Beolab 8 arrived…

[SimonWeir]

@swestland

See my post on another thread > Big Willie Style… sweet spot for bass management crossover for the Theatre with a BeoLab 19.

Beosound Theatre — Knowledge Base

[solidkd]

This actually surprised me the most. I currently have the Theatre, BL18’s for fronts and BL3 for rears and I find the bass is quite intense when it needs to be especially in movies. I would think that with 28’s involved it would be more than enough? What average room size do you think is most peoples setups?

How do you think Bl3s as rear，enough for movie？

[Sandyb]

How do you think Bl3s as rear，enough for movie？

Depends on how much of a movie watcher you are, I’d say.

I changed my rear/surround BL3s, and replaced them with BL17s (something broke with the 3s).

I’m not that much if a movie watcher, but 3s into 17s can be quite a noticeable difference when it comes to surround effects with movies.

So for those frequent movie watchers, especially effects heavy ones, I’d say upgrading from 3s is something worth thinking about.

(personally, I think 17s are the optimal choice, with 8s being over specified for rear/surround duties).

[Severed_hand_of_skywalker]

solidkd wrote:

 

How do you think Bl3s as rear，enough for movie？

Sounds amazing for me.  They are pretty close to my listening position though about 4 feet away. I have no complains for movies and gaming. I am thinking about moving them to rear highs and buying a pair of BL 12’s just so I can add more bass to the back of the room.  The BL3’s basically have no bass at all.

[cyberc]

SimonWeir wrote:

Last piece of insight was there was no listening position setup that didn’t benefit from having the BL19 added. So to me a BL19 should always be providing the subwoofer role, unless you are lucky enough to own 50s or 90s, even with the Theatre’s incredible bass and the bass of the 28 the 19 added richness that you can hear and physically feel. I know in the Sound guide it states 28 take bass from the 19 but in the real world to me that slightly larger subwoofer size is needed to most people’s setup.

Is it recommended to have a BL19 even if you have a pair of BL28 which should have a build in bass?

Im currently rocking BL18+BL19 as fronts but I’m considering replacing them with a BL28, but as I read it you recommended keeping the BL19 even with the BL28.

[SimonWeir]

@cyberc

In my personal opinion on listening extensively at my dealers and at home to my taste keep the BL19, but change the crossover in the app to 90 kHz.  The Theatre shares the bass across all speakers.  In your case the 28s will take much of this but by also having the BL19 in another location it adds to the whole room.

I actually trialled 2 x BL19s for a month before the Theatre with an Eclipse and 6 x BL17s but realised the new bass magic of the Theatre I only needed 1 x BL19, but now if the right one came along at the right price I would snap it up I just wasn’t in a position to buy new a year ago.

Try it and if you don’t like or need it sell the BL19, there is an active 2nd hand market for them as the sub is so capable especially with the Theatre as it brings more out of it than I have ever experienced with an Eclipse or Avant.

[syrianos82]

I personally prefer to keep the BL19 with any of the recent products.

BL28 is better with BL19 across the room (streamed through Beosound Theatre as stereo + sub)

BS Theatre is better with added BL19

BL8 is better with BL19 without surprise. Even though they are punchy. It remains a small speaker but with admirable clarity. Loving them so far and much improved balance in a full setup for movie watching compared to the BL17’s I replaced

[Themanthemyth]

How is the BL8 with the BL19? I want to purchase it as my first Beolab product, but it’s a big investment. How would it be to go from a Stage to a Beolab 8 set for stereo music?

[syrianos82]

Have never had a stage so I can’t compare. You can’t just hook up a BL19 to a pair of 8’s I think?

I might be missing something.  Everything is controlled through wisa by th BS Theatre here

[solidkd]

syrianos82 wrote:

Very curious to test this. tomorrow I’m collecting the 8’s to replace the 17’s as front L/R with BST as center, BL19 for sub and BL28’s as surrounds. Pity the ultra wide band feature is not ready yet. haven’t read anything about 17’s trumping the 18’s. Was this about woofer size and bass output! maybe I need to try and integrate the 17’s as height channels from the ceiling

How does it going？

[syrianos82]

In general very pleased with the performance. The BL8 is better matched to the theatre and 28’s than the 17’s. Without much effort or tweaking they are much more present to give front L and R channels a big upgrade. Beam width is different from the 28’s. Wide setting is a more open and room filling experience but I still mostly prefer narrow for music as I do with th 28’s.

the possibilities in modifying listening positions and speaker role assignment is endless and you can lose yourself trying different things. Like using the front L/R speaker groups as front is nice but you lose stereo imaging from the front BL8 as well as clarity and spaciousness without using the app to open the sound field.

for music listening with 8 +28+19 it’s a great combo too.

