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
Beoworlders,
I'm thinking of replacing my AV-receiver (Marantz NR-1602) with a Playmaker.The reason is I want to simplify things and because I think the dac in the Playmaker should be better than the Marantz dac (I hope to reach better/clearer sound)(I finally found a mk2 model that I can buy second hand locally)The Playmaker will connect directly to my Beolab 8000's mk2 in the living room. I will use the analog line in to connect to my (non-b&o) tv, so all sounds from the tv, go to the Playmaker.If I like the setup/sound, I will buy a second playmaker (if available second hand), and connect it to my beolab 6000's, which are in my kitchen (I now use the zone2 option for them on my marantz).
The only main concern for me is: How can I control the volume easily?If I use the Playmaker with Airplay on my iPads/iPhones, I always use the hardware volume buttons on those Apple devices to control the Airplay volume, so that's easy.But what if I want to control the volume when I use the Playmakers line-in (when watching tv)?I don't want to use the volume scrollwheel on the Playmaker, because I want to place it out of sight and because I don't want to get up/walk everytime I want to change volume offcourse.
I'm looking for a simple remote controller to do this job (In think the only commands are volume + and volume -, because the source switching and powering the beolabs on and off are done automatically?
I don't want to buy a Beo4 for this simple job (We wouldn't use all buttons, except volume)(If I want to setup the Playmaker once, for things like loudness, bass, treble, I can borrow my parents Beo4)
What would be the best/simplest remote control to perform this job?Where is the infrared eye located on the playmaker?If placed out of sight, I'm going to use a infrared extender cable, like this: http://www.irblaster.info/usb_powered_ir_repeater.jpg If this isn't possible, how can I control the line-in volume, without touching the scrollwheel on the Playmaker? Using an app? (I thought the beosetup app is only for the setup, not for controlling)
I would love to find a good looking minimalistic remote for this simple job ->I've read that the Essence remote will partially work, but this is not a good remote for me, because I want to pick it up/hold it in my hands while sitting on the couch)
Would the Beoplay A8 remote work?http://approvedusedbang-olufsen.com/beoplay-a8-remote-control-silver-new.html (is this infrared and gives the correct ir volume up/down signals? Will play, next track, etc also work?)
Or any other (ir-programmable / non-b&o) remotes with good design (like the simple Apple TV remote) up to this task?
Hi,
The best option would be a 2nd hand Beo4 with an ir transmitter + Creation 5 app on iPad (great for artplay display).
I used Playmaker/Creation for several years before I bought a Moment and was really happy with it.Yann.
Living Room BV Eclipse - BS Core - BL5 - BL8000 - LC2 x2 - Beo6
Lounge Beolink Passive - Cabasse Clipper - Beo4 Kitchen BL3500 - Beolink 1000
Bedroom BV9 - BL6000 (Thks Botty) - Beotime - LC2 - Beo5
Garden Lounge BC9000 - BG 6006 - BL4500 (Thks Botty) - Playmaker - Beolink 1000
Study BS1 - ML/NL Converter - BL2500 - Beo4 - Form 2 (Tks Botty) - Beoplay P2
"You think we can slap some oak on this thing?"
Thanks for both answers. I will have a look at the creation 5 all, but I think I prefer the hardware remote, like the mentioned Playmaker remote.
Will this remote 100% work if I aim it at the PM? And is there a difference between the Besound 8 and the Beoplay 8 (remotes)?
And where is the ir sensor located on the PM?
Can I buy this remote at the local B&O dealer?
Do all buttons work? And how to adjust volume on this remote? Because I don't see volume buttons on it.
tuttivini: Where is the infrared eye located on the playmaker?If placed out of sight, I'm going to use a infrared extender cable, like this: http://www.irblaster.info/usb_powered_ir_repeater.jpg If this isn't possible, how can I control the line-in volume, without touching the scrollwheel on the Playmaker? Using an app? (I thought the beosetup app is only for the setup, not for controlling)
Where is the infrared eye located on the playmaker?If placed out of sight, I'm going to use a infrared extender cable, like this: http://www.irblaster.info/usb_powered_ir_repeater.jpg If this isn't possible, how can I control the line-in volume, without touching the scrollwheel on the Playmaker? Using an app? (I thought the beosetup app is only for the setup, not for controlling)
Hi tuttivini,
The Playmaker remote sensor is in the middle of its front plastic face - the centre of the volume 'wheel'. You will not be able to use the infrared extender that you mention because it is only able to receive (and by implication, transmit) IR frequencies of 30-60kHz, rather than the 455kHz that the B&O remote system uses. I am not aware of any 455kHz IR repeaters, hence you would not be able to hide your playmaker away.
