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
Indeed - its form over function.
As even my dealer said, albeit flippantly, he's still looking for uses / a compelling case for the Halo.
it does look like they'll flesh it out with more features though, albeit at their usual glacial pace.
But for non Deezer users, zero interest.
seethroughyou: Severed_Hand_of_Skywalker: Ok I am considering buying a Halo but one thing is holding me back.. the battery life. Can anyone explain to my why the battery life is an abysmal 24 hours? What exactly is this device doing? Is it actually transmitting any music from the device itself? My understanding is that it is just a remote control, like if you use an iPod touch and the B&O app to control music. If I used an iPod touch or even a phone for only this use the battery would last more than a week at the very least. So this Halo has a lot of physical space in it either in the space under the screen or in the stand, it is MUCH larger space than any phone either. It also has a motion detector so the screen only comes on when you are right infront of it. So why is a simple bluetooth command sent every once and a while drawing the battery so quickly? What are the odds that a new rev 2 version will come out with a Mic for google/Alexia and a battery that doesn't need to be charged every day? -- BeoLab 18's. Beolab 3's. A8. A9. A2. H7. Watching the progress of this product from release to now, B&O are super predictable and highly reliable in their trajectory to date. It’s a fancy and expensive looking piece of kit with limited functionality, poor battery life and will have limited further development. I thought this at the very beginning and good to tradition, I have not so far been disappointed at all. I wish it were different. It’s spent too much time in the hands of fluffy wuffy arty farty architect like industrial designers with limited time in hands of those that do the functionality, integration and programming. This could have been so much more IMHO.
Severed_Hand_of_Skywalker: Ok I am considering buying a Halo but one thing is holding me back.. the battery life. Can anyone explain to my why the battery life is an abysmal 24 hours? What exactly is this device doing? Is it actually transmitting any music from the device itself? My understanding is that it is just a remote control, like if you use an iPod touch and the B&O app to control music. If I used an iPod touch or even a phone for only this use the battery would last more than a week at the very least. So this Halo has a lot of physical space in it either in the space under the screen or in the stand, it is MUCH larger space than any phone either. It also has a motion detector so the screen only comes on when you are right infront of it. So why is a simple bluetooth command sent every once and a while drawing the battery so quickly? What are the odds that a new rev 2 version will come out with a Mic for google/Alexia and a battery that doesn't need to be charged every day? -- BeoLab 18's. Beolab 3's. A8. A9. A2. H7.
Ok I am considering buying a Halo but one thing is holding me back.. the battery life.
Can anyone explain to my why the battery life is an abysmal 24 hours? What exactly is this device doing? Is it actually transmitting any music from the device itself?
My understanding is that it is just a remote control, like if you use an iPod touch and the B&O app to control music. If I used an iPod touch or even a phone for only this use the battery would last more than a week at the very least.
So this Halo has a lot of physical space in it either in the space under the screen or in the stand, it is MUCH larger space than any phone either. It also has a motion detector so the screen only comes on when you are right infront of it.
So why is a simple bluetooth command sent every once and a while drawing the battery so quickly?
What are the odds that a new rev 2 version will come out with a Mic for google/Alexia and a battery that doesn't need to be charged every day?
--
BeoLab 18's. Beolab 3's. A8. A9. A2. H7.
Watching the progress of this product from release to now, B&O are super predictable and highly reliable in their trajectory to date. It’s a fancy and expensive looking piece of kit with limited functionality, poor battery life and will have limited further development. I thought this at the very beginning and good to tradition, I have not so far been disappointed at all. I wish it were different. It’s spent too much time in the hands of fluffy wuffy arty farty architect like industrial designers with limited time in hands of those that do the functionality, integration and programming. This could have been so much more IMHO.
Sandyb:But for non Deezer users, zero interest.
And with these short-sighted strategic decisions, e.g. not supporting Deezer and TuneIn anymore, or no DLNA access. B&O is losing more and more control of the audio content. And what features should B&O add to Halo or B&O app if they don't have any access to audio content?
