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
moxxey: Michael: It only has 802.11B/G 2.4GHz! No 802.11N compability or 5GHz. That is strange. I spent some time a year ago making sure everything on my network worked with 802.11N, primarily to stop potential slowdown (it can happen when one device only works with 801.11B as the whole network can slow as a result).
Michael: It only has 802.11B/G 2.4GHz! No 802.11N compability or 5GHz.
It only has 802.11B/G 2.4GHz! No 802.11N compability or 5GHz.
That is strange. I spent some time a year ago making sure everything on my network worked with 802.11N, primarily to stop potential slowdown (it can happen when one device only works with 801.11B as the whole network can slow as a result).
Yes, same here. I try to eliminate all old equipment so the wifi stays fast and fresh. Don't like the look of the playmaker but it is supposed to be discrete. I hope it is wall mountable as well so it can be stuck to a bookshelf or something. I can't understand how they managed to not get 802.11n into it. Is those chips still available? It only sends me one message : cheap production.
Beolab 50, Beolab 8000 x 2, Beolab 4000 x 2, BeoSound Core, BeoSound 9000, BeoSound Century, BeoLit 15, BeoPlay A1, BeoPlay P2, BeoPlay H9 3rd Gen, BeoPlay H6, EarSet 3i, BeoVision Eclipse Gen 2 55", BeoPlay V1-40, BeoCom 6000 and so much else :)
beojeff: Paul W: But didn't BANG&OLUFSEN once pride itself on beautiful design using the highest quality materials for a premium price? Exactly, Paul! It seems that B&O took a great idea and put it in a horribly ugly container. Looking at the audio products lined up together on the B&O site, the Playmaster just looks grossly out of place. It seems B&O should have taken the extra effort to make it look nice and harmonious with the style of other B&O products. Perhaps something along the lines of the BeoCenter 2, with brushed aluminum and a similar volume control, but smaller.
Paul W: But didn't BANG&OLUFSEN once pride itself on beautiful design using the highest quality materials for a premium price?
But didn't BANG&OLUFSEN once pride itself on beautiful design using the highest quality materials for a premium price?
Exactly, Paul! It seems that B&O took a great idea and put it in a horribly ugly container. Looking at the audio products lined up together on the B&O site, the Playmaster just looks grossly out of place. It seems B&O should have taken the extra effort to make it look nice and harmonious with the style of other B&O products. Perhaps something along the lines of the BeoCenter 2, with brushed aluminum and a similar volume control, but smaller.
Paul W: It's hardly sexy design is it? Will the young Apple buyers be wanting this? Hardly! No design thought! They'd of been better approaching students at a design college to come up with some ideas rather than this piece of unsexy plastic. Reminds me of a cheap freeview box crossed with a smoke detector - no excuse for bad design with so many great International designers out there!
It's hardly sexy design is it? Will the young Apple buyers be wanting this? Hardly! No design thought! They'd of been better approaching students at a design college to come up with some ideas rather than this piece of unsexy plastic.
Reminds me of a cheap freeview box crossed with a smoke detector - no excuse for bad design with so many great International designers out there!
While I agree B&O has that reputation and does produce (yes, still) beautiful pieces of design, there were always utility component pieces.
On the past I had a black box mounted on my skirting boards for the MCL 82; today I have a Beoline and a Beoport. I was always disappointed in the BeoPort's "design" = total non-existent. but then these days it is now hidden in a cupboard with a headless MacMini.
And then there are the predecessors of this that I have, the BeoLink Wireless 1s - yes, they have some elements of design, and come in two colours, but they had to have the IR eye/puck to complete their installation, more wires and no volume control.
So this unit has pluses, and compared to the Nest, some minuses.
However I am going to suspend judgement until I see it in situ, and until I have tested its tactile interface for ease of use.
I am more concerned over its wireless standards being a longer term limitation .......
BeoNut since '75
Actually the Sonos system gives you alot fewer options, and no flexibility.
Sonos cannot support Airplay or DLNA, you need their app. to play music, so local stored music you cannot play, unless you add an Airport Express with low sound quality
moxxey:Well, Apple managed it for long enough with their metal iMacs, MBPs etc. They simply turned the casing in to an extension of the antena.
The antenna in MBP is in the plastic hinge, in the iMac, it is in the black surrounding of the screen.
Plastic is a good choice, but I guess, as it has an interface they should have made it a bit nicer. Will have to see it in the flesh.
Beoworld app with direct photo upload and emoticons.
