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
Greetings all.
Ive had a pair of new Beolab 5 allmost a year now, happy man! That is untill around Christmas, were the sound failed on one of them. At the time I did not have the time or surpluss to have a closer look - admittingly paired with a strange urge to not tackle the problems.
But time has come to face the music.
•The failing unit shows green light when power on, no other light signals.
•Its totally silent, not even the distant hiss sound when turning volume up.
•Have changed/switched source and cables, problem persists.
•Have checked the sound balance to be ok on remote.
Anything I have left out here, any suggestions? I would think that a blown fuse also would keep the green light off - or..?
Sorry, didnt catch that one :)
Well if you have tried different cables connected to different sources and still no go then looks like the speaker has a fault.
I don't know if there is a easy fix or a way of resetting the speaker, hopefully someone will come with this type of info.
Only other option is to take it to a B&O dealer, but this is can be expensive.
Hope you get it fixed soon.
New...almost a year
This should be covered by the warranty, and thus be absolutely free?
BEOVOX141: New...almost a year This should be covered by the warranty, and thus be absolutely free?
Yup, I would think so too. Only caveat is that I live in Norway, and bought them from an B&O dealer in Denmark. The warranty should be ok, but as I would need a technician from norwegean B&O, there might be some hassle in the horizont. One newer knows when things aint A4.
Double post
pauljrog: Well if you have tried different cables connected to different sources and still no go then looks like the speaker has a fault. I don't know if there is a easy fix or a way of resetting the speaker, hopefully someone will come with this type of info. Only other option is to take it to a B&O dealer, but this is can be expensive. Hope you get it fixed soon.
Yes I was looking for some resetting procedure, but havn found one. Also the fuse(ses) seems burried inside with no easy way to check.
Hi Sleipner,
This looks like a main chassis swap. I've done it a few times, and it can be a DIY job if you watch out for static electricity and pay attention to where the cables go: you will have to swap the complete unit (you can see it from the outside, as the part on the back of the speaker with the metal cooling ribs and connection panel).
B&O have a "swap system" for these, where the returned faulty unit is fixed by B&O and then used for the next swap. Most dealers will not let you do this on your own. Experienced a unit with the same behavior and we ordered the new engine, but a final check before installing it revealed that the customer had changed the IR mode of the speaker... there was nothing wrong with the speaker. So please have a check of the speaker mode by changing to e.g. Option 1 and then back to 0. A re-install of the SW could also be a solution, but you need access to a (dealer's) service tool do so.
Roger
Thx, good info and sugestions Roger!
I have the Option 1 activated, will go 0>1 again, fingers crossed. To be continued.
I can promise you I will not open anything on the Beolabs...
Hi Sl3ipner,
Are the speakers connected to a B&O system via Powerlink, or to a non-B&O source via Line or S/PDIF please?
PS. Your avatar looks familiar - is that an M96 Porsche 911 engine by any chance?
Kind regards, Steve.
Steve.
www.soundsheavenly.com
Founder of Sounds Heavenly Cables and Brand Ambassador for Bang & Olufsen
Sounds Heavenly are proud to sponsor BeoWorld!
Please check out my YouTube channel at https://youtube.com/soundsheavenlycables
Sl3ipner: Thx, good info and sugestions Roger! I have the Option 1 activated, will go 0>1 again, fingers crossed. To be continued. I can promise you I will not open anything on the Beolabs...
Alas this didnt bring succes.
It might be worth mentioning that the faulty BL5 unit answers the Option changing with lights accordingly, as do the non-faulty unit. So: still no sound what so ever.
Steve at Sounds Heavenly: Hi Sl3ipner, Are the speakers connected to a B&O system via Powerlink, or to a non-B&O source via Line or S/PDIF please? PS. Your avatar looks familiar - is that an M96 Porsche 911 engine by any chance? Kind regards, Steve.
Hi Steve.
Speakers connected to a non-B&O source via Line (cables bought by you btw 👍
The avatar is indeed a M96/1 engine 😎 Bought the 1998 996er some 5 years ago. As you know they come dirt cheap, have nicasil upgraded the engine plus much (much!) more. End result is a wonderful “analog” small car that drives like a dream on twisty roads, no traction control and what not. 🤗
Thanks for your reply, just a quick thought before you go down the route of getting the speakers repaired.....
If you have the Sync cable between the two speakers then they should both "wake" from the remote, even if one speaker doesn't have line of sight from the remote. However, if this cable isn't in place, it may be a simple issue caused by one speaker not seeing the remote control signals.
If you would like me to lend you a Sync cable to test, please drop me a line via my sponsor link below. Another thing that is worth testing is whether the remote is putting out a good, strong signal - this guide explains how to check your Beo4 remote with a camera phone:-
http://www.soundsheavenly.com/faq/how-do-i-know-if-my-remote-control-is-working/
I think that 1998/9 were the last years of the true "analog" Porsches, before traction control, electronic throttle, stability control and the like became standard. I love the sound of those engines, I have a Boxster with the smaller version of the same engine and it is great fun.
