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This is the first Archived Forum which was active between 17th April 2007 and 1st March February 2012

 

Latest post 12-27-2011 8:01 AM by bsantini. 31 replies.
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  • 12-23-2011 10:31 AM

    • Maab
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    Beosound 5/beomaster 5 ...final stretch.

    Hello,

    I have been looking for a music server for quite a while, but I keep on thinking at the beosound's ability to control my beolab 5s volume (and maybe other things) that other servers would not. I don't own any other B&O products at the moment. Nor I intend to, except for the beosound 5, not the encore thou.

    My dealer would give me a good price for it but I would have to install it myself, which is ok for me because I actually prefer to know how to connect and disconnect these things if whatever reason comes along - apartment remodeling- Is this a bad idea?

    Also, I read lots of complains in past threads. I wonder how the bs5 owners feel at this time, did updates fix or change features that users were lamenting about?

    One thing that refrains me from getting the bs5/bm5 combo is the way the navigation tree is designed. I tried it for a while at the store and it seems not well tought to me, at first anyway. When I clicked on genre, there was nothing there. The Artist category was a bit messy. I can't find a way to like the thing.

    Can anyone please tell me if these categories can be configured as follow:

    Once you click at Genre, for example, do you get sub categories, and in what order? Example: genre>classical ... List of artist>Mahler... List of albums> select album and plays the entire album.

    Is there a B&O app for iPad (that could be used to search)?

    Is the ripping device worth it- Any thoughts?

    No Spotify: I emailed B&O and they said ...not planned at this time.

    Last but not the least of my concerns: is this system Mac friendly?

    Sorry for the many questions. Any reply will be greatly appreciated.

    Thank you

  • 12-23-2011 11:29 AM In reply to

    • Stan
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    Re: Beosound 5/beomaster 5 ...final stretch.

    I've had my BS5 for about a year and a half, and, for me, it has been great.  I rarely use my BS9000 any more.  I think most of the "complaints" on this forum about the BS5 are not from owners, but rather from people who wish the product was something it is not (video server, touch screen, support for Apple lossless or Apple iTunes with DRM, etc.).  At least one user on the forum bought one and returned it because he couldn't warm up to the interface, but most seem to like the interface just fine (I do).  My general advice about the product is that if you are very particular about building playlists and playing a specific song at a specific time, then you'll probably be disappointed.  Or put another way, if you must have the search/organizational capabilities of a computer program, this is not it.  Personally, I don't want a computer (or computer type interface) in my lounge, and I enjoy spinning the wheel even if it is not the most efficient means to find a specific song.  There is serendipity in spinning the wheel - I often find another song I'd rather hear before I find the song I set out to hear. The beauty, to me, is that it mostly plays a wide variety of music I like with minimal input from me - MOTS works as advertised - it's not perfect (long songs > ~20 minutes aren't analyzed, sometimes it seems to play a few songs a bit too much), but I think it works very well.

    Apple support is not great.  There is a program to transfer songs from MacOS to BM5 that works fine, but the Apple lossless format is not supported.  FLAC is supported, but is not 100% gapless (the gaps are not nearly as bad as MP3, and, I have to listen very closely to hear the the gap, but it can be heard on some song transitions).  WMA is the only gapless, lossless format supported at this time.  I'm also not sure how one would edit tags, etc. once songs are loaded (sometimes you need to edit the genre, artist, album, etc.), but there might be a way - I have a mixed Apple/Windows home so I tend to use Windows for this task.  This also goes to your experience about nothing under genre and artist being messy - the interface only knows what it has been told, via file tags.  Keep your tags in order, and I think it works great.  Messy, incomplete tags lead to a messy incomplete interface experience.

    There is no customization of the navigation.  I don't even see a "Genre" selection, at least not on the BS5 - I think it is there when accessing via TV and definitely there from BeoPlayer, but, again, no customization - it's the B&O way or no way.  On BeoPlayer (so I assume the TV interface works the same), you do get exactly the navigation tree you suggest.

    There are iPad apps, but I'm not using any... I will probably buy the Beo6 remote which just recently added 2-way, graphical interaction with the BS5.  I also think the ripper is a great device, and will probably get one of these as well.  Again, the less computer involvement the better (for me - I work with computers 8-10 hrs a day so this is why I don't need to see them when I relax with my music).  Also, it will allow the wife and kids to add their own music without my help.  Right now, I must first fire up my laptop, fire up BeoPlay, rip the CD... not hard, but the ripper should be an improvement for the instant gratification set.  Then again, if you rarely buy CDs, then it probably wouldn't add much.

