Hi There

Need some help.

I have just acquired some BL3's to connect to my mac. B&O made a custom cable for me ( Din connections leading to a 3.5 jack). When I connect this to the mac headphone socket or the iphone headphone socket everything works OK although there is a slight buzz from the speakers before I start the music. However if I connect to airport express or the iphone dock the volume is extremely high and reducing volume settings on the mac or iphone has no effect. Also in all cases the speakers do not go in to standby when closing itunes or turning off the iphone.

Any reasons or solutions very welcome

Many thanks

David

In your iTunes preferences, on the Devices tab, have a look at the AirTunes options:

[ ] Disable iTunes volume control for remote speakers

[ ] Allow iTunes control from remote speakers

These might be worth exploring ...

9dh:

Hi There

Need some help.

I have just acquired some BL3's to connect to my mac. B&O made a custom cable for me ( Din connections leading to a 3.5 jack). When I connect this to the mac headphone socket or the iphone headphone socket everything works OK although there is a slight buzz from the speakers before I start the music. However if I connect to airport express or the iphone dock the volume is extremely high and reducing volume settings on the mac or iphone has no effect. Also in all cases the speakers do not go in to standby when closing itunes or turning off the iphone.

Any reasons or solutions very welcome

Many thanks

David

I would strongly recommend placing a DAC between your Mac and the BL3s. The Mac's on-board digital-to-analog converter is good for earbuds, but isn't sending your BL3s a signal they deserve. Most Macs have toslink optical out from the same minijack plug you're using now - you could get a DAC such as the DAC Magic from Cambridge Audio - http://www.cambridgeaudio.com/content.php?PID=320&COID=150

This one doesn't have volume control, but as pointed out above, you can control that from your Mac, or even using an iPod Touch or iPhone, controlling the Mac. Putting an audiophile volume control in a DAC makes it a lot more expensive, and you don't need it.

The BL3s would be connected to the RCA-plugs on the left, and you would feed the DAC either through USB or Toslink optical (the Mac will instantly recognize it, and give you that option in the Audio MIDI Setup application that you find in the Utilities folder). And you get a coaxial digital out which you can use to connect to a pair of BeoLab 5s, should you ever get those ...

You've probably already noticed that the BL3s "scratch" painfully when you remove or connect the minijack plug. That's because of impedance, and the sensitivity of the BL3 amplifiers. Having a DAC between your Mac and the speakers will help ensure you don't damage the tweeters, give you much better sound, and spare you some discomfort!

Many thanks to Elephant and Soundproof for the quick replies.

It just seems a bit strange to me that this only happens when connecting the speakers through airport express or a docking station and doesnt happen when connected direct to the mac or the iphone. I really want to go the AE route so that I do not need to connect and disconnect all the time and want the speakers to stand alone as I love the design.

Have a good one

David

Under Devices, in your iTunes Preferences, it should look like this. That should make it possible to control the volume from the remote location. I have a DAC connected to an AE, and sometimes put the BL3s on the RCA outs of that. I can control the volume using an iPod Touch, as well as control what's played.

Thanks again soundproof. My settings are as you said.  So my issue is I cannot reduce the volume played through the BL3 when connected to the AE or the iphone dock. When I connect direct to the AE there is a very loud buzzing sound from the speakers and if I start the music the speakers seem to play at max and like I said even though volume controls on the mac are at zero. Looks like I may need to go with your DAC suggestion

Thanks again for all your suggestions

Could somebody please just confirm to me that the BL3's are supposed to go in to standby when connected directly to a mac or iphone if no music is being sent. Its just that I am getting conflicting reports about this.

Many thanks as always

Yes, they will go into standby after 2 (or 3?) minutes of relative silence from the source as long as they're set to Line mode...