[Stan]

If they had been available in the US last year, I probably would have bought a pair for my office.  I even downloaded a sound meter to verify that I typically listened within Steve’s recommendations (and I did).  However, I got tired of waiting and sprung for a pair of Balances which have really impressed me.  However, I’m pretty sure I would have been fine with the Emerge… aside from the fact that I’ve never actually heard them.  I may someday replace my Bl4s in my bedroom, but no budget for that today (after busting the budget on the Balances).

 

So I guess B&O won this round since I bought a

much more expensive system because I was impatient

[Stan]

Yes, it’s definitely a GVA thing. My 1 ASE GVA device (a BS1 New York edition that i bought on a deep discount) doesn’t have the alarm option. Why allow a setting when you can just ask your technical overlord?

[Stan]

Great information.  Thanks!

[Stan]

I prefer the sound of a single BS2 to a single Balance.  However, I absolutely love my stereo paired Balances.  I have not heard a stereo pair of BS2s, but I was concerned that the side firing midrange drivers wound mess up the stereo.  I can’t really put to words why I have these preferences, but I hope this helps.

[Stan]

Please report back with your progress.  I’m on the fence about re-adding a BLC to my setup, but I worry about whether it will still work in a couple years.

[Stan]

Hi Steve,

Is there a reason you suggest PL to Aux rather than using the AUX output of the BS9000?

Thanks.

[Stan]

How are they connected?  PL to Aux-in?  If so, I’d turn up the volume on the BS9000.

I think it’s also possible to connect from the BS’s AUX port… you just need to make sure to find an RCA to DIN cable with 4 RCA leads (2 input/2 output).  However, as others have mentioned, the BS9000 needs to think it has speakers connected to it.

The auto-sense line-in works fine on my Balance (another Mozart speaker) – I have a turn table connected to it.

[Stan]

Times change.  Tastes change.  I have a fair bit of b&o – bl4000, bl8000, bl1, bl2, bs1, bd2, bs balances, eclipse,bs9000, bs5.  Add some headphones, and BT speakers.  I don’t much use my 4000s or 8000s, but my kids don’t want them. Too flashy, Dad.  I’d say if b&o had stuck with the Lewis design, they might not have many young customers.  My 9000 is broken, and I’m seriously challenged justifying getting it fixed.  While timeless, maybe it’s time has passed (for me).

[Stan]

I also have mk1s, and thought they were much improved with a BS2.  In fact, the BS2 was my favorite B&O purchase for quite some years – as in sound improvement for $ spent.

I haven’t used them in a few years because I replaced them with a pair of Balances because they allowed more optimal placement (and sound better).

[Stan]

Thanks for the help and suggestions.

Here’s the process that I worked out last night that seems to work pretty well (for my future reference, or other forum readers):

1.  Use MediaMonkey to rip CD to disk flac files.  MM’s tagging seems broken, or some is stored in the MM music server vs. embedded as tags in the files.  I just skip any of that and bring it in as Unknown Album with Track01 – Trackxx.
2. Use mp3tag can grab the CD metadata from “freedb” (not sure where it’s really getting it since freedb is supposedly turned off, but that’s what the menu says) and configure the tags in the file.  You can also touch up any tags that you might want to change from what is downloaded.
3. Use mp3tag to convert the “Track01” filename to the track name from the metadata.  Mp3tag has a feature that allows you to do this.
4. Use mp3tag to find album cover art
5. Copy the folder to the BS5’s Music folder using the convention <Artist>\<Album>\
6. On the BS5, find the album in RECENTLY ADDED under FAVORITES and add it to the “RED” playlist (red=Christmas, am I right?) and add it to the EXCLUDED list so MOTS doesn’t play Christmas music in July.  You need to long press GO while pointing to the album to get this option.

Wife selects N.Music and presses “red” button on Beo4.  Win!

[Stan]

I was going to try CDEX as there was an article on the gnudb site for making it work with gnudb, but Chrome, Edge and MalwareBytes said it was malware.  I also read some comments in a forum speculating that the project may have been “taken over” by bad guys.  I’m already running on an older PC so I didn’t want to risk inviting unfriendly software visitors so I passed.  Can I ask what version of CDEX you’re using?

I sort of remember working with dbpoweram many years ago.

[Stan]

I am having no luck.

I have manual updates turned on, and the automatic/manual slider button is not displayed I assume because it’s ready to do the update.