In the end, B&O is left with volume control and Power Off button.
Wait TuneIn isn't supported anymore? it seems to work on my A9 rev 2
There is such opportunity here! Halo could be a BeoTime at the bedside…! Cmon B&O…
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 think his point was that B&O Radio is on the new products, not Tunein.
Tunein remains on the older products.
Cant remember which one the Halo can control.
Severed_Hand_of_Skywalker: Wait TuneIn isn't supported anymore? it seems to work on my A9 rev 2
Sandyb:I think his point was that B&O Radio is on the new products, not Tunein. Tunein remains on the older products. Cant remember which one the Halo can control. Severed_Hand_of_Skywalker: Wait TuneIn isn't supported anymore? it seems to work on my A9 rev 2
I do not understand why B&O is not using / supporting Roon?
Roon RAAT is much more open than Airplay and Chromecast. Within Roon B&O could use the existing API to offer a Halo with functionalities many are dreaming of. With full access to the audio content of the individual roon database.
But focussing only on the big mulitroom platforms of Apple and Google, B&O is very much limited. And Google and especially Apple will never realy support potenial competitors being more innovative.
On the other hand developing and maintaining a B&O own multiroom platform (like Beolink / Netlink) including the management of audio content (only radio is not enough), this train left the station long ago with e.g. Sonos but B&O missed it. I think that B&O has neither the money nor the software knowledge to close the gaap and offer competitive solution. Not like Masterlink were B&O were leading edge.
So the only possible way in my eyes for a small company like B&O is to partner with a medium size software company (like Roon) having similar interests, focusing on similar markets and not a company dominating the mass markets with no interest at all in niche player.
Or the alternativ is to be one of the many other bluetooth / airplay / chromecast loudspeaker companies trying to differentiate by price. But having no more unique selling points left. B&O seems to prefer more a red than a blue ocean.
Alsfeld:I do not understand why B&O is not using / supporting Roon?Roon RAAT is much more open than Airplay and Chromecast. Within Roon B&O could use the existing API to offer a Halo with functionalities many are dreaming of. With full access to the audio content of the individual roon database. But focussing only on the big mulitroom platforms of Apple and Google, B&O is very much limited. And Google and especially Apple will never realy support potenial competitors being more innovative.On the other hand developing and maintaining a B&O own multiroom platform (like Beolink / Netlink) including the management of audio content (only radio is not enough), this train left the station long ago with e.g. Sonos but B&O missed it. I think that B&O has neither the money nor the software knowledge to close the gaap and offer competitive solution. Not like Masterlink were B&O were leading edge.So the only possible way in my eyes for a small company like B&O is to partner with a medium size software company (like Roon) having similar interests, focusing on similar markets and not a company dominating the mass markets with no interest at all in niche player. Or the alternativ is to be one of the many other bluetooth / airplay / chromecast loudspeaker companies trying to differentiate by price. But having no more unique selling points left. B&O seems to prefer more a red than a blue ocean.
.
Present: BL90, Core, BL6000, CD7000, Beogram 7000, Essence Remote.
Past: BL1, BL2, BL8000, BS9000, BL5, BC2, BS5, BV5, BV4-50, Beosystem 3, BL3, DVD1, Beoremote 4, Moment.
The Moment was proof that B&O has no Clue when it comes to software and is why I am so scared to buy a halo now with the "promise" that it will be more useful in the future. They couldn't even get the Moment to work with base features after 2 years of trying.
Which is why I have cut out any B&O control from my music / radio listening - only the speakers remain.
Roon is my control interface - if I must use an iDevice, then at least Roon's interface and software work extremely well - and at times the Linn app(s) too, as I have a Linn streamer / DAC in my main room. The Linn app even shows me a lot of my podcast feeds from TuneIn!
Yes, Roon and a Linn streamer is expensive, but newsflash, so is B&O.