[solidkd]

syrianos82 wrote:

In general very pleased with the performance. The BL8 is better matched to the theatre and 28’s than the 17’s. Without much effort or tweaking they are much more present to give front L and R channels a big upgrade. Beam width is different from the 28’s. Wide setting is a more open and room filling experience but I still mostly prefer narrow for music as I do with th 28’s. the possibilities in modifying listening positions and speaker role assignment is endless and you can lose yourself trying different things. Like using the front L/R speaker groups as front is nice but you lose stereo imaging from the front BL8 as well as clarity and spaciousness without using the app to open the sound field. for music listening with 8 +28+19 it’s a great combo too.

I’m thinking moving my 18s to the back and add 17s or 8s as the FR and FL，but for the price i can almost get 2 set of 17s instead of 1 set of 8s and i can upgrade to maybe 5.1.2 system instead of 5.1.0. So 8s is really a big jump from 17s when it comes to a surround setup？Really appreciate for your suggestion.

[syrianos82]

I can’t say I was impressed with stereo imaging of the 17’s next to the theatre as front L and R. The 8’s do this job much better. I honestly was surprised since beo remeasured all their speakers and coded their capabilities into the theatre. Either the tech has evolved or they tuned it more intensely.

I have my old pair of 17’s and seriously considering to sell them. Even though they were purchased brand new two years ago. The reason I got them was wisa connection. The 8’s can be configured as stereo setup just like the 28’s and with the preset buttons you have radio channels at your fingertips for quick access. I have different stations programmed on the 4 presets of the 28’s and the 8’s and depending on the time of day or where I sit I will switch between the paired sets.

the theatre has only one radio preset and all others to listening positions with Apple TV or ps5 or switch. And i like the physical quick access to presets I know.
you can group at will with beolink or airplay without getting the theatre involved.
with 17’s you have less options and are always streaming through the theatre…

i would suggest getting the 8’s but maybe as back if the output is stronger than the 18’s. The woofer size is bigger so I assume a punchier bass that would be good in the back as surrounds. Pitty beo doesn’t publish the frequency range (yet)

[DT79]

I had a listen to the Beolab 8 in our local B&O dealer today. Very impressive even just on their own as a stereo pair.

Got me thinking…. At the moment I have 18s paired with Lyngdorf subs driven by a Lyngdorf amp using its room correction, which is essential for my room. Sounds fantastic, but the whole solution is not very elegant. Would there be a way of using 8s and a 19 in a wireless B&O-only set-up, with the whole thing room corrected? I know the 8s have the ‘adaptive room compensation’ built in, but it there any way of hooking it all up and running the room compensation in such as way as to encompass a 19 as well?

[syrianos82]

As you mentioned: every room is different.

With the BL28’s set up in the back there is enough bass, in my room it’s better to have the BL19 in the front to complement the Theatre and the BL8’s.

This spreads the larger woofers over the room in a triangle.

Also set the crossover point to 95hz rather than the 120 standard setting to push enough of the lower end to the speakers with bass management set to ON

 

[syrianos82]

I don’t think there is an automated way to have a sub added to the room compensation.

The closest is having the Beosound Theatre handle all speakers and measuring the room by sweeping with the microphone for creating listening positions.

A Wisa streamer connected to a TV with smart apps or Apple TV can send the signal to all Wisa speakers like the soundsend wisa transmitter or axiim link, but those remain very manual equalizers. tried playing around with them before the Theatre was available but it’s no comparison to the Theatre’s flexibility and capability.

Maybe just go for the 8’s for now, who knows B&O will develop a new streaming hub or device in the future to handle wisa speakers / wireless power link without integrating this functionality in a full sized soundbar…

 

[DT79]

syrianos82 wrote:

I don’t think there is an automated way to have a sub added to the room compensation. The closest is having the Beosound Theatre handle all speakers and measuring the room by sweeping with the microphone for creating listening positions. A Wisa streamer connected to a TV with smart apps or Apple TV can send the signal to all Wisa speakers like the soundsend wisa transmitter or axiim link, but those remain very manual equalizers. tried playing around with them before the Theatre was available but it’s no comparison to the Theatre’s flexibility and capability. Maybe just go for the 8’s for now, who knows B&O will develop a new streaming hub or device in the future to handle wisa speakers / wireless power link without integrating this functionality in a full sized soundbar…

Thanks for your reply, that’s what I feared. I think I’ll just stick with what I have for now and see if they do bring out such a device as you mention in your last paragraph, which it seems they really need to.

I was just toying with the idea of 8s & a 19 as they seem more attainable than what I really want which is a pair of 28s.

[syrianos82]

you might be able to find a pair of 28’s second life with fabric covers… for a tad bit more than a8’s with a sub

[solidkd]

I think 8’s bass is more than enough for stero music. In most cases there is no need to add a subwoofer unless you’re watching a movie

[Ianc2]

I am finally setting mine up this morning after the floor stands arrived yesterday .

I have a question :

I’ve been through eclipse settings , and beolab settings on app , and can find no setting for using the 19 sub with the 8s for music streaming .

is it possible to do this ?

or will the sub only turn on when the tv is on , and the 8s will only stream Bluetooth when tv is off ?

[Author]

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