I tried removing it from the app, and re-adding it.  This fixes most Balance problems.

I tried with an apple device, and it doesn’t even have a greyed out “install now” button.  It takes me to the software update screen and there’s nothing to do.

I’ve verified that I have the newest app software.

I tried rebooting the TV through the app.

I don’t want to factory reset because I don’t exactly remember all that was required to setup the PUC.

I don’t understand the above comment about there being two menus.  I always updated the screen through the TV and the sound center through the app.  When I open the Eclipse on the app, there’s a big box that says “New Software Available”.  I click the box, and it takes me to a screen that shows the new software version and has a link for previous releases and a non-working “install now” button.

[Stan]

Update:  I got the update going through the TV rather than the app.

Thanks jvezina, your note directed me in the correct direction.

[Stan]

geoffmartin wrote:

Stereomensch wrote:

I really would like to know if Geoff Marin uses an old Beovox speaker secretly at home

I don’t. Now you know. -geoff marin

Although, if he actually told us the truth, it would no longer be a secret 😀

[Stan]

I have always struggled with descriptions of audio systems that “sound like the band is there”.  I see quite a bit of live music of many genres, and rarely does it sound nearly as good as my home system.  The mix isn’t perfect, it’s too loud, the venue has weird acoustics, the audience is noisy, etc.

I would think the perfect case is a symphony playing in a well-designed symphony hall, but even supposedly perfect auditoriums will have sound differences between sitting in front (where individual instruments near the listener might overpower the rest of the symphony) vs more toward the back where the entire symphony’s sounds are better balanced.

As someone said above, it’s all personal preference.  The music doesn’t “sound like the band is there”, but rather like your idealized perception of how the band might sound if there.

[Stan]

I am no longer young so my hearing is not as good as it once was.  With that out of the way, I prefer my pair of Balances to both my BL8000s and BL1s (being driven by a BS9000).  I hear them pull out sounds and textures that I had never heard with the same music on the 1s or 8000s.  It’s like music through the Balances reaches out and grabs me whereas the 1s give me a very pretty picture.  I can also fairly reliably hear the difference between Spotify and ripped CDs (on well recorded music) with the Balances, but not with my other speakers.  Spotify sounds flat, not as dynamic or punchy… kind of like the BLs relative to the Balances.  It didn’t surprise me that they were better than the 8000s, but I was shocked when I found them better than the 1s.

It could be the rooms in which they are located.  I have pretty optimal placement for my Balances because they are in my office, and I have full control of their placement.  The 1s are in a common living area so there could are some compromises in their location, but I always like them a lot.  The 1s get shrieky at very high volumes, but I rarely turn up the volume that loud.  I have been tempted to test the Balances in the 1s location, but I’ve been too lazy to set them up (and does it really matter?).

One other odd opinion:  I thought a single BS2 sounded a bit better than a single Balance.  However, when I added the 2nd Balance and created a stereo pair.  Wow!

I’ve never heard B&O passive speakers so I cannot comment on the Balances relative to those.  However, I vote for the new speakers.

[Stan]

I have a stereo pair of Balances that I listen to daily.  I really like them, and think the stereo pair sounds so much better (more than 2x) than a single.  I also much prefer them to the Level.  I’m not a “bass head”, but find the well controlled bass of the Balance tremendous.  I don’t know why one would want to run a stereo pair in omni mode.  This seems to defeat the purpose of stereo pairing – just run them individually if you want Omni mode.  I also don’t think the mids are washed out, but we all hear differently.

I have no experience with the Bl17s

[Stan]

Not available to me in the US yet.  It’s always a bit of a roll of the dice, but I don’t think there’s been a “bad” release in a few years.  I will probably upgrade when I am able.

[Stan]

I have both Deezer and Spotify.  I mostly use Deezer because it sounds better on my Bs Balance pair, and this is my primary music system at the moment.   I was surprised that it sounded better because I couldn’t hear much of a difference with my older systems.

[Stan]

A black BS1 was in fact my gateway to B&O.  As Steve suggests, it has since gone to university (and back) with my son.  I had a turntable connected at one point, but my son has always had it connected to his computer.   I recently offered him some BL4000s as an upgrade, but he thought they were too flashy.  He said he likes the BS1 because no one in his age group has ever seen one (quite rare in the us)…and it does all the audio stuff quite well.

[Author]

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