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dear all,
I just bought 2 active speakers Beolab Penta 1 fpr my Beocenter 9500. The sound is really great, they are connected via powerlink cables.
Unfortunately there is still a big problem (also the mute function on the BC9500 does ot work with the Pentas: when I start playing music with the speakers in auto position ("stand-by"), there is a "big bang" coming out of the speakers. Beside that´s terrible to listen to, I also fear that the speakers could be damaged.
Hope somebody knows about the problem and could advise me how to solve it.
thanks in advance, any comment is welcom - kind regards
Lars
Hi Lars and welcome to Beoworld.
The mute function does not operate for speakers connected to Speaker 2 outlet. You can daisy chain the pentas from Powerlink 1. Connect one speaker to that and run another cable between the two Penta's.
Try setting the power mode switch to 'Link'. I think the BC9500 has a speaker relay so the 'Pop' is possibly from that. I'm sure I'll be put right. They should then turn off after about 15 seconds instead of 3 minutes or so once the BC is turned off.
Beolab Penta I does not have Powerlink outlets so you must have Penta II's?
Dave.
Hi Dave, thanks for the warm welcome and your comments. Just to explain: the Penta I are connecte to the powerlnk on the BC9500 with a kind of 2in1 adapter. So, you think using for example the Penta III on the Center would work perfectly without the named problems?
If you have Penta III's, by all means use them and they should be fine as they already have the Powerlink inputs.
I'm not aware of this 'adapter' you have. Can you post a picture?
You can also use 2-pin DIN speaker cables and just not have the displays working on the Penta I's.
it´s a short cable under the basement which has 2 connections to the penta on one side and a powerlink on the other side to connect with the long powerlink cable, coming from the bc9600. I may have a chance to buy a pair of penta 3 for a very fair price, so they will surely work on the beocenter 9500 without the signal "plof" when starting the bc even if it was long time (hours!) stand-by? (perhaps also possible to get the mute function back, I heard that it is "only" a relais, cutting of the standard passive speakers)...man, hard stuff for a starter! :-)
I have this exact setup, the "PLOP" comes from the 9500. I hear it on my "home brew" subwoofer I created to aid my pentas by connecting one of the 9500 speaker outputs to an Powerlink to RCA L/R adapter, then that is connected to a small crossover unit, and finally that is connected to an old Pioneer receiver I had lying around that works perfectly connected to a small passive subwoofer. Since the Pioneer is never "off", I get the "PLOP" from the subwoofer when turning on the 9500.
My Penta IIIs still have a little bit of the pop when they power up, but MUCH less than your setup would have. You barely hear it at all.
thanks playdrive4me!
the penta II and III with powerlink are build to work with the powerlink cables on the beocenter9500, is this correct?
I mean before I spend "some" more money to buy the Penta III: if I connect them directly with powerlink (without any extra components)
on the bc9500 I would get a good result ? (much better than the penta I, the PLOP is really a disturbing hard one)
Have you tried setting the Penta's to 'Link' yet and if so, does it make a difference?
Penta II and III are designed to work with the Powerlink outputs such as on the BC9500. If it is the speaker relay causing this noise, it may still be present but the Penta's should then be set to 'L' and 'R', not 'AUTO'. You can read the user manuals for the Penta speakers on Beoworld with silver or gold membership. Also make sure (as with the Penta I's) that the input level switch is set appropriately for the BC9500.
Yes, Penta II and III are designed to work with the 9500 directly via Powerlink. Even if you have the switch set to L and R, and the input level set correctly, there will still be tiny "werp" sound when they turn on, but they're known for that. I believe Millemissen or someone else on here actually mentioned once that it was the bane of his existence he could never make it go away completely! It doesn't bother me.
ok, thank you all very much fo rthe kind answers and suggestions. I could easily stand a tiny "werp", so I decided to try the Penta III on my Beocenter 9500. If everything works fine, I still have to find someone out there for my Pena I´s......
To add to this topic.
B&O sells (or sold) special adaptercables (partnumber: 6275896) to connect the Penta mk1 with powerlinksockets.
As the mk1 doesn't have these powerlinksockets, the adapter spilts the powerlinkcable into a speakerlink (for display data) and a phono/RCA for the audiosignal.
The problem (sometimes) appears when starting up. The center gives an instable audiosignal and the Penta reacts to that. This results in a serious loud bang.
The solution is to mute the audiosignal and release that signal a few seconds later.
I've designed a circuit which comes inbetween and doesn't harm or distort the audiosignal.
BTW. Every penta gives a "puf" when starting up. This also has to do with the amplfier powering up. For this I place some extra components to avoid that.
Photo: small box with (adjustable) time delay. Works like a charm.
The Penta mk1 isn't capable of handling the power and speaker on/off signals provided via powerlink.
Therefore the Penta mk1 has an automatic sensing system for audiosignals.
Putting it into "Auto"mode, it will respond to the Phono socket and in the Link "mode", it will respond to audiosignals on the speakerlink and speakerterminals.
But to be able to use the speaker(link) signals, the Penta mk1 needs to attenuate the incoming already amplified loudspeaker audio.
Gregg:This means, I believe, that they are now being powered by the BC 9500 amp and essentially become passive speakers. Not only did this eliminate the turn on pop but the sound quality is noticeably better.
The Penta mk1 still uses it own amplifier and isn't bypassed by setting the option switch to "Link". It only needs to be less sensitive to the incoming audiosignal.
Your experience and opnion about the soundquality with speakerlink is personal and subjective. (sorry, no offence there)
Keeping the traveling distance as short as possible between the pre-amplifier and the amplifier itself is always better.
Connecting the Penta with speakerlink to the BC9500 means that the audio first has been amplified (with it's distortion) by the BC9500, travels along through (the usual oxidiced) relais, then will be attenuated in the pre-amplfier from the Penta mk1 and after that finally be amplified again.
Audio put from (any) pre-amplifier directly into the phono socket, is a kind of shortcut and preferrable. Therefore avoiding unwanted distortion.
Running the Penta mk1 with speakerlink cables, makes that the loud "bang" is avoided by the BC9500 relais, which also comes in a short moment after powering up. The remaining "pop" comes at the moment that the powersupply from the mk1 starts.
Beobuddy:I've designed a circuit which comes inbetween and doesn't harm or distort the audiosignal.
Would you like to share the design?
//Bo.A long list...
If asked by pm, yes.
Thanks for the detailed answer. I didn't know that the Penta still uses its own amplifier. I agree that shouldn't sound better with speakerlink, but they do.
Gregg:. I agree that shouldn't sound better with Speakerlink, but they do.
Beobuddy: If asked by pm, yes.
Sent you an email.
Hi Beobuddy,
I'm very much interested in the delay circuit you built for the Penta 1.
Would you kindly share the design?
Is there also a drawing available for the PL to SL-adapter?
Cheers!