I would like to hear your opinion about what kind of speaker matches better my curent setup (BV7+BL8000-pair front+BL2+BS9000) as I need another pair of speakers for the back.

1. BL8000 4x, 2 front/2 back + BL2

2. BL9 2x front and BL8000 (curent) back without BL2

Which center speaker do you use? BL 7.1, 7.2 or 7.4?

I would certainly choose a pair of BeoLab 9s as fronts, however BeoLab 8000s would be a bit much as rears in my opinion. Ask your dealer for a home demo with both setups.

I think Henry is right. There is nothing better than BL9 (except BL5) as fronts, but BL8000 are somehow wasted as rears.

Not to mention that BL9 in the front and 8000 in the rear would look strange. How about BL3 in the rear instead? IMO that would look like a more complete setup.

magnushj:

Not to mention that BL9 in the front and 8000 in the rear would look strange. How about BL3 in the rear instead? IMO that would look like a more complete setup.

That is right, designwise, the BL3 would match the BL9 perfectly, but also the BL3 would be wasted as rears IMO. If mounted at the right place, I could even imagine BL4 as rears, BL4000 being the best solution IMO. 

I agree that the 9s would be the better choice. However, I disagree that the 8000s would be wasted or be too much as rears.We had 1s in front for a few years with 6000s in the rear. When we upgraded to 9s in the front, we moved the 1s to the rear. I certainly do not think the 1s are wasted in the rear. To the contrary, there was agreat improvement in sound. We hear sounds from the rears we never heard before, the bass is improved, and the overall sound is much more detailed. My wife in particular will not even consider moving the 1s to another room as she likes the way they sound as rears so much.

There do seem to be two points of views, those who think the ultimate would be 5 Beolab 5s, and those who say the rear speakers should be lower level speakers, or smaller speakers than the front.

 

Tom:

That is right, designwise, the BL3 would match the BL9 perfectly, but also the BL3 would be wasted as rears IMO. If mounted at the right place, I could even imagine BL4 as rears, BL4000 being the best solution IMO. 

I have earlier stated the same: that the BL3s would be wasted as rears. And I have been using BL4000s.
Then, because I have a pair of BL3s, I put them up where the 4000s were - just to be certain. And left them there for a long time. And whether it's my "going on 50 ears" or not, the 4000s are sufficient for whatever comes out of the surround channels. But having acoustic lenses front and back looks good, admittedly.

However, I will be putting up BL4000s again as rears and using the BL3s together with my BV8/Beosystem 6500. 

There are various companies offering high resolution multi-channel downloads - however, as this is still in its infancy I'll wait and see whether I will need something like the BL3s in the rear. For now, I feel it's not necessary.

(One such company is www.2l.no) 

I have 8000s as rears and don't consider them wasted or over kill. Ok, fair do's, not much sound is sent to the rear but what does arrive is good. Don't forget the stunning looks!
Also, when listening casually to music, I use, contraversially, speaker 4 and listen in double stereo. Serious music listening is different though, I use my Beolab 5000, Beovox 5000 and Beovox 2500 for that!

Andy T.

BeoLab 9s as fronts definitely, but I'd look for BeoLab 3s or 4000s as rears instead...

Jandyt:

Also, when listening casually to music, I use, contraversially, speaker 4 and listen in double stereo.

I sometimes use this setting too for a party or just for some extra sound while I'm tidying up the place!

I do not understand the aversion to having 8000s in the rear or other speakers comparable to the fronts. Anybody, and I assume all of us, who buy B and O do so in part for the quality of the sound. We are all looking for very high quality sound which is why we spend what we do on B and O. There is virtually no dispute as to 5s being better than 9s in the front, 9s being better than 3s, etc.  If we want the best quality sound in the front, why would we not also want the best quality sound in the rear? As a post herein said, not much sound may go to the rears, but when it does it sounds very good with that person's 8000s in the rear. I would say the same with the 1s we have in the rear. Obviously economics play a role, in the fronts as well as the rears. Why not have the biggest/best speakers budget allows in the rear as well as the front? Is the sound two good for the rear? Is there two much power? Is the bass too good?

Imagine the sound of an airplane flying over head. As the sound moves from the front to the rear speakers isn't the sound going to change if significantly smaller speakers are used in the rears?

Obviously and B and O speaker is wonderful, front or rear, I just don't agree wth the concept larger speakers are wasted in the rear.

I do not know the answer to this, but do movie theaters use smaller speakers in the rear?

 

 

I'd recommend that when you have the opportunity, you place a film with surround sound in your player, and switch off your front and center speakers, to only listen to what comes out of the rear channels.

Also have a look at the speaker arrays up on the walls of cinemas. If you could see the speakers behind the screen of a large movie theatre, you would see that the speakers placed there are vast in size, they looks like a concert PA setup; while the speakers along the wall and to the rear are small. I'd say about 1/10 the size of the front array maximum.

Surround cue sounds for movies are much lower in dB, and also are often processed with Q-sound like filters in order to increase the spatial perception of the soundscape.


 

You already have the BL8000 and I'll definitely keep them as rears. BL3's are great choice for rears (IMHO) but I don't think it will be worth replacing the 8000 with those. They have similar performance, but BL8000 style is superior. Not having ALT in rears is not an issue unless you have an asymetric living room or need wal mounting. For fronts go definitely for BL9's.

I agree that, if money allows, you should get the best loudspeakers in every position. Even as rears. Some movies make the difference with the rear sounds!

Just wait for a pair of second life Beolab 5's . They look much better then the 9 and they have a bigger soundstage. The 8000 is a piece of art, but I wouldn't recommend them for high volumes.

Thanks for the suggestion of turning off the front speakers and listening to just the rears. I tried it and was surprised how much sound does come from the rear speakers. There was more than I expected. It confirmed my view that 8000s or 1s in the rear are definetly not wasted or too much.