broadband working, at least my trusty Century worked every morning though.
I imagine that the next 'thing' will be voice recognition, trying to copy Alexa/Siri. I just hope that they do a good job of it or at least make a system that doesn't feel crippled if you have an accent. (speaking as a Scottish person!)
Calvin: Is it so much to ask for them to stick in a $5 AM/FM circuit? -- I imagine that the next 'thing' will be voice recognition, trying to copy Alexa/Siri. I just hope that they do a good job of it or at least make a system that doesn't feel crippled if you have an accent. (speaking as a Scottish person!)
Is it so much to ask for them to stick in a $5 AM/FM circuit?
--
The AM/FM circuit won't help you much when they close down broadcast on FM ;-(
...if you have an accent.....
Or your native language is danish!
Totally agree. As much as I like my Beosound 5 Encore, I really miss FM radio and not to be independant of a working broadband connection.
In Denmark recently a lot of the good old Beosystems/BeoCenter have become obsolete when it comes to FM radio reception.
One of the biggest cable providers (the others will follow) has stopped the support for FM through the cablenet.
Instead they offered to send a small antenna to the costumers.
With this antenna however, it is only possible to listen to few (most regional) radio channels....
....and often not the ones, that people are used to have access to.
Another advice was to buy a DAB+ radio, which is ok - but not a clever solution for people with good old BeoSounds/BeoCenters, obviously.
If B&O should offer 'anything radio not internet based', it could only be DAB+ - the days of FM are soon gone.
However, imagine a BeoSound 1 or 2 with an attached DAB-antenna - not really my first choice ;-(
Well there's no switch-off date in the UK, the same is true in the majority of countries. It some parts of the UK, the FM signal is still patchy, my parents don't live anywhere near a digital signal, I even have friends within an hour of London who don't get a decent mobile signal [!] and use a landline phone when they're at home. The idea that they are even close to shutting down FM or AM radio in the UK is laughable and I'd imagine the same is true in a lot of markets.
As I said though, it's not as if this is like CDs where it was a large and costly thing to include. A radio circuit would cost next to nothing to include, they cost about £1 each, and they genuinely lose sales because of it. It's similar to how I discovered that the new Tesla can't pick up AM radio which means there's no radio if I'm driving up to see my parents in Scotland where even the FM signal is patchy, or indeed anywhere else with mountains. Petrol car it is then I suppose...
FM stil works fine here i Denmark (for now).
I simply buy older Beomasters with actually excellent FM reception and then add IOS airports or chrome cast audios for all the digital stuff. Best of both worlds.
B&O can not really keep up with sw development of the larger IT players.
Office: Beomaster 3000-2 with Beovox P45 (all in white)
Living room: Beomaster 7000 and Beogram 7000 with Beovox RL 7000 (all in white)
Kitchen: Beocenter 2300 with Beovox 4500 (not available in white :-(
Carsten: Totally agree. As much as I like my Beosound 5 Encore, I really miss FM radio and not to be independant of a working broadband connection.
What's the difference between AM/FM radio and internet based radio ( TuneIn )
IA64: What's the difference between AM/FM radio and internet based radio ( TuneIn )
In the US, sports. I have never found any of my local teams "broadcast" on TuneIn.
Also, remote areas often have poor or very expensive Internet while AM/FM is free.
This said, I've never connected the AM antenna to my BS9000 so no AM for me.
IA64:What's the difference between AM/FM radio and internet based radio ( TuneIn )
beotex: IA64: What's the difference between AM/FM radio and internet based radio ( TuneIn ) Two things - not all stations broadcast over the internet, and not everyone everywhere has internet.
Two things - not all stations broadcast over the internet, and not everyone everywhere has internet.
Three things, then (at least):
certainly not all internet radio stations are available on FM.
FM (most of the time) sounds better that TuneIn as TuneIn often runs at low sampling rates.
And the convenience of simply pressing one button on a Beomaster and then radio plays is also a factor.
And it always work. No streaming issues. No problem when the microwave interfers with the wifi signal ...
I use TuneIn is some of the other (non B&O) rooms in our house, and in the car if FM signal is bad.
FM also beats dab hands down in sound quality.
Sal: Give me a modern / updated Beosound 5 with local storage, and STANDARD DLNA support, done. Don't even want MOTS or Moodwheel, etc. Straight up local storage player.
Give me a modern / updated Beosound 5 with local storage, and STANDARD DLNA support, done. Don't even want MOTS or Moodwheel, etc. Straight up local storage player.
Calvin: It would be quite nice to see something that wasn't so reliant upon an internet based subscription model.
It would be quite nice to see something that wasn't so reliant upon an internet based subscription model.
+1
I have moved away from B&O sound systems for this reason, but I wanted to keep Beolab speakers. Therefore now my main setup consists of a MacBookPro with the music player of my choice and a copy of my music library, and a USB DAC connected to a Beomaster with Beolab speakers.
I am extremely happy with the functionality and the quality of this set-up (although aesthetically it is not coherent so it is hidden away, which is perfectly fine in my case).
I don't believe B&O has the right software development track record today to do better than this set-up.
However I would love to see a B&O USB DAC with integrated pre-amp / volume control and with PowerLink connections (and with a Speaker Groups functionality for audio-only no-TV guys like me, please, please, please!) to replace my external USB DAC + Beomaster combo.
I already mentioned this in this forum in a thread involving Geoff Martin, but it was almost two years ago already so I don't believe this will ever happen...
js: However I would love to see a B&O USB DAC with integrated pre-amp / volume control and with PowerLink connections (and with a Speaker Groups functionality for audio-only no-TV guys like me, please, please, please!) to replace my external USB DAC + Beomaster combo.
