Hi,

Just recently I have bought two BeoLab 5000 speakers, to go with my BeoCenter 9500. For the time being I have had them connected using SpeakerLink cabels, which worked fine, but of course, no data on the display, and in passive mode.

Today my PowerLink cables arrived (http://www.owja.nl/look4less/ad.php?productId=27) so I've been trying to connect the speakers to the 9500 with them. But no luck.

The display works fine, but I can hear no sound at all. I've messed around with all the switches on the 5000's, but nothing happens. I've used all combination of Link1 and 2, but nothing happens. Both speakers produce exactly the same result (although one of them actually played for a couple of seconds the first time I connected it, until it stopped...)

One thing I did notice: the display also has a sound-indicator (I think) that shows just _ . So it seems to me the soundlevel of the speaker itself is 0. It doesn't react to the soundlevel of the 9500. Do I have to set the soundlevel of the active speakers itself? If so, does anyone know how I can do that?

I know the speakers are ok, I've been using them for a week now, and the previous owner played both of them to me using a PowerLink cable.

I'm pretty much new to B&O and the whole Link-thing, so I wondered, did I forget to do something to get them to work? Is there anything else I can try? Did I order the wrong cables? Or should I conclude they are faulty, both of them?

I really hope someone can help me figure it out... I'm really looking forward to hang these beautiful speakers to the wall and enjoying them the way they were meant to be.

Thanks in advance!

Heras

Have you switched the speakers to Audio? They may be set to Video. Not sure about the powerlink cables - you need fully wired ones for the Beolab 5000 and the ones pictured look thin - but you did say the displays were working.

Hi Peter,

Thank you for your reply.

Can you tell me how I switch them from Video to Audio? I can't seem to find any switch to do so.

The displays are working, and I did purchase "fully wired" cables, so it seems to me they should do the trick

 (Also, as I mentioned, one of the speakers played for 10 secs when I connected it, but just stopped and never played again through powerlink)

gr,

Heras

The cables do not look to be correct. You need Mk2 fully wired powerlink cables for speakers with displays. No other powerlink cables will work.

The switches on the back of the speakers should be set to either L or R and the switches on the side of the speakers should be set to Audio.

Power off the whole system. Connect the wires and set the switches. Power on the 9500 and then the speakers.

They should now work as designed.

Hi joeyboygolf ,

Thank you for your help too!

I hadn't even noticed the switch on the side yet, but they were both set to Audio already, so should be ok.

I have had the cables checked by my local B&O dealer, and they are both ok (they are fully wired, and every signal comes through just fine).

I'm going to shut everything off for about ten minutes (the dealer told me it would reset back to factory defaults) and turn them on again. Hopefully it'll help.

Regards,

Heras

I've just switched everything on again, still no sound however...

I took pictures of the beolab when switched on:

 

No matter how high I raise the volume, I can only see one _ in the bottom of the display. Is this the level, or is this some spectrum to show the sound?

When raising the volume in the "Sound" menu they show me the correct level. Everything else works as well.

Could my 9500 be faulty? I didn't run into trouble yet, using line and speakerlink.

Is it okay to use both the powerlink (for the display) and the speakerlink (for audio) at the same time?

Regards,

Heras

Your output would appear to be muted. Just tried my 8500/lab5000's/powerlink setup and if you press mute on the remote the display matches yours!

Suggest you play with the mute control.

Hi Graham,

Thank you again for your reply. I've tried "un"muting my 9500 both with my remote and the 9500 itself.

Again.... No luck.

It's pretty much driving me crazy. I (think I) know the 9500 works, the guy that sold it to me showed it off to me using PL with 3000's (or 4500's, I don't know) and it worked just fine. The guy that sold me the 5000's used PL as well, and everything worked right away. I've got the cables checked by an B&O dealer, and they are fine. I have collected those beautiful machines myself, extremely carefully.

Strange thing is, any setup I can think of works just great. In every other way but PL. What probably puzzles me the most is that one of the 5000's played for, like, 10 seconds when I connected it, and stopped (shut itself down, is what it sounded like, I think) and never played again.

Can I use both PL and SpeakerLink at the same time? Surely I'd rather use the internal amplifiers of the 5000's, but I'm dying to get the set to work, and getting my walls done :)

Thanks!

Heras

I highly suspect the fuses.  A quick look at the circuit schematic shows two 4 amp slow-blow fuses wired into the +/- 45 volt power supply, independent of the lower voltage supply lines used to power the displays.  It's the +/- 45 volt lines that would be powering the main amplifiers.  This means that one of the main amp fuses could blow, while still allowing power to supply the displays.  This would also explain why the speakers were working at first for about 10 seconds.

