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
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Livingroom: BL3, BL11, BV11-46 Kitchen: Beosound 1 GVA, Beocom 2 Bathroom: M3 Homeoffice: M3, Beocom 2 Library: Beosound Emerge, Beocom 6000 Bedroom: M5, Essence remote Travel: Beoplay E8 2.0, Beoplay EQ, Beoplay Earset
The day after I ordered one it was discontinued in their ordersystem my dealer said. Guess I was lucky.
It makes you wonder why they discontinued something that B&O dealers and customers needs and want. Not everyone want to stream all music and watch movies from streamed sources. They still want to be able to play cd´s and vinyl´s and use their analog radios and even tapes maybe.
Maybe they have something else coming. Who knows.
My understanding is that the hardware is the same as the BLGW. Perhaps a BLGW could still be loaded with the NL/ML software.
I have lots of ML kit - if there is no way to connect them to new B&O kit, then I will stop buying B&O.
Really the connectivity of the B&O kit was what made me buy more and more over the years - with a hard stop on ML not connecting to NL, that reason has now gone.
Sorry if I'm asking questions that have already been answered, but are they phasing out ML completely as well? (I understand they stopped Beosound Moment)
p.
Yes, there aren't any ML products available that I can think of. I have a used converter on EBay at the moment 🙂
Hi, if you buy a powerlinkswitch from oneremote.dk (in denmark) you can still use your old ML link system and your old musicsystem.
best regards
Martin Ström
NEW! Beovision Eclipse 65 2nd generation (G1) with floorstand (from STB Brackets), Beolab 50 front, Beolab 3 rear, 2 x Beoplay A6 linkrooms, 2xBeoremote one BT, Beosound 9000 Mark III (sw 3.4), Beosound 5 (for DLNA only), Philips Hue (all lights in the home), Oppo UDP-203, Apple TV 4K (2021 model). Beoremote HALO, 3xBeoplay Charging pad, Beoplay M5
SHEFFIELD:Yes, there aren't any ML products available that I can think of. I have a used converter on EBay at the moment 🙂
I meant NL, sorry!
frog: I have lots of ML kit - if there is no way to connect them to new B&O kit, then I will stop buying B&O. Really the connectivity of the B&O kit was what made me buy more and more over the years - with a hard stop on ML not connecting to NL, that reason has now gone.
I'm in the same situation and have the same thoughts.
Connectivity made B&O products futureproof.
This time is over. What a strong statement to customers...
... and maybe to potential buyers.
Is it the beginning of the the end?
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
YannChris: Connectivity made B&O products futureproof. This time is over. What a strong statement to customers... ... and maybe to potential buyers. Is it the beginning of the the end?
Yes, I just felt cheated when I learned that. So sad to see a brand like that dying.
There are certainly some external reasons for their difficulties such as changes in the was media are consumed... but so many obvious errors. Like alienating your historical customers :-((((
Eclipse 65V1-32Beosound M5Essence MK2BLI
YannChris: Connectivity made B&O products futureproof.
Not defending the move, but not sure that's the case. I have a hell of a lot of B&O kit and the only two that are connected is through the same Sky box and that's via a HDMI splitter. I think the days of 'controlling' devices via one remote in multiple rooms has gone, primarily as those products have gone.
We kind of all knew this was going to be the case. Not sure it's the surprise we're making it out to be?
YannChris: Is it the beginning of the the end?
We've been discussing this (on various levels) for ages. Not 'the end', just a different direction. I think we'll see a very different B&O by this time next year. Most of the kit you see now will have gone.
I guess most of those, who need it already have one, or?
My dealer did not sell any recently.
Besides there will be some to have on the second life market - there are those who already have given up this integration and who have moved on to pure NL.
I am happy to be able to get one now....at a reasonable price
MM
There is a tv - and there is a BV
ML and compatibility is a must from BEO and a reason to stay with but
no more link system, TV at stratospheric price without link interface... Why to buy this brand????
Beo goes away...
Reason more to take care with the old products !
Silou: no more link system,
no more link system,
Does that mean that you don’t consider NL as a link system....
....or is it just that you don’t need/want it in your own setup?
I am a real novice when it comes to this subject but isn't everyone moving away from these link systems and now connecting old and new via WiFi?
Hi,
Yes, the converter is discontinued, but please don't worry - it is rare that this is actually needed..... We find that in most cases (especially for a single room setup) you can get good results via a direct wired connection between the NL and ML products, at a much lower cost.
