Beoconnect Core with HDMI (e)ARC

[jongsang Han]

“USB-C: For digital audio connection to Beolab 50/90 or to connect audio from a computer.” According to the product’s user manual, USB-C can be used for output from a PC.

[Severed_hand_of_skywalker]

Its funny how in all the product pages B&O shows the core happily sitting out on the open on shelves and tables but they didn’t add any controls to it like play/pause/skip/volume.  They could have either does this on the glass white part with the controls illuminating under the glass or add physical controls like the stage has.

Plus it took B&O 20 years to copy the first Mac mini.

At least they moved the power light from the right to the left to make it look totally different though 😀

[Millemissen]

ebnrob wrote:

I’m wondering if the mozart platform can now “borrow” sources from other devices, like the previous ASL platform can? I use this to access my turntable (connected to a BS core) and BS9000 cd player (NL/ML converter) from other rooms without having to Join. Last time I checked it couldn’t.

No, that has still not happened….I wonder if it is even coming?
That is a ‘feature’, that makes me keep my ASE products as long as I can.

With the BS Theatre there was no choice – so I have gotten used to start the CD in my CD 6500/Converter and hit Join on the remote there.

MM

[Millemissen]

beojeff wrote:

Perhaps you thought I was asking for your advice? I wasn’t.

Sure no – it was just a general statement.

I guess you’d ask for an advice, if you’d need one ?

MM

[jamesj]

I wonder if this will also be “Future Proof” like the Beosound Core? For me, the streaming options are a concern. They need to make products that can adapt to new technology, I’m not spending 1000+ on something that will become another hockey puck in 2 years.

[matteventu]

Razlaw wrote:

I ordered one yesterday. Looks like just what I have been wanting to use with my 1s. For what it is designed to be, it is perfect for what I want it for. Does everything an Essence or Core would but has the newer Mozart sound adjustments just as my 28s and Theatre have. And, minimal price increase over the Core and better design if I want to leave it out in the open.

Well technically, it doesn’t have digital out (other than USB-C) which Beosound Core has (TOSlink).

 

Better design is relative, I’d say Beosound Core look much more discreet.

 

Beoconnect Core will age much faster than Beosound Core in terms of aesthetics.

[Razlaw]

I have no plans to use the HDMI. Currently my 1s are connected to a BV10 and I listen to music on them through a BL/NL converter. I want the same app control of them that I have elsewhere in my house in other speakers. Am simply going to disconnect the 1s from the 10 and use them for music only.

[Stan]

Wow, tough crowd here…

This is almost EXACTLY what I wishing for yesterday morning as I was trying to find the right audio solution for our newly remodeled bedroom.  I have a non-B&O TV and wish to improve the TV sound and listen to streaming services and a turntable.  Music is more important than TV audio (we don’t really watch movies in the bedroom, just regular TV and sometimes I get banished there to watch sports).  Integration with existing B&O equipment is a big plus along with cost (relative with B&O) since I’ve already dropped too much on the remodel.

My internal conversation:  “Why don’t TVs have variable analog audio output anymore?  I can’t be the only one thinking this… Oh look, they have cheap boxes that can capture the audio from an HDMI signal and output it as analog.  I can send that into a Core/Essense and there we go.  Ugh, another box, and I wonder how good that will sound, and what about synching audio with video?… and I will probably need 2 remotes – one for the TV, one for the volume.  Yuck!”

For these reasons, I had my finger hovering over the “buy” button on a Stage but held off because it really is overkill for my situation (the smoked oak that the wife likes is almost $3K now, the Stage is more about video audio than 2 channel stereo), and I’d really like to put those BL8000s or BL4s I have gathering dust to use (and get better stereo separation).  Let’s just get the TV (a LG C3 in case I need to integrate with Stage) and see where to go from there after using it a bit.

Late last night, I’m bored and decide to pop into BeoWorld and see if there’s anything interesting going on…  A new Core!?!  Oh my, they really hate it!  Let me take a look.  Glory, glory, it’s just what I’m looking for!!!

For those complaining about the price – it’s only $50 more than a Core, and it has pretty much everything the Core has plus HDMI (arc), Tidal, Mozart and a better way to drive BL50/90s (I assume that’s what the USB output is all about).  Only one PL output?  Buy a splitter (and help keep Sounds Heavenly in business).  Personally, I don’t see the loss of TuneIn as a negative.  If they added surround processing / center channel / wisa, they’d probably charge at least $3-4K.  Looks?  Really?!?  It’s going to be hidden in a cabinet and at least this one doesn’t look like an Ali Express special.

