Beolab 20 uneven sound - no sync?

Hi everyone.

I must make a disclosure first – I have never owned any B&O equipment before, nor have even considered doing so – until now.

Reason – I’m a conventional 2-channel Hifi person and have always viewed B&O as a lifestyle product – nice but pricey for the performance it offers.

 

So I am considering crossing the line for two reasons

-          I want some speakers that are smaller in physical size than my current ones

-          I’ve seen reports of the great sound of the Beolab 5’s and 20’s

 

Tbh the 5’s are probably too big – still too much of a physical impact. But the 20’s look just the job.

 

I went into my nearest B&O shop yesterday to have a listen – that was a revelation, some good, some not so.

 

Just for interest I’ll explain why

-          I phoned and said I’d like to bring in some CD’s  -“Oh I’m sorry we can’t play these, it’s all streaming now….!”

o   Well yes streaming is in but CD’s are not yet out completely… - having a CD I know removes a layer of variability in the streaming quality

o   Fortunately some (but not all) of what I wanted to listen to was on Deezer.

-          The guy in the shop was very pleasant but didn’t understand how to listen to music

o   `The Beolab 20’s were configured as rear speakers with some 50’s at the front – nothing wrong about that except he invited me to sit in on the sofa – ie with the speakers to my rear/sides – to have a listen!!!!

o   Needless to say I got up and crouched to face the speakers.

-          Next, he couldn’t make Deezer work..and suggested of all things that we listen to some Youtube music.

o   At this point I thought “are you for real?”. One sure way to give a poor demo is to use a poor source. Why why why not have a Cd player at least as a backup?

 

My conclusion at this point – B&O are not yet in the proper 2-channel market. But he persisted which was good.

 

Finally he got Deezer (lossless) to work – and now my real concern – the vocals on a track I know well sounded like they were coming out of one of the speakers – they weren’t altogether, but the balance was just plain wrong – they weren’t where they should be, in the centre.

 

So how could this be – could the setup have been wrong? Is there a sync function like on the 5’s that may not have been enabled (I don’t think the 20’s have this though)

 

Any ideas where to look?

Has considerably put me off, at the moment..

 

But apart from that, they sounded WONDERFUL!

 

 

Thanks for reading!

Hi and welcome to Beoworld,

please don’t judge from this one demo.

On the forum you can find lots of post, that document the quality of the sound/sound experience from the BL20’s.

I am sure you will be able to find another dealer, who can demo these nice speakers properly.

MM

Either find another dealer, or phone ahead and have them set up a pair of BL20s for you for a proper 2.0 listen to music.

The BL20s have no sync function, and yes, they do sound great. Ensure that they go into the settings of the TV they're connected to, and have them configure the speakers you want to listen to as Fronts L & R, before you start listening. If you're a serious customer, the dealer should set up a proper demo for you. And perhaps an in-home demo too?

The BL5's are wonderful, but too big for my home, so the BL20s are the perfect size for their sound, and when they were launched, they said they're about 90% of the sound of the BL5s at a fraction of the price.

Looks, on the other hand, not my cup of tea, but when I'm sitting down to listen to music, I generally have my eyes closed. 

Welcome, and please let us know how you get on.

To the right or the left?

In addition to making sure the speakers are properly set as left and right fronts, also make sure they are set as Beolab 20s and not some other speaker in the settings.

To the right...

Razlaw:

In addition to making sure the speakers are properly set as left and right fronts, also make sure they are set as Beolab 20s and not some other speaker in the settings.

Ok - I'll need to go back I think!

Wpb1:

Ok - I'll need to go back I think!

Good

And welcome

I have met many B&O dealer staff over the years; they fall into two camps:

- super-Audio nerds who know their products, the jargon, the industry including the music scene as often they are part-time / ex- (can they exist?) musoes

- life-style gushers who barely know anything technical and demo by script

It seems you got the latter.

I have 2xBL20s hooked up to the B&O streaming system: the BeoSound Core.

If that dealer has a wall of BeoSound Shapes one of those will contain a Core.

If you read my recent Core Unpacking thread you’ll get an idea of possibilities. Also the Deezer HiFi thread.

Good luck in the next demo and please give us some more feedback.

elephant:

Wpb1:

 

Ok - I'll need to go back I think!

 

 

Good

 

And welcome

 

 

I have met many B&O dealer staff over the years; they fall into two camps:

 

- super-Audio nerds who know their products, the jargon, the industry including the music scene as often they are part-time / ex- (can they exist?) musoes

 

- life-style gushers who barely know anything technical and demo by script

 

It seems you got the latter.

 

 

I have 2xBL20s hooked up to the B&O streaming system: the BeoSound Core.

 

If that dealer has a wall of BeoSound Shapes one of those will contain a Core.

 

 

If you read my recent Core Unpacking thread you’ll get an idea of possibilities. Also the Deezer HiFi thread.

 

 

Good luck in the next demo and please give us some more feedback.

 

Thankyou for this.

Yes there was a wall and a Core.

Which takes me to the other thing I have been wondering - connectivity.

 - I have a Cd payer and preamp with toslink (optical) out. So can I just take that, plug into one BL2 then go from the "out" of that into the "in" of the other?

I realise that streaming is the thing but I have an ongoing need for CD's and Phono so cannot go entirely streaming.

Wpb1:

- I have a Cd payer and preamp with toslink (optical) out. So can I just take that, plug into one BL2 then go from the "out" of that into the "in" of the other?

That is how I had GoogleCast set up.

Should work as you have outlined.

As long as the preamp has a volume regulated output on the optical output, you should be fine.

Tip: if you want the best of both (and to be prepared for a streaming future), use the Core and plug the digital output of your CD player into the toslink of the Core.

MM

So - a bit of an update.

 

I have now been to a different dealer.

Here the BL20 balance was correct - vocals in the centre.

BUT - the 90's that were alongside that we listened to for comparison had the same unbalanced sound that I experienced when first listening to the 20's (at the first dealer).

The guy at the shop tried but could not find the reason for this - but agreed that it was unbalanced.

Conclusion - I'm sure it's not the speakers, but somewhere in the setup - at both dealers - there is a vulnerability. Perhaps it's the Core? To have the same thing happen at two places is not chance.

Also - some of the tracks that I wanted to listen to were "not available in your country". (Deezer).

I can't help feeling that B&O have gone too early in making their offerings "streaming only", it's not yet mature enough - at least the dealers should have a CD player available - it's very frustrating as a potential customer not to be able to bring in my own material to audition.

Anyway - BL20's restored to the shortlist which is good!

I had the same issue with wisa, so ask if they used wisa

Mikipedia:

I had the same issue with wisa, so ask if they used wisa

That's worrying, isn't that supposed to be the rock-solid wireless B&O Technology?

Like I said earlier, the tech isn't mature enough yet!