[XavierItzmann]

Thanks, Stan!

[XavierItzmann]

Hello!  All this week I’ve been meaning to ask the following question, and this thread seems appropriate:

When shopping for a Beosound Essence, how can I tell from the used product photographs which ones are MK1 vs MK2?  Often the sellers themselves are unknowledgeable.

Thanks in advance,

[XavierItzmann]

Your posts are of great interest.  Thanks for your contribution.

[XavierItzmann]

Well, with the benefit of a further week of operation… I think I was doing something wrong!

Carolpa’s comment “(if no Standby and/or ‘un-link’ command is given to devices or the whole system)” appears to have hit the nail in the head.

For whatever reason, I was in the habit of hitting the I/O icon on the upper left corner of the  main B&O app… and selecting to put all my products on standby.  Bad habit, evidently!

It turns out that if I merely hit “pause”, after a few minutes the devices go on standby… and then hitting the “play” button on the Essence Remote the next day actually does get sound going.

Mind you, I am not yet 100% convinced that this is wholly reliable (maybe it is), but so far, I’ve awakened the system to Deezer, to RADIO (!), and to B&O Radio.  It is possible N.MUSIC came on once, not sure.

I confess to not really keeping notes on what was the system doing when it went asleep, so my observations aren’t scientific; all I can say is that the Essence Remote has, for a week now, gotten at least some sort of audio to come out in the mornings, which is satisfactory enough.

I’ll  report again in a few weeks.

[XavierItzmann]

Thank you gentlemen, Carolpa and Mr10Percent.  I’d like to offer two additional data points to help determine whether this is “new” behaviour in light of the fact this is now a discontinued product or if this is “original” behaviour from when the product was current:

1.  Beosound Essence manual.  Mind you, this manual is for the Essence streamer, and the Remote is an incidental.  Perhaps the hardware platform of the A6 is very different from that of the Essence streamer.  In any event, please consider the underlined text:

 

2.  Bang and Olufsen app.  I happen to have set up an iPad in one room and an Android tablet in another room as B&O app instances.  These work as B&O remotes full time and do nothing else.  They are awake (screen on) 24 x 7  and run only one app (the B&O): so you need to do nothing but depress the “play” button on the screen.  And here is the behaviour:

Last night, I was playing Deezer.  I “paused” play with the Beoremote Essence.  The tablets displayed the album art cover for about 1/2 hr, and afterwards displayed the image below all night until this morning.  As already explained, the Beoremote Essence does nothing, except, if I hold on to “play” the A6 double-tones, as if it were changing sources, but remains quiet.  Now, hit on the “play” on the tablet… and the Deezer playlist immediately re-starts on the A6!

The bottom line on this is that “play” on the Beoremote Essence doesn’t activate any sources, whereas the “play” on the B&O app does.

A mistery?

Cheers,

 

[XavierItzmann]

Thanks matteventu and chartz.

It is good to know no tablet version of the B&O app will turn to landscape: that is clearly a defect.

I forced mine to go to landscape using a program called “Rotation Control”, available on the Google Play store at no charge.  This program is a little spy: it will capture every keystroke, including passwords, and whatever you do on the device.  So I used the spy to force-rotate the device, turned off all privileges to the spy program, and terminated the spy.  The rotation held.

Now, this device is set up to never sleep (it is on 24×7 since a few weeks ago), has its own exclusive fake Google account, has all possible “privacy” restrictions turned on, and has no software installed other than B&O: it is simply a remote control.

What’s nice is that the tablet sits on a wireless charger stand immediately to the right of my reading chair, at arm’s length, so if I want to select other music, I simply grab the tablet.   My other purpose was to be able to see what’s playing and to favorite any song playing.

I understand this series of Amazon products are the only wireless recharging tablet/stand combos.

There are also other means of forcing the B&O app to appear landscape.  The best appears to be to hook up the tablet to a computer and to use software to force landscape.  Maybe I’ll get around to it someday, but for the time being the current solution appears to be stable.

[XavierItzmann]

Woah,

Just a second there.

There is a battery inside the BM5? My BM5 is over a decade old.  If there is a battery inside, that’s an acid leak waiting to happen (may have started, for all I know) and BM5 destruction should be imminent.

So, is this a maintenance item, what is the battery model?

Any other maintenance items?

Thanks!

 

[XavierItzmann]

Thank you matador for posting the photo.  B&O online service had earlier replied that «there is no software update available for Beoplay A3», implying that my version 1.0.0.0 is the current one, which as we knew was false.

So when I, at the time, sent the photo in my reply to B&O, their answer was rather more open: «Unfortunately, the Server to which the BeoSetup app is trying to connect is no longer available, and we do not have any alternative option to upgrade the product. Therefore, we are sorry to inform you that we are not able to provide any solution to upgrade the product.»

