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
The main reason we own a Master Link setup is that we pipe sound into the whole home:
BeoSound 3000 + BeoLab 6000 (social)
BeoLab 2000 (bathroom)
BeoLab 3500 (bedroom)
BeoPort (studio)
So far, to play sound to the entire home from our iPhones and iPads, we've been relying on a mini-stereo audio jack to the AUX-In of the BeoSound 3000.
Now, the Playmaker sounds like a nicer, easier solution. We would use Apple AirPlay instead of the jack. But if Playmaker is designed only for local audio and cannot be integrated into the Master Link, then Playmaker is not the product for us.
Have I understood correctly that Playmaker cannot be properly connected to Master Link for whole home audio distribution? Am I perhaps missing something I have not understood from the other discussions?
Thanks in advance,
The playmaker has no masterlink. However it does have a audio out. Which can be linked to the 3000s aux in. (the same as you already do with your cable)
With the playmaker you are paying for
A. The internal sound processor
B. The fact it can be controlled via beo4/5/6
I wanted to connect to my bs9000 and my b and o dealer actually recommended airport express because he said that if I used the playmaker I wouldn't be getting the full money's worth as it will be using the 9000s sound processor so no need for playmaker.
But bare in mind with the playmaker you can controll you I pad wit the beo4/5/6 ie. skip songs and volume.
With airport express you would be able to controll volume through your 3000 via beo4/5/ but as far asim aware you would have to change track using iPad or iPhone.
You should be able to connect it to the AUX input on the BS3000 with the appropriate adapter cables form the RJ45 connecters on the Playmaker.
Another cheaper option could be to just use an Apple Airport Express and connect that to the BS3000.
Edit: Just a little to late
XavierItzmann:BeoSound 3000 + BeoLab 6000 (social)
If you have not digitised your entire collection or if you still actively use the 3000 then the AE recommendations are the right way for you to go.
If your 3000 is like my BS4 and is gathering dust and like me all your music is stored on a hard drive attached to the wireless network then the PlayMaker is a different proposition,
BeoNut since '75
I also have a BS3000 and want to connect a streaming solution to the AUX-in. I thought there would be a quite difference in sound quality between the EA and PM because of the DAC used. But is that really the case?
I have waited for the PM, but now I don't know if it is worth the extra?
Thank you all who have replied.
If the Playmaker integrated properly into the Master Link, I'd buy it immediately. I don't mind giving some money to B&O from time to time, so long as products integrate. This is why we purchased BeoTime (plays nicely with our BL3500) and BeoCom 5 (plays nicely with all).
But frankly given the lack of integration, will simply get an Apple AirPort Express.
Cheers,
Hi
I am confronted with a similar problem: if somebody of my family is using our B&O equipment in a link-room, I am not anymore free to use my preferred music in another link room.
I have contacted my dealer, whether PlayMaker could be a solution and yes, it may be:
You can connect your PlayMaker to the BeoLink Active in your link-room with the PC input. In the link-room you can then select "PC" with your Beo4/Beo5 or Beo6 and stream the music from your handheld over PlayMaker to your loudspeakers.
Sorry, the descriptions in the picture are in German, but should speak for themselves.
Regards,
Christoph
Had Playmaker installed last week. Connected to Beolink Convertor and into ML. Because I no longer have an audio master this is now my only audio and it enables me to press CD and use it throughout the house, using ipad to control iTunes etc. Works perfectly so far.
Don't ask me for any technical stuff, the nice B&O engineer did all the clever stuff, but it just works and Playmaker was very quick & easy to install.
Mike
Beolink converter? Sounds like you got a solution!
Must research this.
Beofan53:Is this kind of integration also possible when there is an audiomaster and/or videomaster in the ML-setup? If so, can you give us some instructions how to do this? Which source must be choosen? Looking forward to this solution on the forum. Thanks in advance!
See:
www.hifi4all.dk/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=46053&PN=1&TPN=235
03 Oktober 2012 kl. 18:32
Even if you let Google do the translating, I think you will "get the picture".
To my drawing at the end: You can add as many ActiveLink-rooms with a Playmaker attatched to the Pc-in as you like.
Note: they are then Playmaker-standalone-rooms - you can't stream to more than one of them at a time.
The Aux-attached Playmaker on the contary is multiroom - as all other ML-Sources are.
Find your own combination, find out what you need in your home - and go for it.
The Playmaker is certainly no beauty, but surely a beast
Greetings Millemissen
There is a tv - and there is a BV
Millemissen:Note: they are then Playmaker-standalone-rooms - you can't stream to more than one of them at a time.
