Hello all, would appreciate any advice

I am looking to buy a BV7-32 with BL7.1 but have come across the issue that the speaker is too wide for the space that I was planning to fit the tv into. Plus this can’t be changed as on one side it’s the outside wall and the other the chimney structure. Bringing it forward so that it would fit would encroach too much into the room.

I was wondering if it’s madness to consider using a pair of beolab 4 instead of the BL7.1

The Beolab 4 placement could be directly above or below the screen at either end so that at least the sound is coming from the same place as the picture.

I have thin walls and am trying to keep on the good terms with the neighbours so, as mentioned, the sound level is never that loud. For example, my current BC6-26 is never above “45” which is loud enough to fill the room with tv sound or music (i can't see anywhere info that shows the power of those speakers).

Plus I have no plans for surround sound etc – not for necessary for my viewing and music choices.

So is it possible / madness to link the beolab 4s as the main speakers?

(PS beolab 3 maybe a long term option but cost is an issue right now)

Many thanks

cjfc

Why not use the Beolab 7-4?

Beolab 7.4 would be the obvious choice, if the TV is on a stand.

The new Beolab 10 if the TV is on the wall.

A pair of Beolab 4000 has sometime been used by b&o.

The Beolab 4 could look like this:

I would not want to use a BeoLab 7-4 by itself.

I'm not sure exactly what would happen, but you'll either end up listening to one channel of the broadcast, or you'll be listening to a mono 'mixdown' of the two, which can result in all sort of phasing nasties. Either way, both are definitely to be avoided.

From a sonic point of view, a pair of BeoLab 4000s on their sides as seen above would be one possibility, or a pair of BeoLab 3s. BeoLab 7-4 is definitely for use as a centre channel though, not standalone...

I would use a pair of 4000s. I think 4s are simply not good enough.

Thanks for the responses.

I had thought of the 4000s but i'm just not a huge fan of the look.

Whilst i think the picture above of the BV7 non dvd with Beolab 4 looks fantastic.

Will have to ask the dealer for a demo to see what sounds and looks the best.

Peter, is your view on the 4s due to quality of sound or the power (which may be v linked)?

Many thanks

The sound of the 4's is really poor in quality : no deep bass, no high definition highs, just a really correct midtone... If you ever listened to BL 2500's, the 4's are approximately the same, with an even smaller size. The power output is also not very high. Good for low cost surround speakers, bad for everything else unless you have a very small room.

We have a pair of BL 4 above a flatscreen 32, and a pair of BL 4000 on either side of a 47 flatscreen.

As Peter mentioned, the BL 4000 is clearly a better sound source. No question.

However, if the room is very small, the BL 4's might work as you would like it to.  We tried the ceiling mount, but the sound was too far from the screen image not to be a distraction. ( We found that we watched the screen and then automatically looked up up a lot: Kind of a surprised look all the time without Botox )

So we have the BL 4 pair in a Home Theatre cabinet, about .5 M above the 32 flatscreen. The pair just rest on a cabinet shelf, with no mounting. We have it wired so that we can jump between the TV, PC, Beoplayer, and a Sounds Heavenly cable connection for a Beosound 6.  For the small room with masonry walls,  it is very good.

Many thanks swiss_2

Have dropped a note to the dealer to see if i can get a home demo to see what works.

Out of interest, what do you count as a small room?

Many thanks

Hi cjfc

Just my thoughts.

Beolab 4 sounds not much better/more than an iMac or a TV set with descent sound. I am suprised that B&O still have them for sale, expensive as they are. Beolab 4000 sounds ok but the sound is not anyway near its price.

Unfortunately, I do not think there are any speaker at B&O of interest until Beolab 3 (and up in price range).

If it is technically possible, if you have a line out from your TV, maybe a B&W Zeppelin would fit. It is quite short and good looking. It can be mounted on a wall and has an iPod dock too.

I hope I could be of help

Clakke

SMALL ROOM:  A house or Condo Den, Library, Bedroom.

The B&O catalogues frequently use large, glass walled Bauhaus-style homes to advertise the B&O product with. Mies van der Rohe comes to mind. They look great of course, as any product would, but the fact is that other than the very wealthy, large homes are not being built much any more. The end result is that the rooms are becoming smaller in general with Apartments, Homes, and Condos.

However, some of the new Pre-Fabricated homes in Europe, Japan,  South and North America actually lend themselves to B&O given the application of glass, wood, and aluminum inside, although in a smaller scale.

The Condo, we have in Brasil is six inches of solid concrete, walls and ceilings. Not prefab, but full European-style solid construction, by an Italian builder. We tried the BL 4000 there, and brought in back, in favour of the BL 4. The Reverb-skip effect with the BL 4000 was similar to an echo chamber; A caller in Switzerland noticed this right away while speaking on a Beocom 2 with the music going in the background.

This would be great if we were hosting a Rave or a Techo-Konzert, but we go to Brasil to unwind, and not to wind-up. ( But I do sneak a little techno in now and then via Virus shake on N.RADIO ). Here the BL 4 is just fine.

Thanks for the views.

Am going to trial some speakers but also potentially wait and see if some BL3's come available second hand - though some luck will need to be involved as they seem to sell as soon as they come available.

Thanks
cjfc