My review of Beosound 1

I know that Lee made a thorough review of Beosound 1 upon launch. I thought it may be interesting for some readers to hear more about daily use and integration.

The reason for buying the BS1 was to replace my last piece of ML equipment, Beolab 2000 and the NL/ML converter. The Beolab 2000 was placed on the wall in the kitchen area.

I liked the aluminum finish on the BS1 that would match well with the kitchen design.

Setup was very smooth. No problems at all. It updated it self to the latest firmware right after connection to my wifi.

The build quality is very nice.

The volume wheel is super nice to operate. The aluminum is polished in a way that it appear resistant to fingerprints.

The drawbacks I see with the replacement, is maybe that I miss some of the stereo perspective that BL2000 gave, and I loose some space on the kitchen bench.

When I come down to the kitchen in the mornings I just touch the BS1 and it plays my favorite Tunein station. When done in the kitchen I go upstairs and tap on my A6 to join what's playing on the BS1.

When joining the BS1 from the lounge I press join on the remote.

My Beovision 11 the present the source on the screen.

I can also use the screen on my Moment and press Link and the choose the source I want to join.

Unfortunately the latest update on Moment did not bring any Beosound 1 icon.

To summarize I'm happy with the replacement. The sound is open, and has a punch. Dependent on where I place BS1 it may get a bit boomy. Voices and string instruments sound very nice. Think it sounds best when the volume is cranked up a bit, and using DLNA and Deezer sources.

BS1 looks stunning in my view. Blends well into any environment.

One detail remark is that it's a bit annoying in the beginning that on BS1 you have to double tap to switch source. On A6 it's a single tap. On BS1 a single tap put it into standby.

I have not tried the battery capacity yet. Will be when the spring comes, when I intend to bring the BS1 out on the patio occasionally

/C

Very nice, and a very stylish kitchen! I do wonder though, how in the world did you ever keep the BL2000 clean being that close to the stovetop?! I try my best to contain things, but I find over time an accretion of oil in the most distant and unlikely seeming places from sauteing and frying and such. I would have thought the BL2000 with all its nooks and crannies to have gotten really dirty up there so close!

BTW, I have the same stand mixer in the same color, but mine's kept in the closet as I don't have as much counter space as you seem to. At times I've considered painting hot rod flames down it like Alton Brown did. As an interesting aside, Alton Brown says to help keep your eyeglasses clean when frying wear a baseball cap. Apparently most of the oil that spatters on your glasses actually goes up and then comes back down. I've tried it and it works!

Jeff:

Very nice, and a very stylish kitchen! I do wonder though, how in the world did you ever keep the BL2000 clean being that close to the stovetop?!

Thanks Jeff. My Franke kitchen hood is really efficient. But I had to clean the BL2000 once in a while.

Did you get the powersupply installed up the wall for the Beolab 2000? We plan to install the V1 on the ceiling mount soon and the shop reminded me we'll need the same kind of thing in our plan. Nice report. The portability is a trade off from the benefit of wall mounting of the 2000.

Simonbeo:

Did you get the powersupply installed up the wall for the Beolab 2000?

Yes. We installed a new kitchen and had the walls redone. So I could have both power and Masterlink socket behind the BL2000.

Hiort wrote:

'One detail remark is that it's a bit annoying in the beginning that on BS1 you have to double tap to switch source. On A6 it's a single tap. On BS1 a single tap put it into standby.'

Actually we may see that same behaviour come to the A6 (etc) some time.

And thanks for your review - and the pics.

MM

Hiort, you're taking pictures in your kitchen as an advert for the BS1, where's that power cord of the BS1?

The BL2000 was a nice set on the wall, things of a past era. Don't you miss the nice sound, remote capabilities, etc... of it.

Its like going back from a full sounding stereo system in your kitchen to a good sounding transistor radio.

I know you have the remote capabilities from Beomusic, but mostly my phone is on the charger when at home.

I think the coming BS2 will be more comparable to the full sound of the BL2000, but there you have again its bigger size.

Chris:

Hiort, you're taking pictures in your kitchen as an advert for the BS1, where's that power cord of the BS1?

It has a battery.

Is it possible to directly remote control it with an Essence remote or a Beoremote 1BT?

Chris:

Hiort, you're taking pictures in your kitchen as an advert for the BS1, where's that power cord of the BS1?

 Actually, in the picture taken where it stands on the kitchen bench, it has the power socket right behind. So from that angle you cannot see the socket.

 

Chris:

The BL2000 was a nice set on the wall, things of a past era. Don't you miss the nice sound, remote capabilities, etc... of it.

Its like going back from a full sounding stereo system in your kitchen to a good sounding transistor radio.

A little bit actually. The BL2000 was nice and had a good sound. Did not use a remote. But, I love the looks of the BS1, its portable, I don´t have to have ML cables, I don´t have to have the NL/ML Converter  etc. So the pros overweight the cons  

Chris:

I think the coming BS2 will be more comparable to the full sound of the BL2000, but there you have again its bigger size.

Could be. but the BS2 would be overkill (and too big) for my use cases. 

benoit:

Is it possible to directly remote control it with an Essence remote or a Beoremote 1BT?

Yes, I believe so.

Hiort:

Did not use a remote. But, I love the looks of the BS1, its portable, I don´t have to have ML cables, I don´t have to have the NL/ML Converter  etc. So the pros overweight the cons

I zip my lips together, this is indeed a very valuable element to buy a BS1 So congrats, it absolutely looks magnificent in your kitchen.

Wondering how long it would last at a normal volume on battery power.

As usual not many specs are giving free from the birth house, only a meaningless 16-4 hours info. Nothing on how much capacity (mA) the battery has.

Duels:

Chris:

 

Hiort, you're taking pictures in your kitchen as an advert for the BS1, where's that power cord of the BS1?

 

 

It has a battery.

It could have a small nuclear power reactor on board, it certainly looks like an alien thing.

Chris:

Wondering how long it would last at a normal volume on battery power.

I will try that out at some point