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
Dear Beoworlders,
I hope you can help or offer some pearls of wisdom...?
I am after an audio set-up, have a few requirements and have heard of this playmaker thingeymebob device but not sure it will do the job... I used to have a Beosound 5 but after several years of owning it I was less than impressed. I got progressively more impatient and annoyed by the wheels that controlled the blue pointer. Friends and family never figured it out and were equally as annoyed. I was also less than impressed with the time it would take to wakeup and the initial 60 seconds of the units operation were sluggish. The unit was sent back twice due to dust under the glass plate and was eventually replaced for a new unit despite B&O refuting any problems with dust. I concluded that this was product had been released 10-15 years too late. Anyway, I am not hear to moan about the Bs5 and I know that some of you love it so what I think is not important if you think it's brilliant and it suits your needs.
After selling my Bs5 I found no need for my BL5 and I have been getting into the high definition classical music files on my laptop I decided that the BL5 was also outdated as it could not play files in 24 bits at 192 Khz as the onboard DAC was limited to below this. The BL5 were sold to a good home…weep weep weep ! I could have played the music through the analogue feed but then I thought may be it is time for me and BL5 to part and of all the B&O products this was the most impressive aside from the Bs9000 which i owned in the late 1990s and early 2000s. BL5 - brilliant speaker by any measure but sadly limited by its onboard DAC now. I know some of you will pipe up that 16 bit is good enough and that I am deluding myself if I can hear the difference between this and 24 bit at 192Khz but I can assure you I can so can we please not descend into a discussion about 16bit vs 24 bit etc....
I recently auditioned a Naim NDS streamer through a pair of rather average B&W midrange speakers and the detail and clarity in the music surpassed the old Bs5 + BL5 setup. Now, none of us buy hifi based just on outright performance. We are Beoworlders because we value high quality design and craftsmanship even if it may not be of the finest audiophile/phool level. Life is a compromise but the B&O compromise is a better compromise than most. The Naim NDS streamer was deeply impressive and having done some research they used a very high quality TI- 1704 DAC that is much more flexible than the BL5 DAC in terms of what music it can decode and play but I do not want a room full of black boxes. The Naim NDS by itself is cute but I definitely do not want to move racks full of black boxes...yuck!
So, in summary I am after a brilliant high quality streaming and internet radio solution that draw high resolution music from a NAS in a variety of formats and preferably be fully controllable from my sofa via my iphone or a tablet of some kind and at the same time look fantastic. Will the playmaker help here or aside from its fire-detector looks?
‘John’ from Australia and ‘Moxxey’ I think mentioned Naim. John used to have some Naim gear and I’d value your experience and Moxxey I think you said a friend of your bought Naim with Spendor and was more impressed with it than a B&O setup. I am not asking for validation or affirmation but wondered what your experience of Naim were and how they compare to B&O and how they do things as they are both high quality small manufacturers that have good customer service and slow turnaround of new products deciding to change something only until they feel they can better it. Can they work together? Is it possible to have a Naim NDS with a pair of BL9s for example and a B&O sub or is this traitorous to my love for B&O?
The house is being extended and refurbished and with the sold Bs5 and BL5 funds I am slowly saving for the next setup for 2014/15 so until that is completed by the end of 2013 I am in no great rush but in the New Year my heart will be clambering for some excellent music in the evenings over a glass of Scotch.
Does anyone know if B&O will be updating the DAC in the BL5 or are B&O bringing a different solution that can play high resolution music in FLAC up to 24 bits and high sampling frequencies? Can I get the DAC upgraded in anyway or would that affect the adaptive bass processor. I ripped all my music onto hard drive a while ago and sold the CDs so I can’t go back to a CD playing solution and in any case I would rather not have hundreds of CDs clogging up the room.
What would you do?
