What's the difference?

Apart from looks, what is the difference between Beosound 5, Moment and Essence. Are they not all essentially music streamers?

thorne:

Apart from looks, what is the difference between Beosound 5, Moment and Essence. Are they not all essentially music streamers?

Of course they are all 'essential music streamers'.

The differences lie in the way you interact with the devices - the socalled UI.

Watch this video for what makes the BS Moment different:

http://blog.bang-olufsen.com/we-have-millions-of-songs-waiting-for-us-in-the-cloud-still-people-listen-to-less-music-than-they-want-to-in-their-homes/

The BS Essence is basicly made of the 'same stuff'.

The UI of the BS5 has it's own 'more physical' approach through the wheels/cursurs needed for navigating on the screen - and it is an all stationary device.

All devices are different from most other 'music streamers', because they can integrate with a B&O setup, and they (the basic functions) can be controlled by the B&O remote.

MM

The Beosound 5 is a streamer (Spotify, Internetradio, NAS), a Musicplayer (FLAC, MP3, WMA Losless), a Masterlink-Device, Mediaplayer (Photo, Video), and you can connext additional audiodevices (Aux-In via USB).

It can be remote controlled (infrared or via software if there's a masterlink gateway installed)

 

OK so what are the criteria for deciding which one to go for?

your personal taste and your habits.....

Essence: you need a pad to choose your music by yourself, the remote is just on/off, volume and next/previous track

BS Moment: music player with his own touch pad, especially designed to play your music from a NAS in combination with Deezer

BS5: has it's own storage (no NAS needed), you have still "buttons" and no touchdisplay so it takes longer to search something (no virtual keyboard appears).

Other differences are the sockets, netlink based or masterlink based,.....

Brigantinus:

your personal taste and your habits.....

Essence: you need a pad to choose your music by yourself, the remote is just on/off, volume and next/previous track

BS Moment: music player with his own touch pad, especially designed to play your music from a NAS in combination with Deezer

BS5: has it's own storage (no NAS needed), you have still "buttons" and no touchdisplay so it takes longer to search something (no virtual keyboard appears).

Other differences are the sockets, netlink based or masterlink based,.....

Good point about taste

Another key criteria is price

And visibility although that relates to taste ... or decor ... the Essence is the most invisible with only the controller needing to be on display

Age is another ... at some point things break and need repairing ... and BS5s are the oldest, followed by the BS5e

The summary left out the two key algorithm assistants in the Moment ... they should have sexy "female" names:

-- there's Petra the pattern play - "she" learns the rhythm of your listening life and when tapped will present your usual source for that hour of that day of the week - but she can be a little insensitive and not pick up on one's mood

--so then there's Madeline - colourfully she responds to the colour of your moods - sometimes she's Maddy and other times she can be calm 'Linea ... And she can cosy with your old favourites or really be out there exploring wonderful wild world of other people's music tastes and libraries

I am not sure I want two more females in my house - and like all females they have a higher entry price - and I suspect my wife would not like having them around

So personally I am leaning towards the new Essence

Just a pity it doesn't have WISA support ... but then costs come back into the equation

Not sure a Petra and a Madeline would fit into a danish home.

Maybe the lady of the home would think, that her husbond has brought back a couple of 'new girlfriends' from his last business trip ☺️

MM

It is really quite simple:

If you mainly focus on music from a streaming service, you don't want to fiddle much with 'searching and deciding' and you are looking into the NL-enabled link structure for your setup, go for the BS Moment.

If you don't need/want the Jukebox as a visual center of your setup and you are happy with turning on the BeoMusic app on an iPad for choosing, what you want to play and you just need the basic control functions of the 'wheely', go for the BS Essence.

If you rely on MasterLink in your setup, you have a wast collection of local music files and you like the way the BS5 handles searching/does the MOTS, go for the BM/BS5 combo.

If you just need a standalone device, you have your music on a NAS and you like the handling of the control unit, go for the BS Encore.

Do remember, that the BS5/Encore are older devises.

 

If I had to start from scratch, I'd go for the BS Moment.

But since I have a mixed setup, I'll probably go for the Essence, when the 2nd Gen is there - I'll replace my Playmaker (connected to my old audiomaster) with it.

 

MM

Thanks, that's really helpful. Most of my music collection is on iTunes and I listen to it either on a Mac, Beolit 2 or mainly via ATV attached to my Beovision 11 with Beolab18s at the front, 6000s at the rear and a Beolab 2. I also listen to CDs on Beosound 9000 linked into the same system

 

Certainly sounds like the Moment for me, do you think?

The BV11 indicates a 'Yes' - and you can connect the BS Moment directly to the BV11 using the (connected) speakers for it.

Using the from B&O suggested Twonky Media Server makes it possible to integrate your iTunes collection as well.

What you have to decide is, whether you will go for more 'streaming service music' (DEEZER).

If so, then again a 'Yes'.

it does not have to be an either/or - keep using the ATV, for airplaying just as you keep using the BS9000 for CD's.

Looking forward to hear how your decision is/will be.

MM

Thanks a million for all the helpful suggestions. I'll let you know!

Why don't people just attach a Sonos device to their existing Beomasters or Beosounds/Beocenters or even Beovisions? Very mature system. Deezer, Spotify etc... And sound distribution via Masterlink.

Ralf, using Sonos and B&O

kallasr:

Why don't people just attach a Sonos device to their existing Beomasters or Beosounds/Beocenters or even Beovisions? Very mature system. Deezer, Spotify etc... And sound distribution via Masterlink.

Ralf, using Sonos and B&O

There are several reasons.

One of the most important is, that it don't integrate with the B&O (NL) setup.

it is just a source connected to an Aux-in, and you will have to use multiple remotes to start playback of the music.

For those, who care - the concept of the BS Moment is different.

It is about not having to decide/search, when you want to listen to music - letting the MoodWheel and the PatternPlay do the job.

 

By the way - MasterLink belongs to the past!

 

MM

Millemissen:

But since I have a mixed setup, I'll probably go for the Essence, when the 2nd Gen is there - I'll replace my Playmaker (connected to my old audiomaster) with it.

Yayyyy