I thanked the fellow for his frankness.  It happens, especially for companies that have gone through crises or that have relied on external agencies for software development, that server address control can be irretrievably lost.  Hopefully B&O has now matured beyond these sorts of risks.

Truth be told, the device has now been in continuous operation for weeks (always on) and I have no complains about v. 1.0.0.0

[XavierItzmann]

Wow!

Thank you petermc and Guy.  I’m happy to report that both my Beo4’s have CD2 and that both activate the JOIN command on a JOIN-button IR Eye connected to BLC NL/ML:

(1) “Go” 1997 Beo4 (AV Key, no N.MUSIC, no N.RADIO) has CD2
(2) “Go” 2000 or later Beo4 (DVD Key, N.MUSIC and N.RADIO) has CD2

What an amazing forum.

Alright, new question: why is it that I go into the U.S. B&O website and only see the Beoremote One IR for sale and not the one with BT?  Newer products have no IR… right?

[XavierItzmann]

Thanks Carolpa, trackbeo, and Stan for your comments.

On further research prompted by Carolpa’s comments, I need to revise my statement “The sources remote to the A6, such as N.RADIO or N.MUSIC, are very unreliable when called up directly from the A6”

It turns out that the unreliability I had perceived is limited to only N.RADIO and N.MUSIC, and it has nothing to do with the A6.  In fact, the unreliability originates directly on the BLC NL/ML segment.  To wit:

From standby or from some other source playing, such as Deezer,
(1) select N.MUSIC.  N.MUSIC plays.
(2) Press N.RADIO.  N.RADIO plays.
(3) Press N.MUSIC.  N.RADIO keeps playing.
This is true both using a Beo4 or the B&O app or a mix of both.  The workaround is to standby the system, or to briefly play CD;  N.MUSIC then plays again.

I had thought this problem occurred only when calling these sources from the A6 on the app, but I was wrong.  Apologies for the confusion.

With regard to the AirPort Express 3rd Gen., I find it exceedingly reliable, but I also recognize it is obsolete; if anyone has an up-to-date alternative from a dependable manufacturer, please post.

[XavierItzmann]

Hello Millemisen,

I have just read the BeoRemote One – BT manual on the B&O website.  I wasn’t quite able to identify or understand the switching of modes… from what I could see, if I set up the A6 on the BR1-BT, all commands issued to it will automatically be sent via BT, whereas any commands sent to the BLC will be on IR.

I see how that target switching can be cumbersome, compared to the old IR-only systems, where if you depressed the volume button, any and all devices within IR range would accept the volume command.

When you say it is inconvenient to switch between IR and BT, do you mean this act of having to tell the remote which device you wish to control?  Or do you mean some other action that must be taken so the command can be issued?

Thanks in advance for your comments.

[XavierItzmann]

Thank you Guy and Millemisen!

My oldest Beo4 is ancient enough that it doesn’t even have N.MUSIC nor N.RADIO (A.TAPE2 does N.MUSIC and PHONO does N.RADIO).  No JOIN on that one!

My newest Beo4, modern enough for N.MUSIC, etc., doesn’t have JOIN either.

So it looks like I am in the market for a new remote control.  From Millemisen’s photo I see I might consider a Beo4 Mk III, with the joystick, but I observe that Beo4 can only control the devices on the right-hand side of the picture below, and not on the left.

Is there a remote able to control both the left and the right on the picture?  Perhaps a Beoremote 1 with BT?

[XavierItzmann]

Looking today at the logs on my BLC, it continues to write thousands of entries a day.

Hopefully the memory won’t fail due to abuse, like bnousr suggested above.

[XavierItzmann]

On my NL network I have an A6, like so:

From the B&O app, while the A6 is selected, I can depress the three dots on the lower right hand side and I get the following options, plus CD, A.AUX, LINE IN, N.RADIO, Open Spotify App, and Standby.

The sources local to the A6, such as B&O Radio, are reliable.  The sources remote to the A6, such as N.RADIO or N.MUSIC, are very unreliable when called up directly from the A6.

To make the system behave reliably, I activate sources that are local —such as CD on the wired Master Link, or Deezer on the A6— and then JOIN from or to the other environment.

Yeah, the BLC is a bit wonky, apparently.

[XavierItzmann]

On eBay, ensure you get Apple original adapters.  I finished the mod using the original compact Apple adapter A1468 (which can also be found as a MD823AM/A but it may be easier to find it as A1468).

I do not recommend getting an MD824AM/A cable adapter.  I also got one and it works but doesn’t facilitate the installation of the iPad.