With your TV, is it not possible to make the line out 'variable' rather than 'fixed' - this is often in the setup menu? If so, you could simply use the TV remote tocontrol volume when playing sound via the playmaker.
@Guy and Leosgonewild: thanks again.
No sure of new cost but I'd look for second hand. There's a couple on UK eBay for approx. £60, but if in Denmark I'd try dba or QXL.
I've seen people in the past drill a hole thru a cabinet door or front and install a door peep hole, the kind of glass wide angle lens thing, as if you were going to be in the cabinet looking out thru it to carry an IR signal into a closed cabinet. Make sure you try it with a cardboard box sealed up tight to make sure you get enough IR energy thru it though before taking a drill to your cabinet!
Jeff
I'm afraid I'm recovering from the BeoVirus.
@Guy: Thanks, I will look for a second hand model (I live in The Netherlands)@STUrrock: We don't have/use sky in The Netherlands@ Jeff: I don't have a 'cabinet'. I have recently made my own 2.90 meter wilde 'wall', including a 2 meter wide floating shelf, where I placed my marantz receiver under (hanging). I want to hang the PM completely under the shelf, so you can't see it at all (replacing the Marantz) (there are already some other items invisible under the shelf, like mains sockets, chromecast, etc.)
look at the photo's:
So the Playmaker and the B&O remote (The Beoplay A8 one) both work on the 455 kHz infrared frequency? Do I really need to AIM the remote (line of sight to the PM's infrared port) needed?
Absolutely beautiful installation! I see what you mean about no cabinet.
One question, does anything go in the recess to the right of the TV? Is it decorative of functional?
One thing about a Beo4 remote you might consider. You wouldn't use the vast majority of its functionality, but it is the single most powerful remote I've ever seen. In dealers they put a damper over it to reduce the IR range so they don't trigger everything in the store. If you want to be sure you can command the Playmaker without having to worry about pointing it exactly at it, the Beo4 is the way to go. I find that if I don't put my hand over the transmitter when using it in the dining room it controls the main system around the corner in the living room!
Ummm...to the left of the TV...
Great setup tuttivini! I built a floating wall 4 houses ago, but have been in rented accom since then (Denmark, Bavaria and now Bucharest!) hence am more limited in what I can do. We need a photo of the underside of the shelf!
As Jeff has already said, the Beo4 is very powerful (not sure about the A8 remote) and I am 99% certain that the PM will still receive IR commands if mounted face down under your shelf. In fact, I very nearly set mine up in a similar fashion when I moved here, and never even considered that the IR might not work!
I also just experimented by holding my PM in a similar position, and it worked fine as long as the remote was pointing vaguely in the right direction.
By the way, STB brackets do a wall-mount for the PlayMaker that would work in your setup, but I would simply drill holes in the PM's plastic back and clip it into place - either that or just use double sided tape.
@ Duels, Jeff and Guy: Thanks for the compliments on my setup / wall / furniture.The 'cabinet' on the left of the TV is a bio-ethanol-fire-place, cutout (recess) in the floating wall.On the photo's it is off, so no flames... (made another photo with the fireplace on)In the future, if I don't like the ethanol-fire-place anymore, I can remove it and place a beosound ouverture/3000 for example in the recess. Would also look great.
@Guy: Thanks for testing your PM in similar postition. If this works with a Beo4, it would indeed be a good option.Would the Beoplay A8 remote be as powerfull as the Beo4? Anyone tested this/has this remote? Otherwise a second hand Beo4 is, like Jeff and you described, my best option.
