I suggest you just get an Amazon Dot and connect it to the Aux input on the Beomaster. Not only the cheapest, but also the best variant, in my opinion. I know there was someone out there offering a software fix to get spotify working again, but your milage may vary.

Duels wrote:

Or you could get a ChromeCast audio device. Steve at sounds heavenly can supply the appropriate cable and converter.

It really depends on what you want. If you want to stream your music, get the chrome cast. If you want a separate device playing the music without you having to touch your phone, get the Amazon.

jhamers wrote:

Hi, 

Our setup at home is that we have BeoSound/Beomaster 5 as 'master' and 7 rooms with BeoLink active/passive.

Since the demise of the last option to use spotify on the beomaster, this nice system turned out to be the biggest disappointment in my life and now basically is just a very expensive internet radio streaming device. So I complained to my original dealer and he told me to come in to talk about the BeoSound Core.

Now, I don't understand if adding one BeoSound Core will revive my entire system or that i'm supposed to add a BeoSound core to each of the existing 'touchpoints' ?

Does anybody have any experience with that?

I am quite sure that the suggestion from your dealer would be to add to (not to replace) the BM5.

Replacing would mean requiring a ML/NL Connverter, which is EOL, but can easily be bought second hand.

A BS Core in that setup would give you new possibilities - and would be relatively easy to use.

This would IMO be the best solution with all your ML gear.

Adding would mean - as others have mentioned - connecting the Core to the Aux input of the BM5.

You could do this with the Core or with the other mentioned devices - depending on your preferences and money.

However, sometimes with ML link devises you run into a sw problem.....depending on the version of the Active/Passive they might not accept rhe Aux command, that you need for the BM to open the Aux port and disribute to the ML chain.

You can add a Core (or any other player) only to the Active Link devices and turn on the input port there with the command PC (from the Beo4), the controlling of the device would have be done via an app. Note: you will only be able to use that device in that one room, where it is connected.

Apart from the fact that the Passives are ‘unreachable’, it would be a rather expensive solution.

If you want the best solution (with the Converter), you should have an experienced installer to do the setup for you.

IMO it would be a shame not to keep on using your excisting setup....supposed that you are happy with it.

Feel free to ask, if this is not clear (enough) to you.

MM

Thanks, 

That helps. I have an appointment tomorrow with them. But i'm still on the fence. We have spent the equivalent of a small family car on this system and here we are 6 years later with a completely outdated system.

We later added two Beo4 remotes and one Beo6 (at the price of an iPhone). The Beo4s already went in for servicing twice (out of warranty of course) and now again both have lines broken on the LCD and the Beo6 just stopped working after 3 years. I threw that deep into a cupboard in a rage.

I'm still considering to replace all the active/passive stuff with sonos:amps and hook our BeoLab 9 up to a sonos connect. I somehow trust that brand more to keep their stuff up to date.

jhamers wrote:

Thanks, 

That helps. I have an appointment tomorrow with them. But i'm still on the fence. We have spent the equivalent of a small family car on this system and here we are 6 years later with a completely outdated system.

 

I'm still considering to replace all the active/passive stuff with sonos:amps and hook our BeoLab 9 up to a sonos connect. I somehow trust that brand more to keep their stuff up to date.

Sure you have spend a lot on the system - that is the reason for my suggestion!

Don’t forget, that MasterLink and ML- based products are ‘old’ multiroom - you might however have been one of the latest buyers.

NL as a new digital based BeoLink protocol was introduced from B&O about 7 years ago (BeoVision 11 in 2012).

For a relatively long time B&O offered the NL/ML Converter as a bridge between the old ML and the new NL products....I claim, no other company would do such things for their ‘old’ costumers.

A lot - just like you - would like to maintain their old installations and benefit from the new sources offered for multiroom.

At least do discuss this solution with your dealer!

The Sonos solution that you describe, is an alternative, yes - however if you will be happy with that, only you will know.

In the end a decision that only you can make depending on your need for sound in the house today.

MM

You are right, and to be clear, we bought this house which had a beolink connection in each room and speakers in ceilings etc, but without heart. So plugging in this beosound/beomaster made everything working. And the way it worked is fine with me as I don't want to have different sources in different rooms.

However, after my experience, I feel B&O is a company in (financial?) trouble. They launched an XP based system at the time where support for XP already ended. Having an actual pc as the heart of your system should have opened the door for integration with a nice app, Airplay, spotify,... But no, the only integration we were sold was a Beo6 which looked very nice on the coffee table but was slow and utterly useless.

Some of my friends bought a Sonos system at the same point and while obviously the sound quality of the speakers themselves is no match, they never stopped getting regular updates (to the system and apps) and support for new streaming services.

I'm just afraid of showering them in money again and than in 3 months some new streaming service comes out which every brand will add support for and B&O will go silent again.

Duels wrote:

Or you could get a ChromeCast audio device. Steve at sounds heavenly can supply the appropriate cable and converter.

Thanks Duels,

Yes, you need a USB adapter to link the Chromecast to the Beomaster 5 - please mention that you would like a free cable for the Chromecast Audio and I will be pleased to include this:-

So I have visited my dealer and their proposal is basically to remove the beosound 5 (at most keep it for DLNA access to the music library on it) and add a beosound core to every beosound passive and replace all our beosound actives with beosound cores as well. In fact retiring our complete ML setup.

I didn't get a price yet, but obviously this will not be cheap. After some pushing they did tell me they went through a very dark period because of the beosound 5 'debacle'.