Thank you Mr. Moulton for sharing with us. I think you are right, that this speaker is world class or at least can be under the right circumstances. We did have a thread earlier this year on wishes for a 10-year anniversary edition of BL5.  

/forum/general-discussion-and-questions/wishes-for-beolab-5-10-year-anniversary-edition

I would very much appreciate the presets you mention. I am one of the unfortunate that have yet to hear the BL5 sing in my living room. A B&O technician visited me to make sure the speakers very setup alright, updated, calibrated and everything. I was surprised to learn how little even he could do. The diagnostics options were down to a read out of operating hours ( standby/on hours ) and the software version.

Besides that the room measurement could apparently be read and sent to B&O but we did not do that. So status is still that I want these speakers in my room but for listening I am still better off with my BL3s.

kimchr wrote:

Thank you Mr. Moulton for sharing with us. I think you are right, that this speaker is world class or at least can be under the right circumstances. We did have a thread earlier this year on wishes for a 10-year anniversary edition of BL5.

http://archivedforum2.beoworld.org/forums/t/289.aspx

I would very much appreciate the presets you mention. I am one of the unfortunate that have yet to hear the BL5 sing in my living room. A B&O technician visited me to make sure the speakers very setup alright, updated, calibrated and everything. I was surprised to learn how little even he could do. The diagnostics options were down to a read out of operating hours ( standby/on hours ) and the software version.

Besides that the room measurement could apparently be read and sent to B&O but we did not do that. So status is still that I want these speakers in my room but for listening I am still better off with my BL3s.

maclife wrote:

http://people.xiph.org/~xiphmont/demo/neil-young.html

What I'd suggest for kimchr is to buy a good equalizer and start gently studying your own personal timbral response preferences.  The BeoLab 5 is a fabulous platform for doing this because of its extremely smooth and extended response.  You want something the speakers aren't giving you, and I suspect it is there for you with the appropriate equalization.  

Just so you know, when I'm mastering, I almost always find there's more to tease out of a recording to get it "to sing for me," and I always go for it.  I have a stable of signal-processing tricks that I use and I see and hear nothing wrong with this approach.  In your case, you're just beginning to act on what your ears are asking for.  I'd start with EQ, and I'd start with gentle (+2 or 3 dB) broadband boosts in the 2500 - 10,000 Hz. range.  Do some extended listening with the EQ in and then out.  At some point, you SHOULD be able to get these speakers (of all speakers) to sing for you.  

So, good luck with this.  There is a lot to learn and a lot of fun and musical satisfaction and joy to be had along the way.  Keep me posted on how you make out.  

Best regards and thanks for listening!

Dave Moulton, Sausalito Audio

thank you mr. Moulton. i have a weeks vacation next week so i will experiment further.

@maab my listening room is 6.20 x 4.40 m. ceiling height 3 m. a suspended floor from 1880 like the rest of the building. 1m between the supports. void below and then clay and wood. i moved,listened and measured using fuzz measure 100`s of times. i tried the golden cuboid placement, skewed 4\9, all the way into the corners, out again, moved the speakers one by one to the listening position calibrating them here, moved the listening position back and forth. i calibrated,listened and measured each tiny movement. i placed them on big concrete slabs resting on fat dots. i placed them directly on top of the floor supports. between floor supports. i changed the orientation 90 degrees.  

 next week i will try rotating orientation 90 degrees more, eq, calibration on the balcony, ...

After all these years Beolab 5 still has the freaking best measurements I have laid my eyes on  http://www.hifisentralen.no/forumet/attachments/forskjeller-og-testmetodikk/11088d1335552195-cambridge-840c-upsampling-inntrykk-beolab5hifinewsreviewdel2 .

Please update the DSP! So I can finally get my hands on the speakers where I couldn't afford back when they were introduced. The drive units seem completely adequate, it is only the dsp I find lacking. I will really like to see 64 bit processing and 24bit/196khz input and a more rigid cabinet. Resonant enclosures can really make speakers sound closed in. Maybe I am one of the few out there but I find Dacs make big differences. Have recently placed an order for a made-to-order totally discrete ladder Dac actually

It is still so unfortunate that some people still presume B&O as a brand that has style over substance. 

wonderfulelectric wrote:

 

After all these years Beolab 5 still has the freaking best measurements I have laid my eyes on  http://www.hifisentralen.no/forumet/attachments/forskjeller-og-testmetodikk/11088d1335552195-cambridge-840c-upsampling-inntrykk-beolab5hifinewsreviewdel2 .

Please update the DSP! So I can finally get my hands on the speakers where I couldn't afford back when they were introduced. The drive units seem completely adequate, it is only the dsp I find lacking. I will really like to see 64 bit processing and 24bit/196khz input and a more rigid cabinet. Resonant enclosures can really make speakers sound closed in. Maybe I am one of the few out there but I find Dacs make big differences. Have recently placed an order for a made-to-order totally discrete ladder Dac actually

It is still so unfortunate that some people still presume B&O as a brand that has style over substance. 

 

That is a very interesting review/set of measurements, wonderfulelectric.

Are you able to link to the full review by any chance?

Lab 5's are my 'dream' speaker and a good review will help fuel that dream to come to fruition!

Kind regards

John... 😐

Unfortunately I think the link for the full review has long been taken down. The review was done way back in 2004 or 2005 I think. I do remember however, that the speakers were praised for their performance and value.

btw Dr Mouton have you ever considered to narrow down the dispersion pattern of the lenses a little. I don't think a 180 degree dispersion pattern will sound well in all rooms and might not appeal to the audiophiles who might have bright sounding rooms. I think 90 degree dispersion will be the most ideal for most situations. 

Is there concern that your speakers are not working as well as you would have liked based on your room size?  I'm asking as I'd like to have a pair of BeoLab 5's in my basement listening room, hopefully in the next year.

My room dimensions are 35' x 16' x 6.67' (D x W x H) (10.7 m x 4.9 m x 2.0 m).  The speakers would be installed along the 16' (4.9 m) wall.

Does the room construction have any bearing on how well these particular speakers do?  Three of my walls are wood paneling on wood studs with stone foundation behind.  One of the long walls has solid brick with wood paneling for half it's length while the other half of this wall is wood paneling on wood studs with an open room behind.

The floor is carpet over poured concrete.

The ceiling is an acoustical panels on metal grid.  Above that are wood joists with a solid wood floor.

There are no windows and (3) person doors.

How well would the BeoLab 5's work in this room?

David