I still haven’t hit the buy button on this, but I most likely will.  I’m not looking forward to being an early adopter – I usually hang back and let others debug, but given Mozart and HDMI(arc) are not new to B&O technologies, I think I’ll be fine.

I can’t predict the market, but, to me, this is a winner.

[Severed_hand_of_skywalker]

I know it’s apples to oranges but for that frankly crazy high price you pay for the Core you could get a full blown receiver that does all that plus more with full surround sound and 8k video. I know there is a B&O tax and that’s fine but it just amazes me how poor the feature set is for that price.

https://www.marantz.com/en-ca/product/av-receivers/cinema-70s/300619.html

[Severed_hand_of_skywalker]

Stan wrote:

I have a non-B&O TV and wish to improve the TV sound and listen to streaming services and a turntable.

I think the core “Improving” the sound of TV will be debatable. I can’t be the only one that watching TV with external speakers in stereo is the weirdest possible way to watch tv.

[Stan]

@severed_hand

The Marantz can’t multi-room with my Beosound in the adjoining bathroom.  It also doesn’t work just like all the other beosounds with which my wife has finally become comfortable.

I listened to TV through stereo speakers for many years.  I don’t understand the pushback.  I’m not doing critical listening.  It’s mostly background noise, but with better bass, treble and midrange than the weak built in speakers.   If stereo is so odd, why do most tvs have 2 speakers?

[Millemissen]

Stan wrote:

@severed_hand The Marantz can’t multi-room with my Beosound in the adjoining bathroom. It also doesn’t work just like all the other beosounds with which my wife has finally become comfortable. I listened to TV through stereo speakers for many years. I don’t understand the pushback. I’m not doing critical listening. It’s mostly background noise, but with better bass, treble and midrange than the weak built in speakers. If stereo is so odd, why do most tvs have 2 speakers?

Another point is that you can not control the Marantz with a Beoremote One.

 

The reason why most tv’s have two speakers, is that it is the easiest (and cheapest) way to do sound.
For decades tv programmes were 2 channel aka stereo natively, so there was no real need for audio processing for more channels.

Since those two speakers are located in the tv/with the screen, what we call a phantom center is mostly also heard coming from there.
The further away from the screen/the picture the external speakers are, the more this shifting of the phantom center can be disturbing…..especially for those who sit off axis.

For many years all B&O tv’s have had an option for creating a center channel, if you had connected external L/R speakers there also.
In the 90’s, when I had a BV6000, there was an option for creating a socalled ‘center balance’. This was before they started processing the sound in a modern sense.
Later – when the first Avant (the CTR tv) came, there was a ‘surround decoder’ built in, which made the two builtin speakers a center channel, if you had external speakers connected.

For the BV7 there was even a dedicated center channel speaker option (the BL7-4/BL10) – these BV’s had a surround decoder.

The new Avant had a 3 channel speaker system built in and in addition a multichannel processor for more speakers.
So does the Eclipse and the Harmony – also the Stage and the Theatre do have multiple speakers built in….the center being relatively powerfull.

From this point of view just having a set of L/R speakers with a tv is a retreat from what B&O untill now has offered as their ‘normal’ way of listening to audio from video sources.
Nowadays a lot of video material is multichannel (5.1 and more), which means that this has to be downmixed for the Beoconnect Core, which potentially will make the dialog less audible.
Something that you would not experience with a genuine 3-channel speaker setup.
There you have a wider seperation of left/right and a much more defined center.
That two speakers isn’t sufficient is also the reason for the popularity of soundbars nowadays.

Of course you may have become used to/get used to two channel tv sound, but it is far from optimal in most cases.
And it should not be praised so in the PR announcements for the BeoConnect Core:
Quote: “Simply plug in your screen and marvel as your B&O speakers transform movie nights into cinematic experiences”.
But, of course they want to sell speakers!

If you primarily use the box for 2 channel audio/stereo music, the box is fine – however, so was the Core and the Essence box.
Whether this box is better, only a test/daily use will tell.
For Shape users the COM port seems to be an improvement – also the USB-out could be beneficial for BL90/50 users.
For users with primarily Mozart based products the new Core may be the better choice.

If sound is just ‘background noice’, all this does not matter, of course ?

MM

[Millemissen]

Razlaw wrote:

I ordered one yesterday. Looks like just what I have been wanting to use with my 1s. For what it is designed to be, it is perfect for what I want it for. Does everything an Essence or Core would but has the newer Mozart sound adjustments just as my 28s and Theatre have. And, minimal price increase over the Core and better design if I want to leave it out in the open.

