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
And what about the "preset" of your room ? :-)
My advice is to give a try to calibrate them to your room, you might be surprised.
Always interesting to read, is Geoff's blog on this topic: https://www.tonmeister.ca/wordpress/2015/06/30/bo-tech-active-room-compensation/
Mikipidia:You could always do the cup trick when calibrating them
Hi TWG,
I haven't heard about this either.....although I know of people who would take their Beolab 5s outdoors to calibrate them, then bring them back inside - this appeared to raise the bass levels for a fuller sound.
Miki - please tell us more about the cup trick!
Kind regards, Steve.
Steve.
www.soundsheavenly.com
Founder of Sounds Heavenly Cables and Brand Ambassador for Bang & Olufsen
Sounds Heavenly are proud to sponsor BeoWorld!
Please check out my YouTube channel at https://youtube.com/soundsheavenlycables
Here it is: https://archivedforum2.beoworld.org/forums/t/27795.aspx
Thanks oli!
I was interested to read Geoff Martin's response to this idea:-
If you wish to disable ABC, you can do so by starting the measurement procedure (press on the top button on the BL5) and hold it in until the measurement procedure aborts. This will clear the ABC filter.
If you just want more bass, then you should do this at the source, and leave the ABC to correct the averaged time response of the room. Please don't create an ABC filter for a coffee mug... :-)
New: Beovision Harmony, Beolab 50's, Beolab 28's, Beolab 18's, Beolab 17's, Beosound Stage & LG, Beosound 2, Beoplay M3, Beoplay A1, Beoplay Portal, Beoplay H4 gen 2, Beoplay E8 3.0
Mikipedia on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/Mikipedia
Mikipedi4 on Twitch: https://www.twitch.tv/mikipedi4
Mikipedia on Intagram: https://www.instagram.com/mikipedi4/
Old: Beosound 9000 mk3, Beolab 3's, Beovision Eclipse, Beolab 1's, Beolab 2, Beovision 10-46, Overture 2300, beolab 8000's, Beolab 4000's, Beovision avant 32" etc. etc.
I always used to calibrate mine outside in the LifeStyle AV car park, or if I took some home - on the patio outside.
I always used to chuckle to myself wondering if the poor BeoLab 5 was thinking "OMG - how big is this room?!!!"
Without fail, as soon as the new owner recalibrated them in his or her lounge... they sounded crap in comparison.
Lee
Hello Steve, thanks for asking this question. I'm going trough the same process I guess. I'd like to buy Beolab 5's second hand. The more reasonable priced ones (6.000 - 8.000 euro range) are mostly models from 2003-2007. So over 10 years old now.
I guess the Beoworld forum made me a bit cautious about the Beolab 5's as well. I've read quite a few posts about 'changing the chassis' or other problems. On the other hand, people often post about this only when they experience problems themselves. I mean, these posts are not necessarily a benchmark.
But I too would like to hear things to check when buying a pair of Beolab 5's second hand.
Cheers!
Richard
BV Harmony 65 / Eclipse 55 / BL 50 / 19 / 18 / BS 2 all brass
BV Horizon 48 / V1 40 / BL 17 / Beoplay S3 all black
V1 / BL 3 / BS Essence MKII / Beoplay A3 all white
BS Moment / BS 3000 / BS 3200 / BL 400 all silver
Headphones / bluetooth speakers / BLC NL-ML / BLGateway
I know…B&O virus has grown on me !
Bang & Olufsen have the huge advantage of having the schematics, so they are able to diagnose the fault much easier and find out which components turned into smoke and what to replace them with. They haven't published any schematics in the 21st century as far as I'm aware - only service manuals on how to diagnose which board to replace and how to dismantle the product in order to do so.
It's pretty sad that they won't publish the schematics even after the products went out of production. Makes life much harder for the enthusiast wanting to keep the products alive in the future when Bang & Olufsen stop refurbishing the old chassis.
/Dennis
Hi Mr anders,
Which year are your BL5 MK2 ?
Cheers,
BV10 46" - BL5 to come... BS Ouverture, BC6000, BT1100
Old sold : BV Avant 28", BL8000 - BL4000 - BL2
I have been thinking about this specific topic for a long time, maybe now is the right time to bring it up... I'm curious if anyone else has considered the same thing.
As a person who also wants a pair of BeoLab 5s eventually, I also have the fear of buying something that will have a huge, costly repair ahead.
