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
Today I received a BeoLab 11, which I connected to my BeoVision 10-40 in the bedroom. The front speakers in this setup are BeoLab 6000s and the rear speakers are BeoLab 4000s mounted on floor stands. At first, when trying the BeoLab 11 with a blu-ray action movie I could hardly notice the BeoLab 11's presence. After a few times of disconnecting and re-connecting the mains to compare the difference, I could hear the subtle difference. Then, when I tried listening to music I was very pleasantly surprised! My BeoLab 6000 speakers had never sounded so nice! I had always deemed the 6000s as inferior speakers, preferring even the 4000s but not liking the look of the 4000s on the speaker stands alongside the BeoVision 10. I now really understand and agree with BeoWorlders who have praised the BeoLab 11 as a more "musical" subwoofer. It just sounds so much more natural with music than the BeoLab 2, which I have in the living room connected to a BeoSystem 3 with 4 BeoLab 8000s, a BeoLab 10, and 2 BeoLab 6000s as rear speakers.
I would be very interested in hearing other BeoWorlders' experiences and opinions about the subwoofer options. Especially experiences with using dual subwoofers in a surround setup with the BeoSystem 3 and opinions in the placement options when using dual subwoofers.
Also, I would be interested in hearing opinions about the new BeoLab 19. Could this new subwoofer give us the best of both worlds of the BeoLab 2 and BeoLab 11? Otherwise, it would be nice for B&O to give us the feature of choosing one subwoofer for music and another subwoofer for video in a BeoSystem 3 setup. This would seem quite easy to implement in a software update. However, with the new BeoSystem 4, I fear that B&O will now neglect the BeoSystem 3 for any future updates. Geoff Martin has suggested that this is possible to accomplish with the BeoSystem 4, but not in a straightforward assignment of "music" subwoofer vs. "video" subwoofer. I suppose that this could be accomplished with a BeoSystem 3 by assigning of BeoLab 2 for "cinema" mode when using a projector for movies and using the BeoLab 11 for the regular listening mode.
Any thoughts about these issues? I would also be interested in hearing opinions about pairing the BeoLab 11 with different speakers, such as with the BeoLab 6000, 4000, and 8000.
BeoNut since '75
I now have a Beolab 14 sub for the 11-46.
The 11 i had offered to blend in "some" bass, so if any of the equipment was lacking, it added to the blend nicely but not enough for me.
The 2 was ridiculous and after the doors started to fall off and the nasty neighbours complained i traded it in. Great fun.
The 14 although technically less powerful than the 2, is still almost as impressive, but a lot more controlled and punchy. Great with music. On the opening scene of Prometheus the deepness and level of bass is fantastic. This is a great scene for testing any Sub.
Beosound Stage, Beovision 8-40, Beolit 20, Beosound Explore.
beojeff: I would be very interested in hearing other BeoWorlders' experiences and opinions about the subwoofer options. Especially experiences with using dual subwoofers in a surround setup with the BeoSystem 3 and opinions in the placement options when using dual subwoofers.
I have a BL11 connected to a set of BL3s, for streaming (mostly uncompressed) ripped CDs and another connected to my BV11-46.
My observation, much like Chris said above, is that it's far more subtle than the BL2, but with the right source - such as the uncompressed audio you get form a Blu-ray - you do hear the benefit from having the BL11 connected. Less so when you hear the same audio from, say, an Apple TV. The audio from an Apple TV and similar sources is compressed, much more narrow, so explosions are more subtle.
As an example, I always rent a movie from the Apple TV and, when I like it, buy it on Blu-ray, then rip to my NAS (which keeps the picture quality and uncompressed audio stream). I guarantee you that the movie audio from the Apple TV generally allows me to keep the volume consistent. It's rare I have to alter due to explosions, BL11 or not. Move to the same movie on the NAS drive and there's a huge difference in audio quality (less difference in picture quality). Explosions are more dynamic as the sound stream is wider and I often get caught out. The BL11 does perform more effectively in this example.
Of course, the sub from the BL14s or the forthcoming BL19 will be much better still, especially in the above example (audio from a Blu-ray). I'm seriously tempted to upgrade to the BL19, so plan on organising a home demo after release.
Chris Townsend:I listened to the 19 today and it was as amazing to listen to, as it was to look at.
Glad you liked it, I must get one home for the week end for a demo as my next house will not allow the freedom my two current BL2's enjoy here.
valve1: Chris Townsend:I listened to the 19 today and it was as amazing to listen to, as it was to look at. Glad you liked it, I must get one home for the week end for a demo as my next house will not allow the freedom my two current BL2's enjoy here.
I've just asked my dealer about the BL19. It would be easy for me to implement (in my current setup) as it's a direct swap for the BL11, cable-wise. If I can get hold of one, I'll report back on the performance.
moxxey:I've just asked my dealer about the BL19. It would be easy for me to implement (in my current setup) as it's a direct swap for the BL11, cable-wise. If I can get hold of one, I'll report back on the performance.
If you are doing a direct swap for a BL11 or BL2, then make sure that the BL19 is in "L+R" mode - otherwise you'll lose output level compared to your existing system.
Cheers
-geoff
Will do Geoff, thanks for the pointer.
Geoff,
How does the BeoLab 19 work as separate "L" and "R" channels? Isn't the human ear incapable of discerning the position of the subwoofer?
beojeff:How does the BeoLab 19 work as separate "L" and "R" channels? Isn't the human ear incapable of discerning the position of the subwoofer?
hi
This switch is merely there to control which of the two channels on the PowerLink input is used for the subwoofer's input signal. For example, if you want to run two subwoofers as Sub Left and Sub Right from the BeoVision 11, you could do this using one PowerLink output, setting one subwoofer to L and the other to R.
The BeoLab 2 and BeoLab 11 both sum the L and R channels from the PowerLink signal, giving you a L+R input to the subwoofer itself. So, if you want to directly swap a BeoLab 2 or 11 out and put in a 19 without making any menu changes, you'll have to put the 19 in L+R mode so that it behaves the same as the earlier subwoofer. If you do not do this, you'll lose 6 dB on the subwoofer output.
As to your question og whether the human ear is capable of locating a subwoofer - this is a very big question without a simple answer. The simplest version of this is "it depends". However, I have some personal beliefs about this that may not be directly supportable by evidence or science (although they may... frankly, I don't know...). Consequently, until I do some research to back up my own claims, I'd prefer to keep my mouth shut. Maybe I'll make this an article on my blog someday - even if it doesn't fall under the auspices of B&O technology.