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
Hi there Beoworld.
Do anyone know, if the Beosound5 has different MK versions?
Or is it just the software which can be updated?
I think only the screen glass has been changed.
The old one had a problem with dust.
Okay thanks.
Has anyone heard any news about some software updates lately?
I just hope, that they doesn't upgrade the unit itself.
I have just talked to a dealer, and he has a brand new beosound5 for only 3350 EUR (25.905dkr)!
So im very interested in buying one...
It is in the nature or B&O, they sold the BV10 with a BL11 with it. And after a couple of months the announced that the BV10 will be replaced by the BV11.. I would not be surprised if B&O replace the BS5 with a BS6? Anyhow, you cant sit and wait for the new products - then you have to wait until you die because there is always new products coming..
I hope that the BS5 will be in production for some time, with new sw updates, but you never know.. :)
I have found with B&O that the waiting time after hearing rumors about upgrades or new products and the time when such new products actually arrive can sometime be well over a year. I think it's been over a year since my dealer said that an iOS app would be coming out for the BeoSound 5. We're also still waiting for Apple Lossless on the BeoSound 5. These features and gapless playback should have been implemented long ago. I had also heard from my dealer that multiple BeoSound 5 Encores could extend playback and control of the master unit from the master room into the link rooms - much like what we're used to with link rooms connected via masterlink rather than for the Encore units to have totally independent playback from the master unit. This still has never happened.
On a positive note, the current software version of the BeoSound 5 is very stable. Sometimes, the software updates would be quite buggy, leading to frustration and caution in being among the first to download the updates. I would rather B&O take the time to fully develop and test the updates rather than to have updates that are more frequent but unstable.
Yes the waiting time as usually long with B&O.
Does anyone have some experience transfering music to the beomaster5 from a Mac using iTunes?
MARKFS: Yes the waiting time as usually long with B&O. Does anyone have some experience transfering music to the beomaster5 from a Mac using iTunes?
B&O provides free software called "BeoConnect" to transfer music to the BeoMaster 5 / BeoSound 5. The software is very simple to use: you simply highlight the music you want to transfer from iTunes and drag and drop it to the BeoConnect icon on the dock of your desktop. You can also add music to one of the four playlists by moving the curser slightly to one of the four corners of the icon to select the blue, red, yellow, or green playlist if you so choose.
The current version of BeoConnect automatically creates proper file folders for albums on the BeoMaster hard drive. This is an improvement over the very early version that merely dumped each and every song file into one common folder.
That sounds very easy!
How about all the data from the songs (covers, titels..) does that transfer automatically?
I have just read so much about transferring files to the beosound/master and how difficult it was to get the all the data transfered...
Does it support music bought from itunes?
It is very easy.
It's not really that it's difficult to get the data transferred. Rather, it's just that you really notice on the BeoSound 5 when you had tags missing or incorrect. We don't notice the missing tags so much when we're looking at iTunes, but it's really obvious when we see it on the large Beosound 5 screen. You just need to make sure that you have all of your tags correct and have good cover art BEFORE you transfer the music files to the BeoSound 5. The biggest mistake that I make when transferring music is that I often forget to tick the "part of a compilation" box on iTunes when there are multiple artists on an album. If you forget to tick that box, after you transfer that album each and every song will show up as its own album on the BeoSound 5. If you remember to tick the "part of a compilation" box to tag everything correctly before transferring to the BeoSound 5, all of the tracks will show up correctly in one album.
Another thing to remember is that if you have multiple CDs in a set, you need to either start the track numbering for subsequent CDs to pick up after the number of the last track of the previous CD (for example, making track 1 of the 2nd CD track 15 if the last track of the 1st CD was track 14) or to add "CD1" "CD2" etc. to the name of the album in order to give each album a unique name. Otherwise, you will see multiple track "1" "2" etc. in just one album.
That same logic goes for making sure that any albums with the same name get a unique name. For example, an album named "Greatest Hits" should get renamed to a unique name such as "Greatest Hits - Billy Joel."
The BeoSound 5 supports music bought on iTunes, but you need to make sure you upgrade the music from the old, lower quality iTunes format to the iTunes Plus (which is now the default and only format on the iTunes store). Not only does the iTunes Plus version have a better resolution, it also is DRM free - which is what is essential for it to play on the BeoSound 5.
If you want lossless music on your BeoSound 5, you're opening up an entire can of worms that has been discussed and vented about quite a bit on BeoWorld. The BeoSound 5 STILL does not support Apple Lossless. There is no excuse for this since Apple Lossless went open format a year ago! It supports FLAC, but there are some tagging issues with FLAC. It supports WMA Lossless, but you need Windows to be able to rip your CDs into WMA Lossless.
