mbee wrote:

Airplay doesn't provide the best possible quality of sound (no 24bit, no frequency above 16500Hz...)

Airplay only works with iPad/iPhone, even with my Mac I have to use a "hack" (Airfoil) to send sound to an AirPlay speaker. 

Airplay video is very limited...

I d'ont think that B&O will try to reinvent the wheel, just to add some good improvements and a nice user interface to existing technologies, such as DLNA (BS5/BS5E and Beoplay V1 are DLNA compatible).

I'm a user of Airplay, and I would let down B&O if they used this as their only multiroom system.

Airplay for sound distribution is exactly what iTunes is for music : a well-packed "fast-food" experience. For quality, look elsewhere. 

Hi mbee

I thought that Airplay was a lossless format but I admit that I did not check the specifications very careful. You could be right. The quality is of course crucial for a company like B&O. Is there no way to get "full quality" out of AirPlay?

The problem for B&O seems to get products to the market in time. Development of new systems take time and they will be expensive. Someone will have to pay for this, meaning us. I am just not sure that enough people are prepared to do that. Even worse, if a new system is developed that takes time to get to the market, there is still a risk that some new better system from Apple or someone else will beat them.

B&O has a tradition of building very good players/loudspeakers/TVs. Maybe they should concentrate their effort in this arena in this digital age and use other companies to supply distribution and control.

But maybe the new system is ready?

Clakke

Clakke wrote:

I thought that Airplay was a lossless format

mbee wrote:

Airplay doesn't provide the best possible quality of sound (no 24bit, no frequency above 16500Hz...)

AirPlay is indeed lossless as it uses Apple Lossless as compression format for the sound. This is however at CD quality. Mbee's specs are higher than CD quality.

p.

MichaelMiles wrote:

Good luck to Beo Play - I think its the only way for the company to move forward.

I agree with this statement.  It's clear the current offerings can only go so far.  I wish all the best for the Beo Play.  Perhaps the V1 is the right telly for my bedroom :-)  I don't care that it looks like a Loewe and i reckon it's going to look hot in 32.  I mean don't all TV's look somewhat similar anyway.  I can't wait to see the different stand options besides the tube metal floor stand.

So essentially I could get a V1 a BS5encore and link up to my NAS (i'm hoping).  woohoo

5 hmdi's sounds amazing , but who actually needs that many , 3 seem more than enough imo ?

Sky HD - 1

Apple Tv - 2

Mac Mini - 3

What on earth else would you add ? I wouldn't plug a ps3 or 360 into a lovely b&o tv anyway.

Hopefully the Play line will bring in much needed cash, and spread the brand to a new, younger market. Also, can't hurt to get people hooked on style, considering how much dreadful stuff is out there.

I think there are intelligent signs at B&O. For example, the Beosound 5 Encore. Instead of the more expensive Beosound 5, you save about 2000 dollars by using things most people already have, PCs and networks in the home used as music storage servers. Smart IMO.

They need to guard, however, against getting rid of the design elegance that makes them. I hate to say this, as good as they may sound the Beolab 9's are ugly. Same for the Beosound 4. And they are not as backwards compatible as I'd like, it's hard to integrate older B&O stuff into the new systems. For example, I've not found what I consider a good path to integrating a Beosound 5/Encore, my Beosound 9000, and my turntable. None of the approaches is very elegant or maintains all the capability I want.

Flappo wrote:

5 hmdi's sounds amazing , but who actually needs that many , 3 seem more than enough imo ?

Sky HD - 1

Apple Tv - 2

Mac Mini - 3

What on earth else would you add ? I wouldn't plug a ps3 or 360 into a lovely b&o tv anyway.

A/V amplifier/receiver, soundbar, DVD player ? I'm not saying you'd necessarily want all of them, but the sockets are there if you do.

PhilLondon wrote:

AirPlay is indeed lossless as it uses Apple Lossless as compression format for the sound. This is however at CD quality. Mbee's specs are higher than CD quality.

I guarantee for 99% of the mastered audio tracks available in 2012, AirPlay provides sufficient enough audio quality.

For instance, I can listen to a Pink Floyd track on my Beosound 8. Sounds good, whether it's from iTunes or an uncompressed source. Neither matters really (as the issue is with the BS8, not the source). Push the same track via my BL3s/BL11 and the difference is incredible. However, it's very hard for me or most other people to notice much of a difference between a track played via AirPlay or from CD (in fact, you can argue the AirPlay track is better as it goes via some kind of equalisation).

A lot of this discussion about audio quality above CD quality is more, for me, to do with the placebo effect people think they have by playing tracks in such a manner. They believe that they are doing their speakers/equipment an injustice using anything less.

As I said in the opener, most modern audio tracks aren't produced to a level to justify leaving them uncompressed (and/or above CD quality). They aren't produced in a manner designed to get the most from your BL5s. They are produced flat and geared towards the headphone generation.

And it's this generation that will drive the future sales of B&O. Thus AirPlay etc is far more important for the future of B&O.

Gotta say, that's an excellent and pretty much accurate argument from Moxxey there!

Hi

I feel the same here as moxxey actually. Specially I think moxxeys last line gives us all something to think about.

By the way, this thread took an interesting direction, but my intention was really just to come up with a theory why B&O launches something like B&O Play. What do you think of that? 👍

Clakke

I'm with Moxxey with regards to the future direction of B&O, and there is a small amount of irony that the budget end of an expensive make leads the way.

On November the 24th 2009 Linn ditched their CD players after 25 years for digital streaming. They even offer a demo where you can try and compare the 2 medias to see if you can really tell the difference. We have an audiophile relative who loathes all things B&O(has house like Goonhilly Earth station) who to his credit took the test and confessed to not being able to tell the difference. Personally I order CDs off EBay and then rip them in Apple Lossless. I then stream them via Apple tv to my current Beovision 7, Beolab 8000,6000 setup. Mute the screen and hey presto.

http://www.linn.co.uk/systems/majik

Wouldn't it be great if we could stream music from a B&O top quality library! The futures bright, the futures wireless.