So, after fiddeling a bit extra and taking my time, I have submittet the problem to B&O. I will keep you updated.
Steve: Thx for the kind offer, but problem hardly lies with the sync cable. Also the BL5s respond fine with the current Beo4 remote.
And yes, those older small Porsches are a blast. Makes you smile every time you start the engine :) For the worried: its my only car, I usually commute by bike, bus or train. So with a 20 year old car Id say my ecologic footprint is acceptable ;)
Yup, I bought a 996 with the M96.1 engine for the wife a few years back. Engine went bang after a some months and needed a complete rebuild at Hartech in Bolton for the princely sum of 11K. Was a nice enough car but sold it pretty quickly after the rebuild.
Brian: Yup, I bought a 996 with the M96.1 engine for the wife a few years back. Engine went bang after a some months and needed a complete rebuild at Hartech in Bolton for the princely sum of 11K. Was a nice enough car but sold it pretty quickly after the rebuild.
Sorry to hear your story Brian.
However.. 1) There is a reason these cars come cheap. One is a mechanical mismismatch ins the IMS bearing, the resulting engine failures, and the negative hype around these. (mostly was carried by the air cooled segment of porsche, keeping quiet of their own engine rebuilds). 2) The negative spiral: when high performance sportscars gets affordable to people who dont want to use the money for maintanence, you get even more engine failures. We are talking15-20 year old cars here..
Other failures because of D-chunking and cylinder ovaling is common by other models as well, and manly a product of age + service intensity.
So if you buy you should either get the engine IMS and nicasil upgraded right away, or have the money ready. I upgraded with larger sump and thermostat as well. Plus a total upgrade on suspension, roll bars, bearings, gear change, differential (mechanical) ++. End result is a car better than new, that will last for many years. And it can hold its own, especially off the autobahn.
That was a lot of off topic, sorry guys. But Im pretty hardcore on this subject :)
Am fully aware of the issues now of course. However, it was a snapped valve stem that caused the havoc in the end at 80,000 miles. Nothing to do with the ‘known issues’
What annoyed me the most was that I had put 100,000 miles on my own Ferrari 360 without a single issue ever and in the end it was the ‘reliable ‘ German that was the problem child.
Sounds as the old blues song “If it wasnt for bad luck I would not have no luck at all”.
Overall the engine quality for the 996s is sound, but again: low second hand prices increases risk. The 996 GT3 “widow maker” and 996 Turbo, both from 1999-2000, have a good reputation - in spite of increased output, but with some modifications to the construction. Here of course the secondhand prices have never been remotly close to the standart ur-996,
A quick google on Ferrari 360 UK imply that one wont get much under 60k. My guess is that the service books are filled up (:
It was of course just pure bad luck what happened despite the 996 having been looked after by 911 Virgin for most of its life. Given the subsequent large outlay for a decent nikasil rebuild etc I should have just bought a Turbo with the Mezger engine from the start! However, the experience did leave a slightly bad taste in the mouth and I swapped the 911 out for an Alpina B5 Touring for the wife and what a beast that is - a 317 km an hour estate car that stays with a V10 Lamborghini Gallardo all the way to 300 comes as a surprise to most people and because it was debadged I promptly stuck a 520d badge on the back of it :-)
Appologies to fellow Beoworlders for the off topic petrolhead talk.
Greeting all!
Time to close the thread with a happy ending :)
As Roger suggested it was indeed a “main chaissis swap” (I would have liked to show a picture, but a bit more complicated than anticipated). All is good now :)
Id like to use a few seconds to hype the B&O Customer Service. From the moment I lifted my ass it was alle smooth sailing, from BeoCare, to Sandvika B&O, to Dalens Eletronikkservice to Oddbjørn who was the service technician at my place. This is customer service in the absolute elite division, no less.
Oddbjørn (an extremely pleasant man, who has worked on Beolab 5 since 2003), suggested a final test that I could have done: simply trying calibrating the BLs. Total failure (no sound when calibrating) would strongly suggest the main chassis failure.
Thx to all participants in this thread, including the petrolheads. Me like :)
Hi Roger,
I've been told that BL5 MK1 will need a full chassis swap as their old hassis MK1 are discontinued.
That means MK1 BL5's chassis will have to be swaped for a MK2 (minimum) chassis.
How much does it cost ?
I've heard around 1500/2000EUR/ per chassis.... is that amount you have spent ?
Thanks
BV10 46" - BL5 to come... BS Ouverture, BC6000, BT1100
Old sold : BV Avant 28", BL8000 - BL4000 - BL2
My Beolab 5 neither, I think I should replace it, sometimes this situation makes me think I have to choice another brand