Each situation varies in terms of the equipment to be connected and the connectivity required, but there is usually a solution available without needing the NL/ML Converter. Please ask if you would like help to integrate older ML products without having to find a converter and I will be pelased to assist.
Kind regards, Steve.
Steve.
www.soundsheavenly.com
Founder of Sounds Heavenly Cables and Brand Ambassador for Bang & Olufsen
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BenSA: I am a real novice when it comes to this subject but isn't everyone moving away from these link systems and now connecting old and new via WiFi?
NL is a BeoLink protocol based on the infrastructure that we otherweise use in our home network.
You can use Wifi as well as cabled solutions (ethernet) for this.
BeoLink ML and NL are not compatible - when you have both you need a converter (the NL/ML Converter) in order to access and control sources from ML to NL and vice versa.
Yes NL is a link system, but I thing it's important to be "back compatible"; if they remove the NL/ML converter it's not the good way...
i agree with Steve - not having the Nl/ML converter is not the end of the world. Steve provided me with a nice cable-only solution that allowed me to integrate the BS9000 (and other non-B&O) to the BV11. In fact it is a better solution from a sound perspective as it used the BV11 DAC as opposed to the 20+ year old DAC of the BS9000. I did lose some remote functionality on the BS9000, but not a big issue. I am sure there are cases where the NL/ML would be needed, as i am not familiar with all of the older pieces of equipment out there.
BV11-55, BS9000, BL1, BL19, Transmitter 1, Beo4, Beocom 6000, BeoTalk1 200, Sennheiser HD600, McIntosh MHA100
Well in my house, everything I have is linked with a ML bus running as a spine around the house.
I’m happy that those who only have single room systems are OK with using a mysterious cable (any specs on this anywhere?) but if I add any more B&O, I would want to integrate into the whole house system - and I’m hopeful I would only need one NL/ML converter - though I read in these forums that people buy more than one? Why is that?
Hi Frog,
There is nothing mysterious about the cables used to replace the NL/ML Converter in a single room setup! The reason I haven't described these in detail is that I work out which cable is needed for each situation, depending on the installed products and the functionality required.
We can often get the NL and ML systems working together across multi-room setups without the converter as well, but this depends on the layout and what you wish to achieve. Please drop me a line via my sponsor link below if you have any questions about your setup and I will be happy to help.
Really, this forum should be for sharing information - not selling services. It’s fine if someone doesn’t want to make their own cable, but info on how to create such a thing shouldn’t be a secret if some contributor knows I would have thought.
i don’t need a cable right now - next purchase, I’ll be evaluating whether it is worth buying B&O as whatever I buy will not be easy to integrate into my existing extensive ML net.
Sorry if I caused any offence Frog,
My aim is not to be selling anything on this forum. As a forum sponsor, I provide regular financial and logistical support to help the site to flourish, as well as unlimited free technical support for Beoworld members.
As I run a business which provides bespoke cabling for B&O products, there is inevitably some cross-over between giving advice and the services that I can offer, although I try to minimise this.
Please rest assured that you can easily integrate historical or current B&O products into any ML network with the right advice and guidance. As mentioned previously, that advice is free and openly available on request.
Steve,
No offence was taken - though a description of how the cables would work would be appreciated. Putting that info on here would benefit the community rather than just one person.
regards
Thanks Frog,
There are a number of ways to get simple "integration" between older ML (Masterlink) and newer NL (Network Link) products, so hopefully this description of a typical setup will help to explain how the cables can be made to work. The best solution can vary for each situation, but the key is generally to find out which items are in place and how they are normally used. As an example, one popular setup is where a new NL-based TV like the Eclipse is to be added into a room that already has an older ML audio product (eg. Beosound 9000).
In this example, the 9000 can have its Powerlink audio output fed into the analogue audio input of the TV, to let CD and radio from the 9000 play via the TV speakers. In the event that the TV sound also needs to go out to ML-based link rooms (eg. to a Beolink Active or Beolab 3500 in another room), then an RJ45 Powerlink output can be taken from the TV (set to Line Level and Stereo Downmix in the TV menu) and fed into the Aux input of the 9000. A Speaker Sense Adapter would then also be added to the other Powerlink socket of the Beosound 9000 to allow it to respond to remote control commands without having speakers connected.
Whilst this example gives you full control of both the NL TV and the ML audio system in the main room (by virtue of the TV and the Beosound each receiving their own remote control commands directly, rather than via the Converter), the limitation is that the TV sound would already need to be playing before you could select it in the link room from the remote control (ie. you cannot control the newer NL TV from another room with the B&O remote over the ML network).
