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Dear Community,
not long ago I bought a used BeoCenter 9500, optically very well cared-for and in full working-order.
I started with Passive speakers and enjoyed many hours of pleasure.
I upgraded a couple of weeks ago to four BeoLab 8000. When I connected these via Powerlink cable
the Beocenter went silent. Initially there was no sound from any socket, neither active nor passive.
After playing around with different socket / Speaker / L-R-LINE - settings, I discovered that 2 of the four passive sockets were working again (mysteriously) but with miserable sound.
Also, when I flip quickly between L-R-LINE on the BeoLab, the green speaker-light comes on and there is music..... for 3-5 seconds. Then the speaker shuts-down again. The BC Display works perfect, all the lights and functions work. Just no sound. I can solder a little and have just succesfully replaced the cassette mechanism on a similar unit.
Please can anyone help me with some advice ?
With best wishes to all Neil
Is it the Speaker 2 output that works? If so, it sounds like a bad muting-relay. Very common. Try turning the mute on and off several times and see if it gets any better.
Also check that no adapter is placed in the headphone output (it's a jack, so if it appears to be a minijack, there's an adapter in there).
Magnus
Try to isolate the problem by connecting only one Beolab and one Powerlink cable at a time. If it works (or doesn't), try all the cables one at a time.
I installed my Beolab 5000s yesterday (hadn't ever tried them with Powerlink before) and spent an hour chasing ghosts, because one of my factory made, never used (non-B&O) PL cables had a short between two pins!
The muting relay is a classic fault and probably to blame for bad / missing sound out of the passive speaker outputs, but the Powerlink speakers should work regardless, as their signal doesn't go through the relay in a BC9500.
--mika
tournedos: The muting relay is a classic fault and probably to blame for bad / missing sound out of the passive speaker outputs, but the Powerlink speakers should work regardless, as their signal doesn't go through the relay in a BC9500.
Ah, of course you are right! Sorry, my bad!
Hi ! and thx for swift replies, also to Magnus !
Indeed, it's passive SPEAKER 2 sockets that work with some old Grundig boxes. Sound is poor though.
I've tested all BeoLabs and all cables on other B&O equipment a few minutes ago. All work fine, so it seems the problem is in the BC.
Meanwhile I've also switched the MUTE button several dozen times on the advice of Magnus. All to no avail !
The BeoLab continues to run for 5 seconds when I rapidly switch between L-R-LINE ???
Any further tips very welcome
Grateful thanks to forum
Neil
OK - after those tests, it is very probable the fault is in the Beocenter, possibly in the Powerlink sockets or the circuitry that feeds them. The signal to PL sockets is tapped from before it enters the power amplifiers, so some kind of a short in there could in theory ruin the sound for the passive speaker outputs as well.
Do you see any foreign matter or signs of mechanical abuse in the Powerlink sockets? If not, I guess I would start by inspecting the solderings of the sockets anyway.
Zorbas: Meanwhile I've also switched the MUTE button several dozen times on the advice of Magnus. All to no avail !
Did you hear the mute relay click? I'm still thinking that the mute is stuck on, since you hear sound when switching the Left/Right/Line switch. Because that means that they get a signal, but not the "on" voltage that makes them turn on... Maybe bad soldering in the headphone connector? But that wouldn't explain the bad sound in the Speaker 2 connectors, though...
Thanks Mika !
Could the BeoLab 8000 have caused an overload in the BC 9500 ? Are they even compatible / recommendable for the 9500 ??
I connected 3 BeoLabs in series (Daisy-Chain) on the left channel and 1 BeoLab on the right, to avoid cabeling over a door.
I have a gut-feeling that these BeoLabs caused the problem, as , beforehand, the Passive Grundig speakers worked fine on all 4 Passive sockets.
Just as a reminder : 2 of the four Passive sockets are stone dead now. Both Powerlink sockets play for 5 seconds after switching L-R-LINE then die.
Any further Tech-advice very welcome.
Cheers
Zorbas:Could the BeoLab 8000 have caused an overload in the BC 9500 ? Are they even compatible / recommendable for the 9500 ??
No problem there, they are fully compatible and were probably even sold together for a short while.
I'm still thinking about some problem with/around the PL sockets that was triggered when you inserted the plugs for the first time. Actually, my problem yesterday was that the faulty PL cable forced mute on all the time when it was connected to my Beomaster 6500!
Thanks for all considerations.
I had a tip yesterday from Ulf in Germany, on a German forum, who suspects 2 micro-fuses on the end-stage circuit board, near the cooling fins.
Allthough I've got the BC apart, I still havent identifeid these tiny (black or brown) soldered-in micro-fuses.
