Am I the only one on this forum thinking about switching to a partially non-b&o system?

I'm sure you are not! But while the entire B&O product range is pretty much covered by at least some people on the forum, you'd be lucky to find anyone using a single given "alien" receiver... there are just so many of them!

If the receiver you are thinking has volume controlled pre-outs for the channels you would like to use for the Beolabs, I can't see any problem connecting the line input of, say, Beolab 6000 or Beolab 3 to them. Likewise, I should think any receiver will allow using the amplified outputs of other channels at the same time for passive speakers. So my short answer is a definite maybe 🙂

One problem that could arise from using Beolabs in line mode (non-Powerlink) for surround is that they will switch off if a channel has no signal for a while. This might create brief interruptions in the rear channels while the speakers power back up.

I took a brief look at the specs of your proposed receiver, and it seems it has a trigger output that maybe could be used to switch the speakers on & off through Powerlink. That would mean custom built adapter cables, but I'm afraid I don't have any specific advice to give with that.

GijsV wrote:

Am I the only one on this forum thinking about switching to a partially non-b&o system?

Nope. I am always drooling over those feature-dense receivers.

So long as your pre-outs are volume controlled, you should be fine. The amp section should operate simultaneously, although there is probably some sort of menu option to flip it on and off.

Make sure you use a cable/trigger box which keeps the speakers awake, even if no sound signal is send, because otherwise they will turn off (after 5 minutes or so?) and make a clicking sound. I could not get past this issue and it was so annoying I switched the speakers to non B&O passive ones. This is about 2 years ago, so there might be a work-around today (soundsheavenly cables?).

Ralf