Multiroom problem line-in from Balance to A5

[djdork]

I have a 2 year old Beosound Balance and I have a refurbished Beogram Balance 4002 connected via line-in. Works great.

Today I bought a Beosound A5 and was looking forward to using multiroom to listening to my Beogram around the house and outside on my new A5.

However after trying this for hours everything works (radio, Spotify, etc) except for line-in where my Beogram is connected.

To my shock I found a page on the B&O website about Beolink multiroom that says with small print “Line-in and Bluetooth cannot be distributed from products with Google Assistant built-in” (https://support.bang-olufsen.com/hc/en-us/articles/4411586315537-Which-sources-are-available-in-a-Beolink-Multiroom-setup- ).

Well that really sucks since I have Beosound Balance with Google Assistant built-in. I never used that feature.

Is there any workaround around this? Like totally disable the Google Assistant on the Balance? Or do I have to replace my Balance with a non Google version?

 

 

[Millemissen]

‘Is there any workaround around this?’

Best ‘workaround’ I can think of, is to try to get a Beoplay M3 (fairly cheap….if you can get hold on one) and set this up for distributing the sound of the Beogram using the line-in there.

MM

[Sia43]

Can M3 be connected to NL, or will it play standalone only?

[Millemissen]

The M3 is a NL device – it will show up in the beolink list, once configured/added to the app…assuming it is on the same home network as the other devices.

This is explained in danish – but I am sure you’ll be able to see how to.

MM

[Sia43]

Thanks, Milemissen,

I’m running my Beogram 9500 through Beomaster 6500, connected to NL/Ml which, in turn, is connected to the rest of the system. The only reason I’m using Beomaster 6500 is to be able to control the Beogram remotely, and I might want to get rid of the Beomaster.

Do you know if I can connect the Beogram to NL/Ml directly, or will I need an audio master such as in the solution you’ve suggested with Beoplay M3?

Thanks

[Stan]

I believe you can distribute the AUX-in audio of the ML/NL converter.  However, if the beogram doesn’t have a built-in phono pre-amp (some models have them, some don’t), then you’ll need one of those or else your beogram will sound bad.

[Millemissen]

That should be possible – that is what the line-in connection there is for.

However – like if you’d connect to an M3 – there is no control of the turntable there.

P.S.
I find it cool to be able to control the Beogram remotely – why not just keep the 6500Master….you can hide it in a cupboard or so.

MM

[Carolpa]

Millemissen wrote:

That should be possible – that is what the line-in connection there is for.

So that’s a: “that’s possible”.

However – like if you’d connect to an M3 – there is no control of the turntable there.

Correct: I have a BG4000 (with pre-amp) LINE-In connected to a BLC.

P.S. I find it cool to be able to control the Beogram remotely – why not just keep the 6500Master….you can hide it in a cupboard or so. MM

True, but I had a BG7000 connected to a BM7000, BLC connected, and noticed I hardly, better said never, started the record player remotely. I always pressed the play button after placing a record. So cool feature, but presumably hardly used.

[Millemissen]

@Corolpa

Not that I would recomment anyone to set it up fresh with an Audiomaster, but Sia43 already has one…..so why not just leave that in the mix ?

Personally I find ‘a Line-in/M3 solution’ better, if someone wants to let go of ML in the long run.

MM

[Sia43]

Thank you, Stan, Milemissen and Carlopa, for your replies. As Milemissen mentions, it is fantastic to remotely control the Beogram (one of the earlier B&O magics). Yet, the magic works if you already have the Beogram ready to go and then start it remotely, but as soon as you have to change to the other side or change the record itself, you need to do it manually. For that little extra magic, having a Beomaster 6500 in the background is not as plausible as one could hope for, but I admit that being able to do cool stuff doesn’t need to be plausible!

Maybe I could find some additional use for my Beomaster. For example, could I connect it to a pair of in-wall Bevox speakers in the kitchen (then I will need to find a new place to put my Beolab 2000 in)? That, however, raises further questions.

1- Can I keep the Beogram in the living room while hiding the Beomaster in the kitchen, or more precisely, how long data-link cables can I use (are data-link cables restricted to shorter signal transfers?)

2- If one is possible, will I be able to choose another source, say Spotify, through the B&O app or Halo, to play in the kitchen, or will the Beomaster be dedicated to the Beogrma only?

3- If both 1 and 2 work, do you have any suggestions for Beovox speakers that sound better than Beolab 2000?

 

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