alternative to essence/core?

Hi, 

We have a setup of Beoliving intelligence PRO for our home automation (blinds, lights, etc) and recently invested in a bunch of Emerges (in addition to other Beo products we have) to bind everything nicely together in the beoliving app (well the Emerge's are not there yet, but should come soon).

Now I would like to have some sound on our terrace as well, mostly for background music. I have a sonos:amp lying around and a pair of decent outdoor speakers that I could use. I would like to bind those into our system and was told by my B&O dealer to buy a 'core'. But I seriously struggle to see the point of spending the equivalent of USD1k on a streamer where a simple chromecast would be sufficient to stream some background music (if you know what i mean - my sound expectations on the terrace are not high end).

Is there a way to link any non-BEO product as streamer in Beoliving?

Or if not, would an Essence (second-hand) be a solution? We have an Essence MK2 driving one zone already, happy with it, apart from a time lag when starting to play. And if Essence, would a MK1 be enough or do I need a MK2?

Thanks a lot for your inputs and help!

Tom

 

Before the thread disappears completely out of sight:

anyone got a hint/tip for me if  another non-Beo streamer can be integrated in Beoliving Intelligence? Or am i left with the Core or the Essence MK1 and MK2?

If it's been answered before, I very much appreciate to be pointed at the right thread (i extensively searched for keywords, but maybe not for the right ones)! 

Cheers, Tom

If you use an Essence or Core, then you also need a power amplifier to drive passive speakers.  A BeoLink Passive is the most logical solution as it turns on/off based on the signal from the Essence/Core.  You do need a full powerlink cable between the Essence/Core and Passive (some PL cables don't carry all of the signals).  Passives can often be found for ~$100 on Ebay.  It's not exactly a "tidy" solution (2 powered boxes + cables + speakers), but it works well (I have 2 such setups).

I think I posted a similar thread a few years ago.  I had a hard time spending ~$1000 to drive a pair of "nothing special" outdoor speakers, but NL was important to me so there really wasn't any other options that I could find.  I was able to find a 2nd hand Essence Mk2 and Passive + cables for ~$700.  Maybe if you're only doing Chromecast, there's a cheaper solution.  According to this thread (https://www.reddit.com/r/homeautomation/comments/iho6if/is_there_a_google_assistant_compatible_amplifier), there really isn't unless you can find a discontinued ChromeCast Audio (and then you still need an amp).

For differences between the Mk1 and Mk2 Essence, see this thread:  https://archivedforum2.beoworld.org/forums/p/23154/191657.aspx

If you are a Chromecast or NetworkLink user, then it looks like you need a Mk2 because I don't see it listed as a source from the MK1.

Thanks Stan for the conprehensive reply!

I'll start looking for another MK2 Essence then and will likely end up with your proposed setup. Before I'll buy a Beolink Passive, would it be possible to reuse the Sonos amp and just have it on always on? Or will it not be able to deal with the MK2 output?

(Once back from holidays i could try to test that)

The Sonos side is easy, but requires using the Sonos app for setup, which means -- if you don't have other Sonos speakers around the house -- you have to build yourself a Sonos "system" with just the single "room" in which the amp is the component.  Having done that, you go into Settings/System/Products/<your-room>/Line-In: set the AutoPlay room to the same <your-room>, "Use Autoplay Volume" on and set the default volume to suit (so you don't have to flip around with the Sonos app), and then set "Audio Delay" to "Low" (75 msec) unless you have a whole Sonos system you plan to distribute the audio into. You should also set Source name=Essence (of course!), and adjust Source Level to suit -- PowerLink may be louder so use a lower number, but I found that line-out from my BeoSystem needed a Sonos source level of 8 to trigger reliably but not distort the line-in signal level.  After that -- and most of the point I would think -- you should not have to use the Sonos app ever again.

A 75 msec delay isn't too noticeable; outside you won't get the "flanging" effects of playing the Sonos amp and B&O Network Link speakers in the same room.  Also Sonos Amp's turn-on delay is short but not zero, so you may miss the first note from the line-in.  Finally, other Sonos sources timeout takes precedence over the line-in Autoplay, so for example if you send Spotify Connect to the Sonos Amp, you either have to wait after you stop it, or else use the Sonos app to choose the line-in source manually.  I don't know the turn-off time, but have never experienced any troubles with inter-track silences -- maybe don't play Cage's 4'33" though...

The B&O side I know less about, but assume that PowerLink-to-RCA cables are straightforward since it's routing line-level audio to Beolabs.  (Unless the Essence does some kind of sensing that there's really a speaker there when it triggers the power pin...  Anyone else help with that?  @Sal's post gives me pause: https://archivedforum2.beoworld.org/forums/t/17976.aspx  But I'd just try it, if you have the equipment to hand.)

I don’t know about Core alternatives, but I do have one hooked up to a Sonance amp and speaker system for the backyard. It works great and the amp gets triggered by the input. Sound is impressive, too.

I’m also not familiar with the essence and curious what the main difference is to the Core. Maybe I need to keep an eye out for one.