Well it hasn't been designed to be a pearl in your livingroom. This is more like a prompter in a theater. So think the speakers as the artist, and the Playmaker as the prompter, telling the artist what to say. So you can hide away the Playmaker if you don't need the nearby operation. But i would prefer to have it positioned in my bookshelf, just to be in reach to lower or higher the music. Think about your phone is ringing, and that is the one also playing music, then you need an option 2 as control. So a Beo remote or on the product operation.
I prefer that B&O has launched these functionalities now, rather than waiting for a designer to come up with a specific design look, making the price go up.
Thorngaard: Well it hasn't been designed to be a pearl in your livingroom. This is more like a prompter in a theater. So think the speakers as the artist, and the Playmaker as the prompter, telling the artist what to say. So you can hide away the Playmaker if you don't need the nearby operation. But i would prefer to have it positioned in my bookshelf, just to be in reach to lower or higher the music. Think about your phone is ringing, and that is the one also playing music, then you need an option 2 as control. So a Beo remote or on the product operation. I prefer that B&O has launched these functionalities now, rather than waiting for a designer to come up with a specific design look, making the price go up.
no excuse at all ! this "thing" would get at engadget the titel "crap (looking) gadget" of month ,without effort
at just under £300 pounds (UK) with some Beolab 4000's, it could be the next best thing to ML I suppose
Thorngaard: Actually the Sonos system gives you alot fewer options, and no flexibility. Sonos cannot support Airplay or DLNA, you need their app. to play music, so local stored music you cannot play, unless you add an Airport Express with low sound quality
Well, I speak for myself, but I guess for most households it’s the same. The music I have on my iPad and iPhone is also on my NAS that Sonos can access. The only (rare) time I can think of is that Airplay is only useful, when guests have music on their iPhone.
I guess I'll reserve judgement until I've seen it in the flesh, but I do think the pictures are ugly. Also, you cannot hide it away since you need to touch it or use a remote. I hope that the lack of wireless N support is a misprint.
To correct someone above (and this seems to be a fairly common misperception that I've seen in print as well) , 5GHz generally has less range than 2.4 GHz G, and it also doesn't go through walls and doors as well. I know I've seen many articles where they attribute "greater range" to N, but perhaps this is 2.4 GHz N. (http://www.speedguide.net/faq_in_q.php?qid=340). Granted 5GHz has much less interference which is always a good thing.
Stan
Just out of curiosity: am I the only one who is more concerned about the lack of an ML connection on this device as well as on other recent B&O products instead of the bad design? At the moment I am able to connect any audio device to my B&O system even via bluetooth (with reasonable but not great sound quality). The problem in fact is that any new product seems to handicap the wonderful existing link capabilities of B&O.
Not sure if it's just me but the web page is terrible - after saying it can by operated from Android and Win Phone devices (OK it doesn't actually say Android but it mentions HTC and shows pictures of Galaxy tablets) there's absolutely no info on how to set the device up to work with any of these - the "download app" link takes you to a non-English link to the iOS App!
I applaud the notion of DLNA & direct NAS linking but their setup really should be covered in the manual in better detail than "use DLNA apps to stream from your device......", if you're going to advertise it as a feature - poor form B&O. Surely at least recommending a suitable app and showing how to set it up is a basic minimum, even if you can't be bothered to develop your own Andoid app (which would be better still on the basis that your new TV's also support DLNA).
It makes it look like a rushed to market, sourced product.
Ban boring signatures!
DLNA seem to be the next ML : it can be wired or wireless, and if B&O takes the time to add some lines in the code of their ethernet products (V1 TV, BS5/BS5E...) to transmit audio/video in DLNA to a "media renderer" (typically a Playmaker), it can totally replace ML.
The question is : will B&O add the code lines to do that????
diisign.com
Is there a cable to connect it to an 'old' BeoSound 8 in order to add the AirPlay capability?
B&O Order NR = 6271216 = RJ45 Power Link to 2 x Phono (male) to connect the Playmaker to a BSd8 (or any other device with a line input)
Does this mean I can totally ditch my awful BS5E, buy a Beo6 and actually enjoy my music library for a change?
BL90, BL5 x 2, BL9, BL8000 x 2, Penta III x 2, Penta II, BL2, BL4, BL2500, RL6000 x 3, MS150, MS150.2, A9, A1, A2, P2, Beolit 12/17, S70, CX50, CX100, Beovox 2500, BS9000 x 2, BS3000, BS4, BC2, BS1, Moment, Essence MkII x 2, BS5 Encore, BG8002, BC8002, BM8002, BG5500, BV7-40 MkIII, BV11-55, BV Avant 85", BC5, H8, E8, Form 2, A8...Serene
While not a very interesting or atractive object, I'm going to get one and see how it goes. If it works reliably i'll replace a couple of Beoports with them.