You asked for a picture of the underside of the floating shelf.I made one for you. Here it is:
As you can see, I made the sides of the floating shelf thicker. 7cm thick with anodised aluminium strips on all visible sides.This way, there is space where I can hang things out of sight underneath. I think the playmaker can be placed out of sight where the Marantz is placed (in sight). I will sell the Marantz if the PM sounds equally or hopefully even better.
Ah, an alcohol fireplace! Brilliant! Very stylish, you have a wonderful eye for design. And I almost said that the hole would be a perfect place for an Overture or such, if you tire of the fireplace that would look very good there.
I have a large, modern fireplace that is one of the main focal points in my mid-century styled house, which I have a gas fireplace in with a remote control. The flames come up out of large river rocks, it's 90 deg to the right of my TV/audio setup. Before I had the gas installed I considered an alcohol insert, but since the house is on natural gas it was convenient to do a gas fireplace.
Thanks for the shelf underside photo! Interesting!
Do you control the lighting remotely? The LIGHT function could be useful if you get a Beo4, provided that you get the right accessories.
@Jeff: thank you about the compliment for my 'eye for design'. A lot of hours have gone into designing and building this 'wall', but it was so much fun to do and the Beolab 8000's just 'belong' in front of this wall.Maybe a center speaker on (or hanging under) the shelf would finish it, but centerspeakers like the 7.1 / 7.2 are quite big. A model like a modified BL6000 laying flat on the shelf would look great (something like a BL3500 as a center speaker?). And of course a subwoofer. But still looking for a local secondlife dealer which has both the BL2 and the BL11 on demo, so I can listen to both, before I decide which one I want to buy.
A gas-fireplace would be my ideal fireplace... Like you have. With a remote. Wow!Unfortunately, when I build the floating wall, it was almost impossible for me to make a gas connection on that location.
@Guy: Yes, I control all my lightning in the living room, dining and kitchen remotely. In the shelf underside photo you can see a remote receiver which controls the ledstrips behind the floating wall.It's a simple system from COCO (Click On Click Off), nothing fancy/hightech-domotica, but works great. All my wall switches are from this brand and in every lightsource is a receiver/dimmer. With one touch on the remote I can switch everything off if I leave the house/go to bed/etc. I also have a app on my phones/tablets. You can select scenes, set timers, switch everything on/off, dimm, etc. with the app.
Back to the PLAYMAKER: Do you guys think the PM will deliver a better sound-quality (dac), compared tot my mediocre Marantz NR1602 receiver?(Unfortunately the second hand PM I found locally is already sold. But I've seen another one. Little more expensive but still interesting for me to buy and then buy a Beo4 or Playmaker remote somewhere)
tuttivini: @Guy: Yes, I control all my lightning in the living room, dining and kitchen remotely. In the shelf underside photo you can see a remote receiver which controls the ledstrips behind the floating wall.It's a simple system from COCO (Click On Click Off), nothing fancy/hightech-domotica, but works great. All my wall switches are from this brand and in every lightsource is a receiver/dimmer. With one touch on the remote I can switch everything off if I leave the house/go to bed/etc. I also have a app on my phones/tablets. You can select scenes, set timers, switch everything on/off, dimm, etc. with the app.
I thought I recognised the COCO receiver/relay. I use a Lightmanager Pro from JBMedia which receives the Beo4 light commands and controls the RF switches including those from the COCO system. Very similar functionality although I didn't get a wifi-bridge (I make do with the Beo4). Unfortunately, JB Media no longer make a Lightmanager version that is B&O IR (455kHz) compatible.
Question, how do you connect the Marantz to the BL8000s? I had thought that Marantz didn't have preamp outs, are you using a speaker level to line level convertor? I don't think the DACs in the Marantz will be inferior to the Playmaker, generally I think differences in DACs are overblown and except in extreme cases illusory (one of those being the Apple Airport Express, which doesn't sound good running its internal DAC, but I suspect that's due more to the analog output stages and noisy environment inside the tiny box). If there's a sonic difference in the PM and Marantz I'd suspect it's would be a result of how the Marantz is connected to the BL8000s if you're using speaker level outs.