Adapters not made by Apple will not have the necessary Digital-to-analog circuitry and this is why these other adapters only charge the iPad but are unable to convey sound.

For detailed instructions on installing a modern iPad, see this link.

[XavierItzmann]

The solution is a line-in into BS5, and a streamer into it.  I recommend the Wiim streamer, which can receive both WiFi streams (best) and bluetooth streams (suboptimal).

In my case, like I said above, my stopgap is B&O Radio (i.e. from the B&O app) via my BeoPlay A6.  I can then join-in my wired Masterlink, which includes a BS5,  via Beolink Converter.

[XavierItzmann]

Bon jour Matador,

Not sure if this is what you want, let me know.  “Mod required” means the exact mod described on this thread.

• Original iPad, iPad 2, iPad 3: no mod required, systems are now obsolete, very, very slow, and many apps no longer work.
• iPad 4: mod required, final iOS 10.3.4 obsoleted July 2019, very slow, many apps no longer work, including YouTube.  Bang and Olufsen app works, but it is v. 3.16.1, which has less functionality than current version 5.0.2
• iPad 5: mod required, runs iPadOS 16, will not run 17, will be obsoleted by Apple in September 2024.  Newer versions of apps will progressively not be installable anymore.
• iPad 6: mod required, will run iPadOS 17, will most likely be obsoleted by Apple in September 2025.
• iPad 7, 8, 9, 10: this mod will not work because these iPads are 10mm taller.  Will not fit.

iPad Air series

• original iPad Air: mod required, final iOS 12.5.7 obsoleted by Apple in January 2023.  It is a very old OS and I assume some apps already are not installable.
• iPad Air 2: mod required, final iOS 15.7 will be obsoleted by Apple in September 2023 (six weeks from now).  Runs all current apps.  Newer versions of apps will progressively not be installable anymore.
• iPad Air 3, 4, 5: this mod will not work because these iPads are 7 to 10mm taller.  Will not fit.

iPad Pro series

• iPad Pro 12.9 original, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6:  do not fit under any current nor potential scenario.
• Original iPad Pro 9.7: this mod might work because this iPad has the same height as iPad 6.  Untested.  Runs iPadOS 16, will not run 17, will be obsoleted by Apple in September 2024.  Newer versions of apps will progressively not be installable anymore.
• iPad Pro 9.7 2, 3, 4, 5, 6: this mod will not work because these iPads are 7 to 10mm taller.  Will not fit.

iPad Mini series.  I haven’t tested them but it is almost certain that all versions will work with this mod, slightly modified because these iPads are smaller.  An obvious problem is that part of the giant B&O logo on the sticker in the cavity will be visible!  Perhaps it can be painted to address this problem.

• original iPad Mini: mod required. iOS 9.3.6 obsoleted in 2019.  Very, very slow, and many apps no longer work.
• iPad Mini 2: mod required. iOS 12.5.7 obsoleted in January 2023. It is a very old OS and I assume some apps already are not installable.
• iPad Mini 3: mod required. iOS 12.5.7 obsoleted in January 2023. It is a very old OS and I assume some apps already are not installable.
• iPad Mini 4: mod required, final iOS 15.7 will be obsoleted by Apple in September 2023 (six weeks from now).  Runs all current apps.  Newer versions of apps will progressively not be installable anymore.
• iPad Mini 5: mod required, will run iPadOS 17, will most likely be obsoleted by Apple in September 2025.
• iPad Mini 6: mod required, will almost certainly run iPadOS 18 in 2024.  Will remain a supported product until at least 2026, and probably later.

The bottom line is that for longest longevity, one should buy an iPad Mini 6 today.  But it will not be the best look of Beoplay A3, since the device will not fill the cavity.

[XavierItzmann]

Didn’t someone say, on this forum, that the issue was that a certain decoder program built into the Embedded Windows operating system of BeoSound5 is what long-ago, had since been employed to decode the BBC streams?

I wonder how many decoders were built into the BS5 (assuming there is more than one), and whether any of these is able to decode whatever new format the BBC is employing these days.  Hard to be an optimist, here.

[XavierItzmann]

By the way, you can’t use the original Beoplay A3 gasket anymore: the modern iPad is not wide enough to fill it in.

Here is a photo showing an interesting conundrum: if you can tolerate the following, you can side-step the entire velcro/double-sided tape process!  In that case, this becomes a 10 minute project: just Dremel and paint.

Look: per pure coincidence, the height of the A1468 adapter is such that, when fully inserted into the dock connector’s cavity (post-Dremel widening), the iPad just happens to exactly catch on the A3′ original gasket-retaining slots!  Like in this picture:

The iPad 6 is inserted, the A3 is fully functional as designed, and the iPad 6 is 100% secure: it absolutely will not fall from the A3 even if inverted.  It is being held by the A3 factory slots designed to retain the old gasket, except the slots are now retaining the glass/aluminum directly.  The iPad also sits perfectly symmetrical and even in the other dimensions.

