General Forum

Re: If you own a BeoSound 5 would you buy it again ?

TWG — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 04:43:17 GMT

Yes, I would buy it again.

The userinterface has still room for improvements but I'm happy with my Beosound 5.
The controller invites you everytime "come on, touch me!" :)

Re: If you own a BeoSound 5 would you buy it again ?

Stan — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 10:22:25 GMT

elephant:

What rate did you encode at ... I used 192 kbps at 44.1 khz ... I am not looking forward to re-capturing 500+ CDs

I encoded at ~256kbps (I used the lame program on mac and used the --standard switch - Early on, I did some comparisons between iTunes MP3 and Lame MP3, and found that Lame sounded better). To my ears, this is fine for most rock/pop... especially music that I don't much listen to with a critical ear. For classical, MP3 doesn't cut it.

If I were you, I'd re-rip my most favorite 50 CDs and then copy the rest over as is and re-rip as necessary...

As for the sound quality between BeoPort and BS5, the BS5 is better (same speakers). I haven't done blind comparisons, but when I had the BeoPort, I would usually grab the CD if I was really into listening vs. background music. I don't find myself doing that today (even for the MP3s). Then again, you can probably equal or better the BS5 with the addition of a DAC to bypass the computer's sound card (the weak link in the BeoPort audio path).

Stan

Re: If you own a BeoSound 5 would you buy it again ?

moxxey — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 03:39:47 GMT

Olof:

or would you take a BeoSound 9000 instead ? If i connect a BS 9000 with a BeoMaster 5 and a TV, wouldn´t i have then more options as with a BeoSound 5 ?

No, I sold mine and haven't regretted the sale. Sure it looked good - like most B&O kit - but I don't spend £4000 on kit to sit in the corner looking good. I also need practicality.

I would get another BeoSound 4 again though.

Re: If you own a BeoSound 5 would you buy it again ?

Peter2 — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 19:00:15 GMT

seethroughyou:

peter2, is there another (2nd) dust modification kit coming??

Only aware of the one kit...and waiting for my dealer to install this.

Re: If you own a BeoSound 5 would you buy it again ?

elephant — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 16:31:07 GMT

Stan:
I didn't feel like re-ripping 200 cds (I did re-rip my 50 or so very favorites, and will re-rip others if I find I'm unhappy with the audio quality of lame standard encoded mp3s - so far, I haven't found this necessary)

What rate did you encode at ... I used 192 kbps at 44.1 khz ... I am not looking forward to re-capturing 500+ CDs

Re: If you own a BeoSound 5 would you buy it again ?

Teletom — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 14:50:14 GMT

So, apparently quite a few BS5 owners already enjoyed N-music and N-radio through a Beoport system which they had before. I am curious to know if you find the sound quality with the BS5 system (much) better than through Beoport, of course assuming the speakers have not been changed.

Re: If you own a BeoSound 5 would you buy it again ?

pf85 — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 14:07:50 GMT

Like Trip English I also have a BS 3200 ... and like his system, it does no longer get a lot of airtime.

BS5 is just stunning, use it 50 % for N.Radio and 50 % for N.Music. Although I am looking forward to have a bit more control from link room, I like MOTS very much, you hear a lot of songs at great quality you have not heard for a longtime.

My audio setup is BL1 (4x), BL2 in main room, BL3 in link room 1 and another pair of BL1 in link room 2. Distributing sound with BS5 is a delight !

Re: If you own a BeoSound 5 would you buy it again ?

Stan — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 11:30:14 GMT

I would buy the BS5 again. I kept my BS9000 - actually, my wife will not let me get rid of it, and I'm not sure that I want to. I've had no problems with it whatsoever. MOTS works pretty good - very good sometimes.

I upgraded from a BeoPort + Mac, as this was getting too fiddly - somewhere along the line my iTunes library got screwed up so the Beo4 navigation didn't work reliably, and I was never sure if I was going to get music when I pressed N.Music (or would have to reboot the mac and/or reset the BeoLink). I don't miss that.

