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
Hi, i bought a Beosound 3200 And Beolab8000 pencil speakers over 10 years ago, the 3200 has basically died and will cost a small fortune to fix so I am wanting some advice on connecting my speakers which are still in excellent condition to a non B&O CD system. Is this possible and if so what options do I have?I have no experience with electronics so appreciate any feedback. If it’s not possible I will sell my beloved speakers and buy a whole new and much cheaper system. Thank you
Hello RP28 and welcome to the Beoworld Forum,
Yes, it is possible to use the Beolab 8000 with a non B&O System. Basically you will need a cable that connects the speaker connection of the non B&O system to the RCA/line-in connector of your Beolab and set the switch to "auto/line in". This way the Beolab will switch on when a signal is detected and switch of again after a certain time with no signal.
The exact type of cable you nedd will depend on the system you want to use. I am not a specialist in this kind of things, but Steve @ Soundsheavenly is an expert in this field (plus he is a sponsor of the site). I would not be surprised if he chimes in here.
What is faulty with your Beosound 3200? It might be repaireable with some help of the forum? If is it the CD part, this one can usually be fixed by fitting a new lens. If it is the Harddisk, then it might be a bigger problem.
Have you thought about replacing the Beosound 3200 with another B&O system? The Beosound 3000 (a BS3200 without the HD-drive) might be an option.
CheersFoxtrott
"The first thing we do, let's kill all the lawyers."
William Shakespeare, Henry VI, Part 2, Act 4
Hi RP28,
Welcome to Beoworld! Yes, I can usually get Beolab speakers working with just about any non-B&O system!
Please can you let me know the full model numbers of all the products that you want to connect to the Beolabs, plus details of any other speakers that are connected as well?
I can then help you to get everything working.
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
Thank you Foxtrott and Steve,
To answer your question Foxtrott I was told the laser had burnt out by a B&O repairer so I decided to take the unit to a reputable home repairer (who also fixed a v old record player for me) he said the issue was bigger than just the laser and also mentioned this model was known for having to replace the laser over the life of the unit. I believe in Australia the replacement parts are not that easy to get, but I may be mistaken.
I also read on the forum other people have had a similar issue. I didn’t want to spend the $ getting it fixed to have to go through it again in 5 (or so) years. I Rarely used the system so was very disappointed when it stopped working, now fearful it will happen again. I do have the option of taking it back to the B&O service technician but I thought a more cost effective alternative was to connect to another system that would possibly last longer.
steve, I haven’t yet bought another system as I was unsure if it was even possible. If I buy another system I will add to my post and reach out it that’s ok?
Hi,
No problem! The simplest option is to look for a system with either a headphone socket or RCA pre-out (variable volume) sockets, then the speakers can plug straight in. Alternatively, I can help with converters to allow regular speaker terminals to be used safely with Beolab speakers.
If your wifi is reliable or - better - if you have an ethernet connection to the home network, just get a preused Beoplay Playmaker.
You can connect the 8000 there properly with a RJ45/DIN Powerlink adapter cable (available at Steve Sounds Heavenly.
This will trigger the Beolabs - turn on/off as should be.
Connect the CD player with a RCA L/R cable to the line input port of the Playmaker - this has autosense, meaning it turns on, when you start the CD playback.
Use the Beo4 that you probably still have to control (the volume of) the Playmaker
If you want something a bit more ‘modern’ - with more additional feature - get a pre-used Essence MK2…..or the BS Core.
MM
There is a tv - and there is a BV
You could also keep current setup and just connect the non-Bang & Olufsen CD player to the AUX socket of the BeoSound 3200. This can be done with a proper RCA to DIN cable (ask Steve) and you'll keep the volume control via the Beo4 remote.
Obviously this requires that the BeoSound is fully operational except for the build in CD player.