[CharlieWednesday]

This is useful, thanks.  I bought another MCL2AV from eBay but ‘untested’ as it was just the unit – no cables, power supply or IR eye.  I thoight it was worth a shot though as it was only £10 and I already have the cables and IR eye from my old MCL2A.

I’d like to test if it is working – I have a bunch of old power adapters, the closest one is 12v 1.25A – would that be risky given the higher amp rating?  I’s have to reverse the polarity on it too but that’s simple enough.

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[CharlieWednesday]

Ah, that’s useful, especially for N.Music – I’ve just had a quick look and figure it out, or at least some of it – thanks!

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[CharlieWednesday]

Brilliant – it worked!  I updated the registry and also ran the UpdateNotifier.exe file, and now I have hundreds if N.Radio stations listed.  Most of them don’t work (I’m guessing it’s a very old list), but I have found the odd one that does, so I know it works.  It does also display the radio station name in my BS4 display.

It doesn’t bother me that I cannot get BBC stations as I’m in the UK anyway and can just listen to those on DAB.  You can delete the stations that don’t work, and you can set 4 favourites, so I may get some use from it.

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[CharlieWednesday]

Thanks – I successfully updated the registry using those instructions but it doesn’t seem to have made any difference – still says ‘Not Registered’ when I try to use N.Radio.  I’m not too bothered about N.Radio but it is nice to get things working, if you can.

My PC does allow use of both audio out ports at once (in fact it has 4, for some reason).  My PC speakers have their own off button so if I’m using the Beolink PC2 to listen to N.Music via my BS4, I can switch the PC speakers off, so the music cannot be head from those too.  It does mean a bit of fiddling about with the volume (it’s a shame my PC does not have a fixed level audio output) as the volume that is suitable for my PC speakers is too low when using the PC2, so I always have to crank it up.

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[CharlieWednesday]

Ah no, I had not realised that!

I have now got it working with the BS4 in Option 1 and the Beolink PC2 in Option 0, with a 3.5mm audio cable now added.  I can control N.Music with my Beo4, and the BS4 displays the track info on its screen.  I can also control all sources from the Beoport app on my PC.

One inconvenience though – it means that if I want to use my PC for other purposes (playing games for example), I have to switch the audio outputs on my PC, so audio plays through my PC speakers.  Not terribly convenient – it’s as if B&O thought That if you had a Beolink PC2 or Beoport, this would become the only thing you would use your PC for!

Thanks for your help – I’m glad I got it working.  I only bought it as a curiosity really as it was cheap on eBay, and I am impressed that I can now play digital music from my PC on my BS4, and control it with my Beo4.  That satisfies the geek in me.

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[CharlieWednesday]

Thanks.  That link you gave doesn’t seem to work by the way.

I think I’ve tried every setting now and nothing seems quite right.  The closest I’ve got is the default setting of Option 6, and with the Powerlink cable to my Beolab speakers connected to the PC2, rather than direct to my BS4.  This will then play CD, radio from the BS4 through thr e speakers, and it will display track info for N.Music in the BS4 display, but no matter what option I try, the N.Music audio will only ever come out of the PC speakers – I cannot get it to play through the connected Beolabs.

There are a good few options available in the Beoport software, to which, of course, the user manual makes no reference whatsoever!

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[CharlieWednesday]

Yes I did think that when I looked at the photograph, but wanted to be sure.  Thanks for confirming.

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[CharlieWednesday]

So, I finally got around to opening this thing up and talking a look inside.  I have a downloaded service manual already

I was surprised by how clean it is inside – there’s was even a brown paper envelope fixed to the inside of the back panel with a folded schematic inside!  Never been opened.

Anyway – I need some help from someone with more electronics knowledge than me!  There are a total of 3 electrolytic capacitors in the power supply unit. Two large ones connected by cables (1000uF/25v, and 3000uF/50v).  There is one much smaller one soldered to the circuit board (50uF/35v).

Obviously replacements are available very cheaply, but I am having trouble finding one of them – 3000uF/50v.  In places like CPC or RS, the nearest equivalent is 3300uF/50v.  If I search on eBay specifically for 3000uF/50v, there is a small number of results but much more expensive.

Am I missing something?

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[CharlieWednesday]

Ah – in that case I won’t do it, as the BL3500 is now an essential part of that setup.  If the cheap MCL2AV works when it arrives, I will use it in place of my MCL2A, which is connected to my Beocenter 8500/Beogram 3500/Beoxox CX50 setup in a different room.

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[CharlieWednesday]

Interesting, I’ve bought another MCL2AV, sold as ‘untested’ on eBay but it was only £10 so worth a try.  It hasn’t arrived yet though.

Since the MCL2AV doesn’t have a Phono input I assume I would connect my Beogram to the Aux input, so I am not sure if controlling the Beogram via Beo4 remote would work that way.  Still, I’ll give it a go.

