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
Dear all,
I have a pair of Beolab 20s, which I bought used, and the Toslink input of one of them appears to be broken. The speaker works if I feed it through the 2 analogue RCAs. When using an optical cable it does not work. Plugging the same cable in the same setup into the other speaker works just fine, so I am quite sure that the toslink input is broken (or am I missing something??).
I wanted to ask for help and ideas how I can get life into the beolabs again. I use a Yamaha WXC-50 as a streamer with both coax and toslink digital outputs.
Is there a (digital) cable from coax or toslink into the RJ45 powerlink input? I googled a bit but could not find anything.
Or can I use the toslink in of one speaker (which works) and then connect that speaker through a powerlink to the other one? Or do I need to use toslink throughout if I start the daisychain with toslink?
Would a Beosound Transmitter 1 work, i.e. optical in from my Yamaha and then through WiSA to the speakers? Or is there a cheaper alternative?
If all else fails I just buy a Beosound Core with two Powerlink cables, but it’s just frustrating to spend so much money when my WXC-50 is a pretty decent streamer.
Would appreciate your input! Thanks.
Did you check the basics, like selecting left/right position switch?
Yes, I tried both left/right lever positions when daisychaining the speaker and also when going to toslink in first. Is there a required position when the speaker is first or second in the chain? I am happy to try again.
It doesn't matter if it is left or right; just can't be on the wireless position.
Regarding the toslink connector on the speaker...there is an input and output. Did you check if the output of one speaker is connected to the input of the other?
Once I had problems with my BL5 for not observing this...
I connected the streamer toslink out > toslink in of speaker A + toslink out of speaker A > toslink in of speaker B = sound for speaker A, no sound speaker B
I also tried going directly from streamer to toslink in of speaker B = no sound. Putting the same cable to toslink of speaker A = sound.
Because the RCA in of speaker B works, I think the speaker is fine. When I bought them the prior owner also demonstrated them with his Beo system (using powerlink) and both speakers worked fine.
It really looks like a speaker problem...
Toslink is the optical version of SPDif, right? Using a flashlight, try to see if there is any debries blocking the light inside the connector.
Another try would be using a Wisa transmitter to check if the problem is on the Toslink input only or in all digital input processing.
Thanks for all the tips. I put the the speaker on the side and looked at the optical input. To my untrained eye, it all looked fine.
Yeah, I think SPDIF is a digital interface that can be both optical or coax. I think toslink is the name of the connection.
I dont have a WiSA transmitter at hand so I cannot check that. I just hope that because the previous owner used a powerlink cable, the speaker is generally fine on the other inputs. And the analogue in is working too for what its worth (dont want to use analogue though due to loss of sound quality).
Next Monday I want to go to a nearby B&O store and check if the toslink can be repaired at a reasonable expense. But I am almost expecting that it will be cheaper to just use a different mode of connection.
Would someone perhaps know about my questions around connections? I am basically looking for the cheapest way to connect the speaker without using the one broken toslink.
Is there a (digital) cable from coax or toslink into the RJ45 powerlink input?
Or can I use the toslink in of one speaker and then connect that speaker through a powerlink to the other one? Or do I need to use toslink throughout if I start the daisychain with toslink?
Thanks
Tokei: Next Monday I want to go to a nearby B&O store and check if the toslink can be repaired at a reasonable expense. But I am almost expecting that it will be cheaper to just use a different mode of connection. Would a Beosound Transmitter 1 work, i.e. optical in from my Yamaha and then through WiSA to the speakers? Or is there a cheaper alternative? Thanks
Should it really be so, that the optical-in of one speaker is faulty, thie Transmitter 1 solution should be concidered, would be my advice.
In addition you will have much more freedom to place the speakers where it suits you and your room/where the sound is best.
The costs for the repair will maybe be higher than, what the Transmitter 1 will cost - and no cables is nice!
Please be aware that in order to control the volume using toslink (in either way) your audiosystem must have volume regulation of the toslink output (please confirm this with the user guide or the seller).
Apart from this....personally I doubt that you will notice the difference between a toslink connection and a PowerLink connection - but that is another discussion.
MM
There is a tv - and there is a BV
Hi Millemissen,
Thanks for the advice. I talked with B&O and they will send someone over to check the speaker. Let’s see, if the price to repair is not outrageous (which I think it will be), I’d just have it repaired.