It may be reasonable to choose the BeoConnect Core over the Core/Essence MK2, if you otherweise have a Mozart-based setup.

Looking forward to your experiences.
Do you plan to use the HDMI/eARC in some way?

MM

[Razlaw]

I ordered one yesterday.  Looks like just what I have been wanting to use with my 1s.  For what it is designed to be, it is perfect for what I want it for. Does everything an Essence or Core would but has the newer Mozart sound adjustments just as my 28s and Theatre have.  And, minimal price increase over the Core and better design if I want to leave it out in the open.

[Stan]

@MM

I understand the difference between home cinema and stereo, and I agree that they’re not really comparable.  I have an Eclipse after all.  My point in asking why so many TVs have 2 speakers was to point out that maybe listening to stereo TV was NOT the “weirded possible way”.  Also, if it’s solely about cost, why not just have 1 speaker and eliminate that weird stereo TV watching experience?  It would be cheaper still.

This will be a music first system so TV audio is secondary (or perhaps even tertiary, with looks/usability being secondary). Having said all this, my wife is not excited about the return of the “all those speaker cables” (i.e. one thin PL running from source to daisy chained speakers) so the Stage is back in the running… or I need to do better cable management.

I agree that given B&O’s history of outstanding home cinema audio it’s a bit odd for B&O to be pushing this stereo TV concept, but then you have to sell what you have.  Marketers will do their marketing.  Or maybe this is a case of “the customer is always right” (used as that phrase was originally intended, not the more recent “Karen” interpretation).  That is, perhaps there was enough feedback saying this is desirable so they built it, even though it runs counter to ~30 years of B&O’s home cinema audio history.

 

[beojeff]

@Stan

I’m agreeing 100% with everything you’re saying. I’ve come to accept the premium price we pay for B&O. It’s crazy for us to expect the same features in the new Core that we would have paid for in a BeoSystem 1, BeoSystem 3, BeoSystem 4, or BeoSound Theatre. It’s just a nice added feature in the Core for the most basic needs of a TV.

[DT79]

I don’t find anything objectionable about listening to a TV in stereo after all it’s true that most TVs have stereo speakers built in, plenty of TV programmes are still only recorded and/or broadcast in stereo and many people may not be inclined to have more than 2 or 2.1 speakers for a variety of reasons. All with the caveat that the further apart those stereo speakers are, the more compromised the location of voices to the screen will be for anyone sitting off-axis.

My problem is that it’s simply an odd choice to make a product of this nature and charge so much for it and to make it only stereo. And only one input (going out of their way to combine analogue and digital into one so you can’t use both) . And no WiSA. And only a proprietary digital output and very limited use digital input (that can’t be used at the same time). They’ve just omitted several really obvious and useful features and every feature they have included they’ve compromised or limited in some way. I just find it baffling and very frustrating.

However no doubt for some people it will fit their desired use case and good for them!

 

[BeoMedia]

So this is basically a Hall Audio WiFi Streamer for £216 except that Hall Audio doesn’t show up in the B&O app and can’t be controlled via a BeoRemote One. But, for people who look to connect B&O speakers to a tv with HDMI ARC and to play music from a connected analogue source like a record player with RIAA or stream music via airplay or Spotify connect it actually does the same job.
I am not affiliated with Hall Audio in anyway. I merely have their product and it works a charm.
https://hallaudio.com/en/produkter/traadloes-streaming/hall-wifi-streamer/

[TWG]

For a true sustainable system, it should have the option to add Beo4 infrared control, too. Like on the Essence MK2 and Core.

But all in all I like the new Beoconnect Core! With this aluminium design there’s no more need to hide it away. Looks nice and the AUX-Input can easily be fed by a preamp for multiple other audio sources, too.

[Severed_hand_of_skywalker]

Stan wrote:

@severed_hand The Marantz can’t multi-room with my Beosound in the adjoining bathroom. It also doesn’t work just like all the other beosounds with which my wife has finally become comfortable.

I get that what I am saying is the amount of technology is thats included for the price. The Marantz I listed has its own music network distribution but yes it won’t work with B&O systems.

Previously to getting my Essence I used $400 Yamaha receiver with my BL17 and 3rd party sub connected to it and basically did all the same things as this new core with the exception of app compatibility.

I think my main disappointment with the new Core is the price for what you get, which isn’t much.

Would have been nice if they came out with a new Essence remote to go with it. Does this core even work with essence remotes?

[Author]

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