Interested in B&O 5.1 set

Hello, I've got some questions regarding the b&o products and would like to have some advice from all of you please.

- Can all the speakers be used as surrounding speakers in 5.1 setup? for example, beolab 17 for center, beolab 5 x 2 for front right and left, beolab 3 x 2 for rear right and left, beolab 19 for subwoofer? basically can we use any speakers for any positions?

- Does B&O have a bluray player that connects to the speakers? If I use my own bluray player, how do the B&O speakers get the sound?

- Do I have to get beosound system for "central control"? Does it have optical cable input (for surround sound)? If I get the speakers only, where can I control the volume, setting, etc?

- I do not plan to get B&O TV would that be a problem for compatibility with the speakers?

- Are B&O speakers good for movies and gaming?

- Would you recommend the wireless speakers?

-What excatly is BeoLink?

- Can I get extra pair of speakers and put it in another room and play different music?

- B&O claims that it can turn on the lights and off, opening curtains, etc. How?

 

Basically I'd like a 5.1 home theater system for movies and gaming, and if I can play music through my computer that would be great. I appreciate all of your help.

Welcome to Beoworld.

All very good questions you have there.

However perhaps the volume overwhelmed people !

Answering that many via an iPhone is going to challenging.

Basically you can mix and match the speakers within sensible bounds eg I imagine it makes little sense to gave BeoLab 5s as fronts and Beolab 4s as rears. And definitely not the other way round.

Some would debate whether a subwoofer would needed if you go with Beolab 5s.

Very few of the BeoLabs take optical input. In the absence of optical input to a speaker's internal DAC some would question the wisdom of driving high end speakers with a PC's internal DAC.

The B&O philosophy is to have the TV (BV) separate the channels to the speakers. You will find the whole concept of speaker groups interesting and powerful.

In the absence of a B&O TV you could get the BeoSystem 4 to drive your panel / projector and the speakers.

B&O tend to use / recommend OPPO blue ray players for integration into their environment.

By starting to answer your question hopefully I have popped this thread to the top of the queue and others can elaborate further.

G'day BeoWalker, welcome to the forum and i'll see if i can contribute from my knowledge and also from my experience. 

beowalker:

Hello, I've got some questions regarding the b&o products and would like to have some advice from all of you please.

- Can all the speakers be used as surrounding speakers in 5.1 setup? for example, beolab 17 for center, beolab 5 x 2 for front right and left, beolab 3 x 2 for rear right and left, beolab 19 for subwoofer? basically can we use any speakers for any positions?

beowalker:

- Does B&O have a bluray player that connects to the speakers? If I use my own bluray player, how do the B&O speakers get the sound?

All speakers can be used as surrounding speakers in a 5.1 or a different set-up, either in a B&O setup or with a non B&O setup.  If you are using an AV Receiver you will have to make sure it has a Preamp as the speakers are active aka powered.  You could also consider the B&O Transmitter 1 as well to connect to your non B&O TV.  Take a look on the webpage.  If you do this, you will need Wirless Receivers (1 per speaker that is non wireless)

beowalker:

- Do I have to get beosound system for "central control"? Does it have optical cable input (for surround sound)? If I get the speakers only, where can I control the volume, setting, etc?

 As above, and see below 

beowalker:

- I do not plan to get B&O TV would that be a problem for compatibility with the speakers?

 No it's not a problem, but I have been through 1 Pioneer and 2 Sony TVs which i had spent in excess of $20k and if i just bit the bullet in the first place with a B&O TV it would have made more sense.  But it's not a problem for compatibility, you should also really look at http://www.bang-olufsen.com/en/sound/loudspeakers/beolab-transmitter-1  this may suit your purpose 

beowalker:

- Are B&O speakers good for movies and gaming?

Yep sure are.  I use them for both. 

 

beowalker:

- Would you recommend the wireless speakers?

 Yes for sure.  The wireless is a unique and strong signal via the WISA algorithm.  I use the B&O Receiver 1 with 2 Beo Lab 3s and they work perfectly.  I love them http://www.bang-olufsen.com/en/sound/loudspeakers/beolab-receiver-1

 

beowalker:

-What excatly is BeoLink?

I don't know but i think it is the link for whole house automation 

 

beowalker:

- Can I get extra pair of speakers and put it in another room and play different music?