The Halo's design / form factor limits how useful I can ever get. The screen is too small for searching / browsing in the end. Which implies it was only ever going to be a volume control and starter for predefined experiences. Fine for those who are happy with just that. But with the Moment gone, they're telling you to use your phone / tablet for everything else. In which case, if I am generally constantly having to use my iPad for example, what use is a 700 pound / euro volume dial?
Severed_Hand_of_Skywalker: The Moment was proof that B&O has no Clue when it comes to software and is why I am so scared to buy a halo now with the "promise" that it will be more useful in the future. They couldn't even get the Moment to work with base features after 2 years of trying.
BV Harmony 65 / Eclipse 55 / BL 50 / 19 / 18 / BS 2 all brass
BV Horizon 48 / V1 40 / BL 17 / Beoplay S3 all black
V1 / BL 3 / BS Essence MKII / Beoplay A3 all white
BS Moment / BS 3000 / BS 3200 / BL 400 all silver
Headphones / bluetooth speakers / BLC NL-ML / BLGateway
I know…B&O virus has grown on me !
Sandyb:Which is why I have cut out any B&O control from my music / radio listening - only the speakers remain. Roon is my control interface - if I must use an iDevice, then at least Roon's interface and software work extremely well - and at times the Linn app(s) too, as I have a Linn streamer / DAC in my main room. The Linn app even shows me a lot of my podcast feeds from TuneIn! Yes, Roon and a Linn streamer is expensive, but newsflash, so is B&O. The Halo's design / form factor limits how useful I can ever get. The screen is too small for searching / browsing in the end. Which implies it was only ever going to be a volume control and starter for predefined experiences. Fine for those who are happy with just that. But with the Moment gone, they're telling you to use your phone / tablet for everything else. In which case, if I am generally constantly having to use my iPad for example, what use is a 700 pound / euro volume dial?
Before getting too carried away with B&O committing their future to Roon, I have just given my subscription up after three/four months of suffering from their software problems!
Now I am well aware that many will say Roon has been faultless for them and I had no issues whatsoever for well over six months, but when problems arise I can promise you that after superficial attempts to help, you really are on your own.
Have a problem playing Tidal? Roon will say it must be Tidal and, of course,Tidal will blame Roon because on the stand alone Tidal app it plays perfectly. The standard Roon response to any complaint is to say 'it must be network problems' and leave you to it!
I don't intend to bore you further with tales of my weeks of wasted efforts and frustration apart from pointing out that if B&O was centrally involved in this alliance, and problems outside of their control occurred, I don't think they would get much credit for it here.
When Roon works it is good, very good but it has less than 100,00 subscribers ( Apple puts on more than this in two days) and you don't need to be a genius to see why there are question marks over its future. If one of the big music providers develops a similar platform to Roon charging only for music subscriptions not an annual fee . . . Roon will lose many subscribers!
And don't start me off about Roon radio. Does Roon have any stations playing FLAC or Hi-Res files?
No.
But from my Lumin streamer/Dac I have a full range of radio stations playing FLAC files that stream directly to my B&O speakers.
Be careful what you wish for
Best
Agreed, B&O's customer "service" is ineffectual, even handling just their own hardware(i.e, firmware) and their own app. Imagine if they tried to actually support Roon. It would be about as helpful as their support for UPnP/DLNA...
Roon would argue that they are the only company positioned for continuity, since they are charging what it costs to run their company and purchase the data services driving their "music magazine" format. "Everybody else is giving it away at a loss," they would say, "poised to close up shop once they've burned thru investors' capital." Consider how much Tidal costs you in the U.K: how is that even possible? Answer: It isn't. Of course, Gracenote (and whoever else) could jack up their rates to Roon, who would then have to raise prices, driving themselves into a death spiral. [Edit: Bargain Alert 11/26-11/29/2021 for anybody who wants to try out Roon to see what all the fuss is about: Instead of their too-brief 14-day trial, you can get 3 months for $1, provided you remember to cancel your CC at 90 days. That's actually enough time to load your local library, subscribe to Tidal, and do a few browse-chains when the mood strikes, rather than a forced march thru their features.]
