You won't be able to use two Balances as L and R channels with an Eclipse, unfortunately. Supposedly, this is in the works but no one knows for sure or knows timing.

Setup is crucially important for things to look and sound right. The latest B&O gear has so many adjustments. Difficult to believe but most dealers do not/can not set this equipment up properly. I listened to Beolab 5's in dealers for years again and again and was far from impressed everytime. Then I heard them from a used dealer, fell in love and bought them! 

I would suggest another dealer, give yourself loads of time and play around with sound and picture levels?

swestland wrote:

Just came back from my visit to our local dealer. Wasn't really impressed by the whole experience, dealer wanted to sell me a Loewe system which I told him I didn't like as I was coming for the design of the B&O. He told me the eclipse sounded great but didn't demo it. Had to ask for a demo, he turned on a regular TV program to show off its capabilities. Not impressed, so I asked to start youtube with some link music. 

That was better, now I could get some real impression of the sound. Sound stage is wide but it lacks a lot of bass wow, didn't expect that. It really needs a sub. Than I listened to the stage, the stage bass performance is a lot better than eclipse but sound wise it sounds really compressed and not as wide and crisp as the eclipse. 

A pair of Balance as Left and Right is not possible according to the dealer, only for music not for tv/movie. 

Need to listen to an eclipse with subwoofer attached. Will see another dealer if they could help me out. 

 

Thanks for the information, I will try to figure it out for more. Keep sharing such informative post.

I'm surprised about the lack of bass. While I have a sub connected to my Eclipse, I rarely use it as, for me in my home, the bass is perfectly adequate.  I do turn it on for action / adventure movies, but don't always remember, and my wife says she really can't tell that much of a difference. 

Perhaps it wasn't setup correctly, or the showrooms was very large or acoustically dead...  or we have very different bass performance expectations.

swestland wrote:

Just came back from my visit to our local dealer. Wasn't really impressed by the whole experience, dealer wanted to sell me a Loewe system which I told him I didn't like as I was coming for the design of the B&O. He told me the eclipse sounded great but didn't demo it. Had to ask for a demo, he turned on a regular TV program to show off its capabilities. Not impressed, so I asked to start youtube with some music.

That was better, now I could get some real impression of the sound. Sound stage is wide but it lacks a lot of bass wow, didn't expect that. It really needs a sub. Than I listened to the stage, the stage bass performance is a lot better than eclipse but sound wise it sounds really compressed and not as wide and crisp as the eclipse.

A pair of Balance as Left and Right is not possible according to the dealer, only for music not for tv/movie.

Need to listen to an eclipse with subwoofer attached. Will see another dealer if they could help me out.

Yesterday I went to see another dealer and I gotta say this was the experience I was expecting. The eclipse sounded a lot better, so I guess the other dealer didnt configure it properly. 

This dealer quickly grabbed a Beolab 19 and configged it as a sub on the eclipse and this did a lot to the sound for me. The bass it was lacking was now added. Sub was not further tuned so I think there was still a lot to gain when properly setup.

I listened back to back, with sub and without. On some music and a Dolby demo. The whole sounds gets a lot warmer, deeper and more full. 

The eclipse still has a harsh upper levels which I'm not used to. After about an half hour of listening I was used to this and it turned into a more 'crisp' sound to me. Probably can be tweaked more according to my taste. I have read the sound design config pdf on the B&O site and there is a LOT to configure I figured out. 

Stan wrote:

I'm surprised about the lack of bass. While I have a sub connected to my Eclipse, I rarely use it as, for me in my home, the bass is perfectly adequate.  I do turn it on for action / adventure movies, but don't always remember, and my wife says she really can't tell that much of a difference. 

Perhaps it wasn't setup correctly, or the showrooms was very large or acoustically dead...  or we have very different bass performance expectations.

I think our expectations are different, I have a very good sub at the moment (Velodyne SPL1200Ultra), a 12" 1200 watt sub can't compare to a 2x 8" 320 watt one I think. Although the Beolab 19 performed very well in the big showroom. In my living room (80m2) it will be decent and adds the extra that I was missing on the eclipse alone. But I could clearly hear the difference between having the Beolab 19 playing or not. 

Mikipidia wrote:

 

Where is your dealer located? This is a very strange experience by the sound of it, i wonder if it’s all setup rightHuh?

 

I don't want to name and shame, I'll send it to you in a PM. As I said above it clearly has to do with set up and the knowledge of the dealer. The last dealer was also selling the TV panel as seperate LG one to save on the cost and told me that maybe in feb/march there even will be a new LG panel then we could even get that one. I will be needing the Eclipse by Februari so thats why. 

All in all, I'm going to bite the bullet and go for this combination to replace all my HiFi gear. It's the best combination of design, integration options, sound and tv. And eventually option to upgrade the system with more speakers. Maybe a Shape as rear surrounds? :o 

Mikipidia wrote:

Shape as rear surround is a sweet looking setup and sound good too. Very minimalistic and very stylish New: Beovision Harmony, Beolab 50's, Beolab 18's, Beolab 17's, Beolab 3's, Beosound 9000 mk3, Beosound Stage & LG, Beosound 2, Beoplay M3, Beoplay A1, Beoplay H4 gen 2, Beoplay E8 3.0

Mikipedia on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/Mikipedia

mikipedi4 on Twitch: https://www.twitch.tv/mikipedi4

Old: Beovision Eclipse, Beolab 1's, Beolab 2, Beovision 10-46, Overture 2300, beolab 8000's, Beolab 4000's, Beovision avant 32" etc. etc.

I'm also really considering this. But first wait for the Eclipse and Beolab 19 to arrive in Februari, then will see what to do afterwards. Or maybe, as its still 4 months ahead, I allready ordered the Shape as well . Just need to convince myself, and the wife, that I need one 😂

Is there any reason you are not considering the Harmony TV over the Eclipse? Both good TVs, just curious what makes you choose the Eclipse over the Harmony?