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
Hello,
I have tried searching for previous posts regarding this topic but haven’t been able to find a clear option on how to move forward. Please forgive my lack of knowledge on the topic, I’ve just acquired my first “real” (I’ve had their small portable speakers and headsets for a while) set of B&O speakers (second hand) and the connection options are making me question the best way forward.
My audio video gadgets that I would like to have communicate nicely are as follows:
- 2nd hand Beolab 20 speakers which didn’t include any cables
- AppleTV hooked up to an old Samsung TV
- an old Beogram RX2 turntable
My objective is to use the BL20 speakers for audio from the AppleTV when we watch TV, when we stream music from our iPhones to the AppleTV, and for the ability for us to use my old turntable with these BL20 speakers
My assumption is I can use the RCA inputs on the BL20 speakers and connect them to the Phono input of my Preamp, but going the right way forward with connect my AppleTV to the speakers is what I’m questioning
Wireless sounds like a fancy option, but not necessary as the proximity of the speakers are close to my video setup and I can conceal any extra cables nicely. Is the easiest way forward an optical cable from the AppleTV? I’m assuming I would need some sort of transistor/box to create a stereo setup from a single source (1 AppleTV -> transistor -> 2 speakers).
Finally, the speakers didn’t come with a B&O remote…is it advised I acquire one to turn on/off the speakers and to switch from the AppleTV input to the turntable input?
As you can tell my lack of experience is presenting many options that im unsure as to how to proceed. Thank you for any advice given (& please try not to use too many abbreviations / jargon as I familiarize myself with all the tech B&O offers) as it is greatly appreciated. I’m very excited to get these speakers going for many years of enjoyment to come.
[Edit: You should probably say exactly which models of Samsung TV and AppleTV you are using, because each generation has different audio output connections. Model #'s will avoid overly general answers and potential irrelevancies, like paragraph #2 below!]
Others will weigh in on the AppleTV-->Beolab 20 connection or the Samsung TV-->Beolab 20 connection, but "Beo-centric" answers might gloss over the basic choice you will have to make: Will the Samsung TV be your "main distribution point" for the audio output, or will the AppleTV be that main distribution point?
The obvious answer is that the TV is always the center, but there is a nifty alternative, if both the Samsung and the AppleTV are new enough to support it: Not only is the AppleTV an audio and video source *input* to the TV, it could also be used, via the Samsung's ARC channel, as the *output* from the TV, and thus used to distribute the audio elsewhere. So it might not only send audio to the Beolab 20's -- via whatever cable connections people here suggest -- it could also be configured to send it to any AirPlay2 speakers around the house, like all the smaller new B&O "connected" speakers, or even Sonos or Apple HomePods!
Regardless of the above, you will be playing your turntable (thru a phono preamp, which you mentioned in passing above but not in your equipment list) into the Samsung television, selecting "AV" as the source on the television (with the Samsung remote, or *maybe* the AppleTV's remote, if the Apple TV offers that much control over the Samsung functions) -- no matter which you hook up to your speakers. Good luck, and wait for more knowledgeable answers about the BeoLabs...
Thank you for the detailed input.
I ended up doing the following with great results:
Optical out from TV to the optical mini-jack on the BS
Beogram to phono to RCA inputs directly on my BL20 speakers
Thank you for reporting back; folks rarely remember to say "what worked"! But I'm confused as to what the "BS" is, not mentioned in your original post? (Can't be the BL's, because they are full size TOSlink, not mini-jack...) I ask only because you chose a method I hadn't thought of -- great news, but "what did I miss?", methinks... Again thanks for the followup.