Hello, i have ordered a pair of BeoLab 3 and would like to connect them with my MacBookPro or iPod. Does anybody know, if B&O only delivers a pair of Powerlink cables with the BeoLab 3 or are there also cables with a minijack included ?

 If not what kind of cables must i buy ? 

B&O do a cable just for this purpose. Your dealer should have it. I have seen Beolab 5s used in this way!!

I have run iPod signals analog to both the BeoLab 3 and BeoLab 5.

My impression is that these speakers are extremely revealing, and that the small Wolfson DAC inside my iPod is no match for loudspeakers capable of such high detail - there's a definite graininess to the sound, particularly with low-resolution mp3s. But it's fun ...

You'll have some issues with scratching and loud bursts of sound due to the impedance mismatch between iPod and the loudspeakers (they are very sensitive). Which means that care should be taken when connecting and disconnecting. With BL5s, always have the speakers off or muted when trying to connect in this manner.

I would strongly recommend a DAC or other unit between the MacBook and the speakers. There are good DACs on the market which will give you volume control, digital optical in (which you can port from your Mac laptop), and analog outs to the speakers.

 

Enjoy!

I want to connect my MacBook via a AirportExpress station with the speakers, so there wont be any connecting/disconnecting I guess. Best would be, if i could connect the BeoLab3 with my MX 4200 and find any way to come from my AirportExpress station into to MX 4200

Having a fixed connection is good, and using the Airport Express will give you potential, full CD-resolution.
However, you'll find that you'll have to turn the volume of the signal down quite a lot unless you want very loud volume.

And the disadvantage with that is that you could then be reprocessing the signal inside your MacBook before it goes to your speakers. (Depends upon which version of iTunes you're using.)

The solution is to either use a passive attenuator - though you'll then be feeding your BL3s from the Airport Express DAC (digital-to-analog conversion, and that's not a DAC that will match your speakers.)
Another problem is that there are two different audio processors in a Mac. One is the core audio processor controlled by the utility Audio MIDI Setup; the other is the Mac's SRC.

Read through the following to get a feel for the weaknesses in Apple's sound card structure, and how to ensure you bypass them. (I'm a huge Apple fan, but they could have made this simpler.) The methods are different for iTunes 6.x and iTunes 7.x
For optimal playback quality, matching the abilities of BL3 and BL5, the instructions offered by Benchmark must be followed. Here's a description of the problem:

CoreAudio and iTunes can simultaneously operate at independent sample rates. At all times, the sample rate set in AudioMIDI Setup dictates the sample rate at which CoreAudio is operating. When iTunes is launched, iTunes locks to the sample rate at which CoreAudio is currently operating (which is the sample rate that is set in AudioMIDI) and does not change until it is closed and re-launched. However, after iTunes launches and locks its sample rate, its sample rate will not change thereafter, even if CoreAudio's sample rate setting in AudioMIDI Setup is changed. To change the sample-rate of iTunes, iTunes must be shut down, and then restarted after the desired sample rate is set in AudioMIDI Setup.

http://www.stereophile.com/budgetcomponents/108bench/index5.html

http://www.benchmarkmedia.com/wiki/index.php/ITunes-QuickTime_for_Mac_-_Setup_Guide

The first link outlines the problem, the second specifies the cure.

Your BL3s are so good that they deserve to be connected to a DAC that will feed them a properly converted analog signal, using the optical out from the Airport Express. This DAC would then also let you control volume, without touching the optimal settings on your MacBook.

Does DAC means digital/analog converter ? If so can you reccommend a DAC ?

Whats about a BeoSound 4 ? Couldnt i use these sytem instead of an DAC, the i can play CD, SD-Cards, have radio PLUS my iPod/MacBook possibilitys ? And thats important everything is Masterlink compatible.

Hi Olof,

Puncher here has had good experiences with one, and David Moulton (who developed the acoustic lenses and worked on the BeoLab 5 speakers) has tried out another DAC with very good results on B&O's speakers.

http://forum.beoworld.org/forums/post/96860.aspx

I'm using a Grace m902. You might want to consider getting a DAC which also has a headphone amplifier built-in, if you want to use this in an environment where you occasionally want to listen at your volume without bothering others, and still get the best possible sound.

Going the BeoSound 4 route is definitely a possibility - and I wish it had a digital IN port. As you say, the need for a stand-alone DAC would then disappear. The BeoSound 4 is a very good cd-player, and elegant.

Note that my recommendations earlier in the thread concern getting the absolute best possible sound out of a Mac and to your speakers. Unfortunately, the analog out from the Mac is sub-par, and it's only the BeoLab 5 speakers that have digital s/pdif coax IN (you'd then need to convert the optical digital signal to a coax signal, but there are quite inexpensive converters that will do this for you.)

I find that using a stand-alone DAC between my Mac and the speakers gives me absolute certainty the speakers are fed the best possible signal -- and the difference is noticeable between the analog out from a Mac and what you hear if you use the optical digital feed from the Mac as suggested.

The BL3s resolve beautifully when fed a properly set and processed signal from a computer.