Beolab 5 set up with Beovision 11

11 replies
A(
alvinedyvane (archived2)
Bronze
21 posts
Posted July 8, 2020 at 15:24 GMT
#2140891

Hey all.

I want to maximise the sound and film experience with my Beolab 5's and was wondering if any of you have a guide on how to best set them up.

I have obviously had a good play around but it is not clear on how to get the best bass out of them. I also have two 8000's for rear.

I also wanting to connect my Beolab 2 (I know what you are going to say) but once you connect the 5's the system somehow does not allow this. Is there a bypass or trick or am I doing something wrong?

Thanks all

Alvin

LA
lawrencejmcook
BronzeFounder
713 posts
Posted July 8, 2020 at 16:20 GMT
#2140892
alvinedyvane wrote:

Hey all.

I want to maximise the sound and film experience with my Beolab 5's and was wondering if any of you have a guide on how to best set them up.

I have obviously had a good play around but it is not clear on how to get the best bass out of them. I also have two 8000's for rear.

I also wanting to connect my Beolab 2 (I know what you are going to say) but once you connect the 5's the system somehow does not allow this. Is there a bypass or trick or am I doing something wrong?

Thanks all

Alvin

Hi Alvin,

I think that Geoff Martin has expounded on this elsewhere, but the short story is that the 15-inch subwoofer in each BL5, driven by a 1kW amp is more capable then the single 10-inch subwoofer (with two drones) driven by a 750W amp in the BL2.

With bass management set to on, your BV11 will divert bass from the BL2 to the BL5s.

You can, if you wish, switch bass management off, and have bass boing through all three speakers. It’s up to you determine which sound you prefer.

Although my TV’s sound processing is more primitive than yours (BV9, BS3) it did the same. In the end I just disconnected the BL2 as it was superfluous (as Lee of Lifestyle AV warned me it would be 😁).

Lawrence
A(
alvinedyvane (archived2)
Bronze
21 posts
Posted July 10, 2020 at 10:59 GMT
#2140893

Great stuff Lawrence. I will try this as I did get the Sub working on the previous Beovison 5, it sounded great.

The speakers are self amped though right, so I wonder what the TV takes away or adds?

Is there anywhere on here that shows how best to set up the Beolab 5's with a Beovision 11? Would be good to make sure I have them set up right.

LA
lawrencejmcook
BronzeFounder
713 posts
Posted July 11, 2020 at 11:23 GMT
#2140894
alvinedyvane wrote:

Great stuff Lawrence. I will try this as I did get the Sub working on the previous Beovison 5, it sounded great.

The speakers are self amped though right, so I wonder what the TV takes away or adds?

Is there anywhere on here that shows how best to set up the Beolab 5's with a Beovision 11? Would be good to make sure I have them set up right.

Yes, BeoLab 5s and BeoLab 2 have their own in-built amplifiers. The TV has been programmed at the factory to know that the BL5s produce better bass than the BL2, and so if Bass Management is set to ON in the BV11’s sound settings, it will not send any signal to the BL2.

Honestly, you may as well use it in another setup. I see you have a number of threads on the go here, so perhaps you can find another use for it.

In terms of BL5 setup, there are a number of forum threads that offer advice. I would say:

- Place them where you want in the room. They weigh more than 60kg so you don’t really want to move them around unless you’re really unhappy.

- Connect them to the BV11 with fully-wired Powerlink cables (RJ45 to 8-pin DIN). Steve at Sounds Heavenly could help you with these.

- Tell the BV that the BL5s are connected and define their role, distance from your listening position, etc.

- Calibrate the speakers.

- Pour yourself something cold to celebrate and just enjoy a good movie or album.

Lawrence
L(
LennartMenzel (archived2)
Bronze
59 posts
Posted July 16, 2020 at 13:43 GMT
#2140895

As Lawrence already mentionend, the Tonmeister and person in charge of sound design at B&O, Geoff Martin discussed this topic on his blog "earfluff and eyecandy" in i think even multiple posts. The most informative one on this matter is "what are subwoofers REALLY for?" (see below)

In the end it is up to you and i can very well understand the desire for a shaking room for movies. If you were to use this system for music however I would very much recommend to throw away the Beolab 2. No matter how well it performs, it will only interfere and distort the musical image those beautiful Beolab 5s create.

Is there the possibility to set up two "modes"? Stereo only for music and "all out" surround for movies?

A(
alvinedyvane (archived2)
Bronze
21 posts
Posted July 16, 2020 at 16:36 GMT
#2140896

Thanks Lawrence

 

The set up was really more about the manual settings you can change once they have done their thing.

 

Thanks anyway.

A(
alvinedyvane (archived2)
Bronze
21 posts
Posted July 16, 2020 at 16:36 GMT
#2140897

Thanks

LA
lawrencejmcook
BronzeFounder
713 posts
Posted July 17, 2020 at 06:05 GMT
#2140898
alvinedyvane wrote:

Thanks Lawrence

The set up was really more about the manual settings you can change once they have done their thing.

Thanks anyway.

Alvin, ask and ye shall receive:

https://bangolufsenassistentgohe.blob.core.windows.net/manuals/TELEVISIONS/BEOVISION%2011%20WITH%20BEO4/technical-sound-guide-1409%20(2).pdf

The BL5 doesn’t really have any manual settings, but the BV11? In spades!

The technical sound guide linked above is taken from the B&O support page for the BV11. It has been superseded, but this version has a very helpful matrix at the end that shows what effect bass re-direction will have on your subwoofer depending on what other speakers you have connected.

For completeness, though, here is the latest version of the TSG:

https://bangolufsenassistentgohe.blob.core.windows.net/manuals/TELEVISIONS/TECHNICAL_SOUND_GUIDE/technical_sound_guide_televisions_2004.pdf

Happy playing!

Lawrence

A(
alvinedyvane (archived2)
Bronze
21 posts
Posted August 11, 2020 at 22:14 GMT
#2140899

Thanks Lawrence.

i am getting green lights on the sub and have played around everywhere in the BV11 but no sound from the Sub.

i am pretty sure when I used the BL 5 with a BV5 I think I had to change the speakers to a different model, the sub then kicked in.

Do you think I have to do the same with the 11?

A(
alvinedyvane (archived2)
Bronze
21 posts
Posted August 11, 2020 at 22:14 GMT
#2140900

Thanks Lawrence.

i am getting green lights on the sub and have played around everywhere in the BV11 but no sound from the Sub.

i am pretty sure when I used the BL 5 with a BV5 I think I had to change the speakers to a different model, the sub then kicked in.

Do you think I have to do the same with the 11?

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