Not sure how you get easily adjustable, and feedback on where the settings are set, using a PM as opposed to the Marantz for things like tone, loudness, etc. Also, in some environments the PM can be problematic with respect to wifi connectivity. Mine had issues, even though I can't even see my neighbors wifi. I tried setting a static IP address, then found for my case the issue was my laptop. I could stream from my iPad fine, then found I had a process on my laptop that would periodically seize control of the network card and cause severe dropouts. Removed it and I don't have issues now. Something to consider.
Hi Tuttivini,
nice set up indeed. Due to a breakdown of my V1, I recently bought a 55" Samsung. This is my first non B&O TV, but I was not ready to spend neither 2000 Euros for changing the main electronic board of the V1, neither to buy a nice Horizon.
Anyway, the point is that I had to connect my Lab17s on it, through a Playmaker. The only solution that was found by my dealer was to put an A/C converter. I had the same problem as you have : what to do with my Beoremote 1 when I have just to control volume up and down ? I just opted for the Beosound / Beoplay 8 remote, and can confirm that it works fine.
Another solution could be the Essence remote on IR mode ???
Cheers,
Beocom 6000 - Playmaker Mk2 - Beolab 17 - Beoremote Essence - H8 - H5 - Beoplay A1 - Beoplay M5
@Jeff:The Marantz NR1602 has two line level outputs for the front speakers.So I connected my BL8000's directly with good quality RCA cables.This way I can also use the audyssey measuring microphone to use room corrections.
The NR1602 also has a 'ZONE2' output, but unfortunately this is only possible on high level output.I connected a high-to-low converter to this high-level zone2 output and ran the wires to my kitchen.In the kitchen I have two BL6000's, so I can play everything I want through the zone2 option.Works great, but I definitely can hear a quality difference in sound, due to the inferior high-low-converter (listening to the BL6000's, directly connected to the low level output, like my BL8000's, sounds much clearer).
If I'm going to use a Playmaker, I won't use wifi, because I have a wired option (switch is under the shelf), and I will look for a mk2 model. Can't play flac, but network functionality should be better on the mk2 model.Some months ago I borrowed my dads Apple Airport Express (the model which looks like an Apple tv box) and connected it directly to my BL8000's.Compared the sound (playing same song through airplay to it and to my NR1602) and the Marantz sounded absolutely the same.So if are saying that the Airport Express doesn't sound good, I hope the Playmaker will improve my sound quality.Should I turn on loudness on the PM if I buy one?
leduds: Hi Tuttivini, nice set up indeed. Due to a breakdown of my V1, I recently bought a 55" Samsung. This is my first non B&O TV, but I was not ready to spend neither 2000 Euros for changing the main electronic board of the V1, neither to buy a nice Horizon. Anyway, the point is that I had to connect my Lab17s on it, through a Playmaker. The only solution that was found by my dealer was to put an A/C converter. I had the same problem as you have : what to do with my Beoremote 1 when I have just to control volume up and down ? I just opted for the Beosound / Beoplay 8 remote, and can confirm that it works fine. Another solution could be the Essence remote on IR mode ??? Cheers,
Thanks for the confirmation! Good to hear the Beosound/Beoplay 8 remote 100% works with the PM.Love the looks of this remote and how you can hold it in your hands or place it nicely on a table.
(If I choose to go this way, I borrow my dads Beo4 to set up things like Loudness on the PM, since this can't be done with the app, and after all settings are correct, I buy and use a Beosound/Beoplay 8 remote for the volume)
How did you connect your PM to your new Samsung tv? Optical out on the Samsung > Optical to rca converter > rca wires to the anolog PM line-input?
Have to check, I was not present when the B&O dealer came for installation. I will let you know.
By the way, what is the TV on the photograph?
@leduds: My TV is a Philips 55" (55pfl7008), like it, but bought it just a little to early (when 4k was expensive, so this is only 1080p)
@Leosgonewild: You can adjust many thing in the Playmaker, using a Beo4 remote.
