BeoJosh wrote:

From what I understand, if you have them connected as part of a B&O TV system they'll work. But to work independently on the 28s, it'll require a future s/w update.

Yeah - that is an interesting aspect.

It seems to be a pair of speaker (that can be used as stereo setup with an audiosystem, maybe a Core) and supposedly also as speakers that you can connect to a BV (for multi channel).

And they seem to have built in sources (like the Balance/Level...).

Do these work in both cases or only a a standalone pair of speakers.....which would be the third use case.

Or maybe you just need one speaker, when the built in sources are used (after a future update).

Am I expecting too much?

We will soon know!

MM

Why should you need a TV to connect them?

they support wisa, wireless powerlink, cabled PowerLink, WiFi and so on. 
built in AirPlay 2, Chromecast and Spotify Connect.  

oh those famous words "future software update"!!!!

which should translate as "no it doesn't work, we could possibly make it work at some point, but because we can't tell you the reasons why we've chosen a different path, we'll leave you with a vague meaningless statement about future possibilities"

13 months since the Balance launch, almost as long since the statement about the return of much loved features via software updates......

The Halo will likely reach a year at least before anything meaningful is added.

I dont quite get why some seem to think they have turned the corner on their sketchy software track record? Yes, leaving behind the Android TVOS was a wise move, but everything else since then software wise has been success through very limited scope and ambition, and now a new software backbone, where the functionalities and use cases are extremely unclear,

Of course the pandemic has slowed any progress, but I throughly doubt things would be much better or progressed absent the associated disruptions.

 

 

 

BeoJosh wrote:

From what I understand, if you have them connected as part of a B&O TV system they'll work. But to work independently on the 28s, it'll require a future s/w update.

 

Feedan wrote:

Why should you need a TV to connect them?

As I wrote.......when/if you want them to be part of a multichannel setup - as front speakers or surround speakers.....

MM

Sandyb wrote:

oh those famous words "future software update"!!!!

which should translate as "no it doesn't work, we could possibly make it work at some point, but because we can't tell you the reasons why we've chosen a different path, we'll leave you with a vague meaningless statement about future possibilities"

13 months since the Balance launch, almost as long since the statement about the return of much loved features via software updates......

The Halo will likely reach a year at least before anything meaningful is added.

I dont quite get why some seem to think they have turned the corner on their sketchy software track record? Yes, leaving behind the Android TVOS was a wise move, but everything else since then software wise has been success through very limited scope and ambition, and now a new software backbone, where the functionalities and use cases are extremely unclear,

Of course the pandemic has slowed any progress, but I throughly doubt things would be much better or progressed absent the associated disruptions.

I agree with you Sandyb! I cannot get my head around it that the Network Link is not already nicely integrated in Balance, Level and soon to be introduced Emerge. And the absence of Deezer in all new products is so strange, back to Spotify (which has less audio quality compared to Deezer). If they need Spotify again just add it additionally to Deezer. They also skipped DLNA.

They are pushing new products and start to clime up to better times (maybe), but in the process they lose their main target group to my feeling. The products need to be stable, future proof AND backwards compatible, that is the justification for their premium, not the design only. For now they have made a mess on the software side, even more with their customer support and to top it off, leaving a consistent direction with NL, AP, GC, Deezer, TuneIn, DLNA and Spotify (some Connect, some not).

Their promises regarding NL on new platform feels like all vaccin promises made in EU...we will get it done but do not know when, where, with what..endless promises but no results.

Sandyb wrote:

oh those famous words "future software update"!!!!

which should translate as "no it doesn't work, we could possibly make it work at some point, but because we can't tell you the reasons why we've chosen a different path, we'll leave you with a vague meaningless statement about future possibilities"

13 months since the Balance launch, almost as long since the statement about the return of much loved features via software updates......

The Halo will likely reach a year at least before anything meaningful is added.

I dont quite get why some seem to think they have turned the corner on their sketchy software track record? Yes, leaving behind the Android TVOS was a wise move, but everything else since then software wise has been success through very limited scope and ambition, and now a new software backbone, where the functionalities and use cases are extremely unclear,

Of course the pandemic has slowed any progress, but I throughly doubt things would be much better or progressed absent the associated disruptions.

 

 

 

BeoJosh wrote:

From what I understand, if you have them connected as part of a B&O TV system they'll work. But to work independently on the 28s, it'll require a future s/w update.

 

Sandy you are too harch, too rigid.

Products of today live in a sw based environment - all of them.

I am quite sure that B&O promised did not promise e.g. support for Beolink through a future update when they launched the Balance - that might have been thought of, but ditched at that point.

