General Forum

Re: Setup advice please...

tarmacterror — Wed, 10 Dec 2008 18:42:00 GMT

WOW, thanks Steve, thats answered a lot of my questions and a few others that were floating around my head

I have since purchased the Onkyo TX-SR875 and it seems to be an excellent unit!!. I have my local B&O coming round in a week to deliver my BL8000's and to mount my BS4 and BL4's on the wall and connect all the gubbins together.

Cant wait.

Really fancy a BL2 now. I have seen some alternatives but can anyone vouch for the BL2 in terms of sound quality? It really grated on me to buy the Onkyo over the BS3 but I just could not find any out there on the used market and I couldnt justify the cost of a new one as I have various projects on the go which all demand a slice of my hard earned..

Scott

Re: Setup advice please...

Steve at Sounds Heavenly — Fri, 05 Dec 2008 15:46:12 GMT

Hi Guys,

Sorry to arrive at this post so late in the discussion - I see my name has been mentioned already and I think I have some (hopefully) helpful advice to add....

The top models in the Onkyo range of AV processors/receiver all have RCA pre-out sockets (including the model mentioned above), which make them excellent partners to (almost) all Beolab speakers if you don't have a B&O source or if you want to take advantage of the many sonic and visual benefits that the Onkyo has to offer (read their site for details - there is too much to list here!)

Most Beolab speakers (notable exceptions are the 7.1, 7.2 and 7.4) will accept a Line input which does not need the usual Powerlink switching signals to switch the speaker on. HOWEVER (this bit is important!), the source must be able to control the volume of the line outputs (hence the term "pre-out", ie. volume controlled), otherwise the Beolabs will be at FULL VOLUME all the time (TOO LOUD!) The Onkyo unit has the correct volume-controlled outputs, so is fine to use in this application.

Cable selection is fairly simple for most Beolabs (ie. those with RCA input sockets), as you just need a standard RCA to RCA lead. However, the difficulty is often in sourcing these in a mono version (ie. one plug at each end) in the lengths required for what is basically a speaker cable. RCA leads are usually sold as hifi/AV interconnects in short lengths, so you may have to have them made to order in the lengths required if you can't find the right lengths "off the shelf". Don't panic, there are places who can do this for you at sensible prices.

There are some complications for Beolab speakers with unusual Line input sockets (eg. Beolab 3, 4 and 9), so in these cases you should certainly seek advice to avoid any risk of damaging your speakers by connecting them incorrectly. As mentioned above, the 7.x range of centre speakers are NOT suitable for connection to a non-B&O source (although I'm working on a solution!)

The Powerlink to Amplifier cables (think I know where you saw them!) are intended to do the opposite job to the RCA cables I've described above. They plug into a spare Powerlink socket and give you a stereo pre-out to drive a non-B&O amplifier and passive speakers from a B&O system.

Hope this helps,

Steve.

Re: Setup advice please...

Peter — Thu, 04 Dec 2008 17:04:46 GMT

tarmacterror:
L ooking at that reminds me of the benefits of Powerlink sockets!! That will however be fine. And yes, they do make RCA to Powerlink cables.
Call me thick but the only powerlink-RCA cable I can find terminates to 2 RCA's.. The rear of the Onkyo has single outputs to each channel i.e FR/FR/RR/RL/sub etc. Therefore I can only use 1 of the RCA connections from the BL4 to the amp????
Im sure theres a perfectly simple explanation but I cant seem to see it....DOH!!
Scott

Not thick at all but the Powerlink cable can carry information from two channels - right and left. That is why there are two RCA plugs. There is a switch on the speakers to determine whether it is right or left. This allows you to daisy chain speakers together and use less wire.

Re: Setup advice please...

tarmacterror — Thu, 04 Dec 2008 15:51:58 GMT

KingOfSnake:
Might be contentious but Beolab 4000 are a much better match for 8000's as a centre speaker than using a 7-2, which ideally should be paired with 3's, 5's and 9's.

So I assume you mean 1 BL4000 as a centre speaker and not 2?

Scott

Re: Setup advice please...

KingOfSnake — Thu, 04 Dec 2008 10:58:28 GMT

7-2 has no line switch. This can be overcome with using the 12v trigger on the Onkyo, hence why I advised Beolab 4000 which do have a line input and overcome the problem of switching on/off.

Please don't go trying to put this cabling together without specialist advice. Steve can make up the relevant cables. steve@soundsheavenly.co.uk

Might be contentious but Beolab 4000 are a much better match for 8000's as a centre speaker than using a 7-2, which ideally should be paired with 3's, 5's and 9's.