Roon Radio? Sonos Radio? B&O Radio? Because... why, exactly? Radio programming is a fashion industry. Profits are immense for what one spends to create, but if one isn't fashionable, one's content doesn't rake in the users(' license fees).
By the way, with Sonos, 70% of the time it is, in fact, "network problems"! But *their* developers deployed tools to identify such problems for their customer support reps. Alas, they don't let customers see the data filed in their diagnostic report, because transparency would lessen Sonos's competitive advantage over, say, Amazon, where -- like B&O -- the support reps have no clue what is happening at the customer site.
Now then, obligatory on-topic of the Halo, it is *not* a 700-pound doorstop -- it only weighs 19 ounces! At USD900, that's $47 per ounce, which is about the same as an iPad Mini(6) at $50/oz. The iPad Mini is as beautiful and sleek an object as the Halo by most measures, though they are very different forms. But it is more generally useful as a music & video controller, and... it runs much faster! Yes, the Halo is only useful to select among pre-programmed choices, but that might suffice. It is a "remote control", after all.
Indeed, though I generally ignore cheap criticisms of being negative.
That said
- if one looks at the Halo as a general music controller it is poor product, limited as it is to starting / stopping predetermined choices.
- but as it has expanded to controlling lights / blinds etc, then we can see it has a more enthusiastic audience.
Guess it depends what you want.
But a product (Halo) that works only for Deezer subscribers really, can only be described as limited.
seethroughyou: Sandyb: Which is why I have cut out any B&O control from my music / radio listening - only the speakers remain. Roon is my control interface - if I must use an iDevice, then at least Roon's interface and software work extremely well - and at times the Linn app(s) too, as I have a Linn streamer / DAC in my main room. The Linn app even shows me a lot of my podcast feeds from TuneIn! Yes, Roon and a Linn streamer is expensive, but newsflash, so is B&O. The Halo's design / form factor limits how useful I can ever get. The screen is too small for searching / browsing in the end. Which implies it was only ever going to be a volume control and starter for predefined experiences. Fine for those who are happy with just that. But with the Moment gone, they're telling you to use your phone / tablet for everything else. In which case, if I am generally constantly having to use my iPad for example, what use is a 700 pound / euro volume dial? Aside from accusations of being “negative, glass half empty, prematurely critical”, I hate to say it but the predictions for this product are slowly coming true: limited functionality, predicted lack of development despite early ‘promises’, poor battery life and the real likelihood that this will become a £/€ 700 doorstop in the coming years is crystallising. Good God, why do B&O bring this half-baked nonsense out. Is the company run by eccentric student architects.
Sandyb: Which is why I have cut out any B&O control from my music / radio listening - only the speakers remain. Roon is my control interface - if I must use an iDevice, then at least Roon's interface and software work extremely well - and at times the Linn app(s) too, as I have a Linn streamer / DAC in my main room. The Linn app even shows me a lot of my podcast feeds from TuneIn! Yes, Roon and a Linn streamer is expensive, but newsflash, so is B&O. The Halo's design / form factor limits how useful I can ever get. The screen is too small for searching / browsing in the end. Which implies it was only ever going to be a volume control and starter for predefined experiences. Fine for those who are happy with just that. But with the Moment gone, they're telling you to use your phone / tablet for everything else. In which case, if I am generally constantly having to use my iPad for example, what use is a 700 pound / euro volume dial?
Aside from accusations of being “negative, glass half empty, prematurely critical”, I hate to say it but the predictions for this product are slowly coming true: limited functionality, predicted lack of development despite early ‘promises’, poor battery life and the real likelihood that this will become a £/€ 700 doorstop in the coming years is crystallising. Good God, why do B&O bring this half-baked nonsense out. Is the company run by eccentric student architects.
