[Evan]

Having had time to finish the lengthy video (good thing) I wanted to come back and say the best part of all this was his final observation – the awesome network built up around B&O. That is something truly unique about the brand – great community and support.

Also have to admit I learned a few things. Haven’t seen the “CD ALL” button before, I guess I haven’t looked too closely at the 3200 before! The automatic door open feature when there is no CD present was new to me as well. I was very excited to test on my Century when I arrived at the office this morning – can confirm it does the same! However only on the device, not with Beo4.

 

[Evan]

What an incredibly complex (but exciting!) topic to discuss. Honestly I’m surprised it hasn’t come up sooner. What a great thing to investigate further as well. It would be great to hear from B&O and how some of the designers have worked with this as it has somehow been protected and coordinated very well over the years.

The logic is much deeper than most people realize.

I think the “GO” topic is important to separate here as it is more than simply a “play” button. It is more like an “enter” key especially when using a BV or more complex BeoSystem etc. However in many situations it isn’t actually needed. As soon as a CD is loaded for example, all you need to do is select “CD” on the device BS/BM/Beo4 or otherwise and it plays, activates the speakers and configures the system for that function. This is one of the many simplicities I appreciate about B&O’s approach here. All I need to do is press V.MEM and I can have the Apple TV showing on my BV and off I go! Same for other sources in the system.

There is some strangeness in the B&O remote / button ideology. For instance “STEP” instead of “next” / “previous” etc. but I think its important that good UX design is not simply refining existing ideas norms and going along with what the rest of the world is doing and has been doing for decades.

Its honestly hard to imagine that there is really only one company who has actually gone in a different direction from the norm and attempted to innovate.

The more I live with and use a Beo4, the more it becomes one of my favorite pieces of design ever. It has exactly the kind of balance I strive to put into my own work. Just the right amount of playful design / sculpture that is memorable (and possibly overkill) but also plenty of logic and agonizingly streamlined simplicity.

[Evan]

auric wrote:

Hello Evan: Yes the charging base can be converted to run on 120. The primary of the transformer actually has two windings. For 24o, the windings are placed in series which is how yours is wired. To make it run on 120, you will need to unsolder the primary lugs from the transformer. T Lift them off and fold them over onto the other side of the PCB so that it bypasses the traces which connect the windings in series. Then you can connect the windings in parallel. You can also cut the traces on the PCB, but I prefer modifications that are non-destructive and can be reversed. Derek PS: I’m in SF as well!

Hey Derek,

Finally getting back to this topic. Here is the bottom of the PCB for the table charger. Can you show me which lugs to “disconnect”?

Thanks,
Evan

[Evan]

AdamS wrote:

They’re certainly ‘cosy’ inside!

The packaging is so impressive. Still blows my mind!

I have 4 of these amps to go through yet. I’m equal parts excited and terrified to ‘go back in’! 😀

[Evan]

Hey Derek – Thanks for the info! No worries, there won’t be any traces cut here.

I’ll add another photo of the bottom, it seems like there is a trace that can be broken intentionally underneath (there is a pair of joined solder pads). This path runs under the transformer from what I remember, however I could be mistaken. I’m on vacation right now but will add a photo and try to identify the spot on the schematic when I return home.

Glad to read there are other BeoWorld members in SF!

 

 

[Evan]

Hey everyone – I am slowly getting my Beo gear acquired in the UK/EU moved back to the US. The first to arrive was my BeoLink 7000 and charging base.

Is there a way to convert to 110VAC for use in USA? Service manual and a look inside the base themselves don’t offer an obvious method for doing so.

 

Thanks!

[Evan]

Up-firing speakers can be weird beasts. Honestly speaking it would be really interesting to see how a design and technology driven company like B&O would tackle the segment of floor stander w/height or an add-on height speaker.

When you consider directivity, occlusion and the other odd requirements of height speakers (of the “reflected” type), you end up with really fascinating mechanical implementation and I’m sure B&O could make it into something interesting.

Never say never!

[Evan]

Millemissen wrote:

Please do not expect any speaker with a built-in hight/upfiring speaker from B&O…..that is not how they do it.

Doesn’t the BeoSound Theatre have a pair of up-firing fullrange speakers? Or do you mean something like a stand alone BeoLab with height?

[Evan]

Glad to read the follow up and happy the speakers are performing the way they should!

[Evan]

Now sold!

[Evan]

Now sold.

In case anyone would like some of these stands for themselves, I can print more and in many different colors. Just PM me with details.

If you feel like printing your own, feel free to download the STL file here: https://www.evanbunner.com/downloads

 

[Evan]

Hey Stephen – looks really good! Only thing I would add is some dynamat or similar material to dampen that plate a bit.

Congrats!

[Evan]

Die_Bogener wrote:

If you use Penta for Left&Right channel and a TV for the Center, then this setup was pretty good with a MX8000 and the DolbyDigital5.1 System. In the background are 2 BL8000… The Pentas are listed in the MX8000 system software, also the BL8000 and the distance to the listener. There is also an option for a subwoofer. The Center speaker of the MX8000 (2x 2way system) is good enough for small/middle size rooms. Surprisingly the option “subwoofer” is not a good selection, it is way to much. Just the opposite is the better solution: switch subwoofer to on, but dont use the subwoofer. The sound is better. The same will happen if you use the Penta as a center. Way to big. Or do we talk about a room with 120qm oder bigger? Have you already tried a Penta in real life as a center?

