Beosystem 3 compared to Beosystem 4 audio

The Beosystem 4 based TVs seem to have a much advanced sound system, if that is the correct word for it. There are many more settings. I have not seen this issue discussed here before and am wondering how they compare as far as the sound they produce.

Would upgrading from a Beovision 7-55 provide any improvement in sound quality? Or would it just provide more settings in the sound system, some of which based on how the user sets them, might make the sound seem better?

Or put another way, if I want to upgrade the sound experience in my system, the money should be spent replacing the Beolab 9s with 20s, or possibly 5s, as opposed to replacing the BV7 with an Avant?

 

 

I am sorry, I meant to say:

The Beosystem 4 based TVs seem to have a much advanced sound system, if that is the correct word for it, compared to the Beosystem 3. There are many more settings. I have not seen this issue discussed here before and am wondering how they compare as far as the sound they produce.

Would upgrading from a Beovision 7-55 to an Avant provide any improvement in sound quality? Or would it just provide more settings in the sound system, some of which based on how the user sets them, might make the sound seem better?

Or put another way, if I want to upgrade the sound experience in my system, the money should be spent replacing the Beolab 9s with 20s, or possibly 5s, as opposed to replacing the BV7 with an Avant?

Hi Razlaw,

Glad to see your posts made it out the other end of the moderation process

The BS4 engine is more sophisticated (and obviously adds WISA support too).

In situations where you have a variety of different speakers connected, the bass management in the BS4 can be superior to that of the BS3, but if it is just the BL9s you have connected I can't see it making much of a difference (if any).

I understand that if you connect a sub to a BS4 along with BL9s the sub will stay silent as the 9s are considered more capable than any of the B&O subwoofers (unlike the same situation with a BS3 where it will route some of the bass to the sub regardless).

There are of course other advantages to upgrading to the Avant - Netlink multiroom support, online PUC updates, etc, but whether these are important to you is of course a personal decision.

Kind Regards,

Martin.

The Avant has a much better sound engine.

I have upgraded from a sys3 based 7-55 to beovision 11s and a sys4 for a projector.

There are many advantages to the system 4 in not only audio but video too.

Not to mention the built in home media player and the true image sound processing.

That would be a substantially more beneficial upgrade than the beolab 20 v beolab 9 IMO.

But you would would end up with a TV with a degraded HD picture, and in my opinion a rather ordinary design. Somebody who has swapped for a 75 which has the same speakers, did say the built in sound system was better than the 7-6.

I have to take that as fact as I've never done a comparison, but if true then that's very impressive. There is an UHD 11-55 on the way! A David Lewis design, and Beosystem 4.

Keep the 7, and get some 5's. That's not just me with my 7 fan hat on. I saw an UHD HDR OLED 65 LG today for just over £2,200, and an HD 55 inch version at £1,300! The way the technology is uniquely advancing, I'd wait and see where it ends up before investing in a long term AV purchase.

As the question of the op was sound-only related, my comment will ignore the differences on the picture side.

The possibilities of the BSys4-based audio engine are indeed much richer and (as Martin wrote) more sophisticated.

You have a lot more options - especially if you have multiple speakers connected - the speakers can play in different roles. You can also make different (sound) settings for listening to music than for listening to movies with the same set of speakers. The better bas management is one of the essential things in the BSys4 engine.The TrueImage upscaler can do a very good job, if your speakers are set up properly.

But - as with anything - if you don't use (or feel that you don't need) these possibilities, they are worthless - and you should not worry about upgrading.

It will however, be impossible to answer the question in the op, since these things are very much dependent on the speakers available, the room and the preferences of the listener/s.

Personally - if that matters - I would choose a BSys4 audio engine over the old BSys3 anytime.

MM

I have been holding off on replacing my BeoSystem 3 with a BeoSystem 4. The deal-breaker for me is that the BeoSystem 4 still does not support Dolby Atmos. With the increasing content of great movies available with Dolby Atmos, it's hard to justify spending the money for a high end AV processor that does not support this. Also, the need for 4k support would seem to necessitate some updates to the BeoSystem 4.

Chris Townsend:

But you would would end up with a TV with a degraded HD picture, and in my opinion a rather ordinary design. Somebody who has swapped for a 75 which has the same speakers, did say the built in sound system was better than the 7-6.

I don't agree with that. And with anything like an Apple TV4 (1080P and 7.1) and more so in the new year with the new SkyQ box, the picture on a BS4 based Avant is IMOP superior. The BS3 engine will be over 10 years old this year.

I personally believe too much attention is placed on the panel technology and too little on the feeds. Of course there will be a whole bunch of new capabilities coming to panels this year, the price will continue to come down (which B&O ignore anyhow) and the dynamic contrast and picture handling will improve. These will give 10-20%. Meanwhile, improved content, delivered through new external boxes with improved 1080P, 4K and improved sound delivery will deliver very noticeable improvements.  In the UK today, most people watch daily TV over 1080i.... To get an initial sense of the potential, connect an AppleTV3 to a BS4 TV and then play something like the Man from Uncle on the same TV with an ATV4. The sound is completely different, totally different separation and crispness - worlds apart - and thats a £100 box making that level of difference.

To answer the original question; I've experienced both a BS3 and BS4 with identical speakers attached (inc. a BL2) and the sound from the BS4 is sharper, more controlled, tighter. I'm not talking WhatHIFI differences here, it really is night and day. It took me by huge surprise at first, in a positive way, but you knew immediately something was completely different.

 

Interesting discussion ! Do you think B&O will come up with a Beosystem 5? I do not like the Beovision Avant (too thick), Would like to buy the Beosystem 4 with an other brand screen. I am not sure if I should wait....

 

JR

Raeven:

Interesting discussion ! Do you think B&O will come up with a Beosystem 5? I do not like the Beovision Avant (too thick), Would like to buy the Beosystem 4 with an other brand screen. I am not sure if I should wait....

JR

Thanks for all of the opinions! I have also wondered about a BS4 with another brand screen. Does not seem like a popular option here as it is rarely if ever mentioned.

Hi Razlaw

Actually I've considered getting the Beosystem 4 to drive my Beolab 18/3 + sub with my Samsung 78js9500.

Pricing wish it's actually not bad against a good pre/pro surround processor - there are many more ridiculously expensive ones. The only thing holding me back is the lack of Dolby Atmos, UHD and HDR compatibility. If B&O ever upgrade the Beosystem to include it id buy it - yes I know it's be part of the Avant but I'm stuck with the Samsung as I can't justify replacing it or having a second big tv around the house.