rgbyhkr wrote:

Hi KMA,

Thanks for posting those pictures and for your additional thoughts on the setup.  I wasn't even aware of this combination deal until I saw your thread and the pictures of the boxed package really out some substance to it.   It's possible that this may finally be the motivator that gets me into a pair of BL3s.  I will say, while I don't like the design aesthetic of the PlayMaker, seeing it in this combination really makes me think that if they just offered it in black in addition to white, I'd likely find it a lot less ugly.  

I do have a couple of questions though:

1 - I assume that the combo package comes with all cabling necessary to connect the PM to the BL3s, but what is that setup like?  Is it newer cable connections with appropriate adapters or is there an additional accessory box in between (to feed power and audio signal to the BL3s Power Link input)?  If you happen to have pictures of that to make things easier to understand, that would be great.  I'm just trying to get a picture in my head of how it all interconnects and how much I would have to or want to hide away.

2 - AirPlay control gives you volume, but you can also control the PM volume via a Beo4/5/6.  So how do those 2 interact?  Does adjusting volume via the latter change the volume slider on the former?  Or, are they 2 totally separate volume controls?

Thanks for the help!

Jeff

Hi Jeff,

It would be indeed cool if the PlayMaker would be available in black also; this is something I initially thought when I learnt about PlayMaker, and that it only comes in white.

About your questions:

1) All cabling is neatly packed in the box below the PlayMaker: you lift the PlayMaker out of the package, and all cables & manuals are beneath. There are 3 power cables (2 x 2,5m for BeoLab 3s and 1 x 1,8m for PlayMaker) and 2 new "RJ45 to PowerLink" speaker cables (5m each). These are much thicker than the old PowerLink Mk III cables. Connecting everything together is as easy as just plugging in the cables. No adapters or such are needed: the combo package has everything you need (also including the rubber stands for BeoLab 3 as standard). I actually took a photo of it all while unpacking (yeah, a little nuts, I know):

2) Using Beo5/Beo4 or PlayMaker's "volume wheel" is 2-way when using AirPlay: adjusting volume with Beo5/Beo4 or from the PlayMaker adjusts the volume on an iDevice: the volume slider moves on the iDevice. Moreover, Beo5/Beo4 allows finer steps of volume adjustments: I'd say that 3 clicks on the remote corresponds to one step in the iDevices volume slider. I quite like this, as the steps in an iDevice are quite big increments in actual volume.

Also, of course changing track via remote (previous / next) relates to the iDevice in realtime.

Hope this helps!

Magnus wrote:

Michael wrote:

Regarding DAC quality I want to say that it is a big difference between earlier AE and newer. The older ones uses a burrbrown DAC of very high quality. The sound is so much more detailed and warm/punchy. I try to use old AE connected with Ethernet (because of 802.11b wifi) instead of newer with cheaper soundboards.

Never been a 802.11b version, the first was 11g. But the point is still valid! I think I have both the first and second version - would be interessting to compare!

Sorry I know, I was a bit tired commuting to work :)

KMA wrote:

It would be indeed cool if the PlayMaker would be available in black also; this is something I initially thought when I learnt about PlayMaker, and that it only comes in white.

Or charcoal grey, similar to the "black" V1.

Had a look/demo of the PlayMaker at my dealer's this lunch. Still looks like a smoke alarm to me (even the dealer admitted it should have been brushed aluminium or metal of some description, perhaps with a V1 finish?). Dial for adjusting the volume is ok. Was heavier than I expected. I'd be tempted to get a PlayMaker for the office, where I do not need an AE to extend the network, but at home, the AE provides the extended wifi network and that's essential for securing a strong signal through the home.

A Very good overview of your first impressions KMA..

Today, I had the opportunity to play around with the Playmaker and in particular I spent sometime testing various Android phone server apps and came to the conclusion that the best available currently was

Hi all, I just bought a Playmaker and simply connected it to my Beolab 9s. Using Airplay for Spotify from iPad with extreme bit rate, I can assure you it beats the combo of Apple TV with my Musical Fidelity V-DAC through Beovision 8 and more recently, the Beoplay V1 - at least through my ears. I am impressed.

So far, after a few hours of listening, I am really happy. Thank you, B&O!

moxxey wrote:

Give it a rest. Seriously. The big difference between "good quality" sound on a Playmaker or AE isn't the AE 'it's' the calibre of the speakers themselves. 

That's a strange thing to say. 

Source quality is everything. 

The Airport Express is pretty dire via analogue, it is not that much better via digital to be honest either, but the analogue is very flat, no space, no real depth and it can sound pretty harsh up top. 