True if you use an iDevice.
But if you use a Mac and iTunes ?
Then you have multiple speakers as an option ... so you could broadcast to more than one room ... I think _(
Sorry forgot that - as I don't have any mobile Mac. Only a iPad and a iPad Mini
And I do NOT use iTunes! My files are all in FLAC!
In the next couple of days my old Win-machine will be replaced by a Mac Mini.
But I doubt that I am gone use that for choosing music and rooms to play in - that is too unflexible.
With a Macbook Air though, it sure might be possible.
Using only WIndows?
It might be possible to use WMP and the "play to "-function to multible Playmakers via UPnP.
Anyone tried?
Maybe the new WIN 8-version will create new possibilities - Smartglass-function?
Or:
If you have a small Windows note-/netbook you could use iTunes on that.
If you are Android-user. There is a version of PlugPlayer (DLNA) for Android, and you can even run AirPlay on Android.
Grrr! Millemissen
Millemissen: will be replaced by a Mac Mini. But I doubt that I am gone use that for choosing music and rooms to play in - that is too unflexible. With a Macbook Air though, it sure might be possible.
will be replaced by a Mac Mini.
I think the Mac Air and the Mac Mini are equally flexible - both use iTunes in exactly the same way for central distribution of music while being controlled by the iPads. MCL2P
Millemissen:And I do NOT use iTunes! My files are all in FLAC!
That is the real stumbling block.
Maybe this will help ?
http://rogueamoeba.com/airfoil/mac/
Thanks Beo-Ed,
I allready know Airfoil
Changing to a Mac Mini gives me the opportunity to use iTunes with Amarra and co. - and to use my FLAC-files from iTunes sitting at the desktop listening through my nice little Nuforce-dac and my Audioengine2-speakers/Grado-headphones.
These experiment are yet to be done in the next weeks.
------------
Concerning my B&O-setup:
For now I am quite happy to play my FLAC-files with a Squeezebox Touch/Squeezeserver on my NAS through the line-in of the Playmaker (which is attached to A-AUX and so to Masterlink) controlled by Squeezepad/iPad. The Squeezeserver makes it possible to play highres-files and does gaplessplay as well.
And I can AirPlay to the ActveLink/PC-input in my "ego-headphoneroom" - so freeing the ML for other members of my family.
For podcasts, Spotify and so on I use the iPad and AirPlay - the Squeezepad-app (with playback feature activated) can do AirPlay as well.
-------------
On the other hand, when using iTunes:
Playing to multiple Playmaker-rooms would be nice with a small machine like the AirBook.
I prefer to choose my music from the room I am actually in, and that wouldn't really be possible with the MacMini
P.S.
What do you mean by: "......the iPads. MCL2P"??
Millemissen:I prefer to choose my music from the room I am actually in, and that wouldn't really be possible with the MacMini
That's where the Remote (iTunes) App from Apple on the iPad Mini will be superb.
Millemissen: P.S. What do you mean by: "......the iPads. MCL2P"??
you said you had two iPads ....
The "MCL2P is an error I was copying and pasting in response to another thread, and must have accidentally pasted it here as well.
Paging Millesen.
Hello dear friend,
I have exactly the setup described in your article in the Danish forum, plus a Beo6..
How do you search the music stored in the NAS (mine is à Synology too) using a B&O remote?
Do you think that the wireless function of Beo6 could be used?
If not possible, which application could I use on my i device, knowing that I do not want to turn on a computer to get music?
Kind regards,
Yann.
Living Room BV Eclipse - BS Core - BL5 - BL8000 - LC2 x2 - Beo6
Lounge Beolink Passive - Cabasse Clipper - Beo4 Kitchen BL3500 - Beolink 1000
Bedroom BV9 - BL6000 (Thks Botty) - Beotime - LC2 - Beo5
Garden Lounge BC9000 - BG 6006 - BL4500 (Thks Botty) - Playmaker - Beolink 1000
Study BS1 - ML/NL Converter - BL2500 - Beo4 - Form 2 (Tks Botty) - Beoplay P2
To 2012martin:
Personally, I wouldn't trust anything more your "salesman" tell you. The sound is far more defined thru Playmaker. AirPort express will never come close to it. When it comes down to sound processing, your 9000 does not do it. It's all done inside the Playmaker and then it just comes out via RJ45 to DIN into an A.AUX port on your 9000 which at this stage would only act as a switch/enabler to distribute the audio on the Master Link bus. I've tried both in our shop Airport Express & Playmaker hooked up to a pair of Lab 12-3's. The 'natural' buzz inside the Airport will never let the speakers to turn off and sound quality is comparable to BOSE (all files played were Lossless in either Apple or WMA format). Playmaker is a different ball game altogether. I have a Playmaker hooked up to my BeoMaster 5500 as I have a few rooms linked in MCL standard as well as ML standard. All I've done is made a RJ45 to DIN cable and hooked it up to TAPE1 on the 5500, then I set the Playmaker to set line level and put it in L.Opt 0 (I will explain why below). Now where ever I am in the house, I press Playmaker button on my Beo 6 and start streaming. There's your Playmaker pushing sound to all connected rooms in which the source is activated via Master Link.
