General Forum

Re: Beolab 2 vs anything else

Alex — Wed, 09 Jan 2008 13:20:23 GMT

GuyHui :
Hi,
So we don't need a BL2 unless we have a pair of BL9's, right ?
Is the size of the BL2's woofer bigger than the one from the BL9's ?
Cheers,

Guy

No, the opposite. A BeoLab 2 really adds to the sound with all the B&O speakers except the BeoLab 9s and 5s, where I personally feel it would subtract from the sound overall. BeoLab 9s and 5s are very, very fast paced and detailed. They can keep up with basslines most subwoofers and larger speakers would fumble with.

Re: Beolab 2 vs anything else

mobeyone — Wed, 09 Jan 2008 12:24:27 GMT

General consensus seems to be that the lab9s are able to produce a very healthy amount of bass which can negate the use of a lab2, all depends on how much bass you want and if you are content with the sound the 9s make.

Personally, I have not heard them as yet but they are talked of in the same league as lab1 and 2 combo..

Anyone agree/disagree??

Re: Beolab 2 vs anything else

GuyHui — Wed, 09 Jan 2008 06:33:53 GMT

Hi,

So we don't need a BL2 unless we have a pair of BL9's, right ?
Is the size of the BL2's woofer bigger than the one from the BL9's ?

Cheers,

Guy

Re: Beolab 2 vs anything else

mobeyone — Wed, 09 Jan 2008 05:42:14 GMT

BL2 is one of those that once you have tasted, theres no going back!

I do find that it struggles with certain types of music but on the whole, it does become an essential part of your setup giving that icing on the cake.

Long term investment if you ask me unless you go down the road of lab5s or even 9s.

Re: Beolab 2 vs anything else

BartS — Wed, 09 Jan 2008 01:11:18 GMT

mfirst:

ok, so I need a sub which has a line level high pass output - who makes these? how would I connect this to my BS3200?
or
maybe I am missing something, but B&O sends the audio signal via powerlink (or is it masterlink - never been made clear to me), but basically a line level signal - how does a nonB&O sub plug into all of this? besides "the sub" what else do I need to buy?

-michale

REL makes them.

Re: Beolab 2 vs anything else

Dave — Tue, 08 Jan 2008 19:32:31 GMT

Alex:
This isn't necessary however, if you're connecting the subwoofer to the surround sound output on a BeoVision/BeoCentre, as in this case, the high-pass-filter is built into the surround sound processor.

I didn't know this! Useful information

Re: Beolab 2 vs anything else

mfirst — Tue, 08 Jan 2008 19:12:56 GMT

I am sure I will love the BL2 - if for no other reason it sounds like most of you would get rid of your spouses before you would get rid of your BL2 - but it is expensive and I want to understand all of options. It sounds like using anything other than B&O is a headache and probably not worth the effort?

-michael

Re: Beolab 2 vs anything else

Alex — Tue, 08 Jan 2008 17:57:09 GMT

You'd two PowerLink to stereo phono cables assuming the subwoofer you'd choose will have phono connections, which it might possibly not.

As for subwoofers with a high pass filter output at line level, I'm not really sure what to suggest. I can't think of any I've come across. Subs tend to have it only on the amplified signal level.

Have you listened to the BeoLab 2? You might like it just as much as any other subwoofer out there, and IMO, it's definitely one of the best lookers. You'll also find it's more powerful than subs many times it's size, and goes much deeper than most.

Re: Beolab 2 vs anything else

mfirst — Tue, 08 Jan 2008 16:40:16 GMT

ok, so I need a sub which has a line level high pass output - who makes these? how would I connect this to my BS3200?

maybe I am missing something, but B&O sends the audio signal via powerlink (or is it masterlink - never been made clear to me), but basically a line level signal - how does a nonB&O sub plug into all of this? besides "the sub" what else do I need to buy?

-michale

Re: Beolab 2 vs anything else

Alex — Mon, 07 Jan 2008 18:58:07 GMT

You need a subwoofer which has a 'high pass output' at line level. This means a subwoofer which cuts out all the bass it itself is covering, and passes this 'sub-bass-free' signal to the main speakers (BeoLab 8000s or whatever) so they can sing better.

This is pretty rare though, most subwoofers only do this at an amplified level, whilst you're really looking for something which does it at line-level. The BeoLab 2 does a very good job of this.

This isn't necessary however, if you're connecting the subwoofer to the surround sound output on a BeoVision/BeoCentre, as in this case, the high-pass-filter is built into the surround sound processor.

Re: Beolab 2 vs anything else

mfirst — Mon, 07 Jan 2008 12:03:23 GMT

I know we have talked about these things before - but what are the good non-B&O subs that can easily hooked up to a B&O system - particularly one that can "take the load off" of my BL8000. What are the specifics - like what do I need to buy if I am going to use non-B&O stuff?? help....

-michael

Re: Beolab 2 vs anything else

GuyHui — Mon, 07 Jan 2008 11:02:35 GMT

+1, Alex for the Velodyne Digital Drive Series (with room equalization). those little beasts can ramble your entire condo.
By the way, like others said, an alternative to the B&O subwoofer, would be the B&W PV1 with ICE AMP technology at a fraction of the BL2's retail price.

Guy

Re: Beolab 2 vs anything else

Alex — Mon, 07 Jan 2008 05:55:58 GMT

If you do want to look at getting a subwoofer instead of upgrading to BeoLab 9s, then the best bets would be a BeoLab 2, B&W PV1 or else from their range, an REL subwoofer (these are very good indeed) or a Velodyne.

Re: Beolab 2 vs anything else

GuyHui — Mon, 07 Jan 2008 02:27:43 GMT

BL2 is the Real Thing is you need some extra bass or get a 5.1 DTS or Dolby Digital configuration.

Personally, mine does a really good job. All the bass are mainly managed by the subwoofer, then the BL8000 and BL4000 can rest and concentrate on the medium and treble. The sound is then more homogeneous.

I had the chance to get a second-hand BL2, under warranty (two years old) for 1500 euros.

Guy

Re: Beolab 2 vs anything else

jk1002 — Sun, 06 Jan 2008 23:27:02 GMT

I have the classic BL3 and BL2 combination. This is it. I wouldn't resist a minute buying it again. I use it mostly for music, but have to say I haven't listen to any other sub with Bl3. I did listen to BL5 though. And yes, it free's the Bl3, that is a spot on comment from Chris.

I know the BL2 is quite expensive, I bought mine with the BL3. They sort of offered a packaged deal when I asked if they could do something if I buy Bl2 on top of the Bl3 I was shopping for.

Maybe you can bundle it up with another purchase, BV8 is coming to town hint hint. Or you could ask for a demo product. Not sure if I would be comfortable with Ebay. The only time I took that risk was with a very reasonable priced BS9000 that was too cheap to pass up from a super high feedback seller (think 30k transactions).

Maybe just pony down to the store and have a listening and let your ears guide

Cheers