I can't see a new or replacement ML coming....
Paul W:Will the young Apple buyers be wanting this?
LOL. Not all Apple buyers are young. Some are over the hill > 30 :-p . But seriously, Apple has buyers of all ages. This is a B&O product designed to link in with B&O speakers. So perhaps it's a different price point.
I actually like the design, like that you can touch it.
My favourite mac of all time is my white G5. Plastic isn't the anti christ.
benoit: Is there a cable to connect it to an 'old' BeoSound 8 in order to add the AirPlay capability?
Ooh, that's an interesting question. I'd be interested to hear peoples thoughts on this.
From the diagrams that Ed has shown, it has a line in (is it out). My BS8 have a line (RCA) so i'm sure it will work just fine. Just the same as an airport express would however with a distinctive B&O edge. :-)
Michael:Ooh, that's an interesting question.
... answered a few posts above ...
ouverture: at just under £300 pounds (UK)
at just under £300 pounds (UK)
I was told it will be £350 in the UK. Has anyone heard differently (or can find the answer in a previous post ;)
moxxey:I was told it will be £350 in the UK.
Don't know the UK retail price but it will retail for EUR 379,- in AT / DE
I won't be needing one of these, as I' m very happy with my current setup. But I can see the use for this.
They could have put about 5 minutes more than the 5 seconds they did into the design of the thing though!
It looks horrible.
I was surprised at the price, I was expecting 1000 euro +. Heck it's B&O folks!
They could have put an extra hundred on the styling, as this looks like a fire alarm from 1991.
Too long to list....
I'm simply horrified everytime I see this thing. I just don't know what to say. I'm passionate about design and this is like suffering from horrible food poisoning with a double hangover! It's just making me ill.
It's ghastly, It's just unsexy, oh my gosh, simply horrific design! Oh my gosh!
Thorngaard: I prefer that B&O has launched these functionalities now, rather than waiting for a designer to come up with a specific design look, making the price go up.
Well... As they have used 'David Lewis Design' -the company of the late David Lewis (R.I.P.) - I guess it's not to save money on the design that B&O chose them... And for the amount of money they probably payed the design company, one should have expected something better...Someone at B&O should have said 'No - try again'...Perhaps they should have asked 'Jacob Jensen Design'..? Then we'd possibly have gotten some aluminium...
That Art Director is SO FIRED!!!
Steffen: Well... As they have used 'David Lewis Design' -the company of the late David Lewis (R.I.P.) - I guess it's not to save money on the design that B&O chose them...
Well... As they have used 'David Lewis Design' -the company of the late David Lewis (R.I.P.) - I guess it's not to save money on the design that B&O chose them...
I get the impression - and this is merely guesswork - that David Lewis Design are contracted to B&O as their preferred design team and, as a result, are relatively low cost. Move to Jacob Jensen, and you're moving in to a different league and, of course, expense.
We forget that B&O have gone through a stringent cost reduction programme in the last three or four years. This included cutting back staff, R&D costs, moving production to China and using fewer designers.
I do agree though, the Playmaker is neither a good design nor an inconspicuous device, as B&O suggest on their website. It's 16cm wide.
Although I'd like a better DAC, I don't see any reason for moving away from my existing multi-Airport Express setup. Has served me well for many years now, so why change?
While I'm certainly not a designer (rather, I'm a lawyer), I would think that to design for Bang & Olufsen would be a great honor in the design community. Wouldn't this be a coveted job? I just don't see how any designer in their right mind could design something so ugly and certainly so out of place in the Bang & Olufsen line of products. Where is the pride in one's work? This design certainly must hurt B&O's image.
You may be right...But I doubt they are very much contracted to B&O, as B&O have used several other designers. E.g. Anders Hermansen designed the Beosound 5 and Cecilie Manz the Beolit 12.
Anyway...IF they get a discount at DL Design, they shouldn't accept discount design....
Oh -You were faster than me Beojeff...
I was replying to moxxey...
We have had these devices in our home for many years........its called the bathroom exhaust fan.
Having seen the offical webpage & read the user guide, I now have more questions than answers:
- what assures me that the DAC inside is better in any way than a DAC Magic? There's not a single technical info about the DAC, you don't even know if the upsampling (if any) is 24 bit, for instance!
- I see the device as an alternative to a BeoLink Active kit (the design reminds me of the old MCL boxes!), so why not keep the same beautiful IR eye and fit a black box behind it? They could even have saved more on the designer!