    For me, I'd buy it.  In fact, I already did and have been very pleased with it so far...

    Stan

     

  • 12-23-2011 2:31 PM In reply to

    • Maab
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    Re: Beosound 5/beomaster 5 ...final stretch.

    Genre... Maybe you right, I don't remember what the selections where... That's another thing, I didn't have my reading glasses. I asked whether the font could be enlarged a little, and she said no.

    So, there is no way to browse by folders either.

    Agrrrr.....
  • 12-23-2011 3:01 PM In reply to

    • pf85
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    Re: Beosound 5/beomaster 5 ...final stretch.

    Stan has written a very good response to the questions asked - I can second every statement.

    My experience with BS5 dates back to the purchase in Feb 2009. Since then - no regrets, the system has made great leaps, courtesy of an ongoing update process. Although we would like to see new capabilities added more quickly, the "general vector"with the product is great. It learns and improves over time. I have a "direct access system" with BS 3200 ... however, since owning the BS 5, it is hardly ever used again.

    Just added Beo6 WLAN last week - it adds a nice reach. However, I always enjoy the "mechanical and sensual" process of flipping the wheel on Beosound 5 itself, then \scrolling through the album covers to inspire me to the artist / taste of the moment. MOTS then takes over and does the rest. It is quite relaxing to "float" and have your music system do the work to keep you entertained...

    Additional benefit of BS 5 is N.Radio. Very enjoyable to follow your genre radio stations and your favorites.

     In short. Great system with just a few minor "capability gaps" ... The more you use the system, the more you get used to or even embrace the underlining philosophy of effortless listening. I hope B&O keeps up the enhancement work - this will keep Beosound 5 an attractive proposition for the future.

     

  • 12-23-2011 3:19 PM In reply to

    • Maab
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    Re: Beosound 5/beomaster 5 ...final stretch.

    Thank you for your sharing your thoughts.

    I really want it to like it and I do in some ways.

    But please tell me, I understand and I don't expect it to be like a sooloos or else. It's a B&O. I do t care for playlists, I never made one. I don't want to use the computer but it reasures me if I know that moving flacs from my nas to the bs5 is easy enough. But I would like to be able to listen, let's say, an entire album, as an example, again Mahler, the 2nd symphony. How would I find it? Is it possible to play the entire album?

    Sorry the silly question, but I read some archives were users could not do that.
  • 12-23-2011 3:45 PM In reply to

    Re: Beosound 5/beomaster 5 ...final stretch.

    pf85:

     Although we would like to see new capabilities added more quickly, the "general vector"with the product is great. It learns and improves over time. I have a "direct access system" with BS 3200 ... however, since owning the BS 5, it is hardly ever used again.

    Are the Beosound 3200 and Beosound 5 connected to the same Masterlink system? 

    I have a Beosound 5 and 3000 and can not get them to both function well as part of the same Masterlink system.

     

    Beovision 7-55 with Beolab 7-4, 9s and 4000s

    Beovision 10-40 with Beolab 1s and 6000s

    Beosound 1, 5, 2000, and 3000

    Beotime, Beotalk, Beocoms

  • 12-23-2011 4:37 PM In reply to

    Re: Beosound 5/beomaster 5 ...final stretch.

    Razlaw:

    Are the Beosound 3200 and Beosound 5 connected to the same Masterlink system? 

    I have a Beosound 5 and 3000 and can not get them to both function well as part of the same Masterlink system.

     

    see "Beosound 5" forum below


  • 12-23-2011 5:15 PM In reply to

    Re: Beosound 5/beomaster 5 ...final stretch.

    Maab:
    Thank you for your sharing your thoughts.

     

    I really want it to like it and I do in some ways.

     

    But please tell me, I understand and I don't expect it to be like a sooloos or else. It's a B&O. I do t care for playlists, I never made one. I don't want to use the computer but it reasures me if I know that moving flacs from my nas to the bs5 is easy enough. But I would like to be able to listen, let's say, an entire album, as an example, again Mahler, the 2nd symphony. How would I find it? Is it possible to play the entire album?

     

     

    Sorry the silly question, but I read some archives were users could not do that.