Just to double check how you had it all connected:

• BC2 to BL1611 connected via ML
• BL1611 to MCL2AV via datalink cable

Is that right?  I’m also wondering why it was necessary to have your BC2 on option 6 – would it not work on option 1?  Also, on the MC22AV, what the hell is option 2.5!?

I’m not very bothered if I cannot find a way to remote control my Beogram by remote when connected to my BS4, but it would be nice if I could find a way.

 

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[CharlieWednesday]

Hmm, maybe a Beolink PC2 / Beoport would be the better option after all, and cheaper too.  It means having my PC on if I want to listen to digital music but at least I know it would work.  There’s a PC2 going on eBay for only £38 so I’ll buy it and give it a try, thanks.  If I don’t like it I’ll just stick it back on eBay.

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[CharlieWednesday]

This topic started with me thinking I’d like to link a Beosound 5 to my Beosound 4 as a digital music player that I could control with my Beo4, but it seems that’s not a brilliant option (apart from looking really good).  I have found a Beomedia 1 on eBay for only £50, in working condition, but I don’t really know much about the Beomedia 1.

I know Beomedia 1 is really intended for use with a Beovision TV, and while I do have a BV8, I don’t particularly want to have to turn on the TV every time I listen to digital music.  If all connected together via ML, would my BS4 be able to show me what is playing on the N.Music source via the Beomedia 1, and would I be able to use my Beo4 to browse digital music on the BS4, without switching on my TV?

Also, am I right in assuming that the N.Radio capability of Beomedia 1 would no longer function, due it’s age?  I can only assume it would no longer be supported.

You can also find Beolink PC2/Beoport cheap on eBay sometimes, but I’d like to have access to digital music when my PC is switched off, which is why I’m thinking Beomedia 1 might be better.

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[CharlieWednesday]

Took me a while to get around to this task but I’ve done it!  I used 99.9% isopropyl and some very strong kitchen paper towel.  I did need to go over it a few times – basically when the paper came up clean, I knew I was done with that area.

I did the front and edges but not the back.  I didn’t do the bevelled bits around the screen as I was worried that the isopropyl could damage the screen, so I did not want it coming into contact.  Beneath the screen where the plastic above the speaker is flat and goes directly beneath the screen, I put a length of narrow tape along there before I cleaned that bit and removed it when I was done. It means there is a narrow strip of the original rubbery surface directly below the screen, but it’s a neat line so looks okay.

Once the ‘rubber’ was all gone the plastic underneath did look little patchy from all the rubbing, but I read somewhere that plastic can be cleaned with WD-40 oil.  I put a tiny amount of WD-40 onto kitchen paper and wiped it over the whole surface, and it really did help to even it out.  It looked a bit shiny at first but once it had dried it ended up with more a matt finish, and much more even than it was before.

Since starring this thread I have also bought a Beosound 4 which is in the same room as the BV8 – that suffers from the same problem with the rubbery material, so I did that too.  On that however I only cleaned the sides, and the edges of the ridges on the back, top and bottom. The surface beneath the glass door has not gone sticky, and I didn’t want to risk damaging anything.

Thanks for the tips – it looks so much better. It took a good few hours but it was worth it and I would recommend it.

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[CharlieWednesday]

Update – this low-cost phono preamp (link) arrived today, which has the advantage of having both 5 pin DIN and RCA inputs/outputs, so good for me to connect my Beogram 3000 (DIN) to my Beosound 4 (RCA), and it also ensures that the turntable is earthed/grounded via the DIN socket, which has eradicated the speaker hum I was getting when I used my Pro-Ject phono preamp via a DIN to RCA adapter (and unearthed).  Considering the low price I’m genuinely surprised at the sound from it.  I’m no expert audiophile, but I really can’t tell much difference between this and the more expensive Pro-Ject phono preamp.

I’ve connected the turntable to my Beocenter 8500 to compare with that too.  The level is a bit higher on that so I don’t have to increase the volume as much as I do on the Beosound 4, but again, I wouldn’t say the sound quality is noticeably better.

Currently listening to GMF by John Grant on it.  John’s rich voice coming across beautifully.

 

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[CharlieWednesday]

Guy wrote:

And you could possibly add the BV8 instead of the BL1611.  Just use a suitable lead to connect the WIIM Pro to one of the BV’s SCART inputs, setup the input accordingly in the BV8 menu and the ML system should distribute the audio as a video source. With the correct TV option setting, when accessed from the BL3500 or BS4 it should just turn on with a muted screen when distributing the SCART audio over ML. EDIT:  I just checked the BV8 manual – you may be able to use the BV8’s AV3 composite input for the WIIM Pro (just the L&R audio phono socket inputs) in which case you would not need an adaptor.  I can’t be 100% sure that this input is distributed over ML, but I see not reason why not.

