Hi, what do I need to add another pair of beolab 2500 to my beosound 2300 (model 1998, USA).....??? Thanks even though this is probably an FAQ level query....

thanks, Rene
 

 

i think you don't need anything at all. you can loop the signal from one speaker to the other, which means you can connect one speaker to the other.

does that also work with my current beolab 8000 ?? (forgot to mention I have 8000's, about to buy 2500's to add).

I just had a look, and I do see these 8000's have an empty connection called "line" - is that what to use for what you call "looping"?

thanks again! 

You can't "daisy chain" or "loop" BL8000's as they only have one powerlink socket in each speaker. You can however get a powerlink splitter or Y cable from your B&O dealer to enable you to do the job.

ReneB:

does that also work with my current beolab 8000 ?? (forgot to mention I have 8000's, about to buy 2500's to add).

I just had a look, and I do see these 8000's have an empty connection called "line" - is that what to use for what you call "looping"?

thanks again! 

that will work perfectly with your BL8000!

you are right: it is the line socket witch is used to loop the signal form a speaker to the other. only problem is cable managment, as the BL8000 don't offer any possibility to hide them.

here is what i got from the product configuration guide doawnloded on this site (thanks Peter! ):

************************* AUDIO SYSTEM SETUP **************************

Connect the Beolab to one of the POWER LINK sockets of the audio
master using a Power Link cable.

The signal may be looped through to the second Beolab using another
POWER LINK cable and a Power Link adapter, part No. 6270597....

 

thanks ! I guess I just order that part then along with a set of 2500's. Assume it will imply that I cannot separately control the volume of the 8000's and the 2500 ???

 and, since you guys are so helpful, am I correct in assuming that my Bose Acoustimass 5 speakers can NOT at all be connected to the 2300 (next to the 8000's of course)

 cheers from sunny amsterdam! Rene

 

smito:

that will work perfectly with your BL8000!

you are right: it is the line socket witch is used to loop the signal form a speaker to the other. only problem is cable managment, as the BL8000 don't offer any possibility to hide them.

No, sorry, that's wrong -- the Line socket has nothing do with looping the signal. You need to use PowerLink. Both the 2500s and the 8000s have only one PowerLink, so you'll need at least 2 Y-splitters.

ReneB:

Assume it will imply that I cannot separately control the volume of the 8000's and the 2500 ???

 and, since you guys are so helpful, am I correct in assuming that my Bose Acoustimass 5 speakers can NOT at all be connected to the 2300 (next to the 8000's of course)

 cheers from sunny amsterdam! Rene

 

I have a feeling we're missing some context here. What exactly are you trying to do? It's hard to imagine one room with BL2500, BL8000, and then a 5.1 surround system by Bose really sounding very good. Are you trying to get the sound into 3 separate rooms? If so, you need to get a BeoLink Active system -- consult your dealer. This will enable you to have independent volume control.

you could be right, PL212. i'm sure peter can clear this out!?

sorry if I've been unclear, but all I want is to have in our joint living/dining room, which is 15 meter long x 4.5  m wide, divided into 2 sections by means of a 1.5 m tall lowboard full of some 2000 good old LP's, to have the beolab 8000 serve the sitting room part and other new speakers to serve the dining room part.

So I either buy Beolab 2500's or Bose's I already owe, to serve the dining room part. Currently the 8000 serve the sitting room part but we often sit at our 3 m dining table and the 8000 hence sound muffled (?, i.e. guite poor), because they are positioned to serve the living room part oposite to the dining room part.

 hope this helps and explains why I want two sets of speakers connected to my 2300 system.
 

thanks a lot,

Rene! 

 

PL212 is indeed correct, the system will reqire 2 Y splitters for the powerlink cables.

ok, so i was wrong. sorry for the wrong info.

but is looping is possible on BL6000?

Looping is indeed possible on the 3000, 4000, 4500, 6000 and Penta II/III because they have 2 PowerLink sockets. In the case of the original poster, there's nothing wrong with looping via PowerLink Y-splitters. It's a little ironic he ended up with the two speakers in the BeoLab range without dual PowerLinks :) , but Y-splitters will work just fine. In this scenario all the speakers come on at the same time and the volumes are the same. Note that because the 8000s are much more powerful, they will probably sound louder than the 2500s. The other option for your setup would be a BL3500 or BL2000. These can be set to respond to Link codes only, so that you can control them independently of the main system's speakers. This allows for a bit more of control. The status of the room as basically one large space means that a separate BeoLink Active would be a problematic setup, I believe. Unless you used range-reduced remotes.

