Update Beosound Theatre 3.2.1

[NQVHNWI]

CRDS wrote:

After updating Beosound theatre to software 3.2.1 there is a buzzing noise coming from the rear speakers, has anybody else experienced similar issues? Set-up is Beolab 5 front, Beolab 9 rears, and 2 pairs of Beolab 3’s as front and rear height channels, all connected via powerlink cables.

I have previously reported a very slight noise with the BL3 surrounds (pre-June this year).

The problems was solved but its worth checking through your system to see if things are OK.

1. The BL3 are very sensitive to cable interference. Their connection type makes it more so because of RJ45 to DIN Splitter to DIN Speaker input
2. The problem seemed to increase for me as I loaded-up the Theatre with Powerlink speakers (all 4). If I did fronts only – nothing,  add rears…noise increases (but almost inaudiable, add heights and I could hear very specific pulsing of the BL3s as volume was changed Vol+/Vol-
3. Ensure you are using very good (OEM/SH) cables. Dont use generic CAT7
4. Check the connections. Break the Y-splitter and reconnect if you use this type.
5. If you are using the RJ45 Splitter BT313204, check the location of the pins ands re-seat.

In the end, I found the issue was that a seated (and untouched) DIN Y-splitter on my rear BL3s. By unplugging, re-plugging this solved the problem but I was miffed why that was so as it was untouched. May be a cumulation of added speakers and that was a weak contact?

 

 

[solidkd]

When passthrough truehd via tv earc,my theatre often loss audio for 2 or 3 second,and i can see the input signal changing between unknow/pcm and  truehd atmos in a flash..Does anybody get the same issue?

[NQVHNWI]

I think its re-calculating all the sound parameters for the new duty.

[Sandyb]

Just spoke to my dealer in London – they’ve had a bunch of calls from customers asking why their Theatre setup is now so quiet (i.e wrong sounding) with regular TV (again its regular TV where you are most likely to get plain old Dolby Dig 5.1 signals).  The processing of DD 5.1 is all wrong under 3.2.1.

[Severed_hand_of_skywalker]

I really hope they fix this serious issue ASAP.  they have been very slow with all Theatre releases which was my main concern when buying it a year ago. It should NOT be in this software state so long after its been released.

[Sandyb]

are you experiencing the same / similar issue?

[Millemissen]

Sandyb wrote:

are you experiencing the same / similar issue?

No, none!
But that may be because live tv in Denmark generally is 2.0 (they gave up on 5.1 years ago because the viewers complained).
When I write ‘live tv’ this is from the built-in OTA-tuner/LG.

Question – if you watch via an external box?
Don’t you have an option to let the box send a 2.0 PCM signal?

MM

[Sandyb]

I do use an STB, and programming is a mix of 2.0 (usually Dolby Dig) or 5.1 Dolby Digital.  Much of the live sport is DDD 5.1, but also a lot of the prestige US drama series are too.

I can (and have tried) to force the STBox to output 2.0 only, and then yes the volume level becomes good again.  But thats clearly not an ideal or properly functioning scenario.

The issues with DD 5.1 are pretty pronounced for my Theatre with 50s/17s attached. Strangely the issues are much much less for my standalone bedroom Theatre.    An added wrinkle to this problem.

 

[Sandyb]

And this evenings fun – switched input to my ATV just now. LG menu pops up “HDMI input 2 : Apple TV”. (nothing wrong with that) But it then disappears and keeps reappearing, and blocking / breaking the BR1 controlling (CEC) the ATV, rendering the BR1 useless. Yes, i know, “try to connect the ATV to the LG”. Not the point – its been working up to now, not sure of this breaking / latest issue is 3.2.1 related or not. And if this stuff only works by connecting to the LG, what was the point of paying for a soundbar with 3 separate HDMI inputs! Grr….

[Millemissen]

I have had my ATV connected to the BST right from the start (don’t use any of the inputs of the LG, except for the eARC).
I use the ATV as my main source (it is PUC controlled, no CEC).
I have had no issues after the update.

MM

[Sandyb]

The problem MAY have been that I updated the ATV to tvOS17, and possibly the ATV CEC setting (Home Cinema Control) was (re) set to On.  I turned it off, and things seem ok, for now.

I’m using the 2 PUC options for my set top box, and Blu Ray player. Will have a think about exchanging the ATV for the BR player, PUC wise.