- where are the tone controls? There seems to be none, which is a first for B&O..you may want to adjust bass , treble, or balance in some setups..
- now that BS5 owners have spend a week ripping their CDs in WMA Lossless, you tell them "er, sorry, our new platform doesn't play this format" (however, our V1 TV does!): is this a joke???
moxxey:Although I'd like a better DAC, I don't see any reason for moving away from my existing multi-Airport Express setup. Has served me well for many years now, so why change?
You can operate Playmaker with Beo4 and Beo6. > Start playback from your hand- held device. > To select an AirPlay or DLNA source, press A.MEM on Beo4. On Beo6, press AIRPLAY*2. > To select a source connected via line-in, press LIST and bring up A.AUX in the Beo4 display, then press the centre button. On Beo6, press LINE IN.*2 > Use the volume button/volume wheel to adjust volume.
You can operate Playmaker with Beo4 and Beo6.
> Start playback from your hand-
held device.
> To select an AirPlay or DLNA
source, press A.MEM on Beo4.
On Beo6, press AIRPLAY*2.
> To select a source connected via
line-in, press LIST and bring up A.AUX in the Beo4 display, then press the centre button. On Beo6, press LINE IN.*2
> Use the volume button/volume wheel to adjust volume.
Pity you can' start a "play" like with the old IR eyes/pucks, you have to use your (i)Device to initiate the playback
The more I think about it the bigger shame it is that they haven't given this product their all. At this price it has the potential to be a killer product - an (allegedly) good quality DAC, both iOS, Android & DLNA compatibility - giving the ability to stream your music into your B&O speakers.
Let down by -
- there being no Android app to control it - where's the B&O "experience" in navigating your music collection if you have to use some third party offering of questionable quality/visual appeal,
- the ID, I'm not advocating large sheets of brushed aluminium but come on, this is pretty awful!
Also, moving forward, I still think that B&O need their own, larger scale, hardware controller for network management/navigation/coverart etc., the Beo6 just doesn't cut it in this application. I've mentioned many times that I thought the BS5 should have been some sort of modern day MCP. I'm not advocating the BS5 design as the answer but definitely something with a smidgen of B&O magic. I'm sure everyone will jump in and tell me that they can do it with an app on their iPad and yes, I'm sure you can but again ................ where's the B&O magic in that?? I don't want an app on a generic tablet that someone might be using for something else when I need it, I'd rather have a dedicated controller, especially if B&O are going the base all their new systems/networks on DLNA.
Sonos manage to sell hardware controllers for their system even though there are apps available to do the same thing - I would like to think that B&O could too - and make a killer job of the controller rather than the Sonos monstrosity.
MartinW:Interestingly Sonos dumped their controller about 3 months ago and don't plan any further ones - they just promote the apps now.
Be that as it may - if the B&O tactile/interface experience is reduced to an app on an iPad or a generic app on a no-name Android tablet then it is a sad, sad end.
Whether we like it or not, the demand is for intuitive, slick interfaces and control via iPads/Android devices etc etc
Just one question WHERE IS THE B&O APP for this product and the BeoSound5 for digital music control.
IMHO many customers are judging their experience not just from sound quality, but like to identify with and interact with their favorite brands via these apps. By not having a killer app and using 3rd party software, I feel part of the joy of owning and experiencing a great Bang & Olufsen sound system is missing.
StUrrock: Whether we like it or not, the demand is for intuitive, slick interfaces and control via iPads/Android devices etc etc Just one question WHERE IS THE B&O APP for this product and the BeoSound5 for digital music control. IMHO many customers are judging their experience not just from sound quality, but like to identify with and interact with their favorite brands via these apps. By not having a killer app and using 3rd party software, I feel part of the joy of owning and experiencing a great Bang & Olufsen sound system is missing.
........and that's my point exactly. But not everyone wants to control their hifi from their phone, - me for instance, I prefer my phone to be charged for phoning. I want a media controller that controls my media and media devices, I don't need it to Facebook or play Scrabble, or look at pictures of naked women, or send pictures of my genitalia to strangers - I just want it to be the best media controller out there with the most tactile and intuitive inferface possible ...........and always on when I pick it up - I don't want to have to scroll through screens to start an app when I want to play a track. I also don't want it to be at the constant mercy of some third party.
If they want to offer apps too then that's fine, get on with it but not to the exclusion of a real B&O (in all sense of the word) controller.
Elegance, simplicity, touch, feel .............. satisfaction - I remember the days well.