Streamer for Beolab 5

[RobinWal]

Hello everybody,

I‘m going for a dedicated streamer next month. At the moment I‘m running an Apple TV 4K. Plugged in via an audio/video splitter by Feintech to work with my Beosystem 3.

I think the Bluesound Node N130 is my option. Wiim Pro could be the 2nd place.

Anyway.. how would you connect it? My Beosystem 3 is in a different room. The Beolab 5‘s are connected via MK2 Powerlink. Here are the options:

1 Beosystem 3 Digital SPDIF im and use the DAC in the BS3(?).
2 Beosystem 3 analog in to use the Bluesound DAC.
3 Bluesound direct to the BL5 with digital in to use the BL5 DAC.

Please let me know. I would try every option. But If you tell me you would always feed the BL5 digital I would consider a streamer without a DAC.

Thank you!

[NQVHNWI]

I have posted much on my system and 3rd Party equipment into the BL90s.

The issue comes down to perceived value (price, quality, usefulness etc) and how you wish to connect it?

1. Whatever you buy, connect directly to the BL5. Im very cynical that “beovisions” and “wide-body” Beolabs go together well sound-wise.
2. Do you want to connect via Analogue (RCA) or Digital (CoAx). There are pros and cons to each.
3. What are you listening to? Ripped music on a NAS, Hi-Res Streaming or something else?
4. Try and trial equipment at home if you can. The control systems (more often not iOS controlled) vary.
5. The BL5 may need the volume cable connecting and possibly a dedicated Beo4 for volume??

Equipment (from my experience)

1. BS Core. Currently EoL,  full B&O integration but relatively poor in terms of streaming quality. Muffles the sound of the BLs like Beovisions
2. Auralic Altair G1. EoL but good bargains now. internal DAC and RCA Output, add a HDD, Killer app and takes Qobuz, amazon, Tidal (Spotify HiFi once released). I have a Altair connected to BL17’s. works fine.
3. Auralic Aries G1. Top quality. Digital Coax out, Wifi receiving Streamer. Otherwise as the Altair. Again, lots of bargains out there.

Highly recommend whatever you go for (Core/Auralic/Other), that you know the controls, operability’s and limitations. Almost anything at the cost of the BS Core or above…will blow the Core out of the water sound-wise with the “wide-body” Beolabs. Loss of integration is the price.

[RobinWal]

Thank you for the detailed reply!

First of all I will only go for hi-res streaming via Qobuz.
The Core wasn‘t my first choice. I think a third party option is better in this case.

RCA or digital is the question.. I think the most usable option is RCA or digital to the BS3. This way everything stay the same. And I don’t need any cables in the living room.

Used equipment would be an option here! I‘ll take a closer look on the Auralic stuff. I‘m willing to spend 1.000€ on this project.  Thank you so far.

I need to say I am not „scared“ to pay the  price of usability loss if better sound is what I get.

[YannChris]

Hi,

You maybe can keep some integration.

I have a BS3-based BV9 (European version with scarts) and a BC2 (equiped of a coaxial SPDIF output) connected to BL5s.

My products are connected to AV2 and BL5 as per the Blue/Red arrows.

You maybe could connect your streamer as per the Green/Orange arrows) on AV5 and affect this input to an auxiliary source of your BS3.

My guess is that BL5 prioritize the coaxial input for signal processing and that the PL are used for volume control.

Just my 2 cents if it may help.

Yann.

 

 

[kawo]

As a previous owner of a Beosystem 3 and Beolab 5 I strongly recommend not to rout the audio signal via the Beosystem 3 if you are looking for the best sound. The BS3 does always “something” to the audio signal.

The biggest challenge leaving the Beoworld is volume control if you feed a signal straight to the BL5. There are some work arounds, I ended up with a Core with a optical converterbox and a powerlink connection to the BL5. The TV and the core shared the BL5 Powerlink input via a Almando Powerlink Switch.

Now with my new BL50 much much easier….hope to have my new on order Linn streamer soon.

[Yossi]

Hi, after the wise advice of  Mr10Percent, I use an external streamer / DAC , the Wattson Madison connected with RCA cables on my BL50.

With Harmony as a streamer (chromecast, airplay…) the sound was cold and weak in comparison with the sound of the Wattson Madison (very very analog sound)

It’s night and day, I discover how these speakers are capable.