However, there are some work-arounds here that can help, eg. BeoRemote One has "hot keys" that can be programmed to turn the TV to the Audio Input port and select CD on the Beosound 9000 via a single key press. Also, using the B&O app to control the TV could give you access to internet radio and TV audio via any room in the house, as long as you don't mind having a combination of a B&O remote and a mobile device to operate the TV from another room.
Sorry for the long description, hopefully this gives you an idea of the options that could be possible for one example setup to avoid the need for the NL/ML Converter. I get around 10-15 enquiries a week that involve variations on this theme, as a rough guide only around 20% of these actually need the NL/ML Converter to be used.
I am always happy to investigate each enquiry and discuss the way in which audio and video needs to be available around the house, so that we can find the best solution to suit individual needs.
Any questions, please feel free to ask!
Hi Steve, what do you think of an Powerlinkswitch from Almando in combination with a beosound 9000or Beosound5? This is when you have an NL Tv combined with ML music system in the same room and Beolab 3500 with ML in link room. Do you know if it is good for a BO speker to switch from input 1to input 2 with a powerlinkswitch? I have one and speakers go to standby when the switch switch input and then go On again. Do you think this on and off and on again could hurt the speakers?
Best Regards
Martin
Hi Martin,
The Almando Powerlink Switch is one device I haven't tried, so unfortunately I can't comment on whether this could cause any issues with the speakers. In the setup that you described, it shouldn't be needed, as the Beomaster 5 or Beosound 9000 could share the TV speakers directly. If you can please let me know which TV you are using, and which other B&O products you have in each connected room, I will be pleased to advise further.
thanks for the info. Very useful. I’d be a bit concerned that the remote control buttons wouldn’t necessarily match the sources correctly (although I really haven’t looked into this) and maybe the default safest position is to have a MLC anyway.
Im still struggling to understand though why you would need more than one ML/NL converter in a system if the MLC was just bridging two networks, yet I see that some layouts have more than one.
Hi Steve, I have BV Eclipse Beolab 5and Beosound 5 in mainroom.in two linkrooms I have Beolab 3500. What I know is that to still be able to use my linkrooms I need an audiomaster which is Beosound 5. I have my beolab 5 connected directly to the Eclipse with a Almando powelinkswitch with powerlink from Tv to input 1and powerlink from Beosound 5 to input 2 (in the switch). Then I have ML from Beosound 5to the linkrooms. What I can see there is not a better solution than this. What do you think Steve?
Yes, one issue from using a direct cable connection instead of the NL/ML Converter is that the source buttons may not always match the actual soruce being used. However, I would personally see the c. £600 saving as being a worthwhile trade-off - this could potentially cover the cost of a pre-owned pair of Beolab speakers for a link room.....
I haven't tried the Almando switch myself so I can't comment on this. However, if this works well and suits your needs then this is probably best left in place. If you hadn't already purchased this then I would probably have suggested linking the Beomaster 5 digital output to the speakers and the Eclipse RJ45 output to the Powerlink input of the speakers, which should mean that the Almando switch may not be needed. This will still give you music from the Beomaster 5 to the link rooms and both music and TV sound in the main room.
Steve is the man!
Go Steve go!
Hi Steve, All TVs after Beosystem 3 (bv avant, bv14, bv eclipse) will not forward the cd-command to the labs 5 which should open up the digital IN. Thats why I must use the beomaster5 cd-command data (thru powerlink cable directly from bm5) to the labs 5 in order to use the digital feed from bm5 to the labs5.
Thanks Martin,
That is an interesting point. I had thought that setting the speakers to Option 1 (for a non-B&O audio system and a B&O TV in the same room) would resolve this.... I will do some testing and see how the speakers behave.
I remember reading the manual where it said in option 1 it will automatically take coax input over analogue. Didn't realise you could still feed in Powerlink as well. Will the volume control still be via PL in option 1?
BV6-26, BV7-40, BL7.4, BL3, BL5, BS9000, BC1, ES1, Beo4, BeoPort
Hi Beer Baron,
You can not feed labs5 with powerlink signal when they are in option 1. Powerlink only work in option 0. Thats why an Powerlinkswitch can be useful.
The Beolab 5s seem to be able to take S/PDIF and Line inputs when in Option 1, so potentially the TV signal could be fed to the Line input instead of Powerlink. Not ideal, but workable. The other option could be the Powerlink switch, using the speakers in Option 0.