I have a five room audio beolink system, driven by a Living room with Bsnd9000 & Avantdvd.
I would love seperate source in seperate rooms.......thats it. The mode of operation is great, the sound via various beolabs and outside through rock speakers is great.....I just would like to have choice for seperate sources, inc streamed audio, in my rooms.
Given what SONOS can do (for less the price of a pair of Beolab 4's !?!) it really is a bit poor that B&O are three or four years behind the pack with this.
Like others here , I have some work arounds. I have resisted adding sonos/apple options because of brand loyalty and also there are 5 people here who all know how each room works.....introducing new remotes just for digital audio, and the need to "press link AUX then change remotes or use your phone and press xx " isn't appealing.
So..Spotify/itunes can be accessed everywhere (via the VTAPE button as its an audio only feed into the vtape scart on a DVD avant). BUT no control...its press play and of you go. Thats OK though - everyone has multiple playlists. As I type this I'm listening to my "Shrewsbury Folk Festival 2010" playlist....good songs, good memories.
From my Bsnd9000, CD, FM and my Beogram can be accessed everwhere over ML - BUT not if spotify is in use outside, in the kitchen or bathroom (which, with 3 kids it often is). So....I can't listen to an LP in the room my record player sits in, if someone is having a shower....ho-hum.
SKY, a DVD or any audio can be used in the Living room regardles of what the link rooms are doing....but NOT if one or more of the link rooms is using the Bsnd9000 - because then the ML is "busy" even in the Living room, so a CD at that time there must be in the DVD player...
These restricions are simply the lack of multisource/multiroom capability. I know about beonet, and mlgw, but... the Beolink system needs local inputs (that can be accessed and controlled form other rooms) and the option for multisource without having to Re-wire my house.....
It's the fact that there ARE fully functioning, wireless solutions like this already in the market that is so frustrating.....B&O should be able to do this by now.
Access to last fm, spotify, napster,your own library on a NAS, PC or mac....it should just be available without clogging up your other rooms. So even adding a Beoport would not cure this. Once the ML is in use, your stuck with Main Room plus the others. This limit gets more frustrating the more rooms & people you add in.
So, perversely, the bigger the link system, the less use it can be...if I'm sitting outside listening to a CD.....there are three other link rooms whose only option is to join me, or stay silent. Or go into the Living room and use the TV...but thats not the point of a link room...
For example (and I know there are others, but sonos is the one I know best ) .....when I was selling beolink, I know for a 110% cast iron certainty that if there had been a licensed beo-version of the SONOS network and controllers - ideally with beo 4/5/6 operation, or even just a re-housed sonos controller with an aluminium housing and a B&O gui, then it would have been very very saleable, even at a premium of three or four times the non B&O sonos.
Even today, when used with Beolabs in Line mode, sonos makes a superb hybrid link system - all the visual appeal and sound quality of B&O active speakers around the house, ......but its not beolink because there is no true B&O control option, and no interaction with BeoVisions....grrrr.
That said, I still LOVE my link system - and the work arounds do work...within limits.
Mooching about with the same CD in each room, inc outside, or sticking a playlist on when people are round....its great.
The same remote operation protocol in each and every room, whether its CD, radio, SKY etc etc ......priceless.