1. Cobble together a playmaker with a hard drive?
2. Buy a Naim NDS and a pair of active B&O speakers say a BL9?
3. Wait for a new audio system from B&O – could be years?
4. Wait for a BL5 successor- could be years?
6. Save and wait patiently and wait and wait and wait…
So in summary, I am left with nothing and my heart yearns for B&O once more but something that better suits my needs. I have a clean sheet of paper to start all over again and recommendations would be most welcome.
.
Present: BL90, Core, BL6000, CD7000, Beogram 7000, Essence Remote.
Past: BL1, BL2, BL8000, BS9000, BL5, BC2, BS5, BV5, BV4-50, Beosystem 3, BL3, DVD1, Beoremote 4, Moment.
seethroughyou: ‘John’ from Australia and ‘Moxxey’ I think mentioned Naim. John used to have some Naim gear and I’d value your experience and Moxxey I think you said a friend of your bought Naim with Spendor and was more impressed with it than a B&O setup.
‘John’ from Australia and ‘Moxxey’ I think mentioned Naim. John used to have some Naim gear and I’d value your experience and Moxxey I think you said a friend of your bought Naim with Spendor and was more impressed with it than a B&O setup.
Yes, this was an audiophile friend who was genuinely encouraged by the B&O ethos and design, but put off by the experience he received in the local B&O store. He found them to be somewhat aloof, subconsciously believing he didn't have the funds, so weren't overly keen on encouraging him to make a purchase.
This pushed him in to searching out and purchasing an Arcam amp and Spendor speakers and hasn't looked back. Loves his Spendor monitors and, to be fair, they do sound impressive (to me).
I also agree about the BS5 wheel(s) and user-interface. I owned a BS5/BM5 for about 3 months and couldn't get rid of it quickly enough. Was shocking in so many ways. I know there are people who love the laser pointer, but I'm happy with my Playmaker, BL3s/BL11, NAS and controlling via my iPad Mini.
On a sidenote, your post goes on a bit, so apologies if I missed something - time is lacking at work :)
seethroughyou: So, in summary I am after a brilliant high quality streaming and internet radio solution that draw high resolution music from a NAS in a variety of formats and preferably be fully controllable from my sofa via my iphone or a tablet of some kind and at the same time look fantastic. Will the playmaker help here or aside from its fire-detector looks?
Hello seethroughyou,
you might want to take a look at Sonos. They Support lots of formats (see LINK).
I use sonos with Beolab 4000s via a BS9000 (soon to be replaced with older System, looking for a White Beomaster 6500/7000).As Internet Streaming Service I use spotify. My Audio files on a NAS can be accessed, too.
Just to make it even more complex ;-)
Ralf
Living Room: Beosystem 4, Beolab 7-2 (Center), Beolab 9 (Fronts), Beolab 8000 (Rears), no Subwoofer. Screen: Sony KD-85XH9096Dining Room: Beosound Essence MK II with Beolab 4000 on stands, fed by Amazon Echo Show 8Home Cinema: Beosystem 4, Beolab 7-4 (Center), Beolab 1 (Fronts), Beolab 4000 (Rears). Projector: Sony VPL-HW55Home Office: Beosystem 3, Beolab 7-4, Beolab 5000, Screen: Sony KD-55XH9005 on Beovision 7-40 stand, ML to Beosound 9000 MK3 and Beosound 5/Beomaster 5 (1 TB SSD version)Bedroom: Sony KD-65XH9077, Beosound Essence MK II with Beolab 6002 and Beolab 11 (all white, wall-mounted)
In storage: Beolab 5000/Beomaster 5000 (1960s).
kallasr: They Support lots of formats (see LINK).
They Support lots of formats (see LINK).
except high res files...
You are right,
I just saw FLAC / ALAC up to 1.411 kps.FLAC just 16 bit / 44.1 kHz. ALAC: no more details.So no 96 kHz/24 bit....´
moxxey:Yes, this was an audiophile friend who was genuinely encouraged by the B&O ethos and design, but put off by the experience he received in the local B&O store. He found them to be somewhat aloof, subconsciously believing he didn't have the funds, so weren't overly keen on encouraging him to make a purchase.
