Need help with my setup

Hi All!

I have a home theatre set up in my lounge - a Beovision 11, connected to four Beolab 18s and a Beolab 19. I also have an Avant in the attached study. Currently, I'm using Apple TV to play my music (which is very very unreliable and has been giving me problems intermittently).

I would ideally like to add a Beosound Essence or something else for controlling the music separately. The 18s and 19 are slaves to the Beovision 11. Is it possible to have a completely free system (no slaves) wherein the 18s and 19s could be selected to play any source that I choose - Beovision 11, Avant or Beosound Essense? 

Thanks a lot in advance.

I believe you can purchase an Essence MkII and have it connected to your network, and it can use the speakers connected to y our BV11 to play music. Additionally, you should already be able to play music and share music across your B&O devices using Multiroom over Network link. I think there's a menu option on your BV11 and Avant in which you may have to add the Essence MkII as a recognized device, though. Just like if you purchased a Moment, it would have to be "added" to that particular menu option for linked devices. So that's the music portion.

You can already use multiroom to route sound from the Avant to the BV11 connected speakers, I think.

Basically, my dealer told me that since the 18s and 19 are connected to my Beovision 11, they cannot be used by any other system (Avant in my case) without BV11 being turned on and that kind of defeats the whole purpose. I do not want this whole "master" and "slave" business. Ideally, I just want them to be promiscuous - available to any of the other devices - Avant or Essence.

I also read somewhere in this forum that B&O will be coming up with 2 more sound systems and not bluetooth ones. Is that correct? Should I wait for a while before I spend my money on Beosound Essence?

Thanks in advance. 

Not heard anything about new music systems - new speakers yes, systems I'd be surprised.

I think you have more or less the same setup as I do, in other words a lounge setup (mine = 18/19/3) and a second TV in a different room.

All the above works great for video sources, but music was a bit fiddly, in the same way through the Apple TV.

I've added / in process of adding a Moment, which I chose over an Essence as I don't want to fiddling with an iPad/iPhone and different apps for the different audio sources.

While the Moment isn't perfect, it's software has seemingly been much improved, and so the combination of Deezer / my CD collection (FLAC) / radio/ vinyl all through one unit was appealing.

Mine will connect to my (what you call home theatre/ lounge), and the screen can go off once the Moment activates the lounge.

But spreading that music to another room needs to be done using either a remote/ tap to join / B&O app

What you can't do is get a Moment , and an Essence I suspect, to chose different sets of speakers to start the music on every time, as they are set to kick off the music on whatever it's told is the default speaker group.

Guess your question is more around looking for a better music interface than the Apple TV? In which case the above was my line of thought, as I too found it frustrating

What you aim for - being able to adress the same set of speakers from two BV's - is no! possible...by concept.

By the way, I have never heard of anyone wanting this untill now.

The speakers connected to a B&O-tv are configured for this tv and for the viewing/listening experience in that room (in the settings of the tv).

Adding an Essence to the setup will need a seperate set of speakers.

Or it would have to be integrated in the tv setup - which means, that the tv will have to be activated for use of the Essence sources.

As for the Avant (I guess you mean the Avant 2014?) - it is just the same as the above.

 

This does not mean that it will be impossible to use the same set of speakers for e.g. a music system and a video system.

But this would require a different sort of speakers/sort of BeoLab - speakers that would appear on the NL-network using an ip protocol for communitating with another and the sources. This way they could be adressable from different devices/for different purposes.

 

The pragmatic way as of now is to use a PowerLink switch - allthough I have never heard of one, that can handle 3 source devices.

 

MM

Hi, 

Thanks everyone for your help. I wanted to figure out if what my dealer told me is correct or not coz sometimes even they do not have all the knowledge which I have experienced in the past. Frankly, I get better solutions on this forum than from my local dealer.

Back to the issue at hand - SandyB you've hit the nail on its head. My basic issue is the music interface. I do not find Apple TV to be the perfect device for handling music. Also, I do not wish to use Beovision 11 for controlling the music. Will it work if I add essence to the setup? Can someone please help with this?

Thanks again.

With the Essence you would have several ways to control the music.

You can AirPlay, use Google Cast etc - or you can use the Beomusic app (certainly you should, if you use Deezer as a music service). You will have internetradio direct from the device/the app. There is a new app coming!

But - since you now are using the ATV - probably you 'just' want to AirPlay. This would be as before = pick what you want to listen to and send it to the playback device.

What are your concerns about using the ATV? Is it the ATV4, that you are using? Do you use the interface on the tv screen or are you airplaying from an iOS device?