    I think that's a very fair question. You can select an entire album to play. HOWEVER, if you select a single song to play from within that album, the rest of the album does not logically play as one is accustomed to happening when playing a CD. Rather, MOTS kicks in and the BeoSound 5 selects some similar song. This can be very frustrating. In my opinion, B&O could easily remedy this by presenting an option to "play through remainder of album" when one makes a long press to select such a song. Just one more feature to add to the wishlist of features for the BeoSound 5.

  • 12-23-2011 10:16 PM In reply to

    • Stan
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    Re: Beosound 5/beomaster 5 ...final stretch.

    Maab:
    Thank you for your sharing your thoughts. I really want it to like it and I do in some ways. But please tell me, I understand and I don't expect it to be like a sooloos or else. It's a B&O. I do t care for playlists, I never made one. I don't want to use the computer but it reasures me if I know that moving flacs from my nas to the bs5 is easy enough. But I would like to be able to listen, let's say, an entire album, as an example, again Mahler, the 2nd symphony. How would I find it? Is it possible to play the entire album?Sorry the silly question, but I read some archives were users could not do that.

    You would select "Album", "Covers" or "Artist" using the "lever", then spin the wheel to find the Mahler 2nd Symphony by Album Name, by recognizing the album artwork or by finding the "artist" that performs the music, pressing "GO", then scrolling thru the albums by that artist.  Once the album is identified, you must press "GO" while the album is selected, not an individual song.

    With classical music, the default tagging for "artist" can be difficult.  I generally don't remember classical albums by the symphony/conductor, but that seems to be how most of my albums are categorized - it gets worse when you have different songs from the same album performed by different symphonies, then they sometimes have separate entries.  This goes to my earlier point of sometimes needing to edit the tags to make it easier to use.

    Stan

  • 12-23-2011 10:27 PM In reply to

    • Stan
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    Re: Beosound 5/beomaster 5 ...final stretch.

    Razlaw:

    Are the Beosound 3200 and Beosound 5 connected to the same Masterlink system? 

    I have a Beosound 5 and 3000 and can not get them to both function well as part of the same Masterlink system.

    It probably has to do with the option settings.  I cannot get my BS9000 and BS5 to "play nice" when the BS5 is set as "master".  In my setup, the BS5 must "slave" to the BS9000.  This works fine with some small exceptions - I must use a remote to listen to N.Music and if the BS5 is ever turned on manually (spin the wheel or press the power button), the BV8 in the other room comes to life and plays the music - or worse (when others are watching TV), it switches source to N.Music (which is much louder than the normal TV).  There might also be issues if you have older software in your 3000 - I seem to recall reading on this forum that there are some versions that don't support N.Music.

    Stan

  • 12-24-2011 1:21 AM In reply to

    Re: Beosound 5/beomaster 5 ...final stretch.

    Sounds like you have exactly the same issues I have. It was suggested in another thread that I set the 3000 to option 0 and turn Audio Master off and all seems to be working now,....except...

    Spinning the wheel turns the speakers on in the other room, connected to the BV 7.

    I could solve that problem by moving the 5 into the room with the 7 but I do not want to do that.

    Also, I could make the BV10 that is in the room with the 5 the master instead of the 7, but then I lose the timer function in the 7.

    Beovision 7-55 with Beolab 7-4, 9s and 4000s

    Beovision 10-40 with Beolab 1s and 6000s

    Beosound 1, 5, 2000, and 3000

    Beotime, Beotalk, Beocoms

  • 12-24-2011 3:37 AM In reply to

    Re: Beosound 5/beomaster 5 ...final stretch.

    Razlaw:
    Sounds like you have exactly the same issues I have. It was suggested in another thread that I set the 3000 to option 0 and turn Audio Master off and all seems to be working now,....except...

    this is the correct intended way. You end up with "complications" not because of the BS5, but because of restrictions in the BV10 (no timer).

     

    Or make the BV10 your video master and use the Beotime as timer.

     

     


  • 12-24-2011 6:09 AM In reply to

    • pf85
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    Re: Beosound 5/beomaster 5 ...final stretch.

    Razlaw:

    Are the Beosound 3200 and Beosound 5 connected to the same Masterlink system? 

    I have a Beosound 5 and 3000 and can not get them to both function well as part of the same Masterlink system. 