Yeah.. I always thought this aspect of B&O really off putting. B&O isn't exactly high-end or the Ferrari of audio so whats with that attitude? I suppose that the salesmen that B&O employs lack the experience to actually know their place.
hi if you are looking at a naim system,have a look at the linn ds systems much better, they were one of the first to drop CDs and sound good with beolabs through the preouts.source first.
I have been cogitating over the last week or so on a similar question - what to use as the centre of a music streaming system (I'm not interested in video). I have a lower budget than you but every time I investigate alternatives I arrive back at the Cambridge Audio Stream Magic 6. It isn't B&O pretty but it seems to have most of the audio bases covered, at least for my needs.
Ban boring signatures!
Yes Puncher,
Great minds think alike. I had considered the Cambridge Magic 6 too but then it crossed my mind that if i get this i will need two separate remotes to a) operate the streamer b) change the volume with a b&o remote and that put me off this solution somewhat.
it's the same problem with getting the Naim NDS streamer with no volume control.
seethroughyou: Yes Puncher, Great minds think alike. I had considered the Cambridge Magic 6 too but then it crossed my mind that if i ge this i will need two separate remotes to a) operate the streamer b) change the volume with a b&o remote and that put me off this solution somewhat. it's the same problem with getting the Naim NDS streamer as I will need a Naim Preamp to output a variable output to a pair of active speaker.
Great minds think alike. I had considered the Cambridge Magic 6 too but then it crossed my mind that if i ge this i will need two separate remotes to a) operate the streamer b) change the volume with a b&o remote and that put me off this solution somewhat. it's the same problem with getting the Naim NDS streamer as I will need a Naim Preamp to output a variable output to a pair of active speaker.
I believe the Stream Magic has variable volume to it's preamp outputs and therefore your active speakers can connect directly to the analogue outputs of the unit. The remote isn't B&O but you only need one (or tablet/phone).
Can a pair of active Beolabs be set to accept a variable line sigal from the preamp output of a streamer then? How come you have haven't gone down this route yet? Are there other reservations you have?
seethroughyou: Can a pair of active Beolabs be set to accept a variable line sigal from the preamp output of a streamer then? How come you have haven't gone down this route yet? Are there other reservations you have?
Most (if not all) Beolabs can except a variable level analogue input, that's basically what they get over powerlink. The streamer also has a digital out if you have digital input speakers.
I've only been looking at this for a just under a week, along with which NAS I would buy. As for reservations, I haven't heard it yet but I suspect the speakers (in my case) will be the quality limitation rather than the streamer!
Puncher: seethroughyou: Yes Puncher, Great minds think alike. I had considered the Cambridge Magic 6 too but then it crossed my mind that if i ge this i will need two separate remotes to a) operate the streamer b) change the volume with a b&o remote and that put me off this solution somewhat. it's the same problem with getting the Naim NDS streamer as I will need a Naim Preamp to output a variable output to a pair of active speaker. I believe the Stream Magic has variable volume to it's preamp outputs and therefore your active speakers can connect directly to the analogue outputs of the unit. The remote isn't B&O but you only need one (or tablet/phone).
I notice that Cambridge publish the IR codes - It would seem likely then that the streamer could be controlled by a Beo6 with suitable programming (but don't quote me).
Boy that NAIM thing is ugly as a brick, but if it does what you need it to do, and you really believe you hear a difference, then get whatever serves your needs.
As for significantly improved of upgraded BL5s, I wouldn't hold my breath. I actually have a strong suspicion they probably won't even be replaced in the line-up when it's time for them to go. If they were to be replaced, using the lifespan of B&O's last truly loved range topping speaker as a guide, they might still have a few more years left in them, as the Penta ran 13 years from 1987 to 2000 (albeit with upgrades).
If I were going to build a no holds barred system based on audio alone, I would probably *start* with the speakers and work my down. And right now my favorites would be the B&W 802 Diamond. Yes, they need to be paired with a power amp, but they're worth the trouble. And yes, they are hideous to most people.