Now they sound so good … The midrange is rich and expressive, the bass fascinating, and the high frequencies silky smooth

[RobinWal]

I just ordered the Bluesound Node for testing some stuff. When it is here I will share my results.

The BS3 has no SPDIF out like the BV9. This would‘ve been the best method. I need to try all connections and see what is the best option.

I guess the digital In will win by far. But we will see.
I let you guys know! Thank you for the help. I keep this thread alive for other beoworlders.

[YannChris]

RobinWal wrote:

The BS3 has no SPDIF out like the BV9.

---

Robin,

BV9 has no SPDIF out. This TV is in fact a Beosystem 3 packed with a plasma screen and a center loudspeaker.

If you refer to my schemes, the digital connection to BV9/AV2 is used to send the multichannel signal of Beocenter 2 to the internal processor of BS3 for DVD playback.

You could make a test without the SPDIF connection to AV5 and have a single connection between Node and BL5:

• Selecting AV5 on BS3 in order to control Volume with your remote,
• Direct SPDIF connection from Node to BL5 to feed it with the digital signal.

Kind regards,

Yann

[Tignum]

YannChris wrote:

My guess is that BL5 prioritize the coaxial input for signal processing and that the PL are used for volume control.

Hi YannChris, maybe you know this.

I am hoping one day to own a set of BeoLab 5s, and feed them a digital signal from a BeoSound Core (for optimal quality). They would be also front speakers for my BeoSystem 3 setup, so partly something like this (think Core instead of 9000).

My Core is part of a BeoLink NL/ML system, so I am now wondering: if I watch TV (BS3 feeding analog signals into the BL5s), but in another room someone starts the linked Core’s radio (it will start to provide a digital output signal), will the BL 5s keep playing TV audio or will they let the digital radio audio overrule?

Regards, Johan

[RobinWal]

Hello everyone!

I updated the Beosystem now with my streamer of choice.

After researching for different streamers and solutions I could use, I came up with the Wiim Pro.

This is far away from the High end price range BIT it does everything I was looking for. This could be the first or the last step for me when it comes to streaming. I will try to get some other streamers to compare them. Maybe my B&O dealer will give a Core for testing. We will see.

The first problem was to get one of these little boxes. I‘m located in Germany. And the Wiim was always sold out at Amazon. Now I finally have one!

After some research and a nice talk with my B&O dealer our idea was Wiim Pro Coax out to the Beosystem 3 and use the MK2 PL cables. I have no visible cables in my living room. The idea to use the digital in on the BL5‘s wasn’t an option after all.

Now the Wiim does his job in this way. Coax In on AV in from the BS3. Settings to 24 Bit 96 kHz.
The competition is my ATV newest Gen. And I can tell you the Wiim Pro does an far superior job. I tried the analog out first. I thought maybe the DAC in the Wiim is better. And it was better then the ATV. But after using the Coax out my decision is final.

In the next few days I‘m trying to write down my impressions. But I don‘t want to use the superlative and tell you that I have a new listening experience. Since I‘m a car guy it feels like switching from E10 to 102 octane.

I‘ll keep you updated. Now I need to listen a lot and do A/B switching between the ATV and the Wiim.

Next step could be an Antimode X2.

[Jaffrey]

The Wiim Pro is an incredible value. It definitely blows the BS Core out of the water. I have two Cores and checked out the Wiim Pro since it is popular on Amazon and the quality is way above it’s price point!

[Archm@ge]

Hi,

Would like to purchase Auralic Aries G1 as the steamer for my BL18 via Toslink, I read through the user manual of Aries G1, seems like it has volume control function(I guess it is done via software instead of hardware) on its IOS App, have you tried on this function? Will it work properly(adjusting volume on BL18) with this setup? And will this ‘Software’ volume adjustment do harms on sound quality?(According to the manual this should be switched off when there is a volume control function on DAC and/or Pre-Amp)

Thanks.

[koo3838]

I am planning to buy a pair of Beolab 5 speakers next week. My original plan was to stream music directly to the DAC of Beolab 5 via digital output from the streamer. Reading this thread, it seems there is a volume control issue which I am not very familiar with. (I have never owned Beolab 5 before) Can anyone pls explain to me what can be the potential issue when I directly stream music to Beolab 5 using the digital connection?

