BeoLab 8000 vs. BeoPlay S8 vs. BeoLab 3's

13 replies
H(
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humphreyc (archived2)
Bronze
Posted December 22, 2014 at 01:20 GMT
#2029363

I'm relatively new to the B&O audio world by getting first exposed to the high fidelity found in my Audi S8, which I'm told leverages the B&O BeoLab 5 reference architecture.

This has finally prompted me to upgrade the audio in my living room.  While the BeoLab 5 would be ideal it's a bit too pricey at this point.

Currently our living room has a Bose Acoustimass Cinemates (yes, I'm hearing the laughter from you!) which had been decent but no longer.

8000's have a timeless design and are a great value second hand and are priced about the same as a new S8. I also like the way the 8000's look much better than the BeoLab 3.

The plan is to get either one of these and connect them into our Samsung TV audio in 3.5mm jack to simplify TV volume up & down controls for the rest of the family. Seems like adding in a DAC might complicate things for folks in our household? As you can tell our audio needs are pretty straightforward. Everything pretty much drives off of our TV or off of Apple AirPlay/AirPort. 

Currently I'm leaning towards the 8000's but then I have also seen some people complain about there not being enough bass which then leans me now a bit towards the S8's.  My guess is that most everyone here will steer me towards an 8000 since the S8 is so new/entry level and it likely will be half the price a year from now?

Part of me considered the BeoLab 3's but then it also felt a little incomplete with out the BeoLab 2's and it doesn't look nearly as good as the 8000's.  The one thing the S8 has in the looks department is that it feels directionally similar to the BeoLab 5, which is a good thing in my mind too especially if i eventually want to get that. 

Would love to hear how folks would think through these possibilities with all your relevant experience.

Thanks,

Humphrey

 

Leosgonewild
Offline
Leosgonewild
Bronze
Posted December 22, 2014 at 06:29 GMT
#2029364
Do you want a 2.1 setup?

Are you downgrading from a 5.1 setup?
H(
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humphreyc (archived2)
Bronze
Posted December 22, 2014 at 20:47 GMT
#2029365

I just researched the specifics to remind me what I currently have which is a Bose Cinemate 321 GS II which is a 2.1 channel setup (circa 2005) so I wouldn't be downgrading from a 5.1, I believe since it just has two satellite speakers also.  While the Bose includes a standard DVD player we shifted over to the sony BluRay player a while back but nowadays physical media is very rarely utilized.  

I hope that clarifies things a bit 
Thanks 
Humphrey 
H(
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humphreyc (archived2)
Bronze
Posted December 22, 2014 at 21:01 GMT
#2029366

thanks Michael, i didn't even realize that there is a BL14 which is great to add to my radar.  While the brochure installs all look so clean I'm guessing that they actually have a few wires for power and connectivity back to the subwoofer which means it looks great when done professionally but otherwise it doesn't.

Having a rear channel would be great but it's admittedly falling a bit into the nice to have zone unless it's wireless except for the power.  So now the top two contenders are the S8 vs. the BeoLab 3's with a BeoLab 2.

I did verify that the 3.5mm jack going into my Samsung 8XXX flatscreen does actually go up & down via the remote too.  

thanks,

Humphrey

EL
Offline
elephant
BronzeFounder
Posted December 22, 2014 at 21:05 GMT
#2029367
PS BeoLab 2 has been superseded by BL 19
EL
Offline
elephant
BronzeFounder
Posted December 22, 2014 at 22:25 GMT
#2029368
Good point M🌲M
H(
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humphreyc (archived2)
Bronze
Posted December 23, 2014 at 02:08 GMT
#2029369

thanks very much everyone! i've gone ahead and ordered my new S8, funny now I will have one in the driveway (the Audi S8) and one in the living room too and I shall move the Bose into my home office

Thanks again!

Humphrey

M(
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mjmedlo (archived2)
Bronze
Posted December 23, 2014 at 02:40 GMT
#2029370
You won't be disappointed with the s8.

Good choice!

humphreyc wrote:

thanks very much everyone! i've gone ahead and ordered my new S8, funny now I will have one in the driveway (the Audi S8) and one in the living room too and I shall move the Bose into my home office

Thanks again!

Humphrey

M(
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mickhoog (archived2)
Bronze
Posted December 23, 2014 at 03:32 GMT
#2029371
Would love to hear your impressions Humphrey and a picture of your setup once it's all done

J(
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jacktaylor (archived2)
Bronze
Posted December 28, 2014 at 18:05 GMT
#2029372

Hi All,

I have a very similar setup to what you are after (Samsung UE65D8000) and the Beoplay S8, my intension when I purchased the S8 was to plug it directly into the TV via the headphone jack however when I tried I got a rather annoyed buzzing noise coming from the S8, this was using just the included audio adaptor to 3.5mm directly into the Samsung headphone slot.

Of course I wasn't going to leave it like this so a few days ago bought a Yamaha RXV-645 Amplifier thinking I could plug the stereo leads directing into the output of the amp and then hook all my peripherals up to the amp via HDMI (TV, Apple TV, PS4, Sky HD etc.) however I cannot get anything to come out of the S8 at all - I know everything is plug in correctly, there are hundreds of settings on the amp but I don't think any of them are precluding the sound coming through. Today I've gone out and bought a phono lead to plug in the phono port on the front of the amp, from here I've bought a lead from the B&O 3.5mm adaptor into this - nice again, I'm back to the buzzing noise when the S8 plays anything. 

I know the S8 works fine because when I plug it into my Mac, iPhone or iPad it works perfectly - I would be very wary based on this, I've spent almost over £1500 so far and have got a system that doesn't work. I'd love to hear your experience and if anyone has any ideas or tips, I've spoken to people at B&O, Richer Sounds, Tandy, Maplin and no one seems to have the technical knowledge to be able to advise...

Thanks, Jack

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