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
Thought I would share this positive review from Forbes about the Beosound Balance in Stereo Pair.
Great timing as I just purchased a second Balance so looking forward to testing out the stereo pairing myself!
https://www.forbes.com/sites/marksparrow/2022/01/25/bang--olufsen-achieves-the-perfect-balance-with-its-latest-wireless-speakers/?ss=consumertech&sh=7450a9617570
Great read, thanks for sharing. I’m really happy with my pair too. I managed to give one a good listen last week and my walls started shaking without sound quality being compromised at about 65% volume. I will test my pair more in stereo mode as well some time.
Want to know more about the LC3/LC3Plus codec, that is used for wireless stereo pairing?
Have a look here:
https://www.iis.fraunhofer.de/content/dam/iis/de/doc/ame/FraunhoferIIS_Product-Brochure_LC3plus.pdf
MM
There is a tv - and there is a BV
Great review and it mirrors my impressions of the sound quality. The only thing I disagree with is the reviewers fondness of the aesthetics, which just don't do it for me.
I might regret selling mine one day. But then again, maybe they'll make them in Bronze and I'll buy them back again.
Beolab 17, A9 MK IV (soon to be sold), Stage x2, H95, E8 Sport, A1 V2
NessimelliM: Want to know more about the LC3/LC3Plus codec, that is used for wireless stereo pairing? Have a look here: https://www.iis.fraunhofer.de/content/dam/iis/de/doc/ame/FraunhoferIIS_Product-Brochure_LC3plus.pdf MM
Thank you for sharing, I'll have a look as soon as I have some time. Would be interesting to read.
BeoCom 1401: Great review and it mirrors my impressions of the sound quality. The only thing I disagree with is the reviewers fondness of the aesthetics, which just don't do it for me. I might regret selling mine one day. But then again, maybe they'll make them in Bronze and I'll buy them back again.
The black oak never really grew on me, and while I kind of like the standard oak version, it has never been a "YES" moment for me. Knowing B&O would usually launch their products in different colours later on, I had been holding on to buying a Balance since its release until I decided to go the Bespoke way :). My dealer has promised a catalog of materials and finishes that one could go for soonish, so I am curious to know if Bronze could be an option. The A9 is available in bronze with walnut legs and a warm taupe fabric, so the Balance could look great in that combination too. But I am not too sure about the taupe fabric, I'd probably go for something leaning more towards "rust", something darker that still fits the bronze-tone and walnut combination. Or a bronze aluminium base altogether. Or an anthracite aluminium base... I am quite sure it would be possible to make the Balance more stunning than the standard launch options. Which is why I don't really understand why exactly the choice fell on those two.
Csaba: The A9 is available in bronze with walnut legs and a warm taupe fabric, so the Balance could look great in that combination too. But I am not too sure about the taupe fabric, I'd probably go for something leaning more towards "rust", something darker that still fits the bronze-tone and walnut combination.
I am also fan of the Bronze tone (and Walnut) but not of the taupe fabric hey typically use on these products. I now have a Stage with walnut cover from Prestige Creators and it looks so much better than the taupe.
Frederik: Csaba: The A9 is available in bronze with walnut legs and a warm taupe fabric, so the Balance could look great in that combination too. But I am not too sure about the taupe fabric, I'd probably go for something leaning more towards "rust", something darker that still fits the bronze-tone and walnut combination. I am also fan of the Bronze tone (and Walnut) but not of the taupe fabric hey typically use on these products. I now have a Stage with walnut cover from Prestige Creators and it looks so much better than the taupe.
Indeed this looks much better :).
Wood certainly gives a different look to it and I'm sure it also fits better in the overall interior. I personally prefer the contrast of the taupe fabric, but that's exactly the beauty of B&O: they understand not every living room is the same, so we have a possibility to customize and make it fit. I did some cover changes myself, and I can relate to that feeling when you look at the product and finally feel that this is THE look you were trying to achieve.
Back on topic: I am very intrigued to hear your stereo pairing review Csaba. I am kind of contemplating a pair ob BL28, but my living room is so small I don't really feel I could get the most (or, a lot) out of them.
Balance, on the other hand would have a placement issue as I would need to somehow fix them to the wall or some kind of a floorstand. Alternatively, I can bring a pair of BL17 from my other flat, buy one extra Core and call it a day for now...
AnalogPlanet:Alternatively, I can bring a pair of BL17 from my other flat, buy one extra Core
And STB Brackets makes Balance wall mounts, btw.
Currently: BeoLab 17, BeoLab 18, BeoSound Core, Beosound Level, Beosound A1 2nd Gen, BeoPlay S8 Connection Hub, Halo, Essence Remote
Previously: BeoSound 1 non-GVA
I added a second Level (non GVA) last week. Stereo pairing process was a breeze.
The single Level dissapears from the devices list and a new one appears in the list with a very small picture of the level in the upper right corner indicating the stereo pair. Initially you get two Levels in your devices list once you have added the secondary speaker. But this will change back to just one after the stereo pairing process.
The favourite station settings and preset button settings from the “master” speaker are selected for the stereo pair. The master being the first speaker selected from the device list when doing the “creating stereo pair” in the menu.