     

    Yes, they are in the same M/L configuration. Central control via BV7-55 ... and supported by 4 beautiful BL1 and a BL2.

    BS 3200 is master, BS 5 is "slave"

    Peter

  • 12-24-2011 8:30 AM In reply to

    Re: Beosound 5/beomaster 5 ...final stretch.

    Thanks!  Is the 3200 in option 0?

    Edit: Thanks!  Saw your answer in other thread.

    Beovision 7-55 with Beolab 7-4, 9s and 4000s

    Beovision 10-40 with Beolab 1s and 6000s

    Beosound 1, 5, 2000, and 3000

    Beotime, Beotalk, Beocoms

  • 12-24-2011 12:40 PM In reply to

    • Stan
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    Re: Beosound 5/beomaster 5 ...final stretch.

    First, sorry for hi-jacking this thread - I realize we're wondering off the original thread topic...

    It makes sense for the BS5 to work this way.  The video master doesn't know whether the 5 is in the same room or in another room (and probably, in most cases, it *is* in the same room).  The 5 knows it doesn't have speakers so it must find somebody to play the audio when it is switched on.  The video master is the logical choice... except for a few of us who are different Sad

    I may move my 5 into the same room as my Bv8 to solve this problem and, occasionally, view the cover art on the TV, but 90% of the time when I'm listening to music, somebody else is watching TV so I'm in a different room - I also have better speakers in my "listening room" (1s vs. 4000s) - so cover art on TV is not a huge value.  Also, since I'm in the other room, this configuration will require a Beo6, and I don't see it as a big enough problem to justify the re-org (yet).

    Merry Christmas all...

    Stan

  • 12-24-2011 1:03 PM In reply to

    • Maab
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    Re: Beosound 5/beomaster 5 ...final stretch.

    Merry Christmas and thanks for the replies... actually I'm starting to appreciate the "value" of the bs5 more now that I reading about it.
  • 12-26-2011 6:12 AM In reply to

    • StUrrock
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    Re: Beosound 5/beomaster 5 ...final stretch.

    Stan:

    It makes sense for the BS5 to work this way.  The video master doesn't know whether the 5 is in the same room or in another room (and probably, in most cases, it *is* in the same room).  The 5 knows it doesn't have speakers so it must find somebody to play the audio when it is switched on.  The video master is the logical choice... except for a few of us who are different Sad

    Stan, the way the BS5 works in this instance drives me and my customers nuts, especially when the TV and BS5 are in different rooms!!

    B&O should have an option in the software that can enable or disable this feature!

  • 12-26-2011 7:18 AM In reply to

    Re: Beosound 5/beomaster 5 ...final stretch.

    Maab:
    ... actually I'm starting to appreciate the "value" of the bs5 more now that I reading about it.

     

    ...........you gotta be joking!! I was thinking the exact opposite!!

    I didnt want a BS5 in the first place ~ and after reading this thread I never will....!!

    I have had B&O stuff for the last 25 years in order to listen to cd's I want to hear, radio stations I want to hear & see things on TV I wish to watch. I have all this from my old Beovision and my (very) old Beosystem 7000 and a BS9000 I am shortly gonna buy. Strikes me that the BS5 is 'a new type of wheel, trying to re-invent the wheel'....altogether unnecessary it seems to me.

    No thanks - i'll stick to the old systems that will play what I want to hear, when I want to hear it. Otherwise I would have no use for a Bang and Olufsen product any longer.

    Michael

    BV5, BV Avant, MX4000, MX1500

    BS 7000, BS 5500

    Penta III, Penta II, BL 4000, RL 60.2,  RL 35, CX-100 Alu

    BL 7000, MCP6500, MCP5500,  BL 5000,  Beo4 (x2), BL 1000 (x2)

  • 12-26-2011 8:12 AM In reply to

    • StUrrock
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    Re: Beosound 5/beomaster 5 ...final stretch.

    Bentleyman:

    Maab:
    ... actually I'm starting to appreciate the "value" of the bs5 more now that I reading about it.

     

    ...........you gotta be joking!! I was thinking the exact opposite!!

    I didnt want a BS5 in the first place ~ and after reading this thread I never will....!!

    I have had B&O stuff for the last 25 years in order to listen to cd's I want to hear, radio stations I want to hear & see things on TV I wish to watch. I have all this from my old Beovision and my (very) old Beosystem 7000 and a BS9000 I am shortly gonna buy. Strikes me that the BS5 is 'a new type of wheel, trying to re-invent the wheel'....altogether unnecessary it seems to me.

