Sign in   |  Join   |  Help
Untitled Page

ARCHIVED FORUM -- March 2012 to February 2022
READ ONLY FORUM

This is the second Archived Forum which was active between 1st March 2012 and 23rd February 2022

 

HELP: Beoplay A9 2nd gen vs 3rd gen and Line In?

rated by 0 users
This post has 7 Replies | 2 Followers

Battlecat
Not Ranked
Posts 20
OFFLINE
Bronze Member
Battlecat Posted: Sat, Feb 16 2019 6:39 PM

Just had a quick demo of the Beoplay A9 Mk2 against the Mk3 at the dealership in Dubai. 

 First thoughts is that the bass was less punchy on the Mk3 on a flat equalizer. Managed to bass boost eq to +5 to get similar bass impact on a Dave Brubeck track which was quite acceptable .

Made a down payment on the Mk3 (Going with the philosophy newer is better) but I am a bit worried. I need to connect my turntable and or the streaming server which has a line level output (Built in switchable preamp). I noticed some specs on the B&O website .

"

CONNECTIVITY
Beoplay A9 2nd generation
1 x USB iPod/iPhone/iPad connector
1 x Line-in
1 x Ethernet


Beoplay A9 3rd generation
1 x Line-in / Optica combi-jack​
1 x Ethernet"

 

Can anyone explain what the "1 x Line-in / Optica combi-jack"  is?! Couldn't find a A9 Mk3 manual online and the dealer does not know either! Can I connect a regular line in; either 3.5mm mini Jack or LR RCA? I am avoiding the optical only feature as to avoid any latency delays. Can someone please advise if this takes a regular line in or is it ootical only!? Thanks all

 

 

a

Millemissen
Top 10 Contributor
Flensborg, Denmark
Posts 14,680
OFFLINE
Gold Member

You’ll find the user guide here:

https://www.beoplay.com/~/media/manualspdf/beoplay_a9/a9_3rd_gen/beoplay_a9-3rd-generation_a_ug_web.pdf?la=en

That port accepts a 3.5mm minijack.

If you want to feed it analog from an L/R RCA cable, you will need an adapter.

If you want to feed it digital from an optical/toslink cable, you will also need an adapter for that.

This combined port is used in the newest B&O devices.....your dealer should know that!!!

MM

There is a tv - and there is a BV

Esax
Top 500 Contributor
Posts 323
OFFLINE
Bronze Member
Esax replied on Sat, Feb 16 2019 11:20 PM
Battlecat:

Just had a quick demo of the Beoplay A9 Mk2 against the Mk3 at the dealership in Dubai.

First thoughts is that the bass was less punchy on the Mk3 on a flat equalizer. Managed to bass boost eq to +5 to get similar bass impact on a Dave Brubeck track which was quite acceptable .

Made a down payment on the Mk3 (Going with the philosophy newer is better) but I am a bit worried. I need to connect my turntable and or the streaming server which has a line level output (Built in switchable preamp). I noticed some specs on the B&O website .

"

CONNECTIVITY Beoplay A9 2nd generation 1 x USB iPod/iPhone/iPad connector 1 x Line-in 1 x Ethernet Beoplay A9 3rd generation 1 x Line-in / Optica combi-jack​ 1 x Ethernet"

Can anyone explain what the "1 x Line-in / Optica combi-jack" is?! Couldn't find a A9 Mk3 manual online and the dealer does not know either! Can I connect a regular line in; either 3.5mm mini Jack or LR RCA? I am avoiding the optical only feature as to avoid any latency delays. Can someone please advise if this takes a regular line in or is it ootical only!? Thanks all

a

Had the same experience when going from beolab 9 to beolab 20. The newer has a much more controllebler base. It’s the speaker olaying instead of the hole house. That’s why you think it’s less boomy. But it’s sounds really better, I promise.

Beovision 7-55 MK1 red, Beolab 10 red. Beolab 50, all black. Beolab 17 broken ice. Beolab transmitter. Apple tv4 and apple express 2.

Battlecat
Not Ranked
Posts 20
OFFLINE
Bronze Member
Battlecat replied on Mon, Feb 18 2019 6:26 PM

Thanks both for that. Hope I made a right choice. Waiting for my package! BTW. Dealer does not know still!

trackbeo
Top 150 Contributor
Posts 644
OFFLINE
Bronze Member
trackbeo replied on Mon, Feb 18 2019 8:33 PM

The first time I saw this combi feature I was astounded.  Alas, sometimes it stops working, for example my B&W Zeppelin (Mk.1) will still take the analog audio input but no longer the digital; fortunately I simply switched cables from the AirPort Express, which itself had a combi 3.5mm output!  (You could actually look at the socket in a dark room and see the red glow.)  

I'm not sure there was any delay to speak of; doesn't that only happen with television outputs converting from multi-channel to LPCM over the optical?

By using the analog line-in rather than the optical, you are choosing to use the DAC in your source device rather than the one in the A9.  I think I would choose the A9's DAC, unless you know your source has a high-quality DAC, e.g. one of the Oppo disc players or a high-end audio streamer.  In my case, the AirPort's DAC was nothing special, so it was a bummer when I had to swap from optical to metal and give up using the Zeppelin's DAC.

Note: Those little 3.5mm-TOSlink optical adapters are not brilliantly constructed.  Purchase a cable in which the end is already 3.5mm optical.  In my case, two 3.5mm adapters plus a standard TOSlink-TOSlink cable, didn't work.

Battlecat
Not Ranked
Posts 20
OFFLINE
Bronze Member
Battlecat replied on Wed, Feb 20 2019 3:39 AM

Thanks - will not be using the Optical Jack.

Happy with a good old LR RCA equivalent mini-jack being used for over 50 years now!

Will update all once the unit arrives next week. 

artward22
Not Ranked
Posts 6
OFFLINE
Bronze Member

I have an MK3. I honestly haven't used the line-in yet, but looking at it by eye it seems clear to me that it will accept a standard analog 3.5mm mini plug, with the option for an optical in as an alternative

artward22
Not Ranked
Posts 6
OFFLINE
Bronze Member

I have an MK3. I honestly haven't used the line-in yet, but looking at it by eye it seems clear to me that it will accept a standard analog 3.5mm mini plug, with the option for an optical in as an alternative

Page 1 of 1 (8 items) | RSS