General Forum

Re: A bit confused Powerlink and Beolab 5

bayerische — Fri, 17 Oct 2008 17:07:03 GMT

Is the MK2 thicker than this one?

I'm nagging on because I don't want to buy another set of cables, that will not help, since I'll be moving on to the S/PDIF connector pretty soon.

Re: A bit confused Powerlink and Beolab 5

bayerische — Fri, 17 Oct 2008 17:03:14 GMT

Here is a picture of the current and supplied powerlink cables:

Re: A bit confused Powerlink and Beolab 5

bayerische — Fri, 17 Oct 2008 16:47:47 GMT

Still,

Looking for advise from someone who knows if the wrong PL cables can give excessive high frequency distortion. Not anything huge, but sounding as if your source was off, and turning your amps up, until you hear the "whizz" / "humm" sort of sound.

Please help :)

Re: A bit confused Powerlink and Beolab 5

bayerische — Fri, 17 Oct 2008 04:38:17 GMT

It must be atleast10 years since I last bought powerlink cables, how much are they these days? (From b&o)

Re: A bit confused Powerlink and Beolab 5

Steve at Sounds Heavenly — Fri, 17 Oct 2008 04:31:13 GMT

Hi bayerische,

I think you may have mark 1 cables there? Unfortunately, it can be very hard to tell which ones you have as they are all fully pinned and between 2mm and 4mm thick. Look for triangles marked on the plugs to show original B&O mark 3 cables. Otherwise, there is no sure way to tell without a multimeter.

However, the fact that you said you are getting noise through the cable makes me 95% sure that you have the wrong cables for your Beolab 5! Personally, I would want new cables anyway, after spending that sort of money on new speakers, but maybe I'm just too fussy!

Best regards,

Steve.

Re: A bit confused Powerlink and Beolab 5

bayerische — Fri, 17 Oct 2008 04:15:06 GMT

Can anyone confirm I have the right cable?

The diameter of the cable is about 3mm , the ends are fully pinned.

Is this MK2 or MK3?

Re: A bit confused Powerlink and Beolab 5

bayerische — Thu, 16 Oct 2008 16:42:14 GMT

Well mine seems to be the original ones supplied...

And they are fully pinned. And aprox 3mm in diameter.

Re: A bit confused Powerlink and Beolab 5

Steve at Sounds Heavenly — Thu, 16 Oct 2008 16:26:22 GMT

Hi,

I suspect that the Powerlink cables supplied with your system are probably mark 1, without the voltage reference wire fitted. This would explain the humming noise and other unwanted interference.

I would strongly recommend that you replace these with the correct cables, it is a very small cost compared to the value of the speakers. Contact Lee at LifeStyle AV for cables, or you can get more information from the website address below.

Best regards,

Steve.

Re: A bit confused Powerlink and Beolab 5

bayerische — Thu, 16 Oct 2008 16:19:08 GMT

The "whizz" sort of sound is only audible from the top treable.

But it's late here now, and I just got home with them, so I'm listening at a very low volume, since I don't want to wake the whole house,,,

Re: A bit confused Powerlink and Beolab 5

bayerische — Thu, 16 Oct 2008 16:11:10 GMT

But I have one question,

There's a pretty noticeable background "buzz" in the sound...

Clue?

I'm running it via the supplied powerlink cables from my beocenter 2300.

Re: A bit confused Powerlink and Beolab 5

bayerische — Thu, 16 Oct 2008 16:02:35 GMT

BeoSoto:
bayerische:

timhanna:
Can I ask why from Denmark? Is it cheaper?

Yes, by far.
Well, this always depends on where you live and what taxes you have to pay. Also, who is going to install and transport the product to your home? Cheaper by far? I doubt it...

Well I live in Finland, no taxes to pay (EU).

I'm now back home with my Beolab's.

Total cost for a used mint condition par with my travels, 8700 euro.

Install?

Matter of plug and play? :)

Re: A bit confused Powerlink and Beolab 5

Steve at Sounds Heavenly — Wed, 15 Oct 2008 03:36:33 GMT

Yes, Lee is right - these are mark 2 cables!

Otherwise known as 8 core, 8/8 or "fully wired" (even though pin 8 is not used by Beolab 5?), these are the thickest Powerlink version.

B&O have started using a thicker version with ferrite coils on the newer versions, but these should not normally be necessary with a well designed and manufactured cable (my own personal view is that the coverage of the screening conductors on many Powerlink cables can be less than perfect). Ferrite coils can be easily "retro-fitted", but the inductance needs to be calculated to avoid any effect on audio frequencies, hence this is not recommended as a DIY option.

Just a quick note here on cable routing - as Powerlink cables carry very small audio signals (well under 1 volt RMS at normal listening volumes), often over long distances, so it pays to be careful about where you route your cables. Large gains in sound quality can be made by running your Powerlink cables away from sources of interference such as mains leads and sockets, "white goods" such as fridges, etc. and fluorescent lights. Always consult a qualified electrician before installing Powerlink cables in your walls, floor or ceiling, as they will help you avoid mains cables hidden away in the building structure. If you need Powerlink cables to cross mains cables, do this at right angles and try to space them apart if possible, rather than letting them rest on each other. Avoid "cable tidies" that route power and audio cables together, unless they include separate screened metal compartments.

Sound complicated? It shouldn't be if you consider it at the point of design/installation. It's well worth the trouble. If you've spent good money on a quality audio system, a few minutes of planning time is all that is needed to allow it to perform at its best. Oh, and good cables, but that's another story!

Best regards,

Steve.

Re: A bit confused Powerlink and Beolab 5

Mr10Percent — Tue, 14 Oct 2008 21:46:42 GMT

So what are the powerlink cables supplied with the Beolab 5's?

These are very thick (x4 the cross-sectional area of "other PL cables) and have the ferrite caps on either end of the cable just before the terminations?

10%

Re: A bit confused Powerlink and Beolab 5

9 LEE — Tue, 14 Oct 2008 16:13:29 GMT

Alex:
It us best to use 8/8 PowerLink, or 'fully-wired' PowerLink as it's sometimes called with BeoLab 5s. I believe it's supplied in the box with them...

Otherwise known as Mk2..

Re: A bit confused Powerlink and Beolab 5

Alex — Tue, 14 Oct 2008 15:30:38 GMT

It us best to use 8/8 PowerLink, or 'fully-wired' PowerLink as it's sometimes called with BeoLab 5s. I believe it's supplied in the box with them...