If one of the fuses did blow, then there's a chance that there may be a short or a fault somewhere that caused it to blow, but I wouldn't be surprised if it was just age.  Remember that you must replace the fuses with slow-blow ones.  When the amplifier first turns on, there is a strong in rush of power for a moment, which can cause fast-acting fuses to blow unnecessarily.

Good luck,
Austin

Oh wait, I forgot you said both speakers don't work, so I guess it's not a fuse.  Well if you're bored you may want to check the fuses anyway.  Sometimes in situations like this I'll check or try things even when I don't think they're responsible for the issue, simply because along the way I sometimes discover the real issue.

Austin 

Do you still get sound using speakerlink?

Heras,

Taking into account everything you have said and the instructions you have followed from Graham, it looks to me that the "Loudspeaker Relay" signal on pin 4 of the Powerlink cable is not true meaning the speakers will be muted.

The Powerlink cable wiring diagram is below

The powerlink "Loudspeaker Relay" signal could be not there because of one of the following reasons:-

• You are not using the correct full wired Powerlink cable.
• You have a jack plug in the headphones socket which switches off the Powerlink "Loudspeaker relay" signal
• Transistor TR2 on PCB60 has a collector to emitter short which would allow the speakerlink to work, but not the powerlink
• One of the speakers is holding down the "Loudspeaker Relay" signal

Given, that you have stated that the Beocentre 9500 works perfectly with speakerlink and you appear to imply that the speakers have worked using powerlink elsewhere, then at this stage we must assume the most likely area of the fault is either:-

• The Powerlink cables
• A fault on PCB60 in the Beocentre 9500
• You have a plug in the headphones socket or the headphones socket is faulty

Given that you have said that the dealer has checked your Powerlink cables, how did he check them, with a meter ? or plugging them into a piece of B&O kit in the shop ?

Plug a headphone plug into the socket a few times in case the socket contacts are damaged.

Hi Keith Saunders,

You've solved my problem!!! Thank you so very much! 

After having used the headphone out to power my other amplifier (I didn't have a speakerlink cable the first night, and was dying to listen to the 9500) the big jack to small jack convertorplug remained in the socket! I hadn't noticed it, because it really looks like it's part of the design (and I had a great deal of trouble getting it out).

Brilliant! What a sound!

So now I can get back to loving these extraordinary pieces of equipment / art to death! :)

Best regards!

Heras

congrats heras!

i had been silently following this thread w/ eagerness.

...and kudos to keith -you are special.

certainly validates this:http://forum.beoworld.org/forums/thread/113629.aspx
 

Well done Keith, I would never have thought of that one!

Wow, when I first read Keith's suggesting about the headphones, I thought "wouldn't he realize if he had the headphones plugged in?"  I hadn't thought that you could have an adapter plugged in.  Many times people will leave things like those adapters plugged into sockets on newer digital stuff like computers, and be fine since the computer only sees whether something's plugged in electrically.  But on this B&O stuff, there's actually a physical switch inside the socket that mutes the system when something's plugged in.  Well done Keith.

Austin 

well done Keith

Hello lovely people! 

This afternoon I posted another reply, but something must have gone wrong because I can't find it anymore. I'll do it again, late, but it's pretty much the least thing I can do to thank Keith!

When the problems happened, and when I tried everything suggested (thanks!) I was kind of sure I did something stupid, but couldn't find out what. I've learned about the switches on the side I had never noticed before, I learned about the cables, and immediately went out to test them. The next thing I did was trying to "relive" what I had done to the equipment and connecting it by using the phone out was one of the things I thought about.

But I just took a quick look at the 9500, and for sure there wasn't anything connected to the headphones out.

I thought.

I used a convertorplug to connect my amplifier, and didn't noticed that it stayed in the headphones plug when I disconnected it. It looked as if it was part of the design (and it's been very tricky to get it out as it fit perfectly, I really had to "fish" it out).

Sometimes you need someone special like Keith to tell you to check something twice. Something you know you did right. And didn't.

I'm enjoying my B&O equipment like I should now. And I adore it.

Keith, thank you again, and again.

(and over and over again :)

Heras

Jeff, I have to emphasize that!

I think he requires another trophy - Most Logical Member! One can always be sure that he has thought and evaluated each option before posting - Keith, you are truly a huge asset to Beoworld.