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
Longtime forum 'lurker' who's hopefully going to take the B&O plunge very soon ... hello everyone!
I'm designing a single-room system for both TV watching with multi-channel audio, AND hi-rez audio playback from a MacMini system coupled to an external DAC - hopefully sharing the same set of speakers. Add to that the desire to also have a turntable for vinyl nights (!) and a playmaker for ad hoc Airplay streaming, and that rounds out the list.
Centre of the plan is a 46" Beovision 11, or maybe a 10. I'm not fussed at all about 3D or Smart Apps, and 5.1 movie sound would be sufficient in the room I have, so the 10 may afford some savings. I generally advocate buying the most updto date to ensure a longlife, so would welcome thoughts on the TV choice.
Adding the Beovision, a Beolab 14 4.1 setup. I don't have the funds, or the space to accommodate larger speakers, however desirable (!) and i've been very impressed with the Beolab 14 setup in demos so far.
Movie source would be either a PS3 via HDMI for Bluray, or (far more commonly) ripped avi or mkv files on a NAS. Playback is currently manual via the MacMini & VLC , ie no DNLA on the NAS.
Music source is iTunes/Audirvana via the MacMini, all in Apple Lossless (too far down this road to turn back to FLAC-ville!) in a mix of bitrates - from 44.1/16bit, through to 192k 24bit in some cases. This will be converted via a Mytek DAC via USB presenting a stereo, unamplified, signal to phono pair. Plan to have the mini headless, and use iPad to control iTunes via the Apple Remote app.
I can see how I can create a pile of products and boxes and cables to make this all work, however i'm afar something much more elegant ... hence lookign at B&O and the ability to mix audio/video systems and share speakers.
Questions ...
TV & Movies - I can see how the stereo tv and multi-channel movies will just 'work' via the Beovision 11 and Beolab 14's, as that's a textbook setup, but if I wanted to employ a Beovision 10 (with no DNLA) i'm going to need a 'renderer' like the Macmini, yes? Following the Beovision 10 route, connecting via HDMI, does it pass the multichannel movie audio over HDMI? I don't own an AppleTV, and whilst I like the elegance of this renderer, the bulk of the content is not managed by iTunes and hence isn't an attractive option.
Audio - Can I get the un-amplified output from the Mytek DAC into the B&O's for distribution without buying a B&O audio master and masterlinking? Here's where I thought the Playmaker might make it's appearance to accept the stereo phono output of the Mytek DAC, but would that work, and how would it connect to the Beolabs?
Finally, the turntable which would present itself as a line-in source (via a phono pre-amp). This is very much the occasional source, so I could live with it being a manually switched input via a special switch box to the Playmaker to switch between these two line-in sources, unless there's a cleverer way - like say upgrading to a Beovision 11. I'm not adverse to picking up a secondhand BeoCenter 2 if absolutely required to provide an AudioMaster, but even that can only accept one line-in. The 'bonus' disc spinning and DAB aspects of that route don't add much for me, so i'd rather not unless it really makes for a more seamless integrated experience.
Phew ... very long question, but important I laid out my thoughts to date. Would really welcome suggestions, observations and improvements to the ideas above. Most of this has been demoed in pieces, the only bit I want to hear myself is the Mytek DAC into Beolab14's to ensure they're not going to let the audio side down.
Cheers
Welcome !!
The depth of thinking and detailed questioning indicates you have been studying (err lurking) for quite some time
I just wanted to ask a question ... because reading the questions and thoughts, you came across as more interested in the sound and functions of the video rather than the design look & feel ... so why not a V1 so you have some extra cash for doing other things ?
Or do you particularly love the BV10 / BV11 ?
BeoNut since '75
Hi Elephant
THis has indeed been in the works for sometime, but in different rooms and in a messy non-integrated way.
Desire here is very much a simple., elegant 'front room' solution with no cabling mess. The sound quality, presence and design of the Beovision 10 & 11's I much prefer to the V1's wire frame aesthetic.
It's not an exercise in spending money, and need to get value from whatever I buy, hence needing to be convinced the 14's will do (audible) justice to the hi-rez audio source.
My alternative plan was to go Beo 11 and configure as L, R & C - then use BeoLab 3's as rears AND the audio primaries. Add a sub somewhere in there too!
As far as the music and video server solution, I would very much recommend that you first try the Apple TV. At $99USD, it's a very small investment and it's very affordable to add each to any TV you have. Also, B&O is obviously embracing it as the preferred video service solution. It will easily stream your iTunes music and video library with a very organized and intuitive interface. With the free "Remote" app from Apple for iOS devices, you get even more ease of navigation. I understand your reluctance to convert from non-m4v files. I was the same way initially. However, the free Handbrake program makes the conversion very fast and simple. It even handles batch conversion of files. I truly can't discern a loss of quality from the conversion. Also, by adding the video files to your iTunes library, you can easily tag with meta data and add cover art. It's worth trying the conversion on a few files, adding them to your library, and seeing how you like them on your Apple TV. I find this to be a more elegant solution than connecting a Mac Mini to your TV or using any other interface for streaming video files.
beojeff: As far as the music and video server solution, I would very much recommend that you first try the Apple TV. At $99USD, it's a very small investment and it's very affordable to add each to any TV you have. Also, B&O is obviously embracing it as the preferred video service solution. It will easily stream your iTunes music and video library with a very organized and intuitive interface. With the free "Remote" app from Apple for iOS devices, you get even more ease of navigation. I understand your reluctance to convert from non-m4v files. I was the same way initially. However, the free Handbrake program makes the conversion very fast and simple. It even handles batch conversion of files. I truly can't discern a loss of quality from the conversion. Also, by adding the video files to your iTunes library, you can easily tag with meta data and add cover art. It's worth trying the conversion on a few files, adding them to your library, and seeing how you like them on your Apple TV. I find this to be a more elegant solution than connecting a Mac Mini to your TV or using any other interface for streaming video files.
good suggestions
there is also the Plex route, which I have used in two modes: the original airplay from the iPad access to the library and the more recent tiny hack of the ATV (http://forums.plexapp.com/index.php/forum/136-appletv-plexconnect/)
but as I am not at home I could not verify whether the sound channels were down converted during those processes