Beosound 5 Encore is here...

256 replies
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Razlaw wrote:

Where in my post did I say other products should not be discussed? 

Not saying you did, it was more implied:

Razlaw wrote:
This forum has turned in to a why Apple is great and everybody else should do things the Apple way. Can somebody direct me to the forum for people who enjoy B and O?

We can't just have a forum where we discuss "enjoying" B&O. Every forum incorporates other brands and products, particularly on how to integrate them.

Anyway, I guess it's a moot point. The other issue with forums is it's impossible for everyone to see eye-to-eye :)

Razlaw wrote:

 

Obviously Airplay is not directly supported. But music can be streamed to the Beosound through wifi without the use of Airplay.

Thanks,  I think I didn't quite understand how it all works.  I am looking forward to getting this function on my Beosound 5.  

Puncher wrote:

Whereas I read -

The Beosound should read all formats from iTunes and it should be controllable via a remote device on which your music collection is easily and clearly navigable complete with cover art.

 

But were do you find Apple Lossless in iTunes? You have to rip it yourself in this format or get it from somebody.

 

 

to be clear:  I owe several Apple products, but also Windows and Linux PC's and have a respectable B&o collection.

Razlaw wrote:
>

 

As for cost, if the cost is too much for a product for what it is and does, don't buy it. There are even people out there who think iPhones and Macs are overpriced for what they do.

>

 

This forum has turned in to a why Apple is great and everybody else should do things the Apple way. Can somebody direct me to the forum for people who enjoy B and O?

 

Personally, I do not like BMWs, but I do not spend my time posting on BMW forums how much better Audis and Jaguars are and complaining that BMW can't do things the Audi or Jaguar way.

 

 

I could not agree more with these comments. 1/ IMO it just makes no sense to advance Apple, or even its Itunes, as the standard for current or future HiFi development. Some of you would like to see that (that's clear now) but it won't happen. I personnaly never liked the Itunes proposition and even in 2011 still prefer to buy real CD's. That's because the digital proposition is simply not the equivalent in quality. 2/Of course, time has come (for me and many others)to step over to a digital music library. I believe B&O now has a valuable proposition to offer with the Encore. It is a marvelous object, worthy to replace my Beocenter 2, its music is of the highest quality and it has an interesting interface programme eg MOTS. If I can use it with my Ipad (which seems to be the case) I am happy because I don't want any other IT stuff in my rooms. I am sure B&O is aware of this. 3/ The Encore's price is very correct. First, it is an excellent streaming device. Second, it has a wonderful DAC incorporated. Third, it has a beautiful touch screen to work with. Fourth, it has several interesting inputs and ouputs such as a digital out. Fifth, it is B&O and it brings terrific design into my room. Those who find the Encore expensive or cannot afford it, should not buy it and be silent. For me and many other people the price is fine and we are willing to pay this for this product. There have always existed other brands which offer comparable quality but in another package/ price in this industry (eg Arcam, Marantz, Loewe). SORRY, but this irrelevant in this discussion. I have already said this: I am very happy that a nice 911 Porsche costs 100.000 euro. This is how this business works. We don't want a BMW or a Range Rover, not even an Audi, we want a Porsche AND not the Boxer. I truly believe this also holds true for B&O. Thus, Apple lovers should follow their taste but should stop to critise this product on this forum. We are not interested in Airports, certainly not in Airport expresses.

For me b&o products is about offering something more and something for the future. That is what I love and enjoy with bs9000 still and have done for almost 12 years. The encore is sadely not this kind of product. 

It has nothing to do with price or apple... and when it comes to Airports; b&o put that in their video...

A few posts up there was a complaint about the AirPort express having to be plugged into the front of the BeoSound 5 Encore. Why would it ever be plugged in? Why wouldn't you just stream directly from your iTunes library? What good is airplay on your main stereo? I understand if a friend comes over and wants to play a song, but then they can just plug their iPod into the front. For the owner, their music is consolidated on a drive somewhere and would be streamed. 

