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

 

Latest post 09-26-2007 1:52 PM by BarryAndrew. 13 replies.
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  • 09-10-2007 8:17 AM

    • js
    • Top 500 Contributor
    • Joined on 09-07-2007
    • Brussels
    • Posts 208
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    Upgrade Beolab 8000 setup

    Dear Beoworld members,

    I have been the happy owner of a pair of Beolab 8000 since they were launched 17 years ago. They used to be placed in two corners of a 40sqm room. The sound was very satisfying. Note that I am only listening to music (all styles, from classical to jazz and pop), no home cinema in this set up.

    I recently moved to a loft and my living room is now 120sqm. My Belab 8000 are placed 15m far from each other and about 1.5m far from a wall (closer to the wall is not possible). No need to say, they do not produce enough bass any more. In addition, the sound (both bass and treble) seems to change significantly depending on where I am in such a large room.

    Disappointing, but I so much love the design of the 8000 that I would prefer to keep them and consider som upgrade, instead of replacing them with other loudpseakers.

    So, I have been reading your forum for a while, which I in general very much appreciate, therefore, I would like to have your input (not my dealer's) on what I should do to solve this issue:
    - add a Beolab 2 between both Beolab 8000; or
    - add a second pair of loudspeakers (either Beolab 8000 or Beolab 3); or
    - if my Beolab 8000 definitely are not appropriate, replace them with a pair of Beolab 3 (do they really produce more bass? Beolab 9 would be fine, but too expensive).

    Many thanks for posting your opinion.

    Best regards,
    js

  • 09-10-2007 8:20 AM In reply to

    • js
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    • Joined on 09-07-2007
    • Brussels
    • Posts 208
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    Re: Upgrade Beolab 8000 setup

    Hmm... It seems like I don't use the right font or font size. Next time I will try to comply with the Beoworld lay out.

    Regards,

    js

  • 09-10-2007 11:00 AM In reply to

    • Dave
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    • Joined on 04-17-2007
    • Brisbane, Australia
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    Re: Upgrade Beolab 8000 setup

    Hello, welcome to the forum! Big Smile If i was in your situation i would start by moving the entire room around and rearrange everything to see if there are any placement options that will bring back the sound that you previously had with these speakers. Wow, 15 metres is a very large distance, try moving them closer together.

    You could contact your local dealer and organise a home demonstation with a BL2, BL3, and any other speakers you may be considering. Sound can be quite personal, so it really is important for you to be the judge and take the time to listen to different speaker choices.

    This will take time and i can say that there is no quick fix! Don't let this fact deter you. It can actually be quite fun, and when you finally get the right sound, it's a great feeling. Smile 

    “Quality is never an accident; it is always the result of intelligent effort.”

    Your health and well-being comes first and fore-most.

     

     

  • 09-10-2007 12:51 PM In reply to

    • ®
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    Re: Upgrade Beolab 8000 setup

    I recently added a BeoLab 2 to my BeoLab 8000's and the difference is amazing.

    However I still haven't had chance to compare my set-up to BeoLab 9's.

    As for BeoLab 3's, I don't think they look as good as 8000's  

  • 09-10-2007 1:17 PM In reply to

    • Tom
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    Re: Upgrade Beolab 8000 setup

    As you say, you only listen to music with your speaker, adding a second pair is not a very good option IMO. The sound sure will be better at most parts of your living room, but you must not forget that double-stereo somehow kill the sound stage. Double stereo is ok for background music, but not if you actively listen to music. You should consider this point.
    I would add a BL2 if I was you, as your problem clearly is the lack of bass, not the general sound of the BL8000.
    I can perfectly understand you don't want to give away your babies. I have my BL8000 for only 6 months now, but I cannot imagine to give them away.

    Music washes away from the soul the dust of everyday life. - Berthold Auerbach

  • 09-10-2007 2:13 PM In reply to

    Re: Upgrade Beolab 8000 setup

    The BL3s will not be any better by themselves. If I were you, I would add a sub-woofer - the BL2 being the easiest choice. I would have a listen first though as some people do not like the sound effect this sub-woofer has. Personally I love it and it will cure the problem you have as it can move very large quantities of air and give a very good sound pressure. If set up properly, it will also allow the 8000s to work even better as the bass cones will not have to struggle with the low bass.
  • 09-11-2007 4:48 AM In reply to

    • js
    • Top 500 Contributor
    • Joined on 09-07-2007
    • Brussels
    • Posts 208
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    Re: Upgrade Beolab 8000 setup

    Dear all,

    Thank you very much for your valuable replies. I will contact my dealer for an in-site demo of BL2 and BL3. A priori, I would consider the BL2 and keep my beautiful BL8000.

