Beolab 50 speakers seem dead on arrival

 

Could you send us some pictures of the cable connections on the master? And some screenshots of the app settings?

My initial though is that the main cat 7 cable is in the wrong hole.

I have 50s connected to a Core via optical as well as a BV7 by power link. In my app all inputs including wireless powerlink are grayed out except automatic which is checked.

After several hours of moving cables around and reconfiguring the speakers in the app, I finally figured out that I could reset the speakers by holding down both the Network and WPL reset buttons for a long time (15 seconds?), they restarted, they found each other and music started playing! B&O’s minimalist documentation could be a little less minimal and the iOS app could be improved but I’m happy now. They sound fantastic!

I have the Core connected via Powerlink. Is optical better?

 

Hello

 very nice speaker but out of my lead i.m afraid

You say you bought them directly from B&O.

How much do you save then i thougt you could only buy them in stores and not from b&o direct.

 

 

troyh:

After several hours of moving cables around and reconfiguring the speakers in the app, I finally figured out that I could reset the speakers by holding down both the Network and WPL reset buttons for a long time (15 seconds?), they restarted, they found each other and music started playing! B&O’s minimalist documentation could be a little less minimal and the iOS app could be improved but I’m happy now. They sound fantastic!

I have the Core connected via Powerlink. Is optical better?

 

Glad you got them working - now that thread name isn’t that relevant anymore.

Within a few seconds of searching on the internet you can find extensive instructions (the B&O website) on how to handle these wonderfull speakers:

https://support.bang-olufsen.com/hc/en-us/articles/360008123254-Setting-up-presets

MM

*Of course* the thread title remains relevant: Imagine some other third party purchases a brand-new set of speakers, and straight out of the box, they don't work.  (With or without scare-quotes around "don't work".)  They search the internet,... what words are they going to look for?!?!?  That a solution is presented to the question is excellent, but you chiding the OP on his choice of words is both annoying and ultimately unhelpful to others in the future.  

(Not to mention the commonsense of any manufacturer shipping speakers in a non-operating configuration, and that a dealer cannot be counted upon to help with the full-reset secret button presses some years into the future.  BTW, I watched/fast-forwarded those extensive instructions and didn't see any frames of Geoff bending over behind the speaker to press buttons, only a cable insertion.  Also the word "reset" does not appear anywhere in the Technical Sound Guide, including in the FAQ nor the Troubleshooting section.)

trackbeo:

*Of course* the thread title remains relevant: Imagine some other third party purchases a brand-new set of speakers, and straight out of the box, they don't work.  (With or without scare-quotes around "don't work".)  They search the internet,... what words are they going to look for?!?!?  That a solution is presented to the question is excellent, but you chiding the OP on his choice of words is both annoying and ultimately unhelpful to others in the future.  

(Not to mention the commonsense of any manufacturer shipping speakers in a non-operating configuration, and that a dealer cannot be counted upon to help with the full-reset secret button presses some years into the future.  BTW, I watched/fast-forwarded those extensive instructions and didn't see any frames of Geoff bending over behind the speaker to press buttons, only a cable insertion.  Also the word "reset" does not appear anywhere in the Technical Sound Guide, including in the FAQ nor the Troubleshooting section.)

I certainly don’t understand the reasons for the reaction that you show off in the first part of your post.

I was just trying to help - and searching for BL50 etc on the internet is not that complicated.

Whether that is/was a help, I of course can not know.

Maybe ‘asking for help’ here, instead of assuming that the speakers could be ‘dead on arrival’, would have been a better starting point imo.

 

Actually we know far to little about the purchase of the op.

 

Generally you should not try to ‘make’ speakers like these ‘working’ on your own, if you aren’t  experienced with how the highend BeoLabs work.

I don’t understand how these can be bought and delievered by B&O without any assistance from a dealer/skilled technician!

It is not the speakers that ‘are’ (or seem) dead on arrival - it is much more the assistance that is missing....for whatever reason.

Minimalist Instructions - kind of like assembling an F-35 using Ikea instructions.

Jeff:

Minimalist Instructions - kind of like assembling an F-35 using Ikea instructions.

Who on earth would even think of assembling a F-35 on his own......apart from you ;-)

MM

Millemissen:

trackbeo:

*Of course* the thread title remains relevant: Imagine some other third party purchases a brand-new set of speakers, and straight out of the box, they don't work.  (With or without scare-quotes around "don't work".)  They search the internet,... what words are they going to look for?!?!?  That a solution is presented to the question is excellent, but you chiding the OP on his choice of words is both annoying and ultimately unhelpful to others in the future.  