Re: Setup advice please...

tarmacterror — Thu, 04 Dec 2008 10:52:28 GMT

L ooking at that reminds me of the benefits of Powerlink sockets!! That will however be fine. And yes, they do make RCA to Powerlink cables.

Call me thick but the only powerlink-RCA cable I can find terminates to 2 RCA's.. The rear of the Onkyo has single outputs to each channel i.e FR/FR/RR/RL/sub etc. Therefore I can only use 1 of the RCA connections from the BL4 to the amp????

Im sure theres a perfectly simple explanation but I cant seem to see it....DOH!!

Scott

Re: Setup advice please...

tarmacterror — Thu, 04 Dec 2008 10:52:26 GMT

L ooking at that reminds me of the benefits of Powerlink sockets!! That will however be fine. And yes, they do make RCA to Powerlink cables.

Im sure theres a perfectly simple explanation but I cant seem to see it....DOH!!

Scott

Re: Setup advice please...

tarmacterror — Thu, 04 Dec 2008 10:52:21 GMT

L ooking at that reminds me of the benefits of Powerlink sockets!! That will however be fine. And yes, they do make RCA to Powerlink cables.

Call me thick ut the only powerlink-RCA cable I can find terminates to 2 RCA's.. The rear of the Onkyo has single outputs to each channel i.e FR/FR/RR/RL/sub etc. Therefore I can only use 1 of the RCA connections from the BL4 to the amp????

Im sure theres a perfectly simple explanation but I cant seem to see it....DOH!!

Scott

Re: Setup advice please...

Peter — Thu, 04 Dec 2008 08:31:19 GMT

tarmacterror:
Hi Peter, thanks for the speedy reply...
I assume the Onkyo does as it has RCA 'pre out' for all channels i.e front,rear,centre,sub,surr. Have a look at THIS and let me know.#
I suppose RCA-line in are 10 a penny and not requiring endless hours trying to source??

Scott

Looking at that reminds me of the benefits of Powerlink sockets!! That will however be fine. And yes, they do make RCA to Powerlink cables.

Re: Setup advice please...

tarmacterror — Thu, 04 Dec 2008 07:27:03 GMT

Dont have a centre channel or sub YET!. Have been looking at the MJ Acoustics Pro50 MKII which seems like a nice unit for a sub. Centre speaker-wise I may go with BL 7-2 just too keep the look (as well as performance ) Saying that though,I see the 7-2 only comes with powerlink connector.....are there such things as powerlink-RCA connectors??

Scott

Re: Setup advice please...

KingOfSnake — Thu, 04 Dec 2008 07:09:38 GMT

The Onkyo will need to do the sound processing, the BS4 will have nothing to do with the speakers.

Where is your centre channel or subwoofer? For ease I would recommend Beolab 4000 (a good match for 8000's) which similarly can be driven by line, there are plenty of postings about alternative subs to the Beolab 2.

Try steve@soundsheavenly.co.uk. Thanks

Re: Setup advice please...

tarmacterror — Thu, 04 Dec 2008 06:15:33 GMT

Hi Peter, thanks for the speedy reply...

I assume the Onkyo does as it has RCA 'pre out' for all channels i.e front,rear,centre,sub,surr. Have a look at THIS and let me know.#

I suppose RCA-line in are 10 a penny and not requiring endless hours trying to source??

Scott

Re: Setup advice please...

Peter — Thu, 04 Dec 2008 05:46:44 GMT

The BL4 also has a mini jack to accept variable line in so you need an RCA to mini jack wire. I take it that the AV receiver you have chosen has pre-amp out sockets?

Welcome to the forum!

Setup advice please...

tarmacterror — Thu, 04 Dec 2008 05:38:07 GMT

Hi folks, dont shoot me down in flames but I have a couple of questions....

1. I currently have a Beosound 4 with BL 4 speakers. Just bought a pair of BL8000's and I am now in the process of buying an AV receiver to drive them. Beosystem 3 is not an option for me so I am sriously considering the Onkyo TX-SR875 . Is this suitable to run the 8000's??

2. For a proper 'surround' experience I will be using the 8000's as front channel L/R and the 4's as rear L/R. What I am unsure of is how to connect up the 4's?? i.e 4's straight to AV amp or 4's to BS4 then BS4 to amp? Only reason I ask is that I can see no way of connecting the DIN powerlink cables to the amp?

I apologise for what I imagine are blaringly stupid questions but A/V is not my strong point ,

Any advice etc would be MOST appreciated.

Oh, and hello by the way Great forum..been lurking for a while but cant find the answers to my questions by searching.

Scott