    Cheers,

    js

  • 09-11-2007 8:33 AM In reply to

    • Tom
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    Re: Upgrade Beolab 8000 setup

    js:

    Dear all,

    Thank you very much for your valuable replies. I will contact my dealer for an in-site demo of BL2 and BL3. A priori, I would consider the BL2 and keep my beautiful BL8000.

    Cheers,

    js


    anyway, asking a demo is the best you can do. Tell us about your impressions after de demo! Yes -  thumbs up

    Music washes away from the soul the dust of everyday life. - Berthold Auerbach

  • 09-26-2007 4:21 AM In reply to

    • js
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    • Joined on 09-07-2007
    • Brussels
    • Posts 208
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    Re: Upgrade Beolab 8000 setup

    Thank you all for having posted your opinion here. I had no time yet to have my dealer to demo BL2 and BL3 at home, too much work (I will let you know my impression as soon as I can).

    In the meantime, I thought about another option. In a Link room of my second house, I have an old pair of Beovox CX100 with a Beovox Cona. I just wonder whether I could use the Cona in my main house to complement the BL8000 (connected to a Beocenter 9500) and to provide the missing bass.

    I know it would not be an appropriate solution:
    - the bass would not be diverted from the BL8000 (as would be the case with BL2) so the woofers would not be discharged; and
    - the Cona would be fed by the BC9500 ampli, which is less powerful than the BL8000's, so the sound balance would change with the volume (lower bass proportion at high volume than at low volume).

    However, I always use my system at low to mid volume, so perhaps the impact of both abovementioned issues would be limited and maybe it is worth a try. The problem is that transporting the Cona from my second house to my main house will not be practical for some logistic reason. Therefore, before doing that I would like your opinion on whether this is worth a try or not. Thanks a lot for that.

    Kind regards,
    js

  • 09-26-2007 12:07 PM In reply to

    Re: Upgrade Beolab 8000 setup

    I would suggest that it would not add that much bass and the cross over frequency of the Cona is quite high so it would alter the stereo imagery so in fact it may well sound worse! The Cona was designed to work with the CX which was by its very design bass light. The Beolab 8000 is a full range speaker but is clearly simply having problems moving the required amount of air to generate decent bass in a big room.
  • 09-26-2007 12:12 PM In reply to

    • js
    • Top 500 Contributor
    • Joined on 09-07-2007
    • Brussels
    • Posts 208
    • Silver Member

    Re: Upgrade Beolab 8000 setup

    Thank you Peter for this clear and informative answer. So I will definitely request my dealer to demo BL2 at home and I will let you know my impression.

    Kind regards,
    js

  • 09-26-2007 12:29 PM In reply to

    • Alex
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    Re: Upgrade Beolab 8000 setup

    I'd personally go for the 9s actually, as you've mentioned how the treble changes as you move around the room. BeoLab 9s will mostly rectify this, as they have acoustic lenses which drastically change the way the speakers disperse sound into the room.

    All a BL2 will do is fill the room with more bass. I'll also add that with a single point of bass playing louder (ie, a BeoLab 2), you get more noticeable reflections than if you had two 'quieter' points of bass (ie, the BeoLab 9's built in subs).

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  • 09-26-2007 12:42 PM In reply to

    Re: Upgrade Beolab 8000 setup

    As Alex has just said, it sounds to me as though the BeoLab 9s would suit you best from what I understand. The room will be filled with a warm bass and the ALTs will handle the high frequency throughout the room. I can understand that the BL9s will be an investment and at the same time replace the BL8000s which you love, but I think this would work out best for sound.

    BL3s and BL2 will certainly beat a pair of BL8000s and BL2 in my honest opinion, mainly because the BL3s have the ALT and the BL8000s don't. When I first had my BL3s they looked too futuristic for me, but within a few weeks I was well up to date with them and I began to think the BL8000s looked a bit old.

    As already mentioned, kindly ask your dealer to help out by offering you one or two different setups so you can choose for yourself which is best.

    Keep us posted with what happens though!

  • 09-26-2007 1:52 PM In reply to

    Re: Upgrade Beolab 8000 setup

    I wont allow myself to speak for js since I have no right too. However I too have a pair of 8000 and am looking to enhance the bass a little. However I am not sure that I can jump from that to a pair of 9's. The cost of 9's in my local dealership is £6000 against an £1850 odd for a BL2. Now I know from recent threads that there are some doubts about the set up of these devices but it appears that they are well loved. Speaking from my viewpoint I also love the look of the 8000's and the upper ranges of this speaker with just a little more bass than I have reached a more than satisfactory outcome.

     
     My problem with the 9's was that the bass was more than effective and the treble sweet but on my quick demo I couldn't find the mid-range. As I said on another thread it may have just been the music that he was using to demonstrate them  but I had my doubts. I said that I would go back with my own music sometime but have never got that interested enough to bother.

     

    Howevers only a partially informed opinion.

     

     

     

     

    Barry BV6-26,BC2300,Beolab8000,4000,3500,2000,DVD1
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