Weirdly enough this is not mentioned in the manual.Adjusting the speaker output maximum level:http://bogo.custhelp.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/8223/~/how-do-i-change-the-speaker-output-level-on-playmaker%3F
Set it to a fixed volume:http://archivedforum2.beoworld.org/forums/t/5143.aspx
Adjust bass/treble/loudness (downside is you can't visualise what you are setting, but I understood it does work):http://archivedforum2.beoworld.org/forums/t/9073.aspx
And I found the enabling LOUDNESS improves sound:Forummember KMA wrote in another topic:"The Loudness function, which can be turned on in the PlayMaker via Beo5 / Beo4, is well implemented. I played with it, and it makes the sound of the PlayMaker fuller and "rounder", in the similar fashion as Loudness in B&O's other audio systems does. It's also possible to tweak the sound characteristics by adjusting bass and treble. I would NEVER use the Loudness function or other presets found in my iPad's and iPhone's music player, as they are horribly executed. Any other setting than FLAT in an i-thingy just spoils the sound. Not so when tweaking the settings in PlayMaker. I do hope B&O does not disable the sound settings in future firmware updates.
@Leduds: And is the ir signal from the beoplay remote powerfull? Like the beo4.
Does the PM still receive a signal if your for example place it on its side? I ask this because I want to hang my PM under the shelf, like described.
My PM is actually inside a cabinet, set to fixed volume. I control tracks via either the iPad Spotify app or Apple Remote app controlling my iTunes on the PC. I'd forgotten the PM could do tone controls and such, since I've had it set up as fixed for so long (couple of years). One thing I would really miss using a PM for tone control is seeing where the settings are at. That's one thing about my BS9000 that I've loved since the beginning, I can easily read the display from my listening area and can see where all the controls are set. After a while I come to know what works best for this or that album, for example early CDs that were a tad bright need -1 on treble, which is just about a perfect setting to tame the harshness without cutting it so much it gets dull. I also find the loudness contour B&O selected just perfect for later night, less robust listening, it makes the music sound full and balanced at low levels without sounding heavy handed as so many implementations of loudness do.
I have a Marantz 1402 I use for my AV setup, I was constrained to something that would fit in the shallow depth of the cabinet I have. I haven't felt limited by performance, it sounds quite good and 5.1 is all I need. I'm generally quite impressed with the Marantz stuff.
Jeff: My PM is actually inside a cabinet, set to fixed volume. I control tracks via either the iPad Spotify app or Apple Remote app controlling my iTunes on the PC. I'd forgotten the PM could do tone controls and such, since I've had it set up as fixed for so long (couple of years). One thing I would really miss using a PM for tone control is seeing where the settings are at. That's one thing about my BS9000 that I've loved since the beginning, I can easily read the display from my listening area and can see where all the controls are set. After a while I come to know what works best for this or that album, for example early CDs that were a tad bright need -1 on treble, which is just about a perfect setting to tame the harshness without cutting it so much it gets dull. I also find the loudness contour B&O selected just perfect for later night, less robust listening, it makes the music sound full and balanced at low levels without sounding heavy handed as so many implementations of loudness do. I have a Marantz 1402 I use for my AV setup, I was constrained to something that would fit in the shallow depth of the cabinet I have. I haven't felt limited by performance, it sounds quite good and 5.1 is all I need. I'm generally quite impressed with the Marantz stuff.
In your case, you don't need tone control on the PM, because you've set it at a fixed level output. Your BS9000 does the tone control for this incoming signal, If you would also set those tone controls on the PM, it would be 'double', so for example if you would set the treble to +1 on the PM, and also on the BS9000, it would be +2 together) .I think it wouldn't be a big problem for me if I don't see what tone-settings I make. I think I will do this only once (listen, adjust if needed and turn loudness on). On my Marantz I alsno never change tone settings. I did this once (using Audessey meusurements), listened, played with the settings until I reached my prefered optimal settings and be satisfied with it. Sometimes I play with tonal settings again, but everytime I come back to the same settings...
Your Marantz NR1402 is almost the same as my NR1602 (except airplay, 2 extra channels, network functionality and arc).Do you have it connected to the same (stereo) speakers as you use with your BS9000 and the Playmaker?
