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
My current setup is based on a vintage BeoCenter AV5 in the living room, as I enjoy sitting and playing vintage computers and game consoles, and that the AV5 also gives me a good CD-player - with this a Pioneer DVD player and a Yamaha amplifier setup with some BeoVox S65 (or S75) and P35 (or P35) as speakers for the DVD.
In the bedroom I have a BeoVision 8-26 for some relaxing PlayStation 4 gaming and watching YouTube in bed...
Now I have got the idea of getting myself a BeoLab 3500 as they are quite affordable to add it into my bedroom, connected to my AV5 as main (because of the CD-player) so I can listen to CD in the bedroom - but I also play with the idea to connect the bedroom BeoLab to the BV8-26 for extra sound (not really sure if it will give anything extra however), but I can't find any description if this is possible to have two sources for one Multi-Room speaker.Possible?
Secondly I am considering to get a second BeoLab 3500 for the living room to connect with the AV5, which will give me extra sound without having to power on the Yamaha to get extra DVD- and CD-sound (the computer sound is not important since it's 8- and 16-bit sounds). This should be possible, as I understand? Will I need some extra box - a splitter of some sort?And... should I remove the old passive speaker setup? (I have been thinking about swapping the beautiful wooden speakers with the little newer Red Line speakers (also passive) - not sure if it a good idea either...?
Perhaps anyone have a good suggestion for a speaker for the kitchen/hallway? I think the BeoLab 3500 is too large for this room but the idea of being able to listen to some good music in the kitchen is appealing. I have considered a BeoLab 2000 for the kitchen, but as I recall it only takes a MasterLink cable, and I am not sure if I can further loop it off to the next room?
My idea is to program my Beo5 to use the entire setup, and keep a Beo4 in each room as well as a backup.
I hope someone can help me out with my questions as I have never before been messing around with any of B&O's link systems.
Hi Jorgen,
Some of what you want to do is very easy. Some is more difficult or maybe not possible.
1. Does your AV5 have a Masterlink socket? I looked at the User Manual and it looks like it will have.
2. Does your BV8 have a Masterlink socket? This was an option on the BV8 so it might not have.
3. Beolab 3500 needs to be connected by Masterlink unless you have the latest models with a Powerlink socket. Most for sale are older models and have a Masterlink socket and MCL Socket (which looks exactly like a Powerlink socket) and is not compatible with Powerlink.
If both the AV5 and BV8 have Masterlink what you want is very easy and simple to do. You can have a Beolab 3500 in your living room and one in your bedroom, plus you can have a Beolab 2000 in your kitchen. Each Masterlink component will need to be programmed for the correct option (this can be trial and error especially with the BL3500 in the same room as the TV). Because you will have two TVs connected, one is the Master and one is the Link Slave. This will programming will be done easily using your BEO4. You will need 5 Masterlink cables of the length you want and a Masterlink Junction Box. Depending on the junction box you use, you will need the Masterlink cables to have a plug at just one end, or both ends. (my attached diagram shows why). This setup will only distribute sound. There is a way to distribute video but I don’t know what you need.
If your BV8 does not have Masterlink you might still be able to connect it using a Beolink Convertor. This will “introduce” the sound from the BV8 into the Masterlink setup and would distribute it to the AV5 and to the speakers. I am not definitely sure this works but a search of the forums suggests it might.
If just the AV5 has Masterlink then you can still have two BL3500 and one BL2000. You can have up to 15 Masterlink products connected to your AV5. Your BV8 will remain stand alone. This is probably a much easier setup as the option programming will be easier. This would probably be the easiest to setup.
Because this is a Masterlink setup you can have more than one source per speaker, so long as each source is Masterlink compatible and is set in the correct option. The usual setup is one Videomaster and one Audiomaster and then link/slave products. I think your AV5 will act as Videomaster AND Audiomaster due to the CD player. And this will all be controlled by BEO4/5 and the BL2000 can also be controlled manually. BL3500 and BL2000 both have IR receivers built in so you do not need anything extra other than a junction box and Masterlink cables.I am not sure about your keeping your old passive speaker setup as I only have B&O active speakers.
I hope that helps. If you need some help with programming your BEO5 please private message me and I will try to assist. The BEO5 can only be programmed on windows 32bit PCs.
Stoobie
Thank you for the answer Stoobie,Sounds easier than I thought so I will have something to plan out now and prepare for: Thank you very much for the easy description and the diagram that will be helping out.About the Beo5 Configuration Tool, I am aware of the 32-bit Windows; I used to have a Windows PC for that purpose (it was a 64-bit computer but with 32-bit Windows XP on it) when setting up the Beo5 with custom images for the various chanals used by the old 8- and 16-bit computers and consols I've been playiong around with featuring their logos instead of the stock TV-chanal logos or a simple number, but I do have a couple of old laptops that I could use for the Configuration Tool. I have to admit that I look forward to be working on the CT again! :)Indeed the AV5 have a ML socket, the BV8 haven't but I have considerd to get the DVB module for the BV8, mostly because it have the option, and to get the Masterlink. I don't really watch TV so the DVB itself is not really high enough priority but the Masterlink socket could become useful.I have been looking at BeoLab 3500 with Powerlink as I did see that the MK1 have MCL and the MK2 have Powerlink; and since I don't have anything with MCL that could be useful I look at MK2 version, and I have found some at a decent price. But with a Powerlink version would I then be able to use the Masterlink to the AV5 and Powerlink to the BV8 (I do not plan to listen to music from the AV5 on the BV8, not share screen between them) to use the BL3500 as an extra speaker for the BV8 when not in use by the BV5 or is the Powerlink on the BL3500 meant for aditional speaker support (such as a pair of BL6000 in the Powerlink and then the Masterlink to the master)?
Hi Jorgen,I am glad you found that helpful and hopefully inspired you to get a couple of BL3500s and a BL2000 setup around the house. I don't think the Powerlink socket on the BL3500 will be much use to you in your setup, and definitely won't work with your BV8 unfortunately. The main use is when you have the speaker in a separate room connected by a Wireless 1 and then even if it is a MK2 speaker it will need the latest software. As far as I know you cannot use it to add extra speakers as you suggest. When buying I think condition and price should be the main factor and not the Powerlink capability. Also, you need to be very weary when asking the seller if it has Powerlink as the MCL and Powelink sockets look the same. You might be able to use a Beolink Convertor to “add” Masterlink to your BV8 but you will need to search the forum or ask in a post. They have been used with Non B&O TVs and things such as iPods, etc to “inject” the sound into the Masterlink systems. I am using VMWare to program my Beo5. I have Windows XP-SP3 installed in a virtual machine and am about to experiment with setting up MacOS. It is brilliant to do it this way because having XP open at the same time as Windows 10, I can work on Windows 10 designing my buttons etc and then cut and paste them into XP then they are immediately available. I haven’t done much programming since COVID-19 lockdown as I’m using my home office for work all day and not keen to be in there in the evenings too. It has taken the fun out of having 2 hours in my home office working on projects to relax after work.
These are some of my current buttons on my Beo5