Roon Radio seems fine to me.
It carries on playing similar music once it finishes with my playlist / album.
Is it as good as having a human (your favourite DJ for example) discovering gem after unheard gem for you? No of course not.
But it does work well - in that it continues with similar and related music, and doesn't throw up really odd non continuous (mood, genre) songs.
Thats all I'd really ask of such a task / algorithm.
trackbeo: Agreed, B&O's customer "service" is ineffectual, even handling just their own hardware(i.e, firmware) and their own app. Imagine if they tried to actually support Roon. It would be about as helpful as their support for UPnP/DLNA... Roon would argue that they are the only company positioned for continuity, since they are charging what it costs to run their company and purchase the data services driving their "music magazine" format. "Everybody else is giving it away at a loss," they would say, "poised to close up shop once they've burned thru investors' capital." Consider how much Tidal costs you in the U.K: how is that even possible? Answer: It isn't. Of course, Gracenote (and whoever else) could jack up their rates to Roon, who would then have to raise prices, driving themselves into a death spiral. [Edit: Bargain Alert 11/26-11/29/2021 for anybody who wants to try out Roon to see what all the fuss is about: Instead of their too-brief 14-day trial, you can get 3 months for $1, provided you remember to cancel your CC at 90 days. That's actually enough time to load your local library, subscribe to Tidal, and do a few browse-chains when the mood strikes, rather than a forced march thru their features.] Roon Radio? Sonos Radio? B&O Radio? Because... why, exactly? Radio programming is a fashion industry. Profits are immense for what one spends to create, but if one isn't fashionable, one's content doesn't rake in the users(' license fees). By the way, with Sonos, 70% of the time it is, in fact, "network problems"! But *their* developers deployed tools to identify such problems for their customer support reps. Alas, they don't let customers see the data filed in their diagnostic report, because transparency would lessen Sonos's competitive advantage over, say, Amazon, where -- like B&O -- the support reps have no clue what is happening at the customer site. Now then, obligatory on-topic of the Halo, it is *not* a 700-pound doorstop -- it only weighs 19 ounces! At USD900, that's $47 per ounce, which is about the same as an iPad Mini(6) at $50/oz. The iPad Mini is as beautiful and sleek an object as the Halo by most measures, though they are very different forms. But it is more generally useful as a music & video controller, and... it runs much faster! Yes, the Halo is only useful to select among pre-programmed choices, but that might suffice. It is a "remote control", after all.
I purchased a Halo and thought to let the forum know that, in line with the recent Podcast discussion, the ring definitely rattles.
I also got the bronze one but mine rattles.
Natural silver, tabletop. Production date Jan. 2021, according to the bottom sticker.
New: Beovision Harmony, Beolab 50's, Beolab 28's, Beolab 18's, Beolab 17's, Beosound Stage & LG, Beosound 2, Beoplay M3, Beoplay A1, Beoplay Portal, Beoplay H4 gen 2, Beoplay E8 3.0
Mikipedia on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/Mikipedia
Mikipedi4 on Twitch: https://www.twitch.tv/mikipedi4
Mikipedia on Intagram: https://www.instagram.com/mikipedi4/
Old: Beosound 9000 mk3, Beolab 3's, Beovision Eclipse, Beolab 1's, Beolab 2, Beovision 10-46, Overture 2300, beolab 8000's, Beolab 4000's, Beovision avant 32" etc. etc.
For all those with rattles, what are your production dates? Maybe we should start data collecting, @Mikipedia.
Miki, I’m going to get no dealer help here. I bought the Halo in Europe and imported it with me when I returned to the States.
I’m going to get no dealer help, Miki. I bought the Halo at a dealer in Europe while I was traveling and brought it home with me to the US.
Jan 2021 for mine. Yours?
Same, Jan. 2021.
I’ve contacted Support via the app inquiring about warranty claim. We will see what they say.