Best,

Jerry

[NQVHNWI]

Hi,

You will need a 3.5mm jack-cable to synchronise the two BL5s together and a Beo4 Remote.

A Beo4 Remote will need to configure (Loudspeaker mode – L.Setup) the IR of the BL5 to accept commands (Vol Up/down and standby).

Depending on your Streamer, you can feed Coax dig out/in directly. If your Stream has its own DAC, it will need to be via the RCA connect. Note input voltage should not exceed 2 VRMS – otherwise it will distort and you will need a good quality attentuator.

[koo3838]

Hi Mr10%,

Thanks for replying to my question. I will read through the user guide you attached.

Actually I didn’t realize I need Beo4 remote to adjust the volume of Beolab 5 speakers.

“You will need a 3.5mm jack-cable to synchronise the two BL5s together and a Beo4 Remote.”

==> Do you mean ‘synchronising’ between the remote and the speakers?

If yes, do I just need a normal 3.5mm jack cable to synchronize them?

Best,

Jerry

[NQVHNWI]

I think the synconising cable is just 2-ended 3.5mm mono jacks end to end. However, I would talk to your local dealer to get the specs.

This is to ensure both speakers raise/lower volume together as there is no powerlink between them or a B&O A or V master controlling. Again, I’d get the specifics from your local dealer

[BeoMatthew]

About 1.5-2 years ago I spent some time to audition a variety of “just-add-speakers” style streamers with a few pairs of BeoLabs I own – specifically BeoLab 9s and BeoLab 3s.

I was considering departing the BeoLink multiroom platform.

I auditioned the Bluesound Node (current gen), NAD M10 V2, Sonos Port, and the Naim Uniti Atom.

The Port was a non-starter. Maybe the worst sound quality I’d ever heard out of a streamer. My wife asked if it was defective.

The Node & M10 V2 were basically interchangeable and both sounded great. The sound stage was lively and spacious and the lows were powerful and well defined. I like these pieces a lot and often recommend the BluOS ecosystem to anyone looking to kick the training wheels off from Sonos.

The Naim Uniti Atom was excellent. This is my go-to streamer before departing into the silly territory of high-end integrated amps and about as much as I’d spend before wanting to separate my components for the sake of longevity.

All that being said, the BeoSound Core was the undisputed winner. NOTHING came close to sounding as rich and powerful as the Core. No matter what attribute I was listening for, it was superior on the Core.

That was my last real dalliance with the idea of leaving the BLMR ecosystem.

I would say that inputing the Core directly into the digital input of the BeoLab 5s might give you the best operability because it would use the on-board DACs (thereby negating much of what I just talked about), but would also let you stream directly without fussing with the BeoSystem 3 and also potentially build out a multi-room system should you have any desire to do so.

[KHX]

Hi,

Just bought a pair of Beolab 5 based on the looks! Realize I should have read about all volume control issues first…

My plan was to connect from analog line out on my Lyngdorf TDAI-1120 to analog line in on the BL5’s and adding a sync cable between the speakers. Would that connection do it? Could I control the volume by adjusting the Lyngdorf, or do I need to buy a Beo4 remote? FYI, the line out on the Lyngdorf can optionally be set to fixed/full range, if that helps? Also, do I need to use the trigger output on the Lyngdorf (its 5v!)?

Thank you in advance!

[manilamike]

Hi

I have owned some BeoLab5 speakers for quite a few years. Unfortunately, had nothing but problems with the Soundmoment

Have now purchased a Blusound streamer but am having difficulties turning the speakers on (with sound moment this was automatic)

Advised to purchase a remote BeoRemote 1 but cannot make it work. I think this maybe because the speakers need reconfiguring to work with the remote but can find nothing online.

Unfortunately, I have little experience of AV – grateful for any advice

Mike

 

[NQVHNWI]

I think I would be very careful with the Lyngdorf TDAI-1120 as it is a Streaming DAC Amplifier. External Amplifiers and beolabs are not a good combination. Do not send an Amplified signal as this will damage the BL5s. IIRC 2V is the max analogue voltage.

If there is a non-DAC coax output or line level it should be OK but please please confir with BnO

I use an Auralic Altair G1 streaming DAC with a 2.2vmax RCA output to a pair of BL17s. Works perfectly. The Auralic software controls the volume and has an inbuilt algorithm to attenuate -3db, -6dB and -12dB to give volume sensitivity (I use -6dB)

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