Right now I own a Beovision 7-32 with two Beolab 3. I'd like to get a center speaker and think about a used Beolab 7-32, because of the price.

I do wonder if the resulting sound of these 3 speakers is to bad due to the missing acoustic lens of the centerspeaker. Is this a no go - and is it a must to go for the (much more expensive) Beolab 7-4?

Has anyone experiences with this kind of setup?

As rear speakers I will go for the Beolab 4 - Beolab 3 are to costly right now and my wife don't like the 4000 in the living room.

Any thoughts?

I'd go for a BeoLab 7.4...

The Beolab 7.1/2/6 were designed a stereo speakers when your BV7 is not part of a surround setup. Since you have dedicated BeoLab 3 speakers you don't need the wide Beolab 7; but only the BeoLab 7.4 center speaker

Karel.

I'd also recommend the 7-4 center speaker. With the 7-32 soundbar, the center channel (when you're in SPEAKER 3 or 5 mode) would not be as clearly defined as the 7-4, and you might notice strange audio aberrations when sitting off-axis. This is what I'm experiencing with my setup.

Leo

Or you could use a single Beolab 3.  In one of my setups, I have a pair of BL 3's as the center.  I know...not recommended....but it works great for me.  

If you can get hold of a single BeoLab 3!

I've got a single Beolab 4 as a central speaker and front left / right Beolab 6000's, works a treat.

 

 

The BeoLab 7-4 is the ideal centre speaker for many reasons.

Firstly, it's capable of going really quite loud, which as the centre channel, is rather important. The centre speaker is the most important part of a surround sound setup and therefore is required to be the most capable.

Secondly, it's equipped with an acoustic lens, which is especially beneficial as a centre speaker which needs to fire the same sound into every area of the 5.1 setup (which is quite a large area to cover).

Thirdly, it's vertically aligned & symmetrical, which means movement around the room and changes in position still give the same sound no matter where you're sat (as opposed to 4000s on their side, or a 7-1, 7-2 or 7-6.

Lastly, it does seem to have a slight mid-band vocal presence boost which helps dialogue cut through in noisy scenes...

danezro:

I've got a single Beolab 4 as a central speaker

Curious: From the center channel -is there both L and R signal or is it MONO? (i.e.) How would I set the switch on a single BL4000, or does it even matter?

Thx,

burantek:

danezro:

I've got a single Beolab 4 as a central speaker

Curious: From the center channel -is there both L and R signal or is it MONO? (i.e.) How would I set the switch on a single BL4000, or does it even matter?

Thx,

I always thought the BS3 would just send a mono output through the center ch port making a left/right switch erroneous.

My BL7.1 is part of a surround setup: two BL6000's in front, two BL4000's rear and a BL11 for the bass line.

With the BL7.1, you do notice the direction the speaker is pointed in. In other words, when I'm watching alone, I point the BV7 right to my seating position, to get the best sound. I imagine that's no problem with the BL7.4, thanks to the accoustig lens.

But. And that's a huge, big, extremely large BUT. Which looks do you like more? I mean, part of the B&O experience is what it all looks like. IMHO the BL7.4 looks o.k. on the BV7-55, looks acceptable on the BV7-40, but looks like an ugly monster on the BV7-32. While the BL7.1, again IMHO, makes a great combination with the BV7-32.

Either way, you're never going to buy a bad center speaker. The BL7.1 sounds wonderful and scares the sh*t  out of anyone when you tell 'em it's really sound from the telly, and not from the L/R-speakers and subwoofer

I have a 7.2 speaker on my 7-55, BL9 as front, BL4000 as rear and a BL2 sub. 

My problem with the 7.4 to my 7-55 is that the TV gets far to dominant in my room as I must use the "high" tv stand then, which is why I have the 7-55 on a low stand, and I think that looks perfect too.

The sound is great, and we are normally seated right in the muddle of the TV (or close to). 

 

I own both, a 7.4 and a 7.1. From my experience there is a difference but this is smaller as most of us would think initially.

With my BL5, both are not on the same level (surprise ....) and I would love to have a BL9 as center. The price is not to much different (if you can get hold of just one).

Anyway, both are nice center speaker...

Not sure where your a based, but send me a PM if you would like  to hear them both in my setup.

It's worth noting the differences will vary in quite a large way depending on room acoustics...

As far as I can work out is doesn't matter.  I have a BV7-40 MkII and there is no option for a Beolab 4 as the central speaker so I actually have it set to a BL4000

@ kawo 

I was following this thread with great interest - and I waited for an answer like yours!

So my conclusion is:

- Beolab 7-4 is the best center for Beolab 3 Setup - but can't keep up with Beolab 5

- Beolab 7-1 is more directional

- Beolab 7-4 sounds crisper  - like Beolab 3 - but not much, compared to Beolab 7-4

- Price difference can be quite huge (what I found out): Beolab 7-1 700 -1000 EUR; Beolab 7-4 1500 -1700 used

So I will try to get my hands on a used Beolab 7-1 for a first test - not much money to loose there!

 

I have to rethink the prices:

A used Beolab 7-1 just was sold in eBay for 1550 EUR (x-mas madness) so there might be a price difference of some hundred EUR - but at 1500 to 2000 EUR that just does not matter. So I will wait for a Beolab 7-4 on eBay... Or I am just going for the Beolab 5 and skip the center speaker :-D

Speakers always tend to keep their prices - as I read this post I thought your summary or used prices was a bit astray.

Why not contact any one of the three main pre-owned resellers and see what they have to offer?  

I personally do not recommend skipping the centre speaker at all, two Beolab 5 without a centre speaker would be a shame unless you are using your TV mainly for audio, thanks

Not to confuse you more but another option is the BeoLab 10 on an after market bracket with the BeoVision 7 floor stand. I believe the specs and performance is much the same as BeoLab 7-4 but if looks come into play, IMO the BeoLab 10 is far better.

 

I think the BL10 is a tad bit better too although I think it might be too wide for your TV. I actually bought the Bl10 to replace a BL7-4 in a configuration like yours with BL3s. They both worked very well like that although i found them both (7-4 & bl10) to need a little tweaking to match the mid range of the BL3s from the standard settings when used in conjunction with a subwoofer(BL2). Setting the switch from "wall" to "free" on the center seemed to do the trick and this was only slightly less necessary on the BL10. FWIW I still have my BL7-4 which is not being used ( waiting for my guest room avant to die someday) but I'm not sure if it would work in europe as it's a US model.