how to improve 5.1 DTS surround with BV11+BL5+18 + ????

Hi all, basically my (luxury) problem is: how can I substantially improve the 5.1 DTS surround sound of current BV11 + 2 BL5 + 2 BL18 system. (apart from replacing the BV11 with the Eclipse - vetoed because of looks)

Configuration: both BV11 speakers as centre; 2 BL5's for left and right front; 2 BL18's for left and right back

recently I got a few 5.1 surround remixes by Steven Wilson of classic prog albums and configuring my 5 speakers in surround mode it became again clear (as with DVD movies) that by far the weakest link wrt sound is/are the BV11 speakers.

any suggestion is welcomed !
(that may include buying an additional speaker! But obviously adding one BL5 standing in front of the BV11 doesn't make sense :-) )

Rene

 

 

Is it possible to disable the tv speaker and create some sort of phantom center with BL5s?

Ralf

How about either:

1. 2 beolab 17’s close together above or below the tv and set them as center? Possible one can work too.

2. 2 beolab 18’s left and right of the tv and set them both to center channel?

3. You could also do something similar with beolab 3’s if space is more of an issue.

All is under the understanding that you disable the tv speakers as center obviously. It may look somewhat strange but it would work, also with all the possible sound settings in the bv 11.

Hope this helps for ideas?

Get a newer sound processor with room compensation built in.

Beovision 11 has Beosystem 4 built - so it should be able to turn off center speaker. I would try this first.

thanks for all so far; switching off BV11 speakers is my default indeed for normal music / TV.

But as I do want the BL5's as fronts, I hence have no centres in case of movies/5.1 music even though it sounds better compared to making the BV11 as centres.

buying BV17 seems an option I hadn't thought of before, but would that really be much better ?

Are non-B&O centre speakers an option at all ?? (WISA?)

ReneB:

Are non-B&O centre speakers an option at all ?? (WISA?)

This might be something to consider....if you really want to go non-B&O:

https://system-audio.com/product/sa-legend-5-silverback/

 

Of course this is about your ears, your room etc.

But imo, if you have calibrated your system properly, have made the bas managent settings etc, the two internal ‘speakers’ of the BV11 should do a proper job as center speaker.

After all it was (also) made for this job - the BSys4 in the tv is able to combine every external B&O speaker with its own internal.

If you need inspiration, this might give you some: 

http://www.tonmeister.ca/wordpress/2015/02/03/bo-tech-video-engine-customisation-part-1-bass-management/

Im am pretty sure that Geoff Martin could give you additional information, if you write a comment there....should he not already have spotted this thread.

MM

THANKS ! Lots of details in there ... I know I have once tried some things with bass management to little avail, but when I get back home I will use the article to fine tune my system.

Nevertheless, my current main question is: would "replacing" the BV11 internal speakers with 2 BL17's as centre speakers be a real improvement or "not really" ? (my hunch is "yes, because two BL17's are about half the price of a whole BV11", but that could be very naive indeed :-) )

thanks again, Rene

I am pretty sure that most BV11 owners are pleased with the tv as the center speaker (in a 5.1/7.1 setup).

It is absolutely no problem to disable the internal speakers e. g. not to use them in a 5.1 setup (in your case a 5.2 setup, since your BL5’s are subwoofers as well).

I would not advice for using a 4.1 configuration with a 5.1 source, because you will be missing the didicated center speaker information....

.....unless you let the TrueImage algorithm mix the center information into your front channels and you sit pretty dead center between these.

Using 2 BL17 would not bring you much further, since the only problem (that I see there) could be the socalled ‘comb-filtering effects’, that exist, when you use 2 speakers as a combined center speaker.

If - after a proper calibration - you really still want to change something, you could try out one of the dedicated B&O center speakers: BL7-4 or BL10.

Whether that will be a good idea for ‘design reasons’ in your room, you must know. Technically there is no problem in having a BL7-4/10 working in some Speaker Groups and the internal speakers in others.

MM

I personally think that 17’s sound much better compared to a bv11. Which bv11 do you have? Maybe if you have a dealer close by you can go and have a listen? To me, there is much more bass and midrange in the bl17’s and it’s super tight. I would agrue they’re fairly comparable to your bl18’s. Slightly less clear in the treble area but bigger and tighter in the bass section.

Or maybe try and see if you could find a bl7-2 or 7-6? And hang that above or below the bv11, those are also in a different catagory compared to the internal speakers. That’ll do the job well too. The bl7-4 would look weird in combo with a bv11 to me but if you don’t mind that, that’ll probably be slightly better in treble and spoken word. But again imho you lack a bit more in bass from the center.

Maybe a question for the forum, and i don’t know this one. But is it possible to ad a sub like the bl19 to just the center channel? If you that would probably fix the lack of punch on the center channel as the tv speakers are capable enough of doing the high’s and mids, they just have a harder time doing heavy base too.