If so, can you tell me how the soundquality from the NR1402 compares to the soundquality coming from the Playmaker or the BS9000?I ask this because I'm still not 'convinced' it buying a Playmaker, and removing the Marantz, would give me a better sound quality.I wan't to buy a Playmaker for two reasons:1> to get a better sound quality (if I'm already not at the 'limits' of my BL8000 mkII's...) 2> to get a cleaner look (nothing vissible under the floating shelf)(and 3> I like the looks of the Beoplay A8 remote (which I want to use with the PM) very much. Would look a lot more stylish than the Marantz remote on my table)
Sadly I can't give you a comparison as my video system, while collocated in the same room, is a different system than my audio setup. For video, I have a Panasonic VT series 65 inch plasma, the Marantz receiver, an Infinity LCR speaker that has all three channels in the same aluminum cabinet, an Infinity sub, and a pair of small passive surround speakers on stands on each side of the couch. I have an Oppo BlueRay and an Apple TV hooked to the receiver. My audio setup is a Beogram 3000 run into a phono preamp and then into the aux input of the PM, the PM hooked into the tape in on the BS9000 and the 9000 connected to my pair of Beolab 9s. My old BL8000s are in the dining room masterlinked to the 9000.
I suppose if you daisy chained the PM to the 9000 and used the tone controls you could get them both acting in concert, if you went plus one on each you'd have double the adjustment, but maybe not as simple as you might think as I'm not sure if they both have identical tone control profiles, it's possible they have different turnover points and different db/step setups. I tend to adjust things on the fly depending on the album I'm listening to, whereas on my video setup I set it up and then never really touch it.
The Playmaker will give you a much richer, clearer sound, particularly in the higher frequencies. The DAC is superior and interfaces beautifully with the B and O speakers. I had the Airport Express and, while more stable, had clearly inferior sound quality. Playmaker needs a wired signal, though.
Irvine: The Playmaker will give you a much richer, clearer sound, particularly in the higher frequencies. The DAC is superior and interfaces beautifully with the B and O speakers. I had the Airport Express and, while more stable, had clearly inferior sound quality. Playmaker needs a wired signal, though.
Good to hear the PM gives a much richer / clearer sound, compared to the Airport Express. I hope this will also be the case for my Marantz and the PM will be a good 'successor'.Due to all the help in this topic I now know that the PM is a good performer and works with a Beoplay A8 remote.I'm almost convinced to buy one.
I have some final questions"- @Leduds: You confirmed that the Beoplay A8 remote works with the PM. Can you tell me how powerfull the ir-signal is? Because I want to hang the PM under the floating shelf (out of sight)- My Philips tv only has an optical spdif audio (fixed volume) and a headphone output. I want to use the optical output, since the headphone output is of low quality.The PM only has one analog rca input, so I need to convert SPDIF to RCA.I know there are cheap converter boxes, but what about sound quality? I mean these models:
Anyone who also uses this?Or other suggestions? (I don't want to buy/use expensive usb-dacs for this task).
Decided to buy a Playmaker today. A B&O dealer offered me his demo-model for a verrrrrrry good price.Also bought a second hand Beo4 (dtv model) remote, because the b&o dealer couldn't deliver a Beoplay a8 remote. He could only order them with a minimum of 5 pieces at one time...So in a few days my PM and my Beo4 remote will be delivered to my home.Also ordered a Cavus rj45 to 2xPL converter:
I hope I can connect my BL8000's directly to the PM with this converter and my original B&O PL cables.So my only remaining question (ask above):What quality can I expect from a toslink to rca converter and what model to choose? Can't wait to test the Playmaker...
Unfortunately no answers to my last questions, but couldn't wait anymore ...So I ordered all items (including the digital spdif to analog rca converter) and tested them last Sunday.The Playmaker is excellent!!! It does everything I need. It switches automatically between the sounds coming from the tv, dlna and airplay. I can control it with my iPad and Beo4. I don't have to aim the Beo4 at all. Sound is great. More crisp, compared to the Marantz. TV Sound with the converter is also good.