(Not to mention the commonsense of any manufacturer shipping speakers in a non-operating configuration, and that a dealer cannot be counted upon to help with the full-reset secret button presses some years into the future.  BTW, I watched/fast-forwarded those extensive instructions and didn't see any frames of Geoff bending over behind the speaker to press buttons, only a cable insertion.  Also the word "reset" does not appear anywhere in the Technical Sound Guide, including in the FAQ nor the Troubleshooting section.)

I certainly don’t understand the reasons for the reaction that you show off in the first part of your post.

I was just trying to help - and searching for BL50 etc on the internet is not that complicated.

Whether that is/was a help, I of course can not know.

Maybe ‘asking for help’ here, instead of assuming that the speakers could be ‘dead on arrival’, would have been a better starting point imo.

 

Actually we know far to little about the purchase of the op.

 

Generally you should not try to ‘make’ speakers like these ‘working’ on your own, if you aren’t  experienced with how the highend BeoLabs work.

I don’t understand how these can be bought and delievered by B&O without any assistance from a dealer/skilled technician!

It is not the speakers that ‘are’ (or seem) dead on arrival - it is much more the assistance that is missing....for whatever reason.

Speakers like the BL50 are always in a ‘non-operating configuration‘ - they have to be configurated before you use them.

They should be configurated according to how you want to use them.

By the way - what is a ‘reseller’, (that the op mentions in his first post), when it comes to buying a set of BL50?

And why doesn’t he assist?

MM

Absolute and utter Tosh!

Of course the speakers should come with full and comprehensive installation documentation (or available download), whether dealer installed or not - including any "reset" function, there is no excuse.

What also doesn't help is condescending statements like, "Generally you should not try to ‘make’ speakers like these ‘working’ on your own, if you aren’t  experienced with how the highend BeoLabs work".

Puncher:

Of course the speakers should come with full and comprehensive installation documentation (or available download), whether dealer installed or not - including any "reset" function, there is no excuse.

And hence we see a deep problem with building complex products that require expert setup and letting your dealer network atrophy to near nonexistence.

Jeff:

Puncher:

Of course the speakers should come with full and comprehensive installation documentation (or available download), whether dealer installed or not - including any "reset" function, there is no excuse.

And hence we see a deep problem with building complex products that require expert setup and letting your dealer network atrophy to near nonexistence.

These things cost more than a small car (which coincidentally comes with a manual spanning many hundreds of pages covering how to operate the unique features of the vehicle),bought from a dealer who isn't usually expected to sit and show you around the full extent of the various control systems.

I would regard a comprehensive manual as an absolute basic requirement.

Agreed. I can’t believe B&O allow these to be sold via mail order?!

And ultimately people buy these mail order too?

We pride ourselves on after sales and customer care to ensure everything runs smoothly and ultimately the product is installed correctly and performance is as expected.

These are hugely expensive speakers and should be delivered and demonstrated with care.

It would be the least we could do to supply and demo BL50 to a customer.

I recently set up a Beam, LG TV and SUB for a customer. Didn’t take longer than a quick glass of water and they then went on to order another speaker. I was happy, customers had the best experience and ultimately (although not B&O) the product was set up as intended.

Every purchase is a different circumstance. When I purchased my Beosound 3000 the dealer offered to drive three hours each way just to connect one masterlink cable to my Avant. When I bought my 50s they were shipped to my home and I set them up myself. Sometimes a customer wants things set up by a dealer. Sometimes the customer might want to set up a product themselves. I am much more familiar with the 50s having set them up myself, than I would have been if a technician set them up. Neither way, dealer set up or self set up, is right or wrong. They each have their place.

Selling something complex is like selling a guy a 10 band parametric equalizer, a mic, and a test generator as "perfect room correction, some assembly required." Then sit back and watch the fun.

Even with normal eq's, 99 percent of all the eq's I've seen in the wild all have the smiley face pattern on them, aka a full time loudness curve.

 

This may be useful?

https://m.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLRPmJ785xnMi0nBHAKH25GbHItnj_1E8Q

Razlaw:

Every purchase is a different circumstance. When I purchased my Beosound 3000 the dealer offered to drive three hours each way just to connect one masterlink cable to my Avant. When I bought my 50s they were shipped to my home and I set them up myself. Sometimes a customer wants things set up by a dealer. Sometimes the customer might want to set up a product themselves. I am much more familiar with the 50s having set them up myself, than I would have been if a technician set them up. Neither way, dealer set up or self set up, is right or wrong. They each have their place.

That’s the way I wanted my 90s. Complete setup by myself - even though they weren’t prepped for auto update or room calibration. Did it all myself and then taught the dealer. However, if that was not my bag....I’d be well and truly stuffed (and an additional £700 lighter for a commissioning day - which at the time I’m pretty sure the dealer knew 2/5th of nothing

Good points all.

£700 a day for set up, yikes!