But still no Apple Lossless support! If you have plans to add a pair of good speakers, you shoud buy lossless Audio Files! You can also buy Lossless Files at www.quobuz.com
Thanks for all the great advice!
I'm looking forward to buying the beosound5 now!
But first, I have to convert most of my music because I have it apple lossless :(
I have downloaded a program called XLD which can convert it into WAV, MPEG-4 AAC, FLAC & MP3.
I was thinking about converting it into MPEG-4 AAC? Does anyone know the quality of that?
My speakers are a pair of BL8000 in the front with a BL 7-2 (beovision 7-40) and a pair of BL9 in the back.
Good set of tips Jeff !
And a special thank you for this one, I never understood the value of that option before !!
beojeff:The biggest mistake that I make when transferring music is that I often forget to tick the "part of a compilation" box on iTunes when there are multiple artists on an album. If you forget to tick that box, after you transfer that album each and every song will show up as its own album on the BeoSound 5. If you remember to tick the "part of a compilation" box to tag everything correctly before transferring to the BeoSound 5, all of the tracks will show up correctly in one album.
Also I liked your approach to the CD1, CD2 business ...
BeoNut since '75
I use XLD to convert all my tracks into FLAC. FLAC is lossless and plays fine on BM5
Markfs, please do share with us your experience from using the Apple Lossless conversion program. When I got my BeoSound 5 a few years ago, I just re-ripped my favorite albums and artists into WMA Lossless. This certainly isn't ideal because one then has to keep two separate music libraries. I've been holding off on re-ripping the rest of my CDs, hoping that B&O would add the now open source Apple Lossless to it's supported formats. It's been a year and that still hasn't happened. :-(
Another tip to consider is paying the $25 for iTunes Match. ITunes Match can scan your entire music library and replace it with iTunes store versions of that music. To do this, you can use a second computer to download all of the matched music from the cloud via iTunes Match and then transfer that music to the BeoSound 5. Another way to replace the music would be to delete all of your music from your computer's iTunes library and then download it from iTunes Match back into your iTunes library. Before using that option, though, be sure to back up all of the music onto another drive before deleting your library. Songs that you have in VERY low quality (I believe it's anything 90kbps or lower) won't get matched. However, everything else gets replaced with iTunes store quality tracks. This is the same music as you would be buying from iTunes. To me, this is adequate. Some people will argue that there is a noticeable difference between lossless and 256kbps AAC. I can't tell the difference and many blind tests have shown that normal human hearing can't tell the difference. I certainly won't argue with you though if you can. Note, however, that iTunes Match will not correct your tagging or cover art. It keeps all of your existing tags and cover art.
I will keep you informed on my converting process :)
I can't use itunes match, because Denmark is not yet supported...
MARKFS: Thanks for all the great advice! I'm looking forward to buying the beosound5 now! But first, I have to convert most of my music because I have it apple lossless :( I have downloaded a program called XLD which can convert it into WAV, MPEG-4 AAC, FLAC & MP3. I was thinking about converting it into MPEG-4 AAC? Does anyone know the quality of that? My speakers are a pair of BL8000 in the front with a BL 7-2 (beovision 7-40) and a pair of BL9 in the back.
I think you will make a good choice. In the rapidly changing world of electronics, BS5 is a stable system now. I own mine as early adopter since Feb 2009 and apart from early motherboard issues it has grown nicely in capabilities. Hope that the future sw updates will add functions - the system is exactly doing what it should do... No need to cook eggs...
MARKFS: I have downloaded a program called XLD which can convert it into WAV, MPEG-4 AAC, FLAC & MP3. I was thinking about converting it into MPEG-4 AAC? Does anyone know the quality of that?
I would recommend FLAC. Why lose bits? I re-ripped much of my library to lossless WMA, but it seems only windows computers support. I've converted some of my apple lossless to FLAC - much more to mp3 (for use in bs2) - but the FLAC works fine. Holding out for apple lossless support before I do much more conversion to FLAC.
Stan
I would love to use FLAC but I can't seem to get it to play in itunes?
Convert Apple Lossless into FLAC by using XLD. Then load the FLAC files onto BM5. The Apple Lossless files are still on iTunes and you can play them from here.
No problems with cover art with FLAC files ?
I think some Beoworlders reported they had missing cover with a lot of FLAC songs.
steph:No problems with cover art with FLAC files ? I think some Beoworlders reported they had missing cover with a lot of FLAC songs.