The Playmaker is 100% stable. It's a mk2 model connected to wired network. It plays FLAC, even in 24bit 96Khz (I've read that only the mk1 would support flac, but I tested it with different dlna apps on iPad and Android, but it always works directly playing from my Synology NAS to the PM without transcription).Airplay also works great. I can use the hardware volume buttons on iPad/iPhone and can also use the Beo4.It remembers the last volume from the analog rca (tv) input and the streaming inputs separately, so it always nicely starts with the last used volumes.
So all in all it's a good replacement for my Marantz (which is a surround receiver and had a lot of functions which I didn't use and where making daily use more complicated).Next step: Adding a B&O subwoofer (Playmaker->Subwoofer->Beolab 8000's mk2).I'm going to look for a second life dealer which has both the BL2 and the BL11, so I can listen and compare them, before deciding... Suggestions?
Congratulations on your new setup.
I have used the Playmaker from day one - always thought that it is an underestimated and often frowned upon B&O device.
Your experience perhaps might inspire others to try out the Playmaker, if they have similar setup wishes - so thanks for getting back with your post.
MM
There is a tv - and there is a BV
Congratulations! Sounds like you are very happy with the results, and I agree your setup will look cleaner without the Marantz, even though you did integrate it very stylishly.
About toslink to RCA, it's basically a small DAC, and for TV sound I think most of them would be adequate. Maybe not as good as the Playmakers DAC, but good enough. It's so hard to actually compare what one sounds like compared to another, to do so requires level matching to within 0.1 dB as the human ear tends to interpret small differences in loudness as quality differences. Plus, listening to one, then listening to the other, unless you can switch very rapidly the human ear is also remarkably bad at actually remembering what something sounds like, which is why all controlled testing should allow rapid, as in much less than a second, switching. So I'm sure the device you got will do quite well.
BL2 vs. BL11, quite a decision. I agonized about the same thing when I had my BL8000s in the living room, which is a huge room where they just got lost. In my old house with a much smaller living room they did fine, not in the new house! As I say, I thought and thought and eventually bought a pair of BL9s. So I never solved the original question in my mind.
I think the BL11 will add a little bass, and clean up the midrange on the BL8000s because it filters the bass out of them. It will also be easier to place where it's pleasing to the eye, even wall mountable. The BL2 will put out more bass, and has more range of adjustment (three settings for crossover freq as well as three for "position" or output level, whereas the BL11 only has the latter), but its placement may be more problematic. Many love it, some think it's too boomy for music but works well on movies, some think it works fine on music. I suspect a lot depends on room acoustics and placement, when you start to get a lot of deep bass placement of a sub is sometimes harder to find the optimal point. One technique I've heard recommended is to put the sub at your listening position, play some music, and walk around the room and find the spot where the bass sounds right to you, and that's where you put the sub.
I like the new BL19 sub, it looks wonderful, but it only has a low pass filter, so unless you use it with a Transmitter 1, which has a high and low pass crossover, it won't filter the bass out of the main speakers and setup might be a bit more challenging.
@Jeff: Thank you for your comprehensive reply! You are so right about the human ear tending to interpret small differences in loudness as quality differences! You explained it perfectly!The new BL19 sub is still a little to pricey for me and I don't want to use a Transmitter 1.I will keep you guys informed when I find a second-hand-dealer which has both the BL2 and the BL11 for sale.I 'hope' the BL2 will perform good enough (fast/punchy/powerfull/well integrated) with music (i do not doubt it's performance with movies), because I think the BL11 won't be powerfull enough for me ( the livingroom has a direct open connection with the dining and kitchen and the total open space is at least 84 square meters.
One possible advantage of a BL11 is that it's not end of life, so it should hopefully be easier to get serviced in the future. That being said, just from hanging around here I'd say the BL2 is pretty reliable, I seldom see posts about problems with them. Oddly, even though my living room and the dining room where I moved the BL8000s are both big (the dining room is part of an open kitchen, sun room, dining room area that's also open with a large opening to the living room) the 8000s sound much better in here. Decent bass, etc. I guess less overall square footage by perhaps a third or so, but different shape.
Will be interested in your experiences and which you choose, so please let us know how it works out!