Maab wrote:

Now, I would like to preserve the best sound I can

Glad you like the BL5s. They are, as you say, superb speakers.

Now, don't take this personally. It's just a forum. Others will have a very different opinion and will post below :)

However, I'll be frank, I just do not understand why people consider the expensive BM5/BS5 option. It almost comes across as very lazy to me (people who have a bit too much money to burn and simply get it as it's easier than considering other options). I owned the combo for two months and it was the worst bit of B&O kit I've ever purchased, and I've owned a lot of kit over the last 10 years. It was cumbersome, cables everywhere, crashed a lot and the expense just sat in the back of my mind eating away about the purchase. I realised we can be so over the top about wanting to get the best audio, we spend ridiculous amounts of money trying to achieve it.

Problem for me is two fold:

1) The production of many modern CDs is not designed for top quality speakers. CD mastering tends to be very down the middle, aimed at the headphone generation. It doesn't matter what you thrown at these CDs, it's the mastering you're up against.

2) The BM5 is simply a NAS drive. NAS drives can be purchased very cheaply and they'll do the same job. With this in mind, it would be far more advisable to go for the Encore only, get a NAS drive and use this for streaming your audio. Better still, you can use this NAS drive to backup your files and folders, store video and much more. Plus you can connect to it wirelessly from your BS5 Encore.

My advice would be to get the Encore and get yourself a NAS drive. Hide it somewhere and use it to stream audio across all your devices - the Encore, your computer, your mobile phone and others.

Now, for the comments from BM5 owners!

I own the BeoSound 5/BeoMaster 5 combo and love it. I think from the original poster's remarks, he really wants the total integration and simplicity that comes from keeping everything B&O. The BeoSound 5 is ideal for those goals. Also, if one can afford BeoLab 5 speakers, that person would likely not mind spending a little extra for B&O's flagship music center.

To answer the questions:

1. You can definitely control the volume directly from touching the dial on the BeoSound 5.

2. You can save the default volume, but you can't differentiate between digital and analog.

3. The BeoSound 5 automatically turns on your speakers out of standby when it starts and turns them off when you put the BeoSound 5 into standby.

4. There is no online music server feature currently, but it's rumored that Spotify will by supported in January!

5. Yes. The BeoSound 5 plays music in whatever quality and bitrate it's stored in. It can change to whatever is playing. 

I think that the question to ask when deciding between the BeoSound 5/BeoMaster 5 and the Encore is whether one wants to access and control the BeoSound 5 from link rooms. The Encore is intended to be a stand-alone product only and does not work with link rooms. If you have the BeoLab 5 speakers, you're likely to be catching the "B&O bug" and start expanding your B&O experience into other rooms. The BeoSound 5/BeoMaster 5 paired with the Beo6 will be ideal for giving you seemless control from throughout the home.

P.S. I believe that you can set a default volume for your audio master (BeoSound 5) and a different default volume for your video master if you have a B&O video master (tv). Therefore, switching to B&O for your video in the future might solve that problem.

I agree. The longer I have my Beosound 5/Beomaster 5 the more I like it. Another feature I like is that with it I am able to set timers and have music come on at set times through multiple speakers in the house. I do not know if that is possible with the Encore.

The integration with other B and O products is what really sets the 5 apart from the Encore.

beojeff wrote:

I own the BeoSound 5/BeoMaster 5 combo and love it. I think from the original poster's remarks, he really wants the total integration and simplicity that comes from keeping everything B&O. 

But it can also get a tad freaky. I remember when I was a kid I ended up buying a lot of clothes from the same (cool) brand. People started to point this out. Got a bit embarrassing and lazy buying on my part. Although I do see some of the reasoning behind having everything B&O, I still believe that there's a lot of tech naivety out there and people pay over the odds for certain kit as it's too easy to throw cash at a situation and somehow think you've got the "best". We all know that some of B&Os kit has fallen short at times.

As for the integration. You can do far far more through a NAS drive than you can with a BM5. If you have other devices in your house - and many of us do - you can stream content to these, too. With the BM5 you are somewhat stuck with controlling the content from only B&O products. Too restrictive for me. I want to be able to access my centralised music from multiple sources, where possible.

I did say he should get the Beosound 5 Encore, just that he should give the BM5 component more thought.

Maab wrote:

Moxxey, thanks for the reply.

my understanding is that the encore has no digital out, my desire is to go digital all the way.

No worries. Do consider the Encore though.

The Encore is simply a player. You stream audio to it (either via a wire or wirelessly). You shouldn't need a digital out. Besides, if you stream your audio from a NAS drive, it's streamed digitally. There's no analogue conversion.

EDIT: oh you mean to the speakers. No it doesn't have a digital out. But would it make so much difference to your audio experience? You could connect the BL5s to an Airport Express digital out and bypass the DAC. I didn't notice any difference connecting my BL5s to the digital out than via Power Link.

moxxey wrote:

beojeff wrote:

I own the BeoSound 5/BeoMaster 5 combo and love it. I think from the original poster's remarks, he really wants the total integration and simplicity that comes from keeping everything B&O. 

But it can also get a tad freaky. I remember when I was a kid I ended up buying a lot of clothes from the same (cool) brand. People started to point this out. Got a bit embarrassing and lazy buying on my part. Although I do see some of the reasoning behind having everything B&O, I still believe that there's a lot of tech naivety out there and people pay over the odds for certain kit as it's too easy to throw cash at a situation and somehow think you've got the "best". We all know that some of B&Os kit has fallen short at times.

As for the integration. You can do far far more through a NAS drive than you can with a BM5. If you have other devices in your house - and many of us do - you can stream content to these, too. With the BM5 you are somewhat stuck with controlling the content from only B&O products. Too restrictive for me. I want to be able to access my centralised music from multiple sources, where possible.

I did say he should get the Beosound 5 Encore, just that he should give the BM5 component more thought.

Actually, Moxxey, quite a lot has changed since you parted with your BeoSound 5. The software has been updated so that you can indeed access your BeoMaster 5 media from other non-B&O devices on your network. All of my networked tvs, blu-ray players, iPhone, iPad, and PS3 recognize the BeoMaster 5 as a media source that they can access. You even see the B&O logo and see all of the cover art! This was a very welcome update from B&O.