I'm a mostly mac house, but use an old PC laptop + BeoPlayer to load lossless music to the BS5 (and program my Beo5)... although, I also used the Mac integration to copy ~70% of my music directly from the mac because I didn't feel like re-ripping 200 cds (I did re-rip my 50 or so very favorites, and will re-rip others if I find I'm unhappy with the audio quality of lame standard encoded mp3s - so far, I haven't found this necessary).

Stan

Re: If you own a BeoSound 5 would you buy it again ?

linder — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 10:49:49 GMT

Absolutely! I would buy the Beosound 5 again. Although I also have a Beocenter 2, I rarely use it except to play LPS on a Beogram 7000 through the Aux port. I love MOTS and and internet radio.

I live in a Mac and PC household. They seem to get along.

Re: If you own a BeoSound 5 would you buy it again ?

beojeff — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 05:28:44 GMT

I feel that the BeoSound 5 is the best purchase I've ever made from B&O. I would buy it again in a heartbeat. I never use CDs or my BeoCenter 2 anymore. It's more than just MOTS. The BeoSound 5 interface makes it very quick and easy to access my music.

I use a Mac.

Re: If you own a BeoSound 5 would you buy it again ?

steph — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 04:06:05 GMT

Very happy with mine too !

Could not come back to play CDs... (however, i had a BS9000 before)

The usability is a joy : the wheels, the big screen with the hi-res. covers, the movements of the graphics...

No problems with dust too.

So, yes, i would buy it again.

Re: If you own a BeoSound 5 would you buy it again ?

seethroughyou — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 04:01:07 GMT

peter2, is there another (2nd) dust modification kit coming??

Re: If you own a BeoSound 5 would you buy it again ?

Peter2 — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 03:34:56 GMT

And happy with mine; I cannot recall the last time I played a cd, though I still occasionally buy them in preference to downloading from itunes.

Waiting for the dust modification kit to arrive.

Re: If you own a BeoSound 5 would you buy it again ?

Mr10Percent — Sun, 25 Oct 2009 21:34:36 GMT

I run a BS5 through a BV7.4 and BL5's.

I am very happy with the performance of the BS5 and somewhat disconcerted with some of the criticisms levelled at it in these forums.

I have had an issue with it re-booting continually for a period – this was caused by power surges in my house during peak power demand (SE Asia, air-con time). This was resolved with a power regulator.

I have had no issues with poor wake-ups, crashes etc.. other than above.

The N.Radio is very good but needs a reasonable/steady internet connection to work (Again from the perspective of SE Asia).

I have had no problems with dust under the screen (one of the first models released – but perhaps I keep my house cleaner than most???)

Tag editing, embedding 600 x 600 res. album art is done via WMP10, scanned through Beoplayer and is loaded on to the BM5 wirelessly from my home office without incident or hassle.

There are IMHO a few things that can be done to improve the usability but nothing that is a real deal-breaker.

A great integrated B&O music player (but a bad toy/gadget for some) and I would buy it again without hesitation.

10%

Re: If you own a BeoSound 5 would you buy it again ?

elephant — Sun, 25 Oct 2009 20:38:03 GMT

Olof:
No, but if i put 6 similar CDs into the BS 9000, it would have the music i like for hours

From a MacBook, and I am not an owner of a BS 9000 nor a BM5/BS5 ... but I do have an opinion :)

Like Trip I rarely play anything from my BS4 but I use it to access by iTunes (A.AUX) and to play iTunes (N.Music) depending upon where my MacBook is ... (lap, table, etc versus connected to my BeoPort and BV8)

I used the BS4 now to access the iTunes source usually in Genius or Genius Mixes mode; what I like about the BS4 is that it displays what I am playing ...

The BS4 has the capacity to play music through its SD card - for hours depending upon how much quality I am prepared to sacrifice

I did investigate buying a BM5 to access via the BV8, but I would have lost MOTS ... so for me the MacBook iTunes is the best current solution - I look forward to seeing what the next evolution of the BM5/BS5 and/or iPod integration brings us

[ update: this link shows the user experience I have today ... and why I would like to be able to have a "BeoSound 5" look and feel on my BV8 ]

I don't think I would ever go for a BS 9000 much as I love it as a piece of design and art ... I think this is the closest I will come to owning one: