[SimonWeir]

John from the Manchester store came to see my install, video the motorised bracket and hear how it has calibrated my speakers.

We watched scenes from Tenet and also Greatest Showman on UHD 4K Blu-ray as these were films he knows well as they are on B&O demo tracks.

We both were impressed, and agree performing better than storeroom demo. The bass is so tuneful, balanced, punchy and can be both fast and slow. Using BL17s as rears or surrounds works very well… more than enough match for the Theatre. The Theatre has self-calibrated very well (remember to turn the slide off on the mic when you put the grill back on). Found best calibration was with the room empty and the doors closed ie I was in the hallway with my iPad.

I would highly recommend for those event films you buy a Blu-ray, and for the occasional film stream in UHD.

I have worked out how to bring back in the side-firing Theatre speakers when they are greyed out, by first selecting virtualise, then change their role and then untick virtualise.

I have ordered Topgun Maverick on UHD 4K Blu-ray which is released in the UK in a week or so, so looking forward to a Topgun double film night in a few weekends time.

Lastly I remembered why I have set the Panasonic to PCM not Bitstream, some UHD discs are in Master DTS and not Atmos so I let the player decode and send a 7.1 uncompressed signal in to the Theatre, as DTS is not supported. In truth not sure it really matters whether it is the player, the TV or the Theatre which does the sound processing… it sounds epic so I am now after a calendar week of tweaking settled with my settings and can enjoy the purchase.

Final nugget, I have realised my G2 65” TV has an annoying whistle from the top right case holes when in YouTube or the LG App… essentially whenever most of the screen background is black. I assume a fan inside works harder and it pushes more air out. I have asked the Manchester store to check their demo screens and if they don’t make this whistle replace my panel under warranty.

[cougar]

Themanthemyth wrote:

Have you watched any 4k movies from the Panasonic on the Theatre yet?

Yes, Epic in my opinion.

[Sandyb]

even the 55 Theatre has wings, though they’re very small / short, so many won’t see them as “wings” as such…..but even if you dont attach those very small / short pieces for the 55 inch version, the sides won’t be rounded.

[Severed_hand_of_skywalker]

I got my theatre yesterday and somehow set it all up on my own 😀

Overall pretty positive experience but I am having some very serious problems with it which I hope can be ironed out with software. The 2 biggest ones are my 3rd party sub isn’t recognized at all by the setup, even with adapters it has no idea its plugged in.

Even worse is that when I change volume or switch input it puts out some Buzz buzz sound to the right front BL18. I swapped cabled, how its connected etc but it doesn’t help. I’m really hoping its a software issue and my BL18’s are 5 years old and never had a problem with the Marantz receiver they were connected to.

Not fully set up but here are some pics:

 

[Mark]

SimonWeir wrote:

I have worked out how to bring back in the side-firing Theatre speakers when they are greyed out, by first selecting virtualise, then change their role and then untick virtualise.

Lastly I remembered why I have set the Panasonic to PCM not Bitstream, some UHD discs are in Master DTS and not Atmos so I let the player decode and send a 7.1 uncompressed signal in to the Theatre, as DTS is not supported. In truth not sure it really matters whether it is the player, the TV or the Theatre which does the sound processing… it sounds epic so I am now after a calendar week of tweaking settled with my settings and can enjoy the purchase.

Thank you for the update! Your first point is very good to know. This should be in the Beosound Theatre Knowledge Base.

I will have to see how my UHD player is configured, but outside of the Atmos speakers in the Theatre I probably wouldn’t notice the height information as I will have a 5.1 system.

I’m very glad to hear you and John are impressed with the sound. I’m really looking forward to receiving mine on Monday!

 

[Themanthemyth]

Q:

How did you find the atmos & speech clarity on it’s own?

Does it have a good stereo perspective in music?

[Themanthemyth]

Have you watched any 4k movies from the Panasonic on the Theatre yet? 🙂

[xthx]

Have you tried switching to WISA on the 18’s? might rule out a wired connection issue as a test, or even just switch to WISA permanently if it fixes the problem?

[NQVHNWI]

Peter the Biker wrote:

Small hint to all installers: If you have a network problem check the network cable, which is delivered with your BS Theatre. Mine was faulty … My dealer had to send it in to the headquarters.

IIRC, installing my Eclipse in 2018, I had exactly the same problem with the hidden connector between the soundbar and the panel. This resulted in having to disassemble everything to re-fit. I wonder where B&O source this rubbish from?

[beojeff]

YannChris wrote:

Hi Skywalker, I see you have a Halo together with BR1. When testing the Halo at home 2years ago, I found it too limited for Video functions. Is it still true? I would like to buy a Halo for for daily A/V use with my Eclipse. Kind regards, Yann.

Yann-

I’ve been using a Halo with a Beosystem 4. I find myself using the Halo frequently to adjust the volume and to pause/start the video by pushing the center button on the screen. This is a pretty convenient feature. However, some apps on the Apple TV use the actual “play” and “pause” buttons instead of the center button. It would be nice if B&O added these two functions to the Halo main screen. I hope that the Theatre will at least allow volume control of video sources with the Halo. It would seem logical for B&O to eventually add the video control screen that the Beosystem 4 and Beovisions can use.

With a BLI, the Halo becomes even more useful in the living room. You can control the lights, thermostat, etc. I can even push a button to make the Roomba vacuum start cleaning.

[PhilLondon]

Beautiful setup ?

[Peter the Biker]

Small hint to all installers:

If you have a network problem check the network cable, which is delivered with your BS Theatre. Mine was faulty …

My dealer had to send it in to the headquarters.

[Peter the Biker]

Here my setup …

@9_LEE

How did your father know that his Struer Design cabinet is the best choice for the BeoSound Theatre? 😉

[YannChris]

Hi Skywalker,

I see you have a Halo together with BR1.

When testing the Halo at home 2years ago, I found it too limited for Video functions.

Is it still true?

I would like to buy a Halo for for daily A/V use with my Eclipse.

Kind regards,

Yann.

[Severed_hand_of_skywalker]

xthx wrote:

Have you tried switching to WISA on the 18’s? might rule out a wired connection issue as a test, or even just switch to WISA permanently if it fixes the problem?

I did test it yes and the issue went away. But I also switched cables and speaker positions etc and it seems the theatre is sending out some sound to the right front when you change inputs and volume. Its rather annoying but I’m going to pursue it with support.

[Mark]

If you look at the connectivity specifications for the Theatre, under Remote control it lists:

Remote control
Integrated system control, including LG OLED TV:

Beoremote One BT

Bang & Olufsen App

Music streaming:

Beoremote Halo

So currently it looks like the Halo is not for the video functions.

 

[Mark]

It can be a tough decision. I currently have the BeoSystem 4 as my control center. When I moved to a 4K TV it suddenly it became a little less useful, still worked ok for the audio, but a little more “clunky”. I considered other brands solutions, including Marantz but something inside me prevented me from pulling the trigger, possibly much like you.

Products like the Theatre are heavily dependant on software and it’s typically buggy in the beginning. I’m still fighting software issues with a stereo paired set of Levels. My Theatre should arrive tomorrow and I am prepared for some software issues. The Theatre is very expensive (at least for me) and a lot of thought has gone into it to determine if it is the best replacement system. For me the answer is yes.

I’m sure most of the issues with the Theatre will be worked out over time, and then you may get a better feeling if the Theatre is the right replacement system for you.

[Carolpa]

Severed_hand_of_skywalker wrote:

beojeff wrote:

With a BLI, the Halo becomes even more useful in the living room. You can control the lights, thermostat, etc. I can even push a button to make the Roomba vacuum start cleaning.

All true. The problem is I can do all that by voice with a $30 Google home, every iOS device around me, my applewatch, my logitech remote or my $60 hue tap wireless switch (looks like a plastic eclipse).

All true…..

but isn’t that true for all B&o stuff…….. you can always find cheaper alternatives/solutions, some with additional features, but……..

it isn’t B&o!

 

and by the way, I despise conversations which starts with “hey……”

[BeoMedia]

I have read all posts with great interest. In the beginning I was really excited about the product and besides the Theatre offering a nice B&O look and strong center channel performance (for true immersive sound consensus seems to be you need the conventional amount of speakers around you) it will provide you with ease of use with the B&O remote we are all used to.

However, I’m beginning to get less excited:

1) The Theatre is limited to be controlled via the app. The app is incredibly buggy and judging by some of the reports in here it prevents the product from performing as intended. Not the ease of use I was hoping for.
2) Control – can work with BeoRemote One if paired with the correct panel. Still the menus are not B&O. I can live with the latter but still…

Currently I use a Canton Smart Connect 5.1 2nd gen (eARC and Atmos) with a LG CX65. It also has bugs. When you activate eARC you get loud bangs through the speakers when switching material to watch. Also a hissing sound. They have made a new beta sw for me to try so I’m hoping it will resolve it. But it has been a tiresome experience for a product that had so much potential.
Canton is not dependent on an app, is controlled via CEC (or own remote and menus) has AirPlay 2 etc and all the other usual features.
For beoremote i could buy an add on product (third party) so I could control it with a Beo4 or BeoRemote One. For my B&O speakers I could have a BeoSound Core connected at the same time so it would be part of the link system.

It is a shame but I’m struggling with the Theatre as a viable alternative to my current setup. Happy to learn I’m wrong. Was close to pull the trigger but I’m hesitant now. Last B&O tv I purchased which we still have is a BV11-55 which is still a brilliant package but lacks OLED, Atmos and 4K. And as opposed to the Theater if the panel fails it is game over.

[Severed_hand_of_skywalker]

Just some notes on my experience so far.

1. As a soundbar it sounds great on its own. But it is very much a soundbar. I got no real sense of being on a sound stage or a ton of width, I was always aware that the sound is coming from infront of me. I never got a sense of sounds behind me, above me etc.
2. If you are a theatre buff you will not be thrilled with JUST the theatre on its own. It’s good soundbar but it does not sound close to a real 5.1 speaker setup.
3. I 100% do NOT agree with having just the theatre in the front and 2 rear speakers of 28’s or anything else. The front width it creates is not wide enough even in my small room (Pictured above). For music I’m sure it’s fine but not for movies.
4. As soon as I connected my BL18’s as front LR and my BL3’s are rears everything sounded much much better. Actual stage width and depth. I don’t think you need BL18’s as front even something like a BL3 as front LR would make a difference.
5. The software is buggy as hell. Crashing, bad UX, missing options etc. And I’m even using the beta version of the B&O app which is supposed to have better support for the theatre. The non beta app is just as buggy.
6. The motorized stand is dead silent. If you move it manually it makes a bit of a sound though. (just overpriced and looks like old iMac)
7. the cable management in the mount is great.
8. The B&O app often shows the theatre offline (connected though ethernet) and in the first 24h it didn’t even list it at all and it even showed it as a new unit that needed to be setup with no speakers connected. Then I tried it again later and it remembered everything that I had set on its own.
9. The only major design flaw I would say is that you have to take off the front cover to plug in the mic or flip the mic switch
10. The touch panel on the front top is too glossy and the plastic makes it look sorta cheap. They should have made it brushed black aluminum.
11. The touch panel reflects the images off the tv and can be distracting
12. When you turn on the theatre it takes a while to react and doesn’t make an immediate startup sound. I hit Power and I have to wait 10 seconds before I can tell if it even noticed.
13. I have a 3rd party sub but it won’t recognize it. So for now I am not using the sub and I feel that I MIGHT not even need one. The bass coming from the theatre is much better than I thought it would be. It doesn’t have that kick I really like in movies so one day I Might get a BL