I’ll admit I get carried away sometimes but this project is more about matching the tonal characteristics between L, C and R (read: “timbre”) and less about overall SPL. The question [here] isn’t “will it center channel?” but more trying to remove the compromises that seem to affect center channel loudspeakers in general.

The idea isn’t far off from what most mastering studios implement. Three large full-range loudspeakers that are all identical.

I suppose it affects music listening more than movie/tv but I’m sure there will be an improvement across all use cases.

Consider it a thought experiment for now as the time when I actually start to make dust is far in the future!

[Evan]

Just adding a photo for context. The BS4500 and BL4ks to either side of the Lexicon are a standalone system. That was brought in to service for light CD listening.

One day I’ll get all my Penta amps running reliably. Currently 2/4 are operational hence why the Emotiva amp has been brought in.

Eventually the Lexicon will move down a level and the Emotiva will go somwhere else so that this Penta center channel can go in the upper middle unit of the shelf.

[Evan]

Last week (or was it the week before??) I put my BeoSound Century in my office cube as I have no room for it at home currently.

Also needed to dig it out as someone handed me a cassette copy of their latest album they recently recorded so I needed a tape deck to play it and the Century is my only one!

Excuse the non-matching table stand. The Century didn’t come with one when I bought it and I grabbed this one off the ‘bay. Its great to finally put all the bits together. Now to fix the broken antenna and this ‘project’ will be done.

[Evan]

Glitch wrote:

Evan wrote:

I think for home theater it is best that there is a dedicated center channel physically centered below the screen. This will anchor the sound stage and center channel content to the image really well.

Yep, I understand why most people like the “centered below the screen” location. I like the center of my TV screen to be below eye level, which keeps the TV low. The center speaker is almost on the floor. Now the sound is coming from well below the actors faces (which are usually higher on the screen) and things like coffee tables are in the direct path to the speaker. The bigger the TV’s get, the worse this problem becomes. The “dual mono on the side” addresses some of these issues, but admittedly causes other issues. The good thing about the lack of a perfect solution is that it opens the door for experimentation. Have you thought about mocking up your original concept? Possibly something like pulling the tweeter/mid module and pairing it with a couple of conventional speakers as surrogates for the woofers? Glitch

The distance-to-floor problem will definitely be a thing for me in the living room. I have a 75″ panel sitting on an already low tv unit. I’m imagining this might have to be put on its own pedestal in front of the tv + tv unit. Pedestal could be tilted etc.

In the bedroom the TV is mounted fairly high up on the wall to make viewing from the bed easier.

In my experience it seems our human listening isn’t mega sensitive to height, more so side to side. I’m thinking it shouldn’t be a huge issue to place the center relatively low. Not to invalidate your experience at all, Glitch. I have a colleague who has a pair of center channels, one above and one below and he has tuned the [acoustic] image between them.

As for mocking it up, no probably won’t get around to it until I get my hands on another set of Pentas. However this really means I need to clear the project queue of some other big projects. So much going on as usual!

[Evan]

Another configuration I briefly considered was this one: a 2×2 woofer arrangement to try and avoid any comb filtering that could come from the woofer pairs being so far apart.

 

One additional idea to consider – arranging the woofers so that they are in a force-cancelling configuration to reduce rattles in the gear / tv unit where this thing will eventually live.

[Evan]

Glitch wrote:

Evan wrote:

The problem with putting the same signal through both speakers is that you only serve a listener exactly in-between them.

This is only true if the radial dispersion is constant, which is not the case for the higher frequencies. This explanation isn’t quite correct. What I meant to say is something more along the lines of… This does not have to be the case if the system was designed to not have a small, narrow sweet spot. Consider the sound system in your car. The driver is much closer to the driver’s side speaker than the passenger side speaker, and vice versa for the passenger. Despite this, both driver and passenger can simultaneously experience a (mostly) centered image. The car audio engineers achieve this by carefully manipulating the dispersion fields of the higher frequency drivers. An overly simplified explanation is that a speaker is louder on-axis than off-axis. The speakers are arranged such the the far speaker is on-axis and the closer on is off-axis by the exact amount that it needs to be to get an equal sound level at the listener’s position. Look up some of the papers from Dr. Bose for a detailed explanation of the theory behind this. It would be awesome of Geoff Martin could chime in and provide the dispersion data for the Pentas. I have to believe that B&O has this, but is likely wishful thinking on my part that they would make it available. Glitch

Yeah I am familiar with this implementation but it still is an exploitation of generally known locations of the listeners. I think for home theater it is best that there is a dedicated center channel physically centered below the screen.  This will anchor the sound stage and center channel content to the image really well.

[Evan]

Either way – let us know how it turns out! For future use it would be good to attach copies of the exact files used. All I could find was the plate with a hole in it.

[Evan]

Millemissen wrote:

Unfortunately you do not write anything about how you want to connect the ‘new speaker’ – do you use an A/V receiver or will it be connected to a Beovision…..in which case, what is the amplifier? Apart from the physical drivers in the ‘new speaker’ there are multiple things that can influence the sound. I would do as Ravsted….get a BL7.1 – alternatively/or even better a BL7.4, if you have room for it below the tv. MM

Hey MM, I left that out almost intentionally as those items are basically equal between both systems. They both have an excellent foundation 🙂

Living room: JBL Synthesis SDP-40 with Emotiva XPA-2 (Gen3)
Bedroom: Lexicon MC-12B with another Emotiva XPA-2 (Gen3)

Of course adding another amp channel will be necessary. So I will either expand the XPA to a three channel unit or swap in a new amp. They will all have equal power.

[Author]

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