BeoSound 5 - First Impressions

86 replies
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Rolf wrote:

When having Beoplayer/Beoport in the Album view, simply drag and drop a coverart .jpg from the folding containing it and drop it on the "blank" album icon i Beoplayer/Beoport.

Check out the built in Guide for the product, I am not at home at the moment but I seem to remember that it is refered to in the Guide as "Adding missing cover art"

//Rolf

This is correct.  I just tried it.  After you drag in the album art, you will get a message at the top indicating the album art is being updated.  For the album being updated, the red square around the music selection changes back to white.

I have a question.  I am more used to iTunes and apple lossless.  What kbps should I expect for windows lossless.  I ripped a cd in windows lossless but the kbps was over 4000.  Is this correct?  If so, I will fill up that 500 gb disk quickly.  Thanks.

Yeah,

Thanks a lot guys ! 🤒

i'm ready to take my BS5 this saturday !

linder wrote:
I have a question.  I am more used to iTunes and apple lossless.  What kbps should I expect for windows lossless.  I ripped a cd in windows lossless but the kbps was over 4000.  Is this correct?  If so, I will fill up that 500 gb disk quickly.  Thanks.

There is no real difference in size between files in wma Lossless and in Apple Lossless, the bitrate you saw was just a display error, maybe.

Thanks for the information.  I was looking at it incorrectly.  I have started ripping using Microsoft lossless.  I find the sound is wonderful on Beosound 5.  I have also found that Beoplayer is better to use than Beoconnect which I was doing because I have a Mac.  I have loaded Windows XP on my MacBook Air using VMware Fusion.  It was an experience doing that but it all works well now.  Okay I am ripping a disk twice to Beosound 5 using Windows and then to iTunes apple lossless.  This is a little extra work but I really like the Beosound 5.  I was a Bang & Olufsen fan long before being an Apple fan!

William

Returning to the first impressions on the BeoSound / BeoMaster 5 combo package...

Beomaster 5 seems to be a revamped Beomedia (which has twice the memory and CPU power and an updated Windows XP embedded platform - ie. it now has SP2).  The other enhancements are a refined soundcard (48KHz), a built-in power supply and: the option to control the unit via a wired remote control dubbed BeoSound 5.  The issue with the BeoSound / BeoMaster package is that it is focused on price first, then looks and functionality last.  If you decide to purchase the BeoMaster by itself (most useful to those with a BV9 set) you don't get the somewhat useful MOTS feature (which is only enabled when the BeoSound 5 is connected to the BeoMaster unit).  If you purchase the complementing BeoSound 5 unit to improve the overall appearance, gain the MOTS function and a better navigational means for your music collection then you can only control the system unidirectionally (i.e. only from the BeoSound 5).  The BeoSound and BeoMaster have somewhat independant software programs.  Namely, if the BeoSound 5 is the main controller (as opposed to the BeoMaster - which has an navigational interface similar to the BeoMedia but with album covers this time) the BeoMaster software is "disabled" but an album cover is displayed on your TV set as an extension of the BeoSound user interface.  Some control can be gained by using the Beo4 or Beo5 remote controls but nothing spectacular (jump to next song and re-seed the MOTS with a new song being the main functions achieved via the remote control).  Given the album art displayed on the TV is a UI extension from the BeoSound 5 no dim can be achieved on the TV.  That is, you cannot enable the screen dim or black out feature previously supplied by the BeoMedia (adn available with the BeoMaster if connected by itself).  If such function was somehow enabled the BeoSound screen will also be affected thus making it a nuisance.  So, in the event you are setting up your system in "AM 0" mode with the speakers connected via the AV system (and not directly hooked up to the BM5) you may find there are certain deficiencies in the current version/s of the software which IMO were introduced by the focus on price (e.g. you can't upgrade the BeoMedia, you need the BeoMaster "advanced digital platform" and an external USB-based unit called BeoSound which brings in the MOTS functionality but... forget about the navigational aspect the BeoMaster provides in conjunction with a remote control, just walk to the BeoSound everytime you want to browse for another album cause you can do with the excercise and, while at it, we'll display the album cover on your plasma in case you eyesight doesn;t cater for the smaller version displayed on the BeoSound LCD, and burn-in the coverframe and soundtrack symbols on your TV screen if you decide to leave the music on for a few hours).

Lokk forward to the refined software version.

Dkresz, you wrote

"If you purchase the complementing BeoSound 5 unit to improve the overall appearance, gain the MOTS function and a better navigational means for your music collection then you can only control the system unidirectionally (i.e. only from the BeoSound 5)....." "Some control can be gained by using the Beo4 or Beo5 remote controls but nothing spectacular (jump to next song and re-seed the MOTS with a new song being the main functions achieved via the remote control)."

This is highly surprising to me - if I read your posting correctly, the possibilities of operating the BM5 via TV on screen menus is quite limited when a BS5 is connected?

That is correct.  With the current (and perhaps future) versions of the software, once the BS5 head unit is connected to the BM5 (i.e. full package setup) the focus is mainly on the BS5.  If the BM5 is used by itself then the functionality is similar but perhaps more advanced than that of the old BM1.  That is, you gain full control of the unit via the remote control and you can browse albums, select tracks etc.  BS5 hooked up and: no browsing functionality exists.  I can see the point if the BS5 is used in Audio mode (i.e. no TV screen enabled).  In such instance, one only wants to use the BS5 and walk to it, browse using the somewhat pretty interface, change the volume using the wheel and so on.  But, for those with a TV set hooked up,every now and then you may feel like sitting back on the couch and selecting a different album.  Nope.  Not at present (and I believe that was intentional but some may not consider practical).  Overall, not a bad unit just needs further tweaking (via SW).

Hello,

I just ordered a BeoSound 5 Encore and I don't know yet which stand I should choose. I want to use it on a shelf but should I use the table stand (and so where does the wires go ?) or the wall mount ?

Thank you

Nicolas

Same question. What's your feeling about selecting tracks and albums with the remote distant from the unit?
The fact that when connecting a BS5 to the BM5, navigation with the remote is no longer possible, just doesn't make any sense.

I have several TVs in different rooms. Each time I want to change the track or album I have to return to the room where the BS5 is installed to do it.

This is just crazy!
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