Hard to describe this but hope it makes sense.
The sound is …well just any superlative you want. One Level is beautiful already but two Levels ….exponential improvement.
On the stability front however, mehhhhh, Not super content yet. I have the the stereo pair in use now for about five days and for three times I needed to reboot the two Levels because they either lost each other and / or communication with Halo was lost. Currently experimenting again with killing the B&O app from the backround. I was super happy with the Halo battery performance and using it with one single Level. Multiple days easy. Now i’m back to 24-36 hours until the battery is depleted. I did install the beta Halo firmware (released on my Halo’s serial by the dealer) . No more reboots! But battery performance is absurd. There is absolutely no reason such a device consumes a 1000 mah battery in such a short time.
What are your observations regarding the stability with the two paired Balances ??
LeMirage: What are your observations regarding the stability with the two paired Balances ??
Awesome that you’ve now got a pair! Congratulations!
Regarding the stability of a Balance stereo pair my latest update is that it’s been working well. I used to have issues (apologies for if I am repeating myself) up until about a month ago. My right-channel speaker kept having audio drop-outs regardless of which speaker I set up as right channel, regardless of distance from the left-channel speaker, while using the same network they have always played wonderfully in a Beolink multiroom setup. Long story short, after all the troubleshooting I found my wireless network had had a merged network name since I set up mesh network consisting of 3 access points. Splitting the name in two with one for the 2.4GHz frequency and one for the 5GHz I could connect my stereo pair to the 2.4GHz manually (I found they were connecting to 5GHz), which on its own may have helped but so can unplugging my entire wireless network for a short time have helped. Hard to know but it was stable then. I haven’t been using the speakers in stereo so much after almost 6 weeks of troubleshooting but my strategy - should it happen again - is to make sure they connect to 2.4GHz and that my network is first drained (unplug, plug back in).
I have heard people on the forum say they have had to close the B&O app. That was regarding simply Bluetooth speakers.
I’m going to test stereo wirelessly paired through my WLAN again within the next couple of weeks, I believe. I’ll probably be mad if the drop-out issue surfaces again without the above helping :). I’ll try to give you a feedback later.
AnalogPlanet: Back on topic: I am very intrigued to hear your stereo pairing review Csaba. I am kind of contemplating a pair ob BL28, but my living room is so small I don't really feel I could get the most (or, a lot) out of them. Balance, on the other hand would have a placement issue as I would need to somehow fix them to the wall or some kind of a floorstand. Alternatively, I can bring a pair of BL17 from my other flat, buy one extra Core and call it a day for now...
Nothing wrong with the taupe fabric either :). Lovely material, good quality, the colour is simply a matter of personal preference combined with what fits into your environment.
Yeah, I’m also getting drawn towards the Beolab 28. I do have a different challenge on my end. Convincing my girlfriend why I would spend that money on a pair. Anyhow it is not imminent as I’m only now exploring my upgraded Beolink multiroom setup.
I have the intention of testing the Balance again in stereo, as I’ve spent more time recently exploring what one Balance can do. I can say I’m blown away. Another reason why I might not need a pair of 28s. At the same time I’m very intrigued by the 28s and I’d like to know how much I can get out of the Balance in stereo before auditioning the 28s.
In any case, last weekend I found a sweetspot for a standalone setup of the Balance in my living room and at about 65% volume my walls started vibrating and shaking while the Balance was easily filling the living room (extending also to the dining room opening directly from the living room. 65% was properly loud and it was really incredible. For its size it was hugely impressive. In multiroom it would be even crazier. But now I’ll need to move on to testing stereo more. Its spaciousness, directional sound, how loud it can go without compromising sound quality, etc.
I’ll try to report back here as soon as I get to have some quality alone-time with the stereo pair one weekend :).
Hi again, here is a little update on this as today I have been able to test the Balance in stereo for about 45 minutes. Maybe the first good listen since I got the right-channel drop-out issue resolved early this year. First of all I am not an expert and I am probably not the right guy to review speakers professionally but I can share a few "first" impressions :).
My room acoustics are sadly not the best but with room compensation run for both speakers, as they were strategically placed for stereo playback, I felt I got very good results.
The first thing I have noticed is that once they are paired, my speakers kept going back to the setting of playing "Forward", meaning towards me. I prefer using my Balance speakers with the Omni-directional settings for a bigger and more embracing sound. I am slightly unsure of why I have varying experiences with this and if it is a bug, or if I simply haven't tested and understood it properly yet.
Just recently when I tried it the last time I recall I was able to choose Omni-directional which actually altered the sound in stereo mode, while today the sound direction setting kept going back to Forward. Maybe I need to do a little testing specifically to test or troubleshoot this setting reset but I think what happens is that you set up your pair, then the speakers are automatically set to Forward-playing, then you try to change it to Omni, then you either go out of the B&O app in order to play something to then go back to the B&O app and find they are reset to Forward-playing again, or you simply go somewhere else within the B&O app and then back to your stereo pair to then find it having been reset again. But I do recall Omni having been kept as a setting, but I am not sure if I then actually left the same screen. In any case this is something that alters the sound to some extent.