At any rate, the idea popped into my head that it could be possible to break this cycle by building/procuring a set of amps and a DSP to use externally from the speaker itself. This is an ambitious project and I know its much more difficult (and possibly more expensive) than an official chassis replacement but it could also add to the flexibility and maybe even ease of use to the system.
I know this method would compromise many parts of the speaker (performance and features) without expert implementation but it is technically an alternative. Who's interested in an open source BeoLab 5??
Beo4 'til I die!
I've build speakers myself for about roughly 30 years ago.My experience was that you when you start such a project, you will always have the question on how to improve the sound during listening sessions.
So, I ended up buying a set of Beovox S45-2's at that time. What a revelation it was. Proper designed, build and tuned at the Cube.
Just my thought.
GuyHUI:Hi Mr anders, Which year are your BL5 MK2 ? Cheers, BV10 46" - BL8000 - BL4000 - BL2 - BS Ouverture
BeoVision Haermony 65"...BeoLab 28 Anthracite....BeoLab 17 as REAR....BV10-32....BC6-26....Beosound 9000....Beosound 1 New York edt....Beogram 4002....Beoplay Emerge....Beoplay M5....Beoplay M3....Beoremote Halo....BeoRemote One BT....Beo6....Beo4....Beo4 Cinema....BeoLink 7000....Serene....H95 Black LTD....H9i Rimowa....6 x H6....Form 1....U70...
My BL5s are from 2003. I bought them as demo models from my dealer in 2005.
One of them had two repairs since then - first in 2008 - this was 250 euros for the chassis - I had to pay nothing for the work....
Next exchange was in 2018 - this time I had to pay 1500 euros :(
So, all in all, repair costs were 1750 euros - this is less than 10% of the prize new in 17 years.
If my car had repairs less than 10% of the prize in 17 years I would call it reliable.
And so are my BL5s.
No, they are not for sale:)
Stefan
Mikipidia:Obviously it’s not a foolproof manner, but it makes the mic think the room is bigger as not all the bass comes back it’s one of those roundabout way of doing it if you either don’t want to fully clear the filters or take them to a bigger room or outside. It works but outcomes may vary
Hello Mikipedia,
I have seen many of your videos on your Youtube Channel.
May be you can help me to get these answers regarding the BL5 Year of production and its MK version.
Thanks for your help.
That's a good start to understand how MK version rules are made.
It seems B&0 retaielrs spoke abut MK3 and MK4.
Thanks Mikipidia, very helpfull answer.
Thank you for clarification!I've read that in newer software versions the red standby LED turns off after some time. Can the LED be enabled to stay red in standby mode forever? I like the red standby lights on B&O products and I don't want to give it up :-)
I don't know, but that not being on anymore is one of those stupid EU energy concessions, the light ''drains'' too much power for the un-expecting consumer...
You could always use the last SW version before that was switched off, sound wise it won't make a difference. ( don't know which was the last one but your dealer will know)
Mikipidia: You could always use the last SW version before that was switched off, sound wise it won't make a difference. ( don't know which was the last one but your dealer will know)
Mikipidia:Lol yeah, they use an unacceptale amount of power at ~2watt when off back in the day i mean, think of the planet or something I think, but don’t know for sure, I THINK the last sw version to have it is 2.61a. But iam really not sure, it could be the one before that too or maybe one after it that is the absolute last. Maybe members here that have them can chime in wheather or nit theirs still have the light up top and what sw version they’re on? New: Beovision Harmony, Beolab 50's, Beolab 18's, Beolab 17's, Beosound 9000 mk3, Beosound 1 Bronze edition, Beoplay M3, Beoplay A1. Mikipedia on YouTube (finally ) https://www.youtube.com/c/Mikipedia Old: Beovision Eclipse, Beolab 1's, Beolab 2, Beovision 10-46, Overture 2300, beolab 8000's, Beolab 4000's, Beovision avant 32" etc. etc.
I have also SW v3.1 written on my Final Edition series (serial starting with 222x), and the leds remains ON, while in standby or running
Thank you all for the info and help.
Mine are just approaching 15 years old. They have been connected to BV5, BV10 and the current Eclipse. They work perfectly having been used almost everyday for normal TV watching, occasional quite loud conventional stereo playback and occasional very loud base effects from Blu-ray, DVD ETC
I beg you to read this replay from Dave Moulton (look him up; deeply involved in the development of the 5s)
https://archivedforum2.beoworld.org/forums/t/2873.aspx?PageIndex=1
I wish not to add anything to his comment, as well as Geoff Martins remark that Steve already mentioned.
oli:I am pretty sure that BL50 and BL90 will have exactly the same "reliability" issue in comparaison to more simple speakers like a BL1 or BL8000, or of course a Penta, even more than the BL5 probably with the amount of embedded software which is not really a B&O strength...