With the BV11 you are limited to DLNA for playback - but you don't want to use the tv anyway.

If you change to an Essence, this will have to have it's own connected speakers.

You will not be able to use the same speakers that are connected to the tv - unless you add a PowerLink switch.

MM

Thank you for your response. I think I'm using the third generation Apple TV. Its just unreliable. In the past it did not work when I switched it on (just when I was having a party) :( So I actually had to use my portable JBL bluetooth speaker. I mostly use either my laptop or my iPhone for streaming music. 

In my formal sitting area, I have put an essence with Beosound 14-4. It works all the time and the overall set up is fantastic. I totally love it. Thats what got me thinking if I could just set up my informal lounge with an essence - this way I wouldn't have to depend upon the Apple TV at all.  

I find this a awkward post.

Multiroom and B&o have a long history. It seems that a dealer can't explain the difference between multi room concept and WISA connected speakers.

Speakers are in principle connected to ONE Beovision or ONE Beosound. This is done wired or wireless (if the different components support WISA). Simple as that! You cannot share speakers from one to the other. This is where the Multiroom concept starts.

with Multiroom you can take the music from one room to the other or (vice versa) or you can start a music source from another room. So if you have a BV11 with connected speakers you have also a interesting excellent music reproduction system. SO start your Essence in your living through the BV11 and listen to it to the connected speakers. The control can be done through a smart phone or tablet.

This is the way (NL) multiroom is intended to be! I'm using BVs for years this way. 

If you have an Avant and a BV11, both of these TVs are NL products and in essence, contain an inbuilt Essence within them. 

Simply connect a NAS with DLNA to the home media source and the BVs will pipe music. Album art will be displayed for a few defined seconds and random/repeat can be selected.

if you want music in a non-BV room, then an Essence and a pair of BeoLab connected to the same DLNA NAS will give you TV independent music.

I have never done it nor do I think it is possible but I think a limitation is that BeoMusic app will not let TV sound multi room to a standalone Essence.

Finally if you want a NL capable BV and Essence in the same room, you either need connect the Essence to th BV (why would you) or have at least a pair of BLs connect to the Essence. Again, why would you?

Carolpa:

I find this a awkward post.

Multiroom and B&o have a long history. It seems that a dealer can't explain the difference between multi room concept and WISA connected speakers.

Speakers are in principle connected to ONE Beovision or ONE Beosound. This is done wired or wireless (if the different components support WISA). Simple as that! You cannot share speakers from one to the other. This is where the Multiroom concept starts.

with Multiroom you can take the music from one room to the other or (vice versa) or you can start a music source from another room. So if you have a BV11 with connected speakers you have also a interesting excellent music reproduction system. SO start your Essence in your living through the BV11 and listen to it to the connected speakers. The control can be done through a smart phone or tablet.

This is the way (NL) multiroom is intended to be! I'm using BVs for years this way. 

As an extension to my last post and in combination to the post above, NL products are more "multi source" rather than "multi room". i.e, NL is designated by the products MAC number over  network. Thus, you can have X number of Essesnces (or A6/A9/M5) in the same room as  NL BV. All can be controlled independently or linked to one another via the Beomusic app. However, each Essence will need a pair of BeoLab wired or WISA in its own right.

 

The reason why I could connect my Essence, BL 14 setup to my BV11, 18 & 19 setup is simply because it is 3 floors down and while the same network (and network name) exists in the entire house, the signal strength is not strong enough for the products to communicate with each other (perhaps coz all our houses are built from bricks and concrete). The dealer tried many times and it just refused to work. 

 

Thank you everyone for taking the time to help me. I think I found the answer - perhaps not what I really wanted but what's feasible. So it would be futile to add an Essence to my BV11, 18 & 19 setup. For now, I guess I will have to contend with the damn Apple TV :(

Use Powerline - LAN over the houses power network.

Output from your Router to the P-LAN connected to the wall socket (also powering the Router. Another where you need a fast connection or to boost WiFi

 

Simples and cheap

 

Agree!

If this is just an issue of a weak wifi, there indeed are solutions.

MM

Get the network fixed with LAN through power circuit and then add one device with Multiroom function (NL is not enough) such as Essence mkII, Moment, A9/6. Then you are able to play any music from NAS, Itunes, Deezer around the house to all BV's and connected BL's. You do this directly from phone/tablet and do not need to select anything from your TV. After startup the picture muted so no hassle with that. No need for airplay any more. Think you almost have all equipment so would be a loss if you cannot use it as intended.

My setup is like this and works very well. Simple as B&O should be.

Good luck