    No thanks - i'll stick to the old systems that will play what I want to hear, when I want to hear it. Otherwise I would have no use for a Bang and Olufsen product any longer.

    Struer, are you listening???????????????????

    We have a mixture of clients some of whom love the BS5, but in every case the lady of the house hates it !

    Its so illogical and awkward to work they say, can't find a track by genre that is just pathetic :(

     

  • 12-26-2011 8:12 AM In reply to

    • StUrrock
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    Re: Beosound 5/beomaster 5 ...final stretch.

    Sorry double post

  • 12-26-2011 12:28 PM In reply to

    Re: Beosound 5/beomaster 5 ...final stretch.

    I totally agree with Sturrock and Bentleyman on this!  I love making my own playlists and moving them around! I really don't want a machine forcing me to listen to its choice!

    We have a software in radio called Selector that chooses a radio stations music and I really hate it - this is why I love our specialist evening DJs who spin on the Pioneer CDJ900s connected to MacBook Pro's - the music is chosen by Humans!

  • 12-26-2011 12:29 PM In reply to

    Re: Beosound 5/beomaster 5 ...final stretch.

    The review link below on you t u b e openend my eyes in how to control the BeoSound 5, go and see and hear in 3min how to operate:

     

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7QaPdoh1v4Y

  • 12-26-2011 1:12 PM In reply to

    Re: Beosound 5/beomaster 5 ...final stretch.

    who is joking who is joking?

    StUrrock:

    can't find a track by genre that is just pathetic :(

    Since when does the lady of the house chooses her music by genre? Does anybody ever considered to organize their CD or record collection by genre? this is a feature given by tags and only possible since digital stored music! 

    StUrrock:
    No thanks - i'll stick to the old systems that will play what I want to hear, when I want to hear it. Otherwise I would have no use for a Bang and Olufsen product any longer.

    I use BS5 and BS5e, and guess what? I will play what and when I want to hear it! And my music collection is much easier to approach then finding my cd's. This leads even to playing albums I didn't listen to for a long time, just because you simply have the choise on the screen.


  • 12-26-2011 1:47 PM In reply to

    • StUrrock
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    Re: Beosound 5/beomaster 5 ...final stretch.

    Carolpa:

    who is joking who is joking? No joking just from personal experience and interaction with customers. Not saying my personal opinion matters but when my customers complain I DO LISTEN!

    StUrrock:

    can't find a track by genre that is just pathetic :(

    Since when does the lady of the house chooses her music by genre? Does anybody ever considered to organize their CD or record collection by genre? this is a feature given by tags and only possible since digital stored music!

    Yes and the ability to search by genre (or artist or track or album) is recognised as one of the most useful (and basic) functions of a digital storage system. The lady customers in genral point to their iPod and say that it is so easy to use why can't B&O buils a better interface. Not heresay, not my opinion just FACT in my personal experience.

    StUrrock:
    No thanks - i'll stick to the old systems that will play what I want to hear, when I want to hear it. Otherwise I would have no use for a Bang and Olufsen product any longer.

    I use BS5 and BS5e, and guess what? I will play what and when I want to hear it! And my music collection is much easier to approach then finding my cd's. This leads even to playing albums I didn't listen to for a long time, just because you simply have the choise on the screen.

    Carolpa, I am so happy you love your BS5, it has a of of plus points. However, my clients , in general, find it hard to use. This upsets me in 3 ways;

    1. they will not recommend it and that hurts my business

    2. I genuinely want my customers to enjoy what they buy from us, if they don't that really concerns us.

    3. To make it easier to use (as good as many other digital systems)  should be as easy as pie for B&O and would cure points 1 & 2 :)

     

     

  • 12-26-2011 2:06 PM In reply to

    • stefan
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    Re: Beosound 5/beomaster 5 ...final stretch.

    Agree. My BS5 also plays what I want, and sometimes it knows even better what I want.... If you want hundreds of playlists and browse by genre, use Beoplayer. Sometimes I use it on my Mac in the office. But I recommend using MOTS. I don`t want to spend hours to create playlists, I want to use the system for listening to music. BTW I also still have a BS7000, a BC9500 and I love them, but it`s easier and faster to use the BS5.

    Stefan

     

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