My current system consists of Beolab 9s in front and Beolab 4000s in the rear. I am in the mood to upgrade it somehow.

A few months ago I listened to Beolab 5s in my home and at two dealers and did not find them that appealing. My thought had been to get a pair and move the 9s to the rear. My dealer thinks I should try adding a Beolab 2 to the system and is sending me one to try. I question the need for it with the 9s but do want to at least try it.  I have resisted replacing the 4000s in the rear with 3s as I have not been a fan of their appearance, although I am warming to their appearance and am thinking that having ALT all around would be beneficial. I have thought of a second pair of 9s in the rear, but as they would be behind furniture I think that the position of the speakers would be too low. That is when I had this crazy idea. 

What would happen/would it work/ if I tried the following: Replace the 4000s with 3s that could be placed high enough up that they would be above the furniture, and now for the crazy part, to add some bass to the rear add a pair of Beolab 11s to the rear? Right Rear Powerlink cable run to a Beolab 11 and then a cable from it to the 3 and same on other side? Not exactly a pair of Beolab 9s but would allow the 3s to be placed up high and have some bass in the rear beyond what the 3s can produce.

 

 

Rear channel 5.1 stuff tends to be limited bandwidth (unless Dolby True HD or DTS MA). In that case Bl 3's are ideal as rears in your case, they have the most flexible mounting options, they have ALT which gives broad horizontal dispersion, with limited vertical spread and can easily handle rear channel audio bandwidth. I can't see any benefit from 11's or even additional 9's at the rear.

To qualify this somewhat, I'm not a fan of listening to stereo music in anything more than 2 (or 2.1 at a push) speakers. Stereo in more than two speakers can introduce unneccesary issues.

I also only listen to music in 2.0 or 2.1. Rear speakers are only for movies. 

I don't think you'd realize the potential of the 11s. And honestly one of my close friends has 9s. I've loaned him my BL2 and it's not that noticeable.

I renew my recommendation of lab 3s.

The rears are VERY lightly used in almost all settings unless you use speaker 4.

I have set up my lab 5s with 9s in the rear and LOVED IT!

But, I love the 5s.

I think you will notice a difference with any ALT speaker in the rear. The 11s would be seldom if ever used I think.

I wish I had your problem!

I can't find anything that I want in the lineup that I don't already have!!!!

I do not expect the BL2 to add much, and perhaps even detract, but my dealer thinks I will like it so I will try it.

You say the 3s are your reccomendation and that the rears are seldomly used, but also that you loved the 9s as rears when you tried them.

What was it about the 9s as rears that you loved?  

I had 1s as rears for awhile and loved the way they sounded, thus my thoughts about wanting 9s or 3s and 11s as rears.

Razlaw,

The BL3s are significantly superior to the BL4000s in every imaginable way: accuracy, clarity, imaging, staging, transparency.

And because they have ALT (as well as the BL9s), their sonic characteristics and quality will be more uniform with that of the BL9s than the BL4000s.

I would recommend adding one (1) BL11 to the BL3s in the rear AND to the BL9s in the front (the BL9s do not have the "bottom end" that the BL5s do; the addition of the BL11 will help with that).

What are you using for your a/v processing? A BeoSystem3 I hope.

Yes, it is a Beosystem 3 in a Beovision 7-55.

My rear speakers are connected by powerlinks that are installed in the walls. I can not run a separate powerlink to the rear for a sub. That is why I was thinking of plugging the 11 into the wall outlet of the powerlink and then the 3 into the 11. As a result I thought I would need two 11s as the 11 would only be getting bass when the signal was for the left or right speaker, or will it get a rear signal at all times, regardless of left or right?

I liked the 9s when I used speaker 4, which I often do for music. In the speaker 4 setting with the 9s in the rear there was a much fuller sound.

I never auditioned them with any real 5.2 setup.

And... I disagree with beings here. I don't think the bl11 would do anything with the 9s.

I don't think the 11 would do anything with 9s either, would a need a Beolab 2 to get any effect/benefit from the .1 channel.

The idea for the rear 11 was to connect in series with the rear speakers, not to the .1 channel. It would be connected as B and O subs are in a 2.0 system such that that the signal goes first to the sub which if I understand correctly filters out te bass and then sends the rest of the signal to speaker. Thus the 11 would be used just for the rear channel bass, not the true subwoofer .1 bass.

Right. I get the idea. Almost put a lab2 with my 3s but wasn't worth the hassle.

Even still the amount of low frequencies sent to those channels is so small that I think you'd be overdoing it.

Why not just do another pair of 9s back there? You know what sound like.

You said it would be low but the only sound that matters as far as location is the tweeter. Would the tweeter be higher than your sitting area?

Tweeter would be lower than the backs of the furniture.

The benefit of the 3s of course is you can mount them on the wall or in a corner or wherever.

You've got a little bit of a troublesome situation there. . .The threes are the best acoustic match but aesthetically you don't like them. . 

Tough decision!

I am leaning more and more towards the threes. Would like another pair of 9s but I think they would look ridiculous on any sort of stand that would get them high enough.

Well to put another point of view, what does your system not do that you want it to? I think 4000s are more than adequate for rears - I note they are by far the most widely used speaker at Struer, appearing in almost every listening room as rears.

What does your system lack? Bass? If so the BL2 will certainly add it but at the expense of subtlety. BL5s are brilliant but lack WAF. BL9s are a reasonable compromise. I doubt they need the addition of a BL2 except for movies. I think BL11s as rears are a complete waste of time but will make your dealer very happy! I also think BL3s are wasted as rear speakers - the vast majority of the informationgoes to the front and it is presence more than anything at the rear.

What I feel like my system lacks is that it does not sound as good as it did when I was using my Beolab 1s as rears.

Some would say that 1s as rears was a waste of them but the system sounded much better.

Also, I am just in the mood for some new toys.

Or add the BL3 to get a 7.1system!

I would like to do 7.1 but my room is such that it would be very difficult to find places for the additional speakers.

Razlaw:

Also, I am just in the mood for some new toys.

 

well, if i were you, i would be adding BL5's to that stunning TV at the front and wall mounting 3's at rear. then you can move the 9's and 4000's to bedroom or a second living area if you have one. I know the 5's can be a bit dominant, but at the lower end they are magical. well, at all levels they are magical....maybe u should get the dealer to lend u a pair so u can listen/see in situ? After all, nothing sounds the same at home as in a shop......I have 5's and a BV 7-40, and they still make me smile on a rainy day :)

whatever you decide, let us all know :) ...its a matter of personal taste and preference....but sounds like u have a real love of B&O....and the desire  to get that elusive 'perfect' sound.....

I have had a pair of Beolab 5s at my house and I was not that impressed with them. They sounded different than the 9s, as they should. However, to my ears, in my house, different did not equal better.