I agree. Also, when using your Beolab 5s in the year 2035 you don't have to think "hmm, where did I put that 20 year old cell phone that I need to be able to configure my speakers?"
No, I don't like that schematics aren't available for the bl5, but I like that it's not depending on network capabilties and apps for phones and such. Donät get me wrong, I think that the bl50 is terrific, but I find it problematic in the long run that it has a dependency to the app.
I bought a pair of BeoLab 5s about 2 years ago from my 'local' (4 hours away) dealer and as I am writing this the technicians are here replacing the chassis in the second speaker. The chassis went out on the other speaker last year and had to be replaced. So in terms of reliability, I am not impressed. The issue was the same other people have reported, the speakers started making a crackling/hissing sound.
BTW, I too have a pair of Penta 3s, which I love. The BeoLab 5s lack the realism of the Pentas. they are great speakers, but I find them fatiguing to listen to for any length of time. They are unsurpassed in a home theater surround sound set up, but for listening to music I feel that they lack any personality, they are very 2 dimensional. For music, I much prefer my Pentas.
Out of interest. Do you know what causes the chassis faults? Is it the (massive) base drivers when playing very loud?
I am considering replacing my BL9's with newer BL5's, and I only very seldom play very loud music. I love the rumble i movies though.
Kent:I bought a pair of BeoLab 5s about 2 years ago from my 'local' (4 hours away) dealer and as I am writing this the technicians are here replacing the chassis in the second speaker. The chassis went out on the other speaker last year and had to be replaced. So in terms of reliability, I am not impressed. The issue was the same other people have reported, the speakers started making a crackling/hissing sound.BTW, I too have a pair of Penta 3s, which I love. The BeoLab 5s lack the realism of the Pentas. they are great speakers, but I find them fatiguing to listen to for any length of time. They are unsurpassed in a home theater surround sound set up, but for listening to music I feel that they lack any personality, they are very 2 dimensional. For music, I much prefer my Pentas.
.
Present: BL90, Core, BL6000, CD7000, Beogram 7000, Essence Remote.
Past: BL1, BL2, BL8000, BS9000, BL5, BC2, BS5, BV5, BV4-50, Beosystem 3, BL3, DVD1, Beoremote 4, Moment.
Hi Steve
Got a pair secondhand from 2005 in 2010. One has an issue. When I use it for a long time, for a movie for example, the led stay green. I have to unplugged it and then it works again. The calibration doesn't work on it. I have this issue since 3 years now at least.
The other one works perfectly.
I am going to buy another pair from 2006, the chassis has been already replaced by the previous owner one years and a half ago. He pushed them too hard during a party.
They are amazing for movies but as said previously at high volume in a closed place, the sound quality can decline at high volume for music listening.
I have bought a pair of secondhand devialet gold speakers recently and the deviated have really good bass but nothing will replace the clarity, detail of the acoustic lens and the power of the bass woofer (on concrete floor). For price between 5000 7000 depending their age and chassis replacement, it is an excellent purchase even considering the price of a new chassis. The design. ... timeless
Their main default (that shouldn't be one) is that they are not gentle with bad recordings, new speakers are less dependent to the environment and dsp are correcting more things.
4 beolab 5, beolab 9, beolab 10, beolab 5000, beolab 8000 mk2, beolab 6002, beolab 3500, beovision 7 55 mk2, 2 beovision 11 46 mk4, beotime, beosound ouverture, beosound essence, beoplay A8, beomaster 900 RG de luxe and the collection continues...
Bought my BL5 in 2010 and they are getting excessive use since then ... running at least 6 hours daily. Few months ago, the left speaker began to develop drop outs of the bass chassis ... few months later the bass stopped working completely. Had to replace a complete electronics unit in the speaker (chassis?). Was 700 Euros, labour included. Was done by a B&O service partner. Parts were < 500 Euro. Had to wait for the part for quite a while ... 2-3 months or so.
Now everyting is working again. Although i'd say, that the speaker with the new chassis sounds a bit different than the "old" one ... it also has a totally different software built (3.5?) ...the old one has SW 2.4(?) or something like that ...can't be updated to SW 3.5. I think i'll gonna buy another new chassis, as long as there are parts ... 500 Euro is o.k for me. It worked perfectly for the last 11 years ...every single day.
BR
Tom