Your use case is probably exactly the same as mine, the Beosound Core addresses this pretty much. AirPlay to it and use integrated "homesharing" from Apple which actually works reliably. I am able to access my entire itunes library off my phone, wake the computer if sleeping and losslessly (gapless too) airplay to my Bl9.
Also (depending on which Beolabs you have) having an actual b&o unit is probably not necessary. There's a huge selection of DAC preamps available, prior for myself using S8 connection hub I used a DAC/preamp with a custom powerlink adapter - with triggering and all.
B&O doesn't seem to care about music systems anymore it appears to me, just those 'subscription streaming' toys.
That may be true about B&O and streaming, but thats also the way the market is shifting surely?
It seems we would like them to make products that have appeal, yet when they follow the market (a la dreaming) we berate them for that too?
My question in starting this thread was indeed recognising that music systems are a hole in their portfolio. That of course reflects up to a point that music systems are generally disappearing across the market (its much less likely to see a music system as we'd recognise one in someone's lounge).
My broader point was that, while the above is clearly the case i.e fewer physically big systems, either B&O and its customers accept and understand that as an inevitable shift, OR there is something, some form factor that they can come up with is interesting. While the Moment is a good idea, integrating streaming and local content in one UI, i'd love to see them take it further.
By further i mean at a minimum make it slicker, and with more flexibility. The deep integration of Deezer is great, but is it impossible to find a way to provide a way for users to chose their own streaming service. Why not partner up with one of the major podcast platforms like Stitcher - that would be awesome, given the growth in podcasting. So i think there is plenty of scope to improve, in terms of quality (Tidal?) and breadth of content.
Whether thats in a similar Moment like form, or something else, who knows - i could envisage plenty of interesting form factors.
As for DAC's / preamps, on that i don't have a view, but i see the logic.
As for FM radio, well that one threw me...and in retrospect, the generally better SQ on FM is nice, so i'm in on that one! (with no expectation of it happening)
Maybe this is all whistling in the wind ultimately, an all singing (more singing at least) new system or Moment 2 would be great, but software isn't in the end their strength, which may be the ultimate stumbling block.
js: Sal: Give me a modern / updated Beosound 5 with local storage, and STANDARD DLNA support, done. Don't even want MOTS or Moodwheel, etc. Straight up local storage player. Calvin: It would be quite nice to see something that wasn't so reliant upon an internet based subscription model. +1 I have moved away from B&O sound systems for this reason, but I wanted to keep Beolab speakers. Therefore now my main setup consists of a MacBookPro with the music player of my choice and a copy of my music library, and a USB DAC connected to a Beomaster with Beolab speakers. I am extremely happy with the functionality and the quality of this set-up (although aesthetically it is not coherent so it is hidden away, which is perfectly fine in my case). I don't believe B&O has the right software development track record today to do better than this set-up. However I would love to see a B&O USB DAC with integrated pre-amp / volume control and with PowerLink connections (and with a Speaker Groups functionality for audio-only no-TV guys like me, please, please, please!) to replace my external USB DAC + Beomaster combo. I already mentioned this in this forum in a thread involving Geoff Martin, but it was almost two years ago already so I don't believe this will ever happen...
I think I'm finally going to pull the trigger on an Auralic Aries Mini, and put in a 2.5" HDD to store the music. I've already confirmed with Auralic Support that the HDD installed in the Auralic can be seen and mounted as a network drive on a MAc Mini which can use THAT as the iTunes Library, and the Auralic can read and harvest the music from it just fine.
The only question now, is how would I connect my BL20 or BL9 speakers. I'd assume that I can connect them directly to the Auralic, since the volume will be controlled by Auralic's Lightning DS App on an iPad, is that correct? I would hate to have the speakers BLAST my eardrums off unexpectedly.
Well - on my old Beosound 2300, I just turned it on and radio was instantly there. I could even play the radio without having to access the internet. Switching station was instant, no buffering and wait for the next station. On the radio itself I had a number of station buttons to push with our having to scroll through a long endless list of stations. My present Beosound Encore is much more difficult to use, especially if your not used to computers :-) So in short - life seemed easier and more user-friendly with the old FM and limited choice of stations :-)
Sandyb:Just out of interest why the mini,
Mainly because of the fact that the Aries Mini can house a 2.5" Hard Disk to store the music locally.
I don't have to have a NAS or always on computer - The Auralic Aries Mini can be a self-contained Music Repository, which can be maintained by an instance of iTunes running elsewhere (the instance of iTunes doesn't have to always be on).
All I'll have to do is to turn on the Mac Mini, or even another account on my main Mac, onto which I'm running the "master iTunes" app which looks for the library on the Aries Mini, make updates, add or delete music, etc... Then when I'm done with the updates, I can shut town my Mini, or log out of that "maintenance" account on my main Mac, and be done with it. The Auralic Mini will continue look at the contents of the internal HDD for the music source files.
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Present: BL90, Core, BL6000, CD7000, Beogram 7000, Essence Remote.
Past: BL1, BL2, BL8000, BS9000, BL5, BC2, BS5, BV5, BV4-50, Beosystem 3, BL3, DVD1, Beoremote 4, Moment.
Sandyb:Do let us know, as objectively as possible of course, how you get on sound quality wise.....the app looks reasonably well put together as well.....
Will do, but that's the question though right? Can I connect a pair of BL20's directly to the Optical OUT of the Auralic Mini? (Volume control is via the Auralic App), is that proper? Or do I need something in between?
Any idea of what's on the box? Books?
CB:Any idea of what's on the box? Books?
Yep, they're books.