I have similar set-up (BL 5 and BL 4000 as rears).....

i have tried boh the 4000 and BL3's as rears.....There was only a fractional improvement when i had the BL3's in situ. Given that you will probably only use them for surround sound on TV /DVD's, its  a lot of $$$ to spend for a minor improvemnt...Asthetically, the BL3's are in my view nicer and would probably better suit your BL9's, but like you, mine are rear of sofa and not very visible,, so all in all, im saying stick with your BL4's. If i had a couple of grand to splash around right now, I'd be opting for the Beosound5 Encore 🙂 ...though u may have this already!!

good luch with whatever you decide

Paul (Dublin)

Paulwhitehead:
Notice that he isn't talking BL4000, but BL4. Big difference 🙂

If you ask me, it will be a big improvement to switch the BL4 for the BL3. The BL4 isn't a nice sounding speaker to my ears. BL3 is far superior and will suit your setup nicely. 

And to quote Paul - BL4000s would probably workout great - there are more bass and full sound in the BL4000 than in the BL3. I use both BL4000 and BL3. As I wrote in another thread, the BL3s are more detailed in the sound. The BL4000 have more bass and a rounder sound in my ears.  Since we are about to move I have packed down my BL3 in the box and are only using the BL4000.. I like them more for every day :)

I had them as rear speakers and they worked out perfectly.

ahhhhh, as Casperi points out, I got it wrong....Its the Beolab4 you want to upgrade from to the BL3.

Well, Only thing I know about BL4's is that i was told they are not so great, and suitable for maybe computer speakers.....however, i did have a wad of cash in my hand and i was buying speakers in B&O, so  i fguess it was in their interest to sell better ones:)

so ill leave this to others who know the speaker, except to say that you should possibly consider the Beolab 4000's as a  alternative to the BL3's.....either will be nice im sure.

good luck

Paul

Paulwhitehead,

did you also try both the BL4000 vs the BL3 while listening to music in speaker 4 mode? Or do you only use your rear speaker with the telly?

You wrote, that there was only a very small improvement after you have switched from BL4000 to BL3. Was the improvement only while watching TV or also while listening to music in speaker 4 mode?

I´m asking because I also use the BL9 as front speakers and BL4000 MKII as rear speakers, but listen usually to music from my BS4 in speaker 4 mode (double stereo from BL9 and BL4000). All speakers are connected to my BV8-40 and the BS4 is connected by Masterlink.

Thank you for your answer.

Hi Hotknife

well, the improvement was marginal when i tried the BL3's. however, this was for TV sound. I generally only listen to music in stereo 2 speaker (BL5). however, i did try the 4 speaker option and yes, on music, it is noticablly better when you use BL3's as rears

Keep the BL4's for the while, and in time if you don't like them, change them.  Aesthetically, i think they are a great match for BL9's.

In my opinion, the BL4's would make better surround / rear speakers.  I think that the sound from my BL4's are much cleaner than the BL4000's. 

If you're loaded (lol) or just want to celebrate, you could always buy the BL3's and then have 7.1 with 3 different types of speakers :-)

Enjoy the new telly ... wooohoooo

Regards

MH

I use the BL4 as surround sound with BL6000 on a BV7-40 (with BL7.1 center and BL11 subwoofer). For the surroundsound  they match perfect. Of course it depends on the size of your room and the level of volume. The BL3 are much stronger. My TV room is about 40m2. Give them a chance, but yes, they might be weak for the BL9 and if you have a much larger living room.