You could use your A3/iPad like this forever. The “bottom” part of the iPad is held, as per the A3 original design, by the dock connector itself.  The “top”, by the slots.

I couldn’t.  The lack of depth symmetry would drive me up the wall.  I just can’t.

Since I can’t use the slots for holding, my alternative is velcro.  Originally I used two full layers: a fuzzy side on the A3, then a hard side velcroed into it, then a hard side adhered to its back, and then a fuzzy side on the iPad.  Too much!  The iPad, quite secure, stood proud.  The exact opposite problem of the photo above.

The solution was the two layers of double sided tape plus the one full velcro layer (hard side adhered to the top tape and fuzzy adhered to the iPad).  The iPad sits slightly proud, but almost unnoticeable.  I can live with it.

[XavierItzmann]

What you need is:

1. Apple 30 pin to Lightning adapter A1468; $15 to $30 on eBay.  Make sure you get an Apple genuine one.  The fake ones will not transmit sound to the A3; merely recharge the iPad.
   
2. Dremel tool.
3. Velcro strips.  I used the two-inch (5cm) wide ones.
   
4. Double-sided tape.  This is what I used, 2.54cm wide:
   
5. A can of spray paint to paint the Apple A1468 adapter.  I recommend this product and color: ultra matte black.
   
6. An iPad 6.
7. Painter’s tape (paper-based adhesive tape).

Steps:

A. First, you will see that by pushing the dock connector on the A3 to the “device locked” position, you can plug the A1468 into the A3 connector; however, you cannot push the adapter into the cavity into the “device unlocked” position; it doesn’t fit.  Also, familiarize yourself with using several fingers as you “unlock” the A3 to push down all three ejection pins (the plastic movable surfaces that are on the sides of the dock connector) so that these can lie flat as you (in the future) insert the iPad into it.

B. Use the Dremel tool to slightly (very, very slightly) enlarge the aperture.  The A3’s plastic erodes very easily and very quickly.  Just go lightly right around the aperture once, and you will see that the A1468 now wants to go into the cavity, but perhaps a bit askew.  Abrade the aperture just slightly where you see resistance.  Do not needlessly enlarge the aperture any more than needed.  This part should be done in five minutes or less.  Outcome: the A1468 will slide right into the cavity, up to the limit of the A3’s dock connector lever up to the maximum “disconnected” position.  About a third of the adapter will still protrude from the cavity.

C. Connect your iPad and test for functionality: the A3 should reproduce sound nicely.

D. On A3’s cavity, on the far side from the dock connector, but still within the B&O logo and regulatory materials sticker (it is a very large sticker, and you can remove it to install a new battery, and stick it back on), stick two parallels strips of 2.54cm double sided-tape.  Your tape will end up measuring 5.08cm wide (2″) by about the width of the large B&O sticker.

E. On top of that initial layer of tape, lay a second layer of exactly the same dimensions.  This is to thicken the base to which the iPad will adhere.

F. On top of that second layer, add a 2″ wide stripe of velcro, to match the length of the stripes of double-sided tape..  I recommend you make it the hard side of the velcro.  On the iPad’s back, adhere a matching “fuzzy” or “hairy” strip of velcro.

G. Finally, push the dock connector to its “unlocked” position; i.e., the A1468 slides as much as possible into the dock connector cavity.  Insert the iPad into the Lighting connector, a bit askew towards the “up” side when the A3 is laying on its side (like on the 2nd photo on the 1st post).  Once the iPad is inserted in the connector, lower the iPad so the velcro catches.  The reason you inserted the iPad with a bias towards “up” is that when the A3 is on its side, you don’t want the velcro to let the iPad sag downwards.  You want the iPad perfectly horizontal.

H. Once you are satisfied with the disposition of the iPad on the A3’s cavity, the final step: remove iPad and connector, protect the 30-pin side with a very slim strip of painter’s tape, and entirely surround the Lighting contacts with painter’s tape.  Clean and then spray-paint the connector.  It is best to start the spray a few inches away from the connector, and quickly pass over it, and then pass again.  Each pass needs be fast enough that the connector will not immediately blacken in one pass: but several passes will blacken it.  Let dry 24 hours.

I. Repeat step G.

You are done.  Bear in mind, repeatedly removing and inserting the iPad, which can be done at any time, will result in the black paint scratching off and exposing the original Apple white, which is unsightly.  This is why once the iPad is installed, it should live on the A3.  But if you scratch it, no problem!  Just repaint.

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