Omni-directional sound is what fills my spaces the most and where I have a more embracing music, that kind of flows almost all around, while Forward-playing is narrower and more focused towards me but also with perhaps slightly less power. If that makes sense. If I use Forward-playing on one Balance, then I still prefer to use Omni-directional but in stereo Forward is how I find they play and you do not necessarily need more. It is not a significant change, and the sound signature is still that of the Balance. Maybe Forward-playing is enforced since B&O may want you to use stereo in this mode, if that is how stereo characteristics are at their best. But let's move on :).
I have never had the possibility to listen to the Beolab 17s, and apparently that would be the best kind of comparison for your scenario. I would have liked to listen to a pair of Beolab 28s this coming Saturday at my dealer's since that is also something I am thinking of getting into in a few years but they are just about to close the store temporarily for an upgrade, so I need to put that on hold. I do not think the Balance would reach the same standards as that of the Beolab 28 but I still find a stereo setup of the Balance hugely impressive. It can go really loud without sacrificing sound quality under the right circumstances, even in my living room that still requires improvements on the acoustics front.
Already one Balance can fill my living room easily. Which is rougly a 50 m2 space together with a dining area where between the dining room and the living room there is a big opening but with a little bit of wall both on the right and the left. Of course you get the idea from the B&O website as well in this regard. Then imagine that it is Balance x 2 :).
But what I found was that stereo was probably an area I have totally forgotten and rediscovered :). I am almost hesitating to say whether I prefer stereo or multiroom. Probably still the latter and that is why I got two Balances (one reason anyway, but stereo was not the other). However with stereo I do get that extra dimension that is just so fascinating to listen to, and I think the Balance really delivers exceptionally. Big bass, great midrange and lovely highs, you can also fine-tune it to your liking. To me it has a signature that is very close to the Beosound 2. Somebody has compared the Balance to the Beosound 2 in a good way in another thread, saying the Beosound 2 kind of "sings along" with your music, it has a slight edge in how beautiful it plays while the Balance was more modern in terms of its sound tech. But it is a very thin margin. Also in the way they sound they are really close when it comes to comparing to the rest of the B&O speaker line-up. If you have heard one Balance on its own and actually had time to spend with it (I didn't get a full impression on first listen, only once I got to try mine at home and built up an entire scope of music listening experience with it), then imagine the same twice. Either in multiroom or stereo. They sound as big, rich and full in stereo as they do individually, and stereo sound travelling from left to right and back again almost makes you float. The other day I was listening to one of them only and it started shaking my walls beyond a certain volume, while still not distorting or ruining anything, around 65% I believe. Today my walls started shaking again, this time from stereo mode :). There were a few moments I really got goosebumps. I suppose a combination of a part of a certain track and the sound performance of the speakers. I adore them in stereo and I should probably listen to them more paired. But also more in Beolink. They just beg to be listened to :).
So, while I really would have liked to wait with my impressions to you until after I've heard the Beolab 28, at this point I do not think I actually need more than this because I think the Balance is simply stunning! Both as a standalone speaker, in Beolink multiroom or as a stereo pair. I enjoy every aspect of it and actually listen to it in all 3 listening experiences, and I am blown away every time. Really happy with my investment so far, and from here I think the only logical step forward for me would be a pair of Beolab 28s when it comes to stereo listening - but let's see how I feel about it once I've listened to the 28s :). When it comes to Beolink multiroom, what I need is a Beosound 2 and its omni-directional design to fit between my two Balances in the middle, right between my living room and dining room. Then I'd really have one big and beautiful continuous sound when walking from one side to the other.
Let me know if you have any particular questions and I'll see if I'm able to answer them.
Beolab 28s Beolab 9s Beolab 12-3s Beolab 1s Beolab 6000s 2 pairs Beolab 4000s Beovision 7-55 Beovision 10-40 Beoplay V1 32 inch Beovision Avant 32 inch Beosound 1 (CD player) Beosound 3000 Beosound 5 Core Essence MKII Beoplay M5
Interesting findings Csaba. I have spoken to someone who has heard a pair of Levels and Balances side by side and he stated the Levels unexpectedly sounded richer for the exact same reason you are describing! The Balance switching to front mode once stereo paired and not using it’s full potential that is used in omni directional mode when not stereo paired. Maybe the tonmeisters had a hard time approving the overwhelming sound flood of two Balances firing out in all directions….
Thank you Csaba for your detailed post. I had a similar (like many people) expereince with 28s... ...once I heard them I was enchanted 100%! 🥰😇 But great to know your Balance pair was amazing too, I am just permanently worried about pairing cohesity and performance.
There is that one thing I guess BeoAnna was talking about: I finally finish my horrible and difficult and long day at work, and I press at Play button... ...and nothing happens with your nxKEUR B&O setup. Silence.
This is what prevents me from investing much more. There is always that "one more thing" that won't work and at the end of my day I'm to drained to deal with it. Maybe I should invest in the Beosystem 7000, hook up Beolabs by wire and command via Beo4 infrared. I am not even kidding.