as there are Beosound devices with and without Google Voice Assistant (GVA) I have a few questions:
- Do the GVA enabled variants have a web interface, too? On e.g. my non GVA Beosound 1 I can type the IP-adress in the browser and access every single setting comfortable on my PC. Is this possible on the GVA variants of Beosound 1, 2 etc., too?
- If there's a web interface: Is there any way to setup the GVA variants without(!) Google Home app? Any way to skip the Google parts at setup?
My guess is, that I could access those platforms on the web interface and disable anything that has to do with Google and use the system like any other non GVA system. Is that possible?
I've searched on the net and found quite a big contra list regarding the GVA versions but no information about banning the Google things:
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A few things you need to consider. With the Google Assistant version, if you mute the microphone you'll have the Google Assistant LEDs permanently on in red.
Additionally, the Google Assistant version has some limits:
- it can't distribute the line-in and Bluetooth inputs via Beolink (non-GA can)
- Bluetooth can't be used if the product is not set-up in the Google Home app first
You also need to remember that B&O speakers can only stereo-pair to an exact same version, so for instance if you have a GA Level and you want to buy a second Level for stereo-pairing them, you'll only be able to pair it with another Level with GA.
What's the issue about that, you may think? Well, it's the fact that B&O discontinued all GA built-in speakers. So now Balance, Level and Emerge are only manufactured in non-GA variant. Hence, sourcing a GA-enabled unit will become harder and harder as time goes by.
And to be clear: a GA version cannot be "converted" into a non-GA version, full stop.
TL;DR: unless Google Assistant is something you actually want as a feature, then I'd definitely spend some more to get the non-GA one.
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source: https://www.reddit.com/r/BangandOlufsen/comments/171m36p/beosound_level_google_assistant_vs_non_google/