Hi again,

 armed with your info I went to my B&O dealer (who were closed due to refurnishing, but did let me in for advice), and they strongly recommended not to go for Beolab's 2500 nor 3500, but instead choose Beolab 4. The only thing I needed in addition, they said, was a beolink converter/kit.

is this good advice for my situation (see description earlier: 2300 system with 8000's serving "left" part of 14 m long room; new ones to serve the "right").

cheers, Rene

ps: they gave my the B&O book for free!!
 

 

The idea of adding the BL4's is an okay idea, but as PL212 mentions, you will have some problem, when the equipment is in the same room, as you will turn on all speakers when turning on the stereo. And if I remember right, you would actually get the commands double, as both the IR eye and the 2300 both recieves the signal.

Actually as I'm writing this I come to think of my old setup, where I had my BL1's connected to my AV5 through a Beolink active box, which was setup so it only responded when I chose Link from the Beo4 list and then pressed the desired command, so maybe it is not that impossible after all, although you'll have to use the list->link command when you want to use the extra set of speakers with the BL8000 switched of.

I don't understand their recommendation. The beolink converter changes MCL which your 2300 has into ML to enable it to interface with more modern say video devices such as an Avant or similar. As far as I am aware it has no outputs for powerlink speakers! It would enable you to ML a beolab 3500 but they don't recommend this???

In fact, I just don't understand at all. Is it me or what?

joeyboygolf:

I don't understand their recommendation. The beolink converter changes MCL which your 2300 has into ML to enable it to interface with more modern say video devices such as an Avant or similar. As far as I am aware it has no outputs for powerlink speakers! It would enable you to ML a beolab 3500 but they don't recommend this???

In fact, I just don't understand at all. Is it me or what?

 

That has got me baffled too Graham, I thought the ML/MCl converter only had a Powerlink in connection. So you can power Passive speakers of it.

 

Craig

 

But the post says "beolink converter", as far as I remember when I last had one this does not have powerlink at all!!

The one I had did. It had a Materlink connection, a Datalink Connection and a Powerlink connection. Still dont see why you would need one though. Or how it would work in this set up.

 

Craig 

You're quite correct Craig although I don't remember using the Powerlink socket at all.

Very odd suggestion! I would also not get the Beolab 4s. I think for the set up you want I would either decide to keep your Bose speakers and use a Beolink passive to power them or would get a Beolab 3500 as suggested above. These set ups  would allow independent control of the speaker in the dining area and full remote control - if your barrier muffles the 8000s then it could block the remote signals as well. If not then the two systems can be set to option 4 which will allow you to control them using the link command.

However I would suggest having a listen to the speakers for yourself when the dealer re-opens. Have a listen to the 8000s, 4s and 3500 as you will be able to compare the last two with a speaker you already know. If you are just using the dining area as an area where backgound music is played, the Bose speakers are probably fine. If you want better sound, consider one of the other options. The Beolab 4000s are another option if you look at second hand ones. I am afraid I think the Beolab 4s are not really much better than the Bose ones and are very expensive. 

ok, today i went to the other store of the same dealer, and outlined exactly my situation.

apart from that they suggested to go for Beolab 3, more expensive but far better they, regardless what speakers I'd choose I needed two things:

T1611 (170 Euro's) and T1636 (290 euro), where the latter should be placed as far as possible from the MX7000 TV.

For the 3500 the T163 in not needed.

I could they said, in theory, also just go for a powerlink splitter, but a) this wasn't much cheaper -they said!! and b) as you guys also suggested, the lack of independent volume control will be irritating if not really destroying all pleasure,

Still, 460 euro's just to get a connection to other speakers....grrr, sometimes I hate it that I love B&O ! But are the T1611 and 1636 indeed the items I need??

thanks and cheers,

Rene 

 

Just to let you know, after listening and being quite impressed by the BeoLab 3 -vs 4-  I've bought BeoLab 3, and two simple Y-splitters. The BeoLab 3 are so good, and easy to turn 180 degrees, they in fact could also replace my 8000's, which might then move to our bedroom!

Next week the dealer will come and install it (standard ervice, although I just as well wanted to pack them with me).

 ps: my wife, for the first time, heard BeoLab 5's : and now we should start saving money for a year or 3.....

thanks again for your help,

Rene