Hi all,

Im thinking of buying the beolab 20s to accompany with beolab 5s for beosound 5. Is it possible for 4 speakers to connect in to beomaster 5 without decreasing the sound quality ? Thank you

As far as I am aware, yes... but would you want 4 speakers for music rather than just the 2 BeoLab 5s?

Beolab 5s produced superb sound somehow i am still a bit curious how the music in my room would be if i put another pair of speakers into. More over, pictures taken on internet showed the 4 beolab 5s in same living room that made me thinking of those more than usual. Thanks 

Looking at the technical spec's I hope that the Lab 20 has more 'midrange' than the 9's, as that midrange has been found lacking by some here.

Perhaps a re-worked Lab 3 would benefit in the same way; they are superb speakers but miss a bit of 'midrange' energy in my opinion.

I've yet to see or hear the Beolab 20's, but given the Beolab 9's were first released in 2007, I would expect the Lab 20's to better them.

As an owner with a pair of Beolab 9's now 18mths old, and bought new, it would take a significant jump in performance to want to change, for which I would think the Lab 5's would still be the ultimate step up in the context of B&O's current range.

Mind you, I'm awaiting the inevitable update of the Beolab 5 which is likely to be made Wireless compatible in the not too distant future, and almost certainly upgraded in performance and overall design along with it.

However I'm looking forward to visiting my dealer soon, and checking out the new Beolab 20 speakers and Avant TV!

Exciting times for B&O, most definitely.. :-)

Cheers

John... 😐

jc wrote:

Looking at the technical spec's I hope that the Lab 20 has more 'midrange' than the 9's, as that midrange has been found lacking by some here.

Perhaps a re-worked Lab 3 would benefit in the same way; they are superb speakers but miss a bit of 'midrange' energy in my opinion.

Hmmm...the midrange on the 9s is about as good as I've ever heard. The only thing I could think of one could find fault with is if one preferred the kind of voicing that companies like B&W seem to favor, which to my ear seems a bit overexaggerated in detail due to a slight lift in that region.

But it depends on what you like to listen to. For me, speakers with a lift in the mids tend to get fatiguing to listen to after a while, whereas the 9s I can listen to for hours without strain.

Jeff wrote:

jc wrote:

Looking at the technical spec's I hope that the Lab 20 has more 'midrange' than the 9's, as that midrange has been found lacking by some here.

Perhaps a re-worked Lab 3 would benefit in the same way; they are superb speakers but miss a bit of 'midrange' energy in my opinion.

Hmmm...the midrange on the 9s is about as good as I've ever heard. The only thing I could think of one could find fault with is if one preferred the kind of voicing that companies like B&W seem to favor, which to my ear seems a bit overexaggerated in detail due to a slight lift in that region.

But it depends on what you like to listen to. For me, speakers with a lift in the mids tend to get fatiguing to listen to after a while, whereas the 9s I can listen to for hours without strain.

I have B&W 802D and a basically new pair of BeoLab 5 that were acquired for resale purposes. I find the midrange on the Lab5's more forward, and in-fact more pleasing than the 802D, which I find a bit laid back and muddled somewhat by the bass/warmth of the 802D. This is in a rather small room, however, which is not ideal for the 802s. 

Where are the BeoLab 20s made? One concern I have is that newer is not always better, though the 20s do seem to improve the 9s in some key areas. However, even in new versus older Lab5s some cost cutting measures are evident, such as the mains power plug being a simple two prong ungrounded affair now versus the older three prong IEC style plug which allowed the adaptation of nice heavy duty power cords. 

Other than IWS and possibly playback higher than 96khz, not sure there is much that could be done to improve the Lab 5. I mean, it's been around for over a decade now for that very reason. I wouldn't expect anything significant.

Interesting, it's been a long time since I've heard the BL5s in anything approaching a decent room so I honestly have a hard time remembering their mids vs. say the 9s. I do know that I haven't listened to all B&Ws or even the newest ones, but the ones I have heard tended to be voiced more towards what I would call the modern audiophile "detail" oriented end of the spectrum, which to me sounds a bit too detailed, as opposed to a more "polite" and laid back sound. No doubt they were good sounding speakers, but their voicing was not my favorite way to voice a speaker.  Reminds me of the old days, you had West Coast sound (JBL), New England sound (Advent), and British sound (Kef, etc.).

Jeff wrote:

Interesting, it's been a long time since I've heard the BL5s in anything approaching a decent room so I honestly have a hard time remembering their mids vs. say the 9s. I do know that I haven't listened to all B&Ws or even the newest ones, but the ones I have heard tended to be voiced more towards what I would call the modern audiophile "detail" oriented end of the spectrum, which to me sounds a bit too detailed, as opposed to a more "polite" and laid back sound. No doubt they were good sounding speakers, but their voicing was not my favorite way to voice a speaker.  Reminds me of the old days, you had West Coast sound (JBL), New England sound (Advent), and British sound (Kef, etc.).

Yep, I've heard that before and about the different "house" sounds, too. Apparently McIntosh gear used to have a rather dark character to it, and then suddenly beginning with the MC601, MC452 and the 2.0Kw they shifted to a more neutral and brighter presentation in the voicing of their amps. 

Now don't get me wrong, the treble end of things on the 802Ds is rather "crispy" because of that Diamond tweeter, but I never find that portion fatiguing or hard to listen to. My main problem with them has ironically been a yearning for MORE neutral, accurate midrange. But because of the room size the bass is just overpowering sometimes. They're a little slow. This is something that was supposedly improved upon on the 802 "Diamond", which came after the D.

And though I consider the Lab5s more forward in the mids, it is never fatiguing in any possible way. It is how I like it. My suspicion with the lab 5, since B&O don't play much with or talk up the material make-up of their drivers, is that the basic "bones" of this speaker will remain unchanged, with the exception of wireless and possibly higher bitrate formats. But they'll add the biggest thing the Lab5s have lacked, and that's diversity... So likely several color choices, or new designs for the grilles or what not. 

I will also be eager to hear the Lab 20s next time I am in a B&O store, but I too am not keen on their design. 

french review

http://www.hautefidelite-hifi.com/images/gratuits/NET-HF2.pdf