 

[SimonWeir]

I raised a support request as the difference in volume between some programmes is as much as. +/- 10 volume increments to maintain the same sound volume.  The following was sent back:

”We have received feedback for our supervisors and would like to share the following with you, in the last software release there is a “small Dolby bug” that has been fixed and as such will result in a larger volume difference between PCM and Dolby signals.
 
We are working on a setting in the app, so it is possible to adjust the gain for each source, but we can’t control the volume difference in the different TV stations audio volume broadcast. This has always been an issue, here in Denmark as well.”

[Sandyb]

I rolled back to SW 2.5.5, as the audio processing (with DD 5.1) was so bad on 3.2.1.

And back on 2.5.5, everything sounds right again – especially with DD 5.1 programming.

I don’t believe the 3.2.1/5.1 issue is just about quiet volume – the overall processing of the channels seemed wrong too, with very little coming out of my attached speakers.

As soon as I rolled back to 2.5.5., it all sounds great again.

I’d be concerned if they are just looking to address this with a user “gain” setting.

 

[YannChris]

Hi Sandyb,

I’m also concerned if the solution they are working on is just a “gain” setting.

I noticed that the sound level changes tremendioulsy from one TV channel to another, so a setting based on the source will not help.

In my opinion, changing volume when changing the source is less annoying than changing it when changing from one channel to another.

So the solution which seem sto be in the pipeline is not adressing the source of the problem. It’s just a a bandage on a wooden leg.

BTW, how did you roll back to the previous version of firmware?

Kind regards,

Yann.

 

 

 

[FrankieFrank88]

Well whatever you do guys. Don’t factory reset your theatre in the latest software version. This problem wasn’t present on my theatre. Untill I got some problems with my Beolab 28’s room compensation.

After some testing I decided to factory reset everything just to begin from scratch again. Seems after the factory reset the theatre indeed has a bug in DD 5.1 content. Everything else is fine. Need to crank up the volume with DD 5.1 content to like 60 to be audible and the channels are quite mixed up and it just doesn’t sound right. However Atmos DD+ of PCM2.0 up mix all sounds good with lower sound levels. However before the factory reset I didn’t have any of these problems with version 3.2.1 / 3. Quite strange and really buggy software in my opinion.

I’ve asked my dealer for a downgrade on both the beolabs 28’s and theatre to atleast 2.5.5. I would like to know how to do this myself aswell if there is an option for this?

 

 

 

[Sandyb]

FrankieFrank88 wrote:

Well whatever you do guys. Don’t factory reset your theatre in the latest software version. This problem wasn’t present on my theatre. Untill I got some problems with my Beolab 28’s room compensation. After some testing I decided to factory reset everything just to begin from scratch again. Seems after the factory reset the theatre indeed has a bug in DD 5.1 content. Everything else is fine. Need to crank up the volume with DD 5.1 content to like 60 to be audible and the channels are quite mixed up and it just doesn’t sound right. However Atmos DD+ of PCM2.0 up mix all sounds good with lower sound levels. However before the factory reset I didn’t have any of these problems with version 3.2.1 / 3. Quite strange and really buggy software in my opinion. I’ve asked my dealer for a downgrade on both the beolabs 28’s and theatre to atleast 2.5.5. I would like to know how to do this myself aswell if there is an option for this?

yes, and you are not alone, as a number of people have reported the horrible sound image with DD 5.1.    It’s been reported to B&O.  I got my Theatres rolled back to 2.5.5, and all is well again with DD 5.1.

One of the B&O guys posted the below on Discord about this issue :

“The issue with DD5.1 volume being low is something that is actually not a SW bug but rather a decision made by acoustics to remove the dB boost in order to have proper sounding PCM 2.0 upmixing. In the upcoming 3.4 release we plan to give you the option to manually adjust these dB levels so you can tailor it to your needs. As already written elsewhere, I will let you know when this is available for testing.”

(me again) – this is kind of what I expected.  In 3.2.1 they fixed the pre-existing issue with PCM 2.0, but in doing so badly compromised DD 5.1.    Whether the options they are proposing in 3.4 mentioned above will bring DD 5.1 back properly remains to be seen, but let’s see.

Its puzzling that we’ve gone from an audio engine (on BV’s leading up to the Theatre) which could happily handle 2.0 / 5.1 / 7.1 without the user thinking about it, to a situation now (Theatre) where after a year the audio engine can’t do all of 2.0/5.1/7.1 properly.

[Author]

Posts