Are you familiar with these fuses ? Could one-or-the-other indeed be the problem ?? On which PC board No. are they ???
Grateful thanks in advance
Doesn't ring any bells in here... and I couldn't locate anything like that in the service manual either (which doesn't prove anything, they are rather hard to wade through on screen).
Good evening Magnus,
thanks for your considerations, all very apreciated.
I'm now listening to the passive speakers connected to SPEAKERS 2
When I touch MUTE nothing happens, no relay-click, the music keeps playing ?
When I have only the (test) BeoLab connected to PL there is also no Click or reaction when Muting.
I can even get 5 seconds of music from the BeoLab whilst in MUTE ? if i switch quickly between L-R-LINE on the BeoLab.
This does look like a Mute Relay problem.
If so, on which board is it, what does it look like and where do I source a replacement ?
Thanks for kind help.
rgds
Good evening to you too!
Zorbas: I'm now listening to the passive speakers connected to SPEAKERS 2 When I touch MUTE nothing happens, no relay-click, the music keeps playing ?
That's normal. The Speaker 2 output is designed for speakers in another room, so it's not affected by the mute function. But you should hear the mute-relay.
Zorbas:I can even get 5 seconds of music from the BeoLab whilst in MUTE ? if i switch quickly between L-R-LINE on the BeoLab.
When the speaker is in L or R mode, it will turn on when it gets told via Powerlink (voltage on one of the pins), but when it's in "LINE" it will auto-sense sound. So when you turn it to "LINE" it will turn on (because of the noise from the switch), and when you turn it back it will play music from the Beocenter until in realises that it's not supposed to be on and then turn off.
Zorbas:This does look like a Mute Relay problem.
As Mika pointed out, that would only affect the passive speakers, not the Beolabs. It sounds more like the muting circuit, witch tells the relay to turn on and off.
What's supposed to happen when you press "mute" is that the Beocenter will activate the mute-relay (which only works on passive speakers connected to the SPEAKER 1 socket) and turn off the Beolabs. But the music will still be present on the powerlink socket (I believe).
Since you do not hear the mute-relay and the Beolabs are always off, it sounds to me like the Beocenter is somehow stuck in mute. It will do that if there's an plug connected to the headphone socket (or it thinks that there are). So check the headphone socket, and maybe try to connect and disconnect a plug to see if the switch has somehow stuck.
If it's not that, then I'm out of ideas. But I'm sure Mika, or some of the other very clever people on this board, has some more clever thoughts!
Good luck!
Magnus !
I just read-up the owners manual. It states that the MUTE function does not apply to the SPEAKERS 2 sockets i.e has no effect !
Would I still hear it click though ?
Still no sound from SPEAKERS 1, and only 5 seconds from Powerlink sockets when flipping between lines. MUTE has no efect or relay-click here either.
Kindest regards
Just for elemination, the BC in still in option 1?
If the BC9500 is in option 0, the PL aren't activated and the passives are muted as I can remember.
I suspect a faulty contact in the headphone socket or a faulty TR22.(which could act as a shortcut and doesn't let the power-on pin4 on the PL go high, but less likely)
Can you hear switching relais wjhen using the headphone(socket).
Good evening Beobuddy,
I had no idea about these options. This could be the answer !
Unfortunately my BeoLink 5000 doesn't react when I key SOUND.
Can I change the OPTIONS directly on the BC keyboard ??
or is there a trick to get the BeoLink into options-mode.
Many thanks for your consideration
Best wishes
The optionsetting has to be done by using a BL1000, 5000 etc.
Normally a BL1000 works with the sequence pressing SOUND 1 STORE. You have to try if that works also with a BL5000.
After pressing the BC9500 normally blinks once to confirm.
I remember that the BL5000 has a hidden menu for settings like 1 and 2 way AUDIO/VIDEO communication.
But you can also try the suggestion of plugging several times in and out the headphone. Bad contacts could cause this behaviour.
Hi Beobuddy !
The tip with the PHONES socket did the trick !!!
Thanks here to Magnus also, for he suspected the Phones-Socket from the beginning.
After finally understanding the BeoLink, I put the BC into OPTION 1 ( it was probably already in this option but the confirmation-blink is so easy to miss when your'e not staring at the top-right-corner )
Anyways, the option made no difference, so I moved- on to the PHONES socket. The jack was very loose in the socket, which to be honest I`d never used. So I susupected it immediately. I took out the PCB 51 and compared it with some old BC9000 parts which I saved. The board is identical and the components aparently also.
I screwed the replacement board into place, powered-up, and BINGO.
I would likt to thank all those who considered my post and my problem wholeheartedly.
I hope that I can repay the favour someday soon.
Kindest regards to all on the thread.
Zorb