Disadvantages:
1. If the playmaker is on set line level you are unable to Play/Pause the source only STOP button works on Beo4/5/6. This goes for both AirPlay and DLNA protocols. I suspect it's software in the Playmaker that does not allow it. Even if it did, it would not serve any particular purpose as you only can control the Playmaker in the room it's in, link rooms would rely strictly on manual song swithing on the streaming device.
2. Not possible to fast forward or rewind lossless files.
Theoretically Playmaker does not support Lossless WMA file format, which I found to be untrue and somewhat stupid as all of my music has been ripped either in Windows Media Player or BeoMaster 5 itself, where all my tunes are in Lossless format.
Over all, Playmaker is the best thing since sliced bread. As I don't have to worry about my friends trying to 'dump' their music onto my BeoMaster 5 so they can play it or go behind my 5500 so 'figure out' where to plug in their iDevices. It's my friends, they already have access to my Wi-Fi network at home, so all I gotta do is press A.MEM on a remote and let them stream away. And when all is calm and quiet and it's time to clean up after the party, I let the BeoSound 5 take over the music and playlist altogether...
Hi YannChris,
sorry for letting you wait - did not notice your post untill today.
Of cource you can't control the music/the files on a NAS with a Beo4.
Using the DLNA-port of the P! You need something else to control/to choose the music.
Might be a computer/WMP or som kind of DLNA-compatible software (there a lot of possibilities).
But using an iDevice or some Android-thing with a DLNA-app running on it makes life much more comfortable - especiialy if you listen to music in different rooms and don't want to create a looong playlist on your computer.
Take a look at the app PlugPlayer (actually I alread described that in my post in the danish forum).
There are versions for both iOS and Android.
With this app you can "see" your files on the NAS - or more correct: you can see what the server on the NAS has done with your files.
On a Synology there are differnt servers running, and you can install even more.
What the server does is indexing the files from the metadata/tags included in them, and displaying that to you in the app.
!!! Metadata/tags must be in the files to make this thing work - as an examble you won't see any coverpics unless the are there!!!
In the app/the interface you chooce where-to you want to play them. Means you chooce the PM!
With the Beo-remote you can only open the port on the Master/MasterLink, means pressing A-Mem/A-Aux, and of cource control the volume.
I have no experience with the Beo6 and the PM - but haven't heard that you can choose "where-to-play" with it.
Theoretically it might be possible because the Beo6 is controlling the server on the BM5 and the player there as well.
It might be a matter of sofware-updating to let it use another rendere.
Although I do not think that such an update will ever be made.
You can use other apps as well: google for "DLNA apps" - start with:
http://appadvice.com/appguides/show/dlna-streaming
Take a look at the '8player'..... You can AirPlay from that too.
Sorry for the long post, but these things are complicated - and there could be a lot more to tell.
-----------------------
Hi Oakley,
I have used the PM connected to my Audomaster with no problems ever since it came out - we got it first here i DK
The disadventages you are describing I did not notice - meant nothing to me.
The PM is a damn good device, with excelent soundquality and it is easy to use (if you are familiar with DLNA and AirPlay).
It made my B&O-life much easier.
Hi peria,
Good solution - thanks!
Lets have some more solutions/examples of the use of this versatile device, please....
Greetings MM
I would like to know from the guys, who use a ML-converter as an audiomaster, how the Aux-port is activated in different rooms.
In a room with an Active/PassiveLink - in a room with a Link-tv - in a room with a BL200/3500???
Always with the command: 'A-AUX'???
Has anyone already tried it with a BV11 and NL/ML-converter-setup???
