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ARCHIVED FORUM -- April 2007 to March 2012
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This is the first Archived Forum which was active between 17th April 2007 and 1st March February 2012

 

Latest post 12-29-2010 4:40 AM by Doctor. 8 replies.
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  • 12-27-2010 4:09 AM

    • ssonck
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    • Gold Member

    Advice needed on upgrade of B&O System

    Dear Members,

    In the past I have helped my parents in building up their B&O System.  It has aged a bit and they are moving to a new house, so it is time to either upgrade this system or to (sadly) depart from B&O and put it all on "ebay".  The details follow in a longer post...

    The most important components that they currently have are the following:

    1. Central System consisting of a BeoSystem 9000, Beolab Penta Active Speakers (1st generation) and a BeoVision
    2. MCL-based BeoLink with 3 more rooms: a room with an LCS9000 (BeoLab3500), a room with an MCL2 and BeoLab 6000 Speakers and a room with an MCL2AV+MCL2P and passive speakers
    3. They have several remotes: the older Beo1000 
    4. As a first "upgrade", I hooked up a "Squeezebox" to their central BeoSystem 9000: they love this but of course it cannot be controlled through the B&O remote
    What is important for them in the new house is the ease of use that B&O has always given them.  They want high quality video and audio but require ease of use more than true "high end". They also want access to "internet radio" and internet music services. In the new house, they would like:
    1. Central entertainment room with TV and maybe 5.1 (DVD-player, access to audio sources and internet-access through the TV)
    2. Office space (music only, could be through the computer - Mac)
    3. Kitchen (music only)
    4. Dining room (smaller TV; access to music + video)
    I have looked at the new B&O products and am very frustrated: it is hard to find a good solution that meets their requirements and reuses the equipment they have.  Many B&O products seem outrageously expensive to me... so they rely a bit on me to either recommend them to stick with B&O or move to another system (for example: local squeezeboxes and a surround system with a good display from another brand would cost less than 5000€ total and give them a reasonable experience).  As the house is new, installing cabling is no problem.
    I have always loved B&O (and so do my parents) and am wondering if somebody in this forum has some creative ideas to provide them with a good upgrade path...

    Thanks a lot for your time and ideas!

     

    --Stefaan.

  • 12-27-2010 7:08 AM In reply to

    Re: Advice needed on upgrade of B&O System

    I would go for a BV8-40 or Bv10-40. Then add a mid range DVD or BluRay player that can be controlled via PUC codes. This is the starting for the entertainment room.

    The link room systems can be re used. And for dining room you go for the new BV10-32 or as I did a close out BV8-32 or even 8-26.

    To add the Mac you either use a Beoport or Airport Express.

    BeoVision 8-40 / BeoVision 8-32 / Beovision 6-26 / BeoSound 3200 / BeoSound 1 / BeoLab 3 /  Beolab 6000 / Beolab 2000 / Beoport / Beomedia 1 / 3* Beo4 /BeoCom 5 with VOIP

  • 12-27-2010 7:19 AM In reply to

    • Vienna
    • Top 100 Contributor
    • Joined on 08-15-2008
    • make an educated guess
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    Re: Advice needed on upgrade of B&O System

    ssonck:

  • Central System consisting of a BeoSystem 9000, Beolab Penta Active Speakers (1st generation) and a BeoVision
  • Is this a BeoSystem AV 9000 or a BeoCenter 9000 and a BeoVision XXXX or do you talk about a BeoSond 9000 + TV ...

    Serial # or Type # of all components would help ...

  • 12-27-2010 5:18 PM In reply to

    • ssonck
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    • Joined on 12-27-2010
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    • Gold Member

    Re: Advice needed on upgrade of B&O System

    Sorry if this was not clear (I mixed up BeoCenter and System).... the existing components are:

    -BeoCenter 9000 (#2501)

    -4x Beolink 1000

    -Beolab 6000 (#6821)

    -Beolab Penta (#6621)

    -Beolab 3500

    -2x MCL2AV

    -MCL2P

    -BeoVision MX2000

    (and they have some older stuff lying around :) : BeoCenter 7007, BeoVox, BeoCord VHS91,...)

     

  • 12-27-2010 5:20 PM In reply to

    • ssonck
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    • Joined on 12-27-2010
    • Posts 8
    • Gold Member

    Re: Advice needed on upgrade of B&O System

    Thanks for your very fast response!  

    What do you mean with "PUC" codes?  And what would the "master audio" be in this approach?

  • 12-27-2010 9:22 PM In reply to

    Re: Advice needed on upgrade of B&O System

    I'll answer generally with two points:

    1. Seek out your nearest retailer even if it's hundreds of kilometers away. A great B&O system is really dependent on a great relationship with your retailer. We're all here to help, but only your retailer can write the sale and he or she will be able to advocate for you, guide you in your decisions, and often actively find you the best pricing so that you can build your ideal system. 

    2. The majority of your items can be used in any new system once the TV is upgraded. Whether or not a new Audio Master (a current or semi-current audio system that is capable of interacting on the ML bus with the correct option programming) is needed is debatable. Since so much current music is accessed through attached video peripherals (like TVIX, AppleTV, etc.) you can pull music into other zones and use the TV as central control. Just remember that ML is an analog bus, so the sources have to be able to output analog in parallel with HDMI. If your parents are real music enthusiasts, the BeoSound 5 can't be beat and the new Beo6 remote allows browsing and navigation of your BeoSound 5's music collection in any link room. 

    So if you use your current speakers and simply upgrade your parents' TV & audio system you can more or less continue to use the system as-is but with all the current media sources and the ability to grow for another long period of time. 

    There is scarcely anything in this world that some man cannot make a little worse and sell a little more cheaply. The person who buys on price alone is this man's lawful prey. - John Ruskin

  • 12-28-2010 9:43 AM In reply to

    Re: Advice needed on upgrade of B&O System

    I think you need a new TV and audio system - I would keep the speakers (and remotes!) and look at replacing the rest. Something like a BV7 and a BS5 would probably let you survive another 20 years ! I might just wait a couple of months though...

  • 12-28-2010 6:30 PM In reply to

    • ssonck
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    • Joined on 12-27-2010
    • Posts 8
    • Gold Member

    Re: Advice needed on upgrade of B&O System

    Thanks!

    Any particular reason you might want to wait a few months?  Do you expect new product announcements?

  • 12-29-2010 4:40 AM In reply to

    Re: Advice needed on upgrade of B&O System

    Yes - BS5 Encore and maybe anouncements about TV chassis.

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