Beosound 5, Beosound 9000 and Spotify....frustration with an unreliable, unstable system.

OMG!  B & 0, please!  Spotify requires master mode on the Beosound 5.  I have suffered through the inconvenience and expense of multiple service calls related to lockups in my integrated system of B & O products at a vacation property (Miami Beach) I own that is remote from where I spend most of my time.  In brief,  4 rooms, each with a Beovision 10 and some combination of B & O speakers. Its all integrated through a rack closet containing all the wizardry required to support such a system including an Atlona 8x8 matrix HDMI switcher routing signals over Cat 7.  If the local showroom gets wiped out by the next hurricane,  they could probably operate out of my property....if it was only reliable!  I'll try to be as succinct as possible.  The main living area has both a Beosound 5 and Beosound 9000 as well as a Beovision 10 with front and rear Beolabs.  Periodically the sytem will lock up and the Beosound 5 will always have switched to Master mode....and as I've learned the Beosound 9000 does not like that at all.  After many visits and consultations with corporate B & O, my installation team and my dealer, I am told B & O headquarters said the problem was with the Beovision 10 and replaced a "board" after some delay in getting it. Other attempts to "fix" the problem have included replacing a motherboard in the beosound 5,  sending my Beosound 9000 off to have it updated, etc etc,  The system seemed to remain stable for some 5 weeks as it was fully operational when I last visited. I had inquired how to bring Spotify on board and was told it would be present and operational when I arrived at my next visit as the firmware update  would be pushed automatically to my  Beosound 5.   I met onsite with my dealer at my last visit and then discoverd they had also turned the automatic updartes off as they were still hypothesis testing how my system was spontaneously switching the BS5 from slave to Master mode and thought that perhaps this was occuring with firmware updates..so no Spotify...my dealer then was to check if Spotify would create any problems and gave me green lights to update the firmware.  I read that Spotify required Mastermode and thought to myself, hmmm...that sounds like trouble all over again,   I then queried my installer who eventually understood my concern and now I'm stuck with no apparent solution and the knuckle brain and short sighted integration of Spotify requiring master mode on the BS5 which will royaly screw every owner with legacy products like the BS9000 in their system.  I suggested to my installer he go ahead and update the BS5 and I'd unplug the BS9000 until B & O gets its act  together, but then he states the new firmware update will lock the BS5 in Mastermode and I would not be able to get it back to Slave status.  Unbelievable!  I wanted to rip every B & O component out of my property and pile it at the dealers doorstep.  In my line of work this would be considered malpractice.  I have a hard time understanding/believing this as it  risks screwing up a lot of systems with legacy products...the loyalist customer base you would least want to alienate.  When I pushed for clarification from my installer he stands by his position.  Who is on 1st at B & O?  Unfortunately,  I still don't know wheter my 1st problem has been fixed by the Beovision 10 board replacement or by the turning off automatic updates and for now I can not risk an update to the firmware that would force an irreversible Mastermode status onto the BS5.  I would love input from Peter, Stefan, Razlaw, Elephant and other luminaries that frequent the forum and know much more than I will ever know.    Thank you in advance.  Ron

I know exactly how you feel, my sympathies.  Unacceptable at this level.

How to alienate Customers and frustrate People...............

Very sorry to hear your story.

With regards to the BeoSound 5, switching from slave to master mode, does it by any chance have speakers directly connected to it, or is it just connected only to masterlink?

Ron,

  You are right about the Spotify needing the BS5/BM5 in audio master setting in order to operate correctly. That being said the Spotify integration was designed to be implemented on a digital platform products currently (BS5/BM5), and moving forward.  I do agree with you in the fact that legacy owners are a bit left out when it comes to digital source integration. Might I suggest keeping the BS9000 as a stand alone audio system and looking into getting a CD ripper addon for your BS5. This will give you the option to play cd's in both setups. Or since you have had your BS9000 sent in for the new chipset (that enables audio option 5 and 6), put the BS9000 in Opt6 and have the BS5/BM5 in Audio master mode. The drawback to that would be you will only be able to call up sorces from the BS9000 locally, not in link rooms. As for the Spotify update putting the BS5/BM5 in irreversable master mode, that is false, I can confirm that. Hope that sheds a bit of light on your frustrating situation.

Thanks for weighing in.  My belief is that it is all through masterlink as I can send source material from the BS5 or the 9000, or the rack sources (apple Tv, mac mini, TVIX, Dish Sat receivers, etc) to any zone (Beo 10 screen and/or Beolab Xs) in the property. The BS5 and BS9000 as well as a Beovision 10/46 are all in the same room.   I've asked for a cad drawing of the system but have not received it.  Ron

If there were powerlink speakers connected directly to the BS5 whilst in slave mode it could make it behave in the manor you are describing.

Also have all the BeoVision 10s had the masterlink sockets replaced or just one?

Hi scopeman1,

maybe this thread can give you a couple of hints for a working 'workaround'':

http://archivedforum2.beoworld.org/forums/p/6007/54228.aspx#54228

By the way: Welcome to BeoWorld

Greetings Millemissen

In frustrating case of this type there needs to be introduced old fashioned methodical problem solving.

Assuming all cabling is correct then I would proceed as follows;

I would start by disconnecting an ML product (reconfigure options if necessary) use the system for a period of time without the product.

If no lock ups then repeat the above.

Eventually the culprit will reveal itself, in over 20 years this method has never failed!

Be wary of introducing workarounds until the problem is identified.

Otherwise you might need workarounds for the workarounds!

Genuinely if you need help you are welcome to PM me.

As I have understood the question, this system was set up by the dealer - and the dealer is responsible that is working.

I quite well understand the frustration of scopeman1, and would not recomment that he himsekf tries to try to identify the problem - that is the job of his dealer.

The 'workaround' for using BS9000 with BS5/Spotify is wellknown - it is a working 'workaround' and will be so untill B&O resolves this delicate problem. That is why I gave the tip!

Greetings Millemissen

This problem has been known from the first day that Spotify was introduced to BeoSound 5.

I have the same problem, BeoSound 5 and beocenter 2in the same room.

Have things been solved?