Or is it just some odd desire to have an Apple capability no matter how worthless?

Off topic, but speaking of Apple, I'm so pleased with my Lion upgrade that I've ordered a ThinkPad X1. 

I really don't like the way my post has lead to a bashing thread ... Shi says it correctly:

shl wrote:
It has nothing to do with price or apple... and when it comes to Airports; b&o put that in their video...

My disappointment is that B&O had the opportunity to make the Encore even more magical ... instead they appear to be promoting a cheap solution using wires when everything could have been wireless or behind the walls.

 

I have been looking at the DLNA iThing applications that other posters have mentioned in other threads, but I have yet to see something elegant ... I hope when B&O do bring out their wireless remote control App (not Beo6) for the Encore that it will knock our socks off

 

Paul Winn wrote:

I don't think that it is because we are all 'Apple worshippers' it is simply because iTunes is the World's largest and most popular music store and will continue to be so. It is THE way that music is bought these days and used. It has been like this for over 10 years now, it's not an over night sensation!

 

The way music is obtained changes constantly. A track, reel to reel, Vinyl, tape, cd, burn cd's, MP3's and so on.

The reign of power will shift from Apple one day soon too. Just look at the growth of Spotify. The market has grown so much in one year that all the record companies eyes have finally opened wide! Why bother with trying to stop illegal downloads when a subscription for $20. dollars a year (or whatever it may be) can give you instant access to all the music in the world! Music will shift to an even more disposable culture much like cable/subscription T.V made movies and dramas. How many people actually go to the movies anymore when they have a surround sound cinema that is better at home. 

This is the way of the future and suspect that BeoSound 5 Encore will be able to cope with this future with software upgrades.

 

TripEnglish wrote:

A few posts up there was a complaint about the AirPort express having to be plugged into the front of the BeoSound 5 Encore. Why would it ever be plugged in? Why wouldn't you just stream directly from your iTunes library?

If the Encore can pick up a password-protected iTunes library (or multiple libraries), ideal. I'm not fully sure how it will do that, but I'll wait to be surprised next week (when I see the configured Encore). As I've said, I'll pull the trigger on an Encore if it does this and enables me to control via my iPad/iPhone/computer.

I was never a fan of the whole Sound/Master 5 setup (too expensive, too many cables, flaky master etc), so if the Encore can do something better, cheaper and with far fewer cables, then this is ideal for me.

Trip, I think you misunderstand Apple fanboyism and people who simply have an existing setup and want the Encore to plugin to this configuration. I spent most of my time using Windows 7 during office hours and frankly perfer the OS to OS X. However, I still have a refurb Mac Mini Server with a password-protected central iTunes library, an iPad which can control the library, which can also be accessed via a Mac or a PC.

If the Encore simply acts as a PC or Mac and can control and display the iTunes library, superb. I await to be fully convinced.

It does. That's the whole point of the Encore concept. It puts all of your music sources into one basket. That's why I don't see the point of AirPlay on it. It's not that I don't want AirPlay on board, but it's just not that crucial. If it's pulling your entire library into the basket, why bother docking a device that has a small portion of that same collection?

My only real big complaint was that B&O pushed the sw update that gave us iPad control weeks and weeks before launching their own app. It's been pretty confusing for a lot of BS5 owners and hasn't delivered the elegant solution that people expect. 

As for Apple fanboyism in general, I could care less. I'm just sick of the locked in nature of their platforms. Since getting a Roku box I've stopped using my AppleTV. I've had spotify for a few days and have only used the iPod app for a book on tape. My iPhone has never pushed mail through as quickly and reliably as my Blackberries did. I also realized that while I've had 7 mac notebooks since 2002 all of which suffered some sort of physical failure, I've had the same ThinkPad the whole time. At some point I just fell out of love with the stuff. I'm guessing i'll go back to Blackberry when I switch cell carriers this year, too. 

 

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