I had one into my Meridian DSP5200s for a couple of weeks and it really did ruin the overall sound of them. (That was digital in, the DSP5200s have superb apodising upsampling DACS built in). I use that AE running into my little Meridian M80...

I decorated our room a couple of weeks back and couldn't find the optical 3.5mm to 3.5mm cable, so grabbed a 3.5mm analogue cable instead and even on that the difference between the analogue and the digital was massive. Back to being harsh sounding and flat, just no separation of instruments and vocals etc. 

I only play lossless btw. I am sure with MP3 the soundstage is just as bad, but the difference between top end would still be noticeable I'm sure. 

I picked up some BL6000's to run off a TV in the bedroom with a Rel Strata sub, and have been really impressed with them, they sound nice, so much so I am going to grab some more for the conservatory and office too. I have the AE into them at the moment, and it doesn't impress at all, so shoved a cheap Beresford DAC on there and that is much nicer, but a PlayMaker might be a better/neater option, just wisded it looked a bit nicer. Other option is the Squezzebox Touch, very nice sounding little unit, especially with an upgraded PSU, plus it plays Hi-Res files too. 

But overall good to hear your impressions of the Playmaker KMA, thanks. 

Thank you for posting the pictures of the connections and supplied stuff in the box.

I just found out here in Australia we wont be getting the special boxed version :-( however we can still get the same deal (coming up) just all supplied separately.

Michael.

gizze wrote:

moxxey wrote:

Give it a rest. Seriously. The big difference between "good quality" sound on a Playmaker or AE isn't the AE 'it's' the calibre of the speakers themselves. 

That's a strange thing to say. 

Source quality is everything. 

Not strange. I was making a play on the use of "good quality" as the posted implied you didn't get a good quality audio experienced using a £4000 BL3/BL11 combo. Made me smile. What I was trying to say is that there's a major difference between the quality of the sound you'll get from most £500 speakers - which, to be fair, is more than the usual household will spend on a pair of speakers - and our BL3s. The step up will produce "good quality" sound.

I've been using AEs for years now, as have many users on here. Few have complained of "bad quality" (the original poster implied you'd only get "good" quality with a PlayMaker) and suddenly the move up to PlayMaker is going to take us from "bad" quality to "good"? I mean, really? They are going to revolutionise my audio experience in such a manner, eh?

What drives "good" audio quality is far more than the difference between the CD quality AE and PlayMaker. It's far more to do with the original mastered recording (take Pink Floyd's recordings, for example), the compression used to store the digital version and, of course, the speakers you use to play your audio.

The difference between the AEs and PlayMaker in this scenario will be far more negligible than you think.

And if you want better sound quality, btw, you'd upgrade your 6000s and buy BL5s, surely? If you are that keen, that obsessed and need to drive your audio via lossless recordings, why have you kept 6000s (this comment is tongue-in-cheek btw, but the point remains valid)? There's a bigger difference between 6000s and BL5s than there is between using lossless recordings via a PlayMaker than through AEs, I can assure you.

moxxey wrote:

I've been using AEs for years now, as have many users on here. Few have complained of "bad quality" (the original poster implied you'd only get "good" quality with a PlayMaker) and suddenly the move up to PlayMaker is going to take us from "bad" quality to "good"? I mean, really? They are going to revolutionise my audio experience in such a manner, eh?

What drives "good" audio quality is far more than the difference between the CD quality AE and PlayMaker. It's far more to do with the original mastered recording (take Pink Floyd's recordings, for example), the compression used to store the digital version and, of course, the speakers you use to play your audio.

The difference between the AEs and PlayMaker in this scenario will be far more negligible than you think.

Again, I completely disagree. Crap sounding source is always a crap sounding source, as you improve the speakers this becomes more and more obvious. Of course the recording, compression etc. will make a difference, but even with really well recorded material throttling it with a poor source is never going to let it sound 'good'.

moxxey wrote:

And if you want better sound quality, btw, you'd upgrade your 6000s and buy BL5s, surely? If you are that keen, that obsessed and need to drive your audio via lossless recordings, why have you kept 6000s (this comment is tongue-in-cheek btw, but the point remains valid)? There's a bigger difference between 6000s and BL5s than there is between using lossless recordings via a PlayMaker than through AEs, I can assure you.

I only bought them as some TV speakers, and I think they are very good for what they are. I demoed the BL5's back to back with the Meridian DSP5200s and the Meridians were better for me, they got my money. 

Problem for me is I find the AE too sharp sounding using its internal dac and output stage, there is also just no depth or soundstage. The difference between sources are subtle, but they make all the difference. I guess for many the massive 'differences' in changing speakers is easy to perceive, where as changes in sources are not so easy to detect as it is not a massive smack in the face.