You were right – it worked!  The AV3 input on my BV8 is already in use but I did happen to have an RCA to Scart adapter, so I have connected it, set that input as V-Mem, and added both AV and LINK-AV to the LIST button commands on my Beo4.  If I hit AV then V.TAPE, I get my WIIM Pro playing through the BL6000s connected to my Beosound 4.  If however I hit LINK-AV then V.TAPE, I get the WIIM Pro playing through the BL3500.  The BV8 standby light un-dims (I guess that’s it’s way of telling me it’s doing something), but the screen remains off.  If I then hit the red button on the Beo4, the BL3500 switches off, and the BV8 standby light goes dim, indicating it is back in ‘proper’ standby.

This is an excellent solution – I don’t need to us the 1611 or 1614, and it means the A.AUX input of the Beosound 4 is now exclusively available to connect my Beogram.  I would not listen to vinyl through the BL3500, so it’s no big deal that I  there is no L-A.AUX button available via the Beo4 LIST button (without buying a newer Beo4, anyway).

It’s amazing what can be done with ML.  This is brilliant, thank you.

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[CharlieWednesday]

Ah – turns out I already had the right cable for that (I never throw a cable out) and you’re right, it works.  It would mean I could not have my BV8 TV as part of the ML network but I’m not really all that bothered about that – I don’t use it much anyway.  Also means I can get the WIIM Pro to play on the BL3500 of course, so it’s a good solution, thanks!

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[CharlieWednesday]

Not sure I know how to achieve the above to be honest – how would I get it to recognise my WIIM Pro as a video source?  Also would this mean re-wiring the DIN socket?

Bit of an update too – because the Beosound 4 has only one A.Aux input, I planned to connect the WIIM Pro to that, then connect my Beogram (via a phono stage) to the Aux input of the WIIM Pro.  This seemed a good idea as the WIIM Pro switches to its own Aux input if it detects a signal from that.  However, I found the sound quality is terrible playing vinyl on that setup – I suspect it’s because the WIIM Pro Aux input has a maximum input level of 1 vrms. I think my Pro-Ject Phono Box phono stage has a higher output level (although the manual doesn’t seem to specify).  If I connect the phono stage directly to the A.Aux input of the BS4, it sounds fine, so the signal going through the WIIM Pro is definitely the issue.

I’m also getting a noticeable amount of speaker hum when I play vinyl, which I don’t get if I connect that same Beogram to my Beocenter 8500.  I expect this is because the DIN socket on the Beocenter earths the Beogram, but connecting it via a standard DIN adapter and then to RCA – there’s no earth.  I have borrowed the Pro-Ject phono stage from another room though and it needs to return there, so I’ve ordered a new phono stage which takes 5 pin DIN inputs (link), with earth.  It’s only very cheap compared to the Pro-Ject one I already have but it does get good reviews, so worth a try.  If it’s no good I’ll return it and get another decent phono stage (Pro-Ject, or NAD) and one of these so I can earth the Beogram.

 

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[CharlieWednesday]

This BL3500 is currently connected to my BS4, not my BC8500.  The BL3500 can work on the BC8500 using Tape2, but of course the BS4 has no Tape2, just that one A.Aux input.  I just tried the above anyway just in case, but none of the Link input options on my Beo4 resulted in the BL3500 switching to A.Aux.

The only way I have found to get the BL3500 into A.Aux mode is to switch the BS4 to A.Aux mode, then switch the BL3500 on using the physical Mute button next to the display.  I can then mute the BS4 if I only want the sound from the BL3500.  It works, but it’s not very practical!

Looks like a newer remote is the answer then (and yes, I did mean the modern Beoremote One.

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[CharlieWednesday]

I really would like to put my Beolab 3500 into A.Aux easily, and I can’t do that with either of my Beo4 remotes, as they are earlier models (mk2 I think, with software version 4.4) and therefore don’t have L-A.Aux as an option, and can’t be sent to exclusive Link mode.  My Beolab 3500 is almost exclusively used to listen to my WIIM Pro streamer, which is connected to A.Aux.

I can use my Beolink 1000 for that (Link>Shift>Radio) but my Beolink 1000 does not belong in that room, and it has other limitations when using it with a Beolab 3500.

So, would a Beoremote 1 work for this?  I’ve found the manual online and it does say it can act like a Beo4, but the manual does not go into the greater details, and I cannot find a lexicon for it.

Also would a Beo5 or Beo6 work for this?

I know that a later Beo4 with the Nav button would work, but they demand a high price on eBay – you can actually bet a Beoremote for about the same price, and a Beo5 much cheaper if you’re lucky on eBay.

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[CharlieWednesday]

Ah, there’s a couple of bits I need from Beoparts shop (now: Danish Sound Parts) anyway so I may as well add those to the order – thanks.

I know a transformer will hum of course, it was just that it was loud enough to hear in a quiet room.  Only just, but you can hear it if your near it.

 

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