Possibly taboo, but thoughts on hooking up an iPod/iPad/laptop to an old Beosystem 5000?

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bunchoffives Posted: Sat, Jan 5 2013 5:30 AM

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Full disclosure: I am an audio luddite.

I bought a Beosystem 5000 from Craigslist for around $150 in 2007. I was 21 years old at the time and just getting my first "big kid" paychecks. It was one of my first big purchases and I still think I got a steal on it. 

I've loved it ever since. It's been through 4 transnational moves (and if any of you have ever lugged around an old B&O, you know that's a commitment.)

I need to replace the belt on the tape deck and I think the CD player might have given up the ghost last November, but the needle was pristine on the turntable, and I had the Beovox s55's checked out to make sure there wasn't any rot/failure. I've probably used the turntable enough that I need to look into the Sound Smith replacement cartridge, but that's neither here nor there.

My question is if I need to be doing something different to enhance the quality from my portable devices. I use a simple DIN5 to 1/8 in adaptor that I bought off eBay years ago to plug in my devices, and to my untrained ears it sounds great, but is there anything I should be doing to enhance the experience?

Most of the audio files I play from portable devices are lossless, but I want to make sure I'm not missing anything on the hardware end. 

Thanks in advance! 

-Steve

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elephant replied on Sat, Jan 5 2013 8:16 AM

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bunchoffives:

Full disclosure: I am an audio luddite.

I bought a Beosystem 5000 from Craigslist for around $150 in 2007. I was 21 years old at the time and just getting my first "big kid" paychecks. It was one of my first big purchases and I still think I got a steal on it.

I've loved it ever since. It's been through 4 transnational moves (and if any of you have ever lugged around an old B&O, you know that's a commitment.)

I need to replace the belt on the tape deck and I think the CD player might have given up the ghost last November, but the needle was pristine on the turntable, and I had the Beovox s55's checked out to make sure there wasn't any rot/failure. I've probably used the turntable enough that I need to look into the Sound Smith replacement cartridge, but that's neither here nor there.

My question is if I need to be doing something different to enhance the quality from my portable devices. I use a simple DIN5 to 1/8 in adaptor that I bought off eBay years ago to plug in my devices, and to my untrained ears it sounds great, but is there anything I should be doing to enhance the experience?

Most of the audio files I play from portable devices are lossless, but I want to make sure I'm not missing anything on the hardware end.

Thanks in advance!

-Steve

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Millemissen replied on Sat, Jan 5 2013 11:13 AM

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Hi Steve,

when you say "portable devices" what do you mean?

If they are really portable you should not need a cable to use them.

Take a look at the Playmaker from B&O.

It can easily be connected to the Aux-in of your BS5000 and thus used wireless/real-portable.

If you nead someone to look after your Beogram-pickup, Axel is the man:

http://www.schallplattennadeln.de/

Greetings Millemissen

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vikinger replied on Sat, Jan 5 2013 12:42 PM

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I use a Roku type Internet radio receiver plugged into the tape input of my BM2000 and it gives superb results. The Roku units are now out of production, but I also have an Archos Internet / streaming unit I am going to try out with both the BM 2000 and my BS8.

In my opinion it's hard to better using a high quality internet radio input or stream music from a computer to the tape input on one of the passive B&O systems.

Graham

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bayerische replied on Sun, Jan 6 2013 12:18 PM

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The cable you have between your portable device (I'm guessing iPad/iPhone) is perfectly fine, the problem is the crappy D/A (digital to analog converters in the iPhone or almost any portable device)...

You won't hear a difference from the audio-jack output between a lossless or 256kbit audio file.

So either get a dock with a good quality DAC (digital to analog converter) or get a different portable audio device, made for hifi, say the color fly.

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wonderfulelectric replied on Sun, Jan 6 2013 1:29 PM

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bayerische:

The cable you have between your portable device (I'm guessing iPad/iPhone) is perfectly fine, the problem is the crappy D/A (digital to analog converters in the iPhone or almost any portable device)...

You won't hear a difference from the audio-jack output between a lossless or 256kbit audio file.

So either get a dock with a good quality DAC (digital to analog converter) or get a different portable audio device, made for hifi, say the color fly.

 

Oh! Are you using the color fly? What do you make of it? I don't like the idea of having to bring two gadgets out in my pockets. 

I think it will be so great if B&O launches a product like the color fly but with phone functions. Price it at a not so high not so low $3000-$4000 with big memory with expendable memory options will be great. Perhaps instead of having so many so many inputs/ outputs like the color fly, instead just have low jitter high res output digital output when docked with a standard headphone jack that has a software function that can switch that output to pre-amp line out, headphone out with provisions for pro XLR/ standard RCA or B&O power link  and even an asynchronous USB input when docked so it can double up to connect B&O loudspeakers to computers as well! Please no Icepower for such low powered device, fully balanced D/A conversion will seal the deal. Say a pair of Asahi Kasei top of the line 4399 converters executed in balanced mono mode with the minimum phase filter activated along 32/64 bit attenuation coupled with a class A biased output stage will make the music/phone fly out of the shelfs like hot cakes. I am so sick of the Iphone that is so mass produced and needs to be upgraded annually or at least biannually. It can be 1.5 times as thick as the iphone and I think it will still be a big sell. 

Exclusive phone = mass appeal, superior digital music player = audiophile big sell. 

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Puncher replied on Sun, Jan 6 2013 2:29 PM

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Exclusive phone = mass appeal, superior digital music player = audiophile big sell = never happen!

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wonderfulelectric replied on Sun, Jan 6 2013 4:22 PM

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Well look at all the branded luxury (Dior/ Porsche/ Mclaren/ Vertu) phones that have been out, they don't even have the added plus of having a superior digital music player included. I think even at $3000 such an audiophile luxury phone made by B&O will be a steal. The closest audiophile player cousin to that will be the latest Fostex HP-A8C and it is not even portable. B&O has always overlooked the market's need for quality audio sources why don't they start focusing on that market? Don't let the Apogee Duet be only stylish and practical desktop solution to the growing tech savvy audio quality conscious market. I mean the Serenata with its oversized speakers built in?.... Come on... Or the Beosound 6 with its teeny tiny built-in memory don't make sense to all, neither to the audiophile market that it should really be targeting at or the masses who value exclusivity.