A setup with a BV11+NL/ML-converter, the ML-converter (as audiomaster) with the Playmaker connected to it, and one or more ActiveLink-rooms, would be a nice setup - wouldn't it
I've not tried a Playmaker so can't comment on audio quality. However, given that it costs just three times what you pay for an airport express (and knowing B&O's pricing) I do struggle to believe the sound quality is significantly superior. May be proved wrong when I hear one but I've seen no hard data to suggest so. It's big strength is that it gives you full control over connected BL speakers.
@Hardwriter I wonder why the PM is always compared to the AirPortExpress.
Seems that most people ONLY use the AirPlay-function of it.
If that is so, people should listen and compare - and chooce whatever they prefer.
But the PM is much more than just an AirPlay-device.
If you use/need these functions it is more than worth the money.
What do you meen about that the PM is much more than an AirPlay device? I am thinking about buying one...
Short explanation is:
In addition to AirPlay, it supports DLNA and has a Line-in function aswell.
Geeetings Millemissen
Just installed Reemote for iPhone and Reemote HD for iPad. It is a remote control for Airfoil running on a Mac Mini. Airfoil distributes sound via Airplay to Airplay receivers including the Playmaker and AppleTV among others. I've used this with Playmaker and Apple TV. Using Reemote, one can control the source on the Mac Mini (Pandora, Spotify, iTunes, etc. One can also control the volume, and the transport controls for the source. This obviously requires a small server app (free) for the Mac, in addition to the iOS apps ($4.99 each).
Now you can distribute sound to several rooms at once. B&O should look at this and build such software to make its Airplay products a trully interesting and integrated B&O experience.
Hello,
Oakley states that it was untrue that Playmaker cannot support WMA Lossless.
All my CDs are ripped in WMA Lossless for use with Beoport (at home) and Beoplayer (on the go), so I'm pretty interested if you could share with us the way to get this format available.
A home, files are hosted by a Synology NAS.
My project is to connect the PM in the LAN through Ethernet, connect it the in Aux-in of my BC2, then control the PM with an app on an idevice. In this case, the idevice would just act as a remote-control.
Millemissen mentioned PlugPlayer. Is this app able to deal with WMA Lossless files and act as a remote control?
It's not an expensive app, but I would prefer to know if it matches with my needs before buying it :)
Any help would be greatly appreciated!
Thanks by advance and kind regards,
Yann
tobeyone: Had Playmaker installed last week. Connected to Beolink Convertor and into ML. Because I no longer have an audio master this is now my only audio and it enables me to press CD and use it throughout the house, using ipad to control iTunes etc. Works perfectly so far. Don't ask me for any technical stuff, the nice B&O engineer did all the clever stuff, but it just works and Playmaker was very quick & easy to install.
hello,
it quite clearly says "don't ask", but ...
this is exactly what i need. a device to be audiomaster and stream itunes music over masterlink.
does anyone have more information about this ?
-scott
Hi Yann,
you can not "control the PM with an app".
You can control a DLNA-server (on your PC/MAC/Linux-machine or NAS and let it send the music to a player (e.g. the PM), that supports DLNA.
I have mentioned the PlugPlayer because I use it myself, and because it is recommended by several "DLNA-app users".
I have no WMA Losless-files - but have never heard that it shouldn't support WMA Losless.
There are lots of other DLNA-apps nowadays. Some of them are allrounders, some of them more optimized for music.
And some of them requires a specific server/player combination.
Have a look here:
http://blog.dreamcss.com/iphone/dlna-streaming-apps-for-iphone/
But you should also focus on the music-server running on the Synology - it is very important!
The default on Synology will work - but is nothing special.
You can install Twonky and/or other servers on a Synology.
Just google the subject/search for Youtube-videos - there is a lot to learn!
Many DLNA-apps can act as renderer and can do AirPlay as well.
Millemissen: I have no WMA Losless-files - but have never heard that it shouldn't support WMA Losless.
DLNA related formats:
MP3 (all) or VBR / CBR 32 -> 320kbit, WMA, both VBR and CBR 20 -> 320kbit (Doesn’t support WMA LOSSLESS), AAC (ISO and ADTS) -> 320kbit, FLAC, WAVE
http://www.bang-olufsen.com/nl-AN/sound/sound-systems/playmaker
And go to the bottom to the tab Full Specificarions
DoubleU, thanks - that I have overseen!
But there is a 'workaround' - actually I already described it above:
"Many DLNA-apps can act as a renderer and can do AirPlay as well"
So - as long as the server can handle WMA Losless - just let the app do the work and use the AirPlay-function of the PM.