Maybe they did not see it as important at that point for the costumers that they focussed on. I guess a lot of Balance/Level owners can live without it....they give a sh*t about Beolink, maybe don’t even know what it is/can. 

They are fine for a lot of people - and maybe they will turn out to be usefull in setups like mine (and yours) in time.

The important thing here however, is that these new products (from the hardware configuration) have the option of adding support for (several) new features.

If they should wait with launching these new product untill ‘all is done’, we’d probably would have to wait years (and some of us would be disappointed anyway).

After all, these products can indeed be used as is, although maybe not quite the way some of us would like.

I think we should be gratefull that these options are there.

I too find it frustrating that there (still) is no BL support and that the Halo is quite limited - but I also know that B&O is a small company with somewhat limited resources (please name me a company of that size that has as big and as versatile a product line up as B&O).

So.... I generally find it ok, that they launch products this way.

The BL90 were updated several times during the first years, my iDevices as another example of modern devices get updates for this and that all the time....that is how things work today.

 

MM

Millemissen wrote:

If they should wait with launching these new product untill ‘all is done’, we’d probably would have to wait years

I'm sorry Millemissen but if you find SandyB toot harsh, I find you too forgiving.

Compagnies are now too much used to have us pay to beta test their product. 

Id they were making cars we would all be dead…

That is one ugly speaker.

Probably not so ugly in reality but the heavy foot takes a lot of the magic away, and probably makes them very ugly to wall mount.

Thankfully we don’t have to buy what we don’t like. I’d be happier if they did more fronts for beolab 50 instead of pushing out so many new models of speakers to keep supported for many years.

I dont think its a harsh assessment,

Of course most / all products are much more software reliant than 10-15 years ago.  

Either they should devote increased or better resources to the software side (which has happened), or they should just focus on design / sound, and rely on other platforms for users to use their products.

I'm pretty sure that they have chosen the latter path - when I wrote 2 years or so ago that they'd abandon NL, people reacted with a "no, they surely won't", but that is clearly what they did starting with the Balance.  As my dealer explained to me then, and again recently, salesman were told to educate customers (missing older functionality) to just use AP and CC.

I suspect we can all live without NL (better still to have it I agree) - but if the chosen path is this, and they are de facto prioritising design / sound, then I'd expect / hope for strong designs and sound.

Here the recent record has been mixed - the products all seem to sound very good to vary degrees, but the designs have varied between so so and good. What amongst the M series, BS1/2, Balance, Level, Emerge will be that fondly remembered or even classics?  Their last stone cold classic was the A9 (the 90s are out of reach for most).

 

 

Millemissen wrote:

Sandyb wrote:

oh those famous words "future software update"!!!!

which should translate as "no it doesn't work, we could possibly make it work at some point, but because we can't tell you the reasons why we've chosen a different path, we'll leave you with a vague meaningless statement about future possibilities"

13 months since the Balance launch, almost as long since the statement about the return of much loved features via software updates......

The Halo will likely reach a year at least before anything meaningful is added.

I dont quite get why some seem to think they have turned the corner on their sketchy software track record? Yes, leaving behind the Android TVOS was a wise move, but everything else since then software wise has been success through very limited scope and ambition, and now a new software backbone, where the functionalities and use cases are extremely unclear,

Of course the pandemic has slowed any progress, but I throughly doubt things would be much better or progressed absent the associated disruptions.

 

 

 

BeoJosh wrote:

From what I understand, if you have them connected as part of a B&O TV system they'll work. But to work independently on the 28s, it'll require a future s/w update.

 

Sandy you are too harch, too rigid.

Products of today live in a sw based environment - all of them.

I am quite sure that B&O promised did not promise e.g. support for Beolink through a future update when they launched the Balance - that might have been thought of, but ditched at that point.

Maybe they did not see it as important at that point for the costumers that they focussed on. I guess a lot of Balance/Level owners can live without it....they give a sh*t about Beolink, maybe don’t even know what it is/can. 

They are fine for a lot of people - and maybe they will turn out to be usefull in setups like mine (and yours) in time.

The important thing here however, is that these new products (from the hardware configuration) have the option of adding support for (several) new features.

If they should wait with launching these new product untill ‘all is done’, we’d probably would have to wait years (and some of us would be disappointed anyway).

After all, these products can indeed be used as is, although maybe not quite the way some of us would like.

I think we should be gratefull that these options are there.

I too find it frustrating that there (still) is no BL support and that the Halo is quite limited - but I also know that B&O is a small company with somewhat limited resources (please name me a company of that size that has as big and as versatile a product line up as B&O).

So.... I generally find it ok, that they launch products this way.

The BL90 were updated several times during the first years, my iDevices as another example of modern devices get updates for this and that all the time....that is how things work today.

 

MM