If not, the Transmitter 1 is indeed a very interesting option. I would feed the transmitter from a Yamaha WXC-50 via optical (the transmitter has one optical in). The WXC-50 has volume control and even EQ features (like loudness or treble/mid/bass) on the digital outs. The combination of WXC-50 + Transmitter 1 costs less than a Beosound Core I think. Buying a Beosound Core and connecting the speakers with powerlink is my base case if the toslink cannot be repaired.
I also googled a bit for different WiSA transmitter options (because I do not need all those PL inputs on the transmitter 1). There is the Primare SC15 that supports WiSA, very nice device I think, but too expensive (paying lots for a high end DAC that I dont need). And then I also found the Axiim Link (https://axiim.com/pages/axiim-link), a very simple WiSA transmitter with just an USB in for 200USD. Comes out this month. So I could combine the Axiim Link with an USB bridge streamer such as the Sonore MicroRendu, Pro-Ject Stream Box S2 Ultra or an (used) Auralic Aries Mini. So many options! Well, if anyone has experience with those, I’d happy to hear your opinions.
And may I ask about your comment on Toslink vs. Powerlink? Is Powerlink supposed to have better sound quality? I think Toslink maxes out at 24bit/96Hz or so, which is absolutely fine for me, majority of my music is CD quality and very very few above that. But I am curious to hear about the (theoretical) advantages of powerlink. Is it correct that SQ-wise, Powerlink > Toslink > WiSA > Analogue?
... wait a minute.... so after some drilling through the forum here I found out that Powerlink is actually analogue??? Somehow I assumed that since B&O is pushing PL and use it for an active speaker that it should be the best connection quality? So Powerlink is as good or bad as the analogue RCA connections??
Well, then the Beosound Core connection through Powerlink sounds like a very bad option for the money...
Tokei: Well, then the Beosound Core connection through Powerlink sounds like a very bad option for the money...
If that is important to you.....the BS Core has an optical output, when can be volume regulated.
(The volume can be controlled by a BeoRemote One and/or the Bang & Olufsen app).
Yeah, I’d much prefer to feed the speakers a digital signal. Going digital > analogue in the source and then analogue > digital > analogue again in the speakers cannot be good....
The problem with the optical out of the Beosound Core is that my optical in of one speaker looks very much broken. So I am looking for a good way to connect the speakers without having to use optical. And after my revelation about Powerlink being analogue, I think WiSA might give me the best SQ?
Just got contacted from B&O services. After some Q&A they share my suspicion that the toslink is faulty. They also confirmed that repair will be costly but would not commit to a figure without first inspecting. Getting the speaker picked up for inspection and having it brought back again is $100 already without anything done...
The service heartily recommended the BeoSound Core because “it can tell the speaker to on/off and can give proper signal as Core knows Beolab 20. And it is always best to have it hardwired rather than wireless using Transmitter 1”. Do they have a point or is this just sales talk?
Tokei: The service heartily recommended the BeoSound Core because “it can tell the speaker to on/off and can give proper signal as Core knows Beolab 20. And it is always best to have it hardwired rather than wireless using Transmitter 1”. Do they have a point or is this just sales talk?
No, personally I’d go for a wired connection, whenever I possibly can.
My advice to go for the Transmitter 1 was based on your wish to go for a digital connection.
As already indicated, I see no problem in using the (analog) PL connection!
P.S. Personally I would also hardwire the source/the Core via a network cable....rather than using wifi.
Thanks Millemissen, that‘s very helpful. I‘m not settled for digital, I just thought that this would give me the best audio quality. I haven‘t bought my „source“ yet and was wondering what will give me the best quality for the money. The B&O service guy recommended the Beosound Core with PL connection, about 1000 USD here with cables. For a bit less I could buy the Yamaha WXC50 with a Transmitter 1 and go wirelessly to the speaker. And a super cheap option would be just the Yamaha WXC50 for 300USD connected to the BL20s via analogue RCAs.
So the Core through PL will give me better (or comparable but more reliable) audio quality then the all digital transmitter solution? And would that also be better than the RCA connection from the Yamaha sound-wise?
And just to add to my grumpiness: the broken toslink would have been the best quality, right?