I've read some of the threads on surround sound in a non-B&O setup, and I'm a bit confused if they apply to my situation.  I have a Beocenter 9500 and 2 speakers currently, but I'm wondering if in the future if I can keep the BC 9500 and expand this.  I have a non B&O TV (a Samsung 7000 series LED 55" LCD) and won't be changing that.  I also don't plan on getting rid of the BC 9500 as I like it a lot.  I know there is the AV7000 and the Beosystem 1 that are obtainable fairly cheaply on ebay but I'm not sure how they would connect and looking at the manuals doesn't make it 100% clear to me.

Thanks in advance!

Hi,

First of all, both the AV7000 and beosystem1 are fairly outdated products and are by no means capable of giving you the latest tech in surround sound.

Having said this, from the 2, the BS1 is the better system, giving you alot more options and connections and you can control some 3rd party equipment (like your tv , sat box etc.) with your B&O remote. Still fairly expensive, even on ebay and a big ugly box that needs to be hidden somewhere....definately need the manual and alot of B&O experience to set this one up properly. But works very well for analog connections. 

The cheapest solution is the AV7000 which you can usually pick up for around 100$ and ebay. I bought one because it small, connects also to any B&O sound system, it's design matches my sound system(beosystem 7000) and can be fully controlled by B&O remote. However you can only use it for the audio part in which it performs well enough. Though only standard dolby and dolby pro-logic are supported.
The video part you can forget as it is very limited and outdated....
You can connect the AV7000 with a powerlink and a datalink cable with your BC9500. You have to set the AV7000 as the master unit.
All speakers have to be connected to the av7000. the mid speaker can be passive and connected to the built-in amp in the AV7000.
The 2 front and 2 back speakers are connected with powerlink and will need to be either beolab speakers .
If you use regular passive speakers you will need to add a MCL2p unit to power the front speakers and another one for the back speakers.

Mine is in daily use for both music playing and watching blu-rays or digital video. 

Thanks so much for the detailed reply!  I looked at the BS 1 and it looked freaking huge!  I haven't compared what a system set up with the old dolby pro-logic compared to the new dolby decoding so it is hard to know if it is all worth it.  I've never had a full surround in my own house either so I have to decide if it is all worth it in the end vs. just a really good 2 channel stereo. 

What speaker did you choose for the center with your AV7000?  Are you happy with the sound experience overall that you are getting?

It's definately worth it.  Watching dvd's etc in surround sound sure does add an extra depth to it.

Good quality speakers do help the overall experience, regardless of the kind of decoding offered.
Both the BS1 and AV7000 are basically analog audio processors and the offered dolby decoding is good enough to give you the full experience. 
If you want the full benefit of the latest digital decoding like dts hd etc, the only way is to either : Buy a B&O tv, by a beosystem 3 unit or use a 3rd party home theater amp/receiver. 

I use my AV7000  with 5 cx100 speakers and cona sub. I know it's a bit of a weird combo but it works very well. 
The mid speaker CX100 uses the built-in amp in the AV.
For the front speakers, I  use a powerlink cable to connect the AV7000 to a mcl2P unit (which has the amp that powers the speakers) . The speakers connect to the mcl2P.
Same for the rear speakers.

This year I plan to change the front speakers to wall mounted beolab 6000 speakers...this for visual effect only, rather than an upgrade for audio quality. 

Don't forget that the 2 front speakers will become the main speakers of your audio/video setup and will bypass the amp in your BC9500.

Why not get a Beosystem 1 or 2, connect it to the Speakers, the TV and to the Beocenter with a Beolink Converter.

P.

Well here's my setup.  I have as above a new Samsung LED 7000 series LCD, two Beolab 6000s (waiting on purchasing the other speakers at this point), and a PS3 & Wii.  Also, I have an Apple airport extreme set up that provides audio throughout my home through itunes (a really cool way to set up audio to multiple speakers).

So, my PS3 and Wii are connected to my TV directly.  I then have the TV connected to the BS9500 through the AUX connection via a mini-jack/B&O DIN adapter.  I have the airport extreme connected to the Tape2 connection in the BS9500. I have a beolink 7000 to control the BS9500 mainly for its novelty factor as it really is a huge remote.

I hadn't looked at the Beosystem 2 as I thought that it was an integrated unit with the TV at the time. 

A Beosystem 2 is really a Beovision without screen, its got a RGB output. 

You could set the BS2 to Option 2. Connect all your speakers to the BS2.

Connect the BS2 to the BC9500 with a Beolink Converter.

The BS2 has Scarts input and STB-C to connect sources and you connect to the TV via RGB.

Note that you'll lose 2way control of the BC9500.

BS2 is not HD. You'd have to go for a BS3 for HD.

Thanks Phil.

Can I still get HD from this setup by connecting my video sources directly to the TV as I already have and then the output of the TV to the  Beosystem 2?   It seems to be rare at least where I am in the US, but I just need the unit as a surround processor not to manage the video sources. 

macjonny1:

Thanks Phil.

Can I still get HD from this setup by connecting my video sources directly to the TV as I already have and then the output of the TV to the  Beosystem 2?   It seems to be rare at least where I am in the US, but I just need the unit as a surround processor not to manage the video sources. 

 

Beosystem 2 was europe only and never available in North America I think.

Just like you I have my tv doing the video part.
However been looking into an autoswitching hdmi input to switch to all hdmi (sat, Blue ray and Mac mini). I only have one hdmi input on my plasma as it's now going into it's 5th year....

Thanks for all of your replies you all have been tremendously helpful.  One more question please:

I was wondering if there is a non B&O surround processor that would have the ability to connect the beolabs to.  What I'm not sure is if the 9500 has an audio out or not.  I thought I read somewhere that the AUX is IN and OUT which is news to me.

What I would do in this case is have my Ipod/Airtunes device connected to the Beocenter and then output that to a surround setup, and have the other components or just even the TV (if the PS3 and Wii were connected to the TV) output to the surround processor.

Is there such a thing that I could do this?  does the 9500 have an audio-out?

I just did some research and there are lots of receivers with pre-amp outs for active speakers. 

I guess my remaining question is does the BC 9500 have audio out?

Thanks!

yes .. tv/aux  is datalink in and out

Thanks Cooldude!  Does this mean if I have for example my ipod connected through the TAPE2 connection sound will output through the AUX? 

The beocenter should be able to do that.

The 'TV" part of the tv/aux was meant to connect a B&O tv, in order to play your music through the tv's speakers.

Ask for the right cable at your B&O store.

The easiest route here, of course, is to keep the Beocenter for your stereo fronts and use a different amplifier and speakers for your surrounds and center. If you've got decent speakers, there's little need for a subwoofer.

That's the plan I have for my Beosystem 2000 as well, obviously, it doesn't support surround sound output and has a limited number of inputs, so I'll be looking for a separate stereo amplifier for my surround (and, if neccessary, center) speakers. I have a pair of beefy Magnat columns for my fronts, which provide enough grunt in the low end to stay away from a spare coffee table, er... subwoofer.

You can connect your BC9500 to the television's audio output (on the SCART connector) to get stereo audio from any source connected to the TV. The AV7000 or 9000 is a nice option, but you're going to need to be creative with your placement. Possibly the -9000 with the BC9500 and your HD video sources on top?