General Forum

Re: Beovox Pentas, Beomaster 8000 and a Cona

Alex — Wed, 11 Feb 2009 13:50:33 GMT

You can buy two, there's nothing stopping you. For a lot of people though, one is enough.

RE connecting, I would effectively bi-wire the subwoofer and run both the connections into the Beomaster 8000 outputs, and wire both outs into the Pentas.

Re: Beovox Pentas, Beomaster 8000 and a Cona

Xseries — Wed, 11 Feb 2009 12:25:15 GMT

I think you would need to bridge the output - take the left hand channel from BM8000 socket 2 and feed to one Cona input on both left and right channels. Undertake a similar operation for the other Cona - feeding right to both right and left....

Whilst I accept everyone hears things differently - why would B&O make a single subwoofer (BL2 & Cona) if they could have persuaded people to buy 2?

Brian

Re: Beovox Pentas, Beomaster 8000 and a Cona

j0hnbarker — Tue, 10 Feb 2009 18:00:22 GMT

I hear what you're saying, and two Conas would certainly look good.

How would this work in practice though? The Cona has a double voice coil that sums both left and right channel inputs, so how would I get a stereo bass effect for left + right channels? Would I just hook up the left channel to the left Cona, and the right channel to the right Cona? I'm not sure that you've considered the equipment I'm working with here!

Re: Beovox Pentas, Beomaster 8000 and a Cona

Alex — Tue, 10 Feb 2009 17:55:26 GMT

Not only will it match the Pentas better, but IMO stereo subwoofers are naturally better than mono subwoofers. While many claim sub-frequencies are impossible or difficult to locate (ie, you can't hear where they're coming from), I don't agree. It's highly reliant on room acoustics but for example in my bedroom I can very clearly hear where subwoofers are placed whether the crossover point is 40 Hz or 140 Hz or anywhere in-between.

Not only is the locatability an issue for me, but the imaging plays a role from my experience. Having subwoofers running in stereo (not just both subwoofers on each side playing the same thing, but a separate channel of audio for each sub) seems to make things sound less condensed and generally make the bass sound 'bigger' without it getting boomy/over the top.

Re: Beovox Pentas, Beomaster 8000 and a Cona

cooldude — Tue, 10 Feb 2009 17:47:56 GMT

I fully agree, Alex, 2 subs would sound better and make a better balance with the pentas.

Smart thinking

Re: Beovox Pentas, Beomaster 8000 and a Cona

j0hnbarker — Tue, 10 Feb 2009 16:48:27 GMT

Thanks Cooldude

I can't mess around with the cabling going to my Pentas, but this evening I dragged the Cona down from upstairs and plugged it into the speaker 2 outlets on my BM 8000. Because of this, i could switch the Cona in and out at will by using the speaker 2 switch. Results were good - I tried a variety of types of music: indie/rock/rap/electronica and I was really happy with the extra bass sound the Cona gave. It definitely improved the listening experience for most types of music, but I have to admit that it did take a little getting used to.

I think if we move to the place with the double-height living space then I'll use the Cona. The extra bass will easily be swallowed up by the space, and it can always be switched in and out when required should anyone complain about the noise!

Re: Beovox Pentas, Beomaster 8000 and a Cona

Alex — Tue, 10 Feb 2009 16:42:58 GMT

FWIW there's nothing stopping you from using more than one Cona. You could use F.E. one per side (which is what I would personally do, I hate subwoofers when in mono, they sound very flat IMO).

Re: Beovox Pentas, Beomaster 8000 and a Cona

cooldude — Tue, 10 Feb 2009 13:49:50 GMT

if you use the crossover in the cona, the bass drivers should still be working to some degree with only the absolute lows being taken over by the cona sub, depending on how the filter in the cona is build.

I would use the second set-up you propose with the the cona as a pure extra to get a real benefit out of it as the spec of the cona are really no match for the pentas . Though I don't use a cona myself, I do use another subs in a similar setup and it works very well.

With the kindest regards,

Re: Beovox Pentas, Beomaster 8000 and a Cona

j0hnbarker — Tue, 10 Feb 2009 13:00:19 GMT

One thought I had when driving down to Sheffield today:

If I connect the Cona to the BM8000, then run the passive Pentas from the Cona (as per the instructions) I'll be using the crossover in the Cona to decide what low frequencies it wants to handle, then the Pentas manage the rest. Does this mean that all the bass drivers in the Pentas would then be redundant because the Cona has taken over bass duties??

Assuming the above is correct, and I just wanted a shed-load of bass, what if I connected the Pentas up to the BM8000 as normal, then hooked up the Cona to the speaker 2 outputs and let it run by itself for some 'extra' bass. Would this work and would it be any better/worse??

Re: Beovox Pentas, Beomaster 8000 and a Cona

Xseries — Tue, 10 Feb 2009 03:32:28 GMT

At the end of the day you are using another 50sq inches and moving more air - but with the two pentas that is twice the 78.6 (as I was basing it on one Penta!) already! I have Lab IIIs so am not sure how easy it would be to connect a passive Cona. I need to check frequency crossoverpoints as the COna may well be concentrating on the lower frequencies....

Surface and set up will vary - but I would hang on to the Cona as I am sure it will work well with certain fabrics and floors....

Let the forum know how you get on.....

Brian

Re: Beovox Pentas, Beomaster 8000 and a Cona

j0hnbarker — Mon, 09 Feb 2009 17:14:52 GMT

Interesting Brian

Chris thought that the Cona added, rather than diminished, the bass dimension when he used them together.

Mmmm - do you think that the downward facing driver would give an extra bass dimension when used on a hard wood floor, as opposed the the multiple Penta drivers pointing out into the room???

Re: Beovox Pentas, Beomaster 8000 and a Cona

Xseries — Mon, 09 Feb 2009 17:01:13 GMT

The larger bass driver of the Cona is 8" - giving an overall area of about 50.2 sq inches. The Penta is only 5" an area of 19.6 sq inches - but with 4 of them that is the equivalent of 78.5 sq inches. You would need a 10" bass unit to give the same area (Beovox 5700, S75, M75 etc)....

Brian

Re: Beovox Pentas, Beomaster 8000 and a Cona

Xseries — Mon, 09 Feb 2009 16:40:32 GMT

To try something like that out you really need a "switching box" and two pairs of Pentas - one of which is connected to a Cona all playing the same music. I find it hard to copmare one after another and prefer to be able to flick between alternatives - especially if someone else is in control so you are as unbiased as possible!

Brian

Re: Beovox Pentas, Beomaster 8000 and a Cona

j0hnbarker — Sun, 08 Feb 2009 14:54:37 GMT

Thanks Brian

I currently use my own Cona with CX50s and a Beosystem 5000, so know how they can help with bass reproduction with smaller speakers. Still worth a shot with the Pentas though if for nothing else other than to see what difference (if any) the larger bass driver makes. It might be better, worse, or just the same!

Re: Beovox Pentas, Beomaster 8000 and a Cona

Xseries — Sun, 08 Feb 2009 14:35:53 GMT

Conas were designed to help the CX 50 and CX 100 in smaller rooms. They run a sinlge 8" driver and will take about 60 Watts RMS. I have not tried to connect them (I have 2) up to my Pentas, nor RL140s as they would not help at all. I am considering using one as a centre speaker with an Avant.

In my opinion the best bass reproduction from B&O speakers comes from the MS150 or BL5...

Brian