General Forum

Re: BL3 + BL11

leogenghis — Fri, 16 Jul 2010 11:28:50 GMT

I've no experience with BL 3 or 11, but can chime in a little regarding the Quad. A quarter of a century ago my father acquired the Quad 66 series CD transport and amp and set it up in conjunction with BeoVox Pentas. The sound quality and build quality was second-to-none, and the best endorsement one can give is that he's still using the same CD transport and amp in his main system today. Played almost every single day, nothing had needed replacement or fixing in 25 years.

In 2001 I purchased the then brand-new Quad 99 series, with the smaller of the two stereo amps, and hooked it up to a pair of BeoVox CX-100's. It sounded beautiful, but almost immediately I noticed the large drop in build quality compared to the 66 series. Sure, the aluminium casings were weighty and solid, but the LCD displays and remote control looked ridiculously cheap, and the facade buttons had a poor tactile feel and responsiveness. The preamp unit failed within a year. The remote also needed replacing once. It's now set up in a secondary room with the Pentas, and for a while continued to produce beautiful sound, but a few years ago the amp started to make a very loud "pop" noise on startup and shutdown. Very recently, a faint distortion or "white noise" has started to appear on some recordings, particularly during high frequency parts. My car CD player exhibited the same symptom and the repairer attributed it to the laser being worn.

With that being said, my Quad 99 CD transport was of the first series. Your model, the CDP, is the second and may have had these issues ironed out. Or not. One thing I've learnt from this experience though, is that the adage "they don't make things like they used to" clearly holds. As the forum plainly shows, B&O is also suffering significantly from this malaise. High-end brands are sadly not exempt from the trend.

Leo

Re: BL3 + BL11

JC — Fri, 16 Jul 2010 09:51:37 GMT

I run 3s with a lab 11, superb addition!! Go for it

Jonnie

Re: BL3 + BL11

Luke — Fri, 16 Jul 2010 06:37:46 GMT

Well.. they probably thought it was pretty... so we didn't say anything. Why ruin their pleasure. lol

but I had thought the BL3's would be the perfect match for the BL 11 ?

Re: BL3 + BL11

9 LEE — Fri, 16 Jul 2010 05:15:17 GMT

Luke :

Funny, B&O were more than happy to tell one to my parents in law to go with their BL 9s.

I'm sure that particular salesperson had three collars on his shirt, heels on both the back and front of his shoes and a greedy look in his eyes...

Re: BL3 + BL11

Luke — Fri, 16 Jul 2010 04:48:59 GMT

Funny, B&O were more than happy to tell one to my parents in law to go with their BL 9s.

Re: BL3 + BL11

DoubleU — Fri, 16 Jul 2010 01:33:50 GMT

I don't agree!

Besides that, what were these "sales" persons thinking...???

Re: BL3 + BL11

Karel Uyttendaele — Fri, 16 Jul 2010 01:25:23 GMT

Don't know where the sales persons get that info... If the BL11 is not suited to play with the BL3... then it's also not suited to play with the BL8000... I can assure you that the BL11 is a perfect addition to the BL8000's!!!!

Re: BL3 + BL11

moxxey — Fri, 16 Jul 2010 01:14:31 GMT

afcintra:

A sales person told me at a B&O store in Canada that I should not use a BL11 together with BL3s. According to him the BL11 should be used only with less potent speakers. Is his comment correct?

I was told the same thing by a UK sales person. He said "the BL11 isn't designed to be used with the BL3s", so clearly they have received this information from somewhere. Perhaps B&O have told them that the BL11 adds little to the BL3s? ie. people might end up disappointed.

Re: BL3 + BL11

beocool — Fri, 16 Jul 2010 00:51:55 GMT

Not sure if I agree with the sales person.... The Beolab 11 adds more bass. Apart from that the load of the Beolab 3's is lightened which improves the midrange frequencies on the Beolab 3's. But it's always best to listen for yourself.

I'm not familiair with the Quad CDP-99 player, but I'm sure someone will give you advice on that issue soon!

BL3 + BL11

afcintra — Thu, 15 Jul 2010 20:23:40 GMT

A sales person told me at a B&O store in Canada that I should not use a BL11 together with BL3s. According to him the BL11 should be used only with less potent speakers. Is his comment correct?

My idea is to include a BL11 in a set up where the BL3s are linked to a QUAD CDP-99 player. Does anyone know how to include the BL11 in my setup? What kind of cables will I need? Will the BL11 improve noticeably the sound quality?