Hi all,

I was looking for your inputs on the best why to configure 2 systems (Beosound 3200 (alongside Beolab 2500) and Beocenter 2300) with 3 beolink passives and beolab 6000.

Front room : 3200 with the Beolab 2500 (this was originally a Beosystem 2300)

Dining room : Beolab 6000

Kitchen / Sitting area: 2300, Beolink converter, Beolink Passive

Kitchen (Bedroom): 2 other Beolink Passive feeding speakers in a Bathroom and an ensuite

I have been reading other postings about configuring a master and either a 2nd Master or slave but it would appear that both of the systems that I have are not that 'smart' so one of them must be relegated to a slave. I would prefer to leave the 3200 in the Lounge setup with the 2500 and the older 2300 in the Kitchen but would switch if I really had to. I like the look of the older 2300 being all chrome in the Kitchen ! The reason why I kept the older system is because I could not bear to off load (!) As opposed to leaving in the attic I thought I would put it to some use. I would like to have the kitchen for loading in some of the old CDs and leave the 3200 in the Lounge with the hard disk (but still accessible around the house. I have 2 sets of signal cables running from the kitchen into the Lounge to take audio from a Flat screen TV in the Kitchen (Auxiliary input) and to take audio out of the 3200 into a home cinema system in the Kitchen sitting area. I'm open to losing these 2 signal cables if they have to be revamped as part of an Aux audio link cable to link the systems together if it was needed.

I tried setting the 2300 as a slave and the 3200 as a master i.e. 2300 with L.option to 6 (Beolink converter attached with an Aux Audio link cable) and the 3200 with A.Option to 2  Could not get the 2300 to acknowledge (red light twitch) the setting. 

If I turn off the 2300 (power off) the 3200 has buzz (loud enought) but once the masterlink connection from the 2300 is disconnected - it stops.

If I reverse the master / slave i.e. 2300 is the master A.option to 2 (gets acknowledged - have not been able to get L.option to work) and the 3200 to A.option 6 the Active converter with the Beolab 6000 grunts be give no sound.

What I have got to work is to leave the system as it was based on the 3200 i.e. with no 2300 and then to incorporate the 2300 as a standalone linking the beolink converter directly to a Beolink Passive with ML. I wouldn't to avoid coming in the backdoor with an Aux feed from the 3200 (although I don't know how this could be done since the Aux is used up on the 2300 for connecting to the converter !) Also I don't know if it is possible to connect through Powerlink to a Beolink Passive (and if so which type of cable is used - Powerlink speaker or slightly thicker cable with 5 cores).

I felt that If I could configure them in a Masterlink setup it would be better providing I can stop the 3200 buzzing (note I have temporarily disconnected the Audio in / out) to rule them out.

Thanks for taking the time to read the setup.

Hi all - I'm still activately looking for feedback on the setup !

The buzz or humm problem was caused by having an amplified aerial connection on the 2300 for the radio - this has been disconnected. I have done a temporary setup where the 2300 provides an audio out via a Powerlink connection to the AUX input on the 3200. The AUX Audio Link connection on the 2300 goes to the Beolink converter which directly feeds the Passive amp in the kitchen by Masterlink.

I have played around with different option settings. Reckon that I could use the Powerlink output from the 2300 to drive another amp (does B&Q have an amp that will take a Powerlink feed from a 2300?) and leave the AUX Audio link socket for a better 2 way link with the 3200. At the moment the 2300 only pushes out - it cann't receive anything (i.e. from the 3200) in the current setup.

A B&O dealer recommended A.Option 2 on the 3200 and A.Option 6 on the 2300 but for the 2300 to have speakers that utilised the Powerlink connections. I have not been able to get the 2300 to take either a A.Option or L.Option with a setting of 6. I have tried powering everything off and disconnecting the Masterlink connections as`as to set the Beosounds in standalone mode. 

Any HELP would be greatly appreciated !

Michael

It seams to me little bit more complicated than it should be.

Try to setup BS2300 to option 0 and BC3200 to option 2.

I think in this case your BC3200 will be master and BS2300 slave.

Many thanks for your reply.

I have set the BC3200 to A.Option 2 and BS2300 to A.Option 0 (still cannot get it to accept L.Option 0) and reverted to connecting the 2300 through a beolink converter using the Audio link connection in the Masterlink junction box.

To operate the CD player on the 2300 I have being unable to add the 'LINK CD PLAYER 2' option in the Beo4 remote. I have an older version of the Beo4 remote with the 'vtape record atape' on the '3rd line'. Does the software on the remote need to be updated so that I can add this option on the remote 

OR how does one add a LINK CD option to the remote ?

usshermi:

I was looking for your inputs on the best why to configure 2 systems (Beosound 3200 (alongside Beolab 2500) and Beocenter 2300) with 3 beolink passives and beolab 6000.

Interesting set-up!  I ended up putting my beloved BeoCenter 2300 from 1998 in storage, where it shall await the purchase of a second home, as I was not sure I wanted to deal with a BeoLink converter or ML converter or what have you.  In particular, I had the choice of buying a BS3000 to replace the BC2300 or going the converter route to keep the BC2300, and I did not want two masters.  

What tipped the decision in favor of relegating the BC 2300 to storage is that even after buying the converter, I would have been left with no AUX-in into the house's Beo system.

If I had a BeoLink converter box laying around, I would fish the BC2300 out of storage and see if your results can be duplicated.

Anyway, best of luck and do publish your final results!

I am assuming that you also have a 3200 along with the 2300 in storage since you mention not wanting to have 2 masters. On Sunday I bought another Beolink Passive amp but the older type - the MCL2P which will take a Powerlink connection. At the moment the 2300 is capable of driving a Beolink Passive amp through a Beolink converter but the AUX Audio link connection is used. With the 2300 I am hoping to be able to use it as an additional Music player playing music around the house with a LINK CD beo4 command OR playing locally in the kitchen through the MCL2P Passive amp (just bought it on Ebay). I still have a free AUX connection on the 3200 into which I have connected a Skytronics input selector that has TV input (Home cinema), Ipod, bluetooth dongle. I'm hoping to replace one of them with an Airport Express so I can use the Itouch anywhere in the house setting the 3200 thru one of the control eyes around the house with A.AUX mode.

I have a spare Beolink converter. It's a seperate story as to how I ended up with 2 but let's say that I honoured the Ebay auction even though I had already bought one earlier in the week. I'd happily sell it to you cheap !

When I was offered a choice between a 3000 & 3200 I opted for the 3200 for the simplicity of having all my CDs on the 'hard-disk' in the music system. In splitting the music between Classical, Rock & Roll, 'Chill-out' type and smuchie numbers equated to the 4 colours on the beo4. I got used to it to the basic nature and my wife can just about operate it. Winamp on PC set the scene for the jumping around picking songs from different artists but dropped it because of the inconvience of having to maintain a PC. But it was only when I got a gift of the itouch that I got really sucked into a thinking of a better interface for picking music. Recently seeing the Sonos setup on an itouch where B&O have accepted that other suppliers are better than them at the back end that I realised that I may have put an antiqued setup with the Passive amps - I should probably have but together a Sonos setup where it seems that I can have different music in different rooms. Still I don't need this sophistication. I would be happy just to be able to play classical music around the house and have a localised area e.g. the Kitchen with radio and if its party time to have the same music as the rest of the house. I had hoped to use the Airport Express when the itouch played directly to it  for localised play (e.g. directly into the line in on the Beolab 6000) and then possibly move on to the Apple TV as a media centre with the Flat screen (didn't have one in 2002 !) using the LCD TV as the interface. Having a PC / MAC on 24X7 didn't bother too much once I wasn't near it and I couldn't hear the humm of it ! The Beoport option sounds tempting because of the simplicity of it but I'm conscious of not making the same mistake with the Beolink Passive setup when I should have gone for the Sonos setup. Still I would be temped to get it just for the simplicity of it.

If anyone out there would be so good as to enlighten me and my other 2300 fan (there's no point leaving it in the attic !) on the LINK CD command on the Beo4 to fire up the 2300 it will allow me (us) to either to move on or call it a day with a simple incorporation of the 2300 into a Masterlink setup.

From chatting with a Bang Olufsen dealer this afternnoon - a little bit of light has been shed ; The option of 2 (master) for the 3200 and 6 (slave) for the 2300 will not work as originally thought for the 2300. It appears that the 2300 is too old but if you have an Overture it SHOULD work. The other suggestion for previous post using Option 0 for the 2300 turns off the IR recognition (which is handy given that its located in the Kitchen close to the control eye that's hooked up to a Beolink Passive that's linked into the Masterlink setup but the core issue of the 2300 not been designed to work as a slave is still there

The command LINK CD on the Beo does NOT exist. The way that it would operate is to have LINK up on the Beo4 screen and then to press CD. So apparently if I had an overture instead of a 2300 it would appear that it could have worked.

The fallback option is to link the 2300 directly to the 3200 with the AUX link. AUX I have been informed does BOTH in and out. At the moment I have the AUX on the 3200 as in and the Powerlink as out. I would probably we able to use what's there i.e. the Aux IN and the Powerlink OUT as the IN/OUT on the 2300 but ideally it would be better just to use a Audio link cable between the 2 systems. That way either one can be the A.AUX of the other. To faciliate an Ipod, etc. could be done by using an AUX link splitter on either one of the systems.

The MCL2P (older Passive amp) purchase has not been in vain. I can use the Powerlink sockets on the 2300 to drive the speakers given that the AUX will be used receiving a feed from the 3200. Originally I was using a Beolink converter from the AUX socket for the 'normal' Beolink Passive.

I hope this publication of the results is of benefit to other individuals who were looking to resurrect their 2300 or Overture.