IT depends 

 

beowalker:

- B&O claims that it can turn on the lights and off, opening curtains, etc. How?

 That requires a lot of software and hardware integration.  It requires a device called a Master Link Gateway which has been relaunched as a Network Link Gateway (i think).  Masterlink was analogue and Network is digital.  

 

beowalker:

Basically I'd like a 5.1 home theater system for movies and gaming, and if I can play music through my computer that would be great. I appreciate all of your help.

 That's all possible - that's what I use it for. 

 

Hey there

Welcome to the forum

I currently have all my media in a HTPC and hook up my B&O speakers to it via a exasound e28 DAC. I currently have a pair of BeoLab 18 for the fronts, pair of BeoLab 3 for the rear, one Beolab 3 for centre and a Velodyne for sub. Yes I broke a pair of Beolab 3 but I'm not using it so its fine for now.

The HTPC is controlled via a BeoRemote One and I'm current using Kodi as the front end for media selection and playback.

The biggest problem I find is the centre, B&O used to have centre speakers but no longer have any in the current range. Sound level is also problematic but solvable.

My next purchase would be the Beolab 19 and any centre speaker that has an acoustic lens.

I would dearly love B&O to add video playback on the Moment as per their TVs but doubt that would ever happen.

I don't do streaming to a second room but there's many ways you can do it with or without B&O. The B&O speakers are active so it's a matter of finding a source that has the functionality you want

Thank you for the replies! I think I've got some ideas now...

I've been wondering what does BeoSound 5 do? Is it a must to have? Can't I play music through other devices? Thanks!

I haven't test it at home so I can't really say how it compares with my setup. You could always ask your dealer to let you borrow one for testing with some speakers

It's an audio source where you can store or retrieve (dlna) music files and play those files. It also can access internet music channels. It does have a nice physical interface to select music.

You can always use other sources in B&O range like the Essence and Moment. Non B&O source also can be used but you'll need to make sure those have pre amp analog output with variable volume output

Unfortunately I never went there as I need the convenience of having all my media (music and video) in a single unit. I've always wondered about using the Beosystem 4 as a source but probably will give that a miss for some time ( it currently doesn't do 4k)

BillC:

I would dearly love B&O to add video playback on the Moment as per their TVs but doubt that would ever happen.

What would that do if it was possible?

I see. maybe i will skip beosound 5 then, it just seems like an unnecessary music player which costs a lot. i will find a way to play music through other platforms such as TV / /bluray player / PS4

If it could play video and had a hdmi output (which I think it doesn't) it could become a modern version of the Beocentre 2 modernized for the diskless era of wireless dlna devices etc with a nice remote interface. Just like a Kaleidescape media server with an integrated two way remote, nice physical front end and better audio.

Given B&O strategy of assigning their TVs as the media hub I doubt they will ever produce a device that will act as the front end for video consumption.

I don't know of any currently available product that combines a beautiful physical device with great audio and video output. The Oppo bluray players are great but they don't have the physical beauty of a B&O equipment or great interface. Moreover as most serious home theatre gear are designed for hide away racks (to satisfy their clients installation setup) I doubt I'll ever get the chance to buy something like that - the business case would never stack up [:\'(]

FYI Yes I did consider getting an Avant TV - we might get it when the tech is more stable (4k etc)

BillC:

If it could play video and had a hdmi output (which I think it doesn't) it could become a modern version of the Beocentre 2 modernized for the diskless era of wireless dlna devices etc with a nice remote interface. Just like a Kaleidescape media server with an integrated two way remote, nice physical front end and better audio.

Given B&O strategy of assigning their TVs as the media hub I doubt they will ever produce a device that will act as the front end for video consumption.

I don't know of any currently available product that combines a beautiful physical device with great audio and video output. The Oppo bluray players are great but they don't have the physical beauty of a B&O equipment or great interface. Moreover as most serious home theatre gear are designed for hide away racks (to satisfy their clients installation setup) I doubt I'll ever get the chance to buy something like that - the business case would never stack up [:\'(]

FYI Yes I did consider getting an Avant TV - we might get it when the tech is more stable (4k etc)

Not unless it had a hidey hole for an Apple TV or a roku box or whatever that could allow streaming to multiple locations.

Thinking cap guys