Magnus, how come your statement about BS3?

And Why not use the BL5 outside a beosetting?

If you're only interested in Beolab 5, and not the other parts of "the B&O experience" (Beolink, Beo4++), I don't think that the Beosystem 3 is the way to go. It's getting old and expensive, and I think a normal receiver will do the job just fine.

About non-beo mode vs. beo-mode:

As far as I understand, if the Beolab 5 is in "non-beo mode" it expects a fixed line in and you will have to regulate the volume and turn them on via the Beo4. Of course, you could set the volume high and then regulate it with the Onkyo, but you will still have to turn them on with Beo4.

But if they are in "beo mode" aka. they think they are connected to a Beosystem, they will behave like a normal Beolab; turn on when they get a trigger signal and no volume control. I think this will be the easiest in your setup, as the Onkyo will control everything.

I'm by no means an expert, but I think this is how they work. I would ask Steve at Sounds Heavenly (ad on the bottom of the page) for help with the cable, he probably knows!

Or maybe a real expert swings by this thread!

Magnus

Edit: If your planning to use a Beolab 7 with non-beo equipment, I'm pretty sure you have to make a special cable anyways, as I don't think Beolab 7 have a line mode! It will be a cable like

Right now an old Thule , works fine for the job.

Im looking into getting a used bv4/bs3, but that combo seems to have to many limitations so im not sure anymore if thats the way to go..

But if they are in B&O mode, I don't think there will be a preset sound level in the speakers themselves, as this is then set by the "Beomaster".

As a side note, I never understood the point of having 4 Beolab5's in a surround setup. The signal being fed to the rears is pretty limited... It looks good, but is there a huge sound benefit?

Cool to have four though...

My system is completely different from yours, but I'm happy with it, and it really is the only possible way for me, to keep the one remote platform, and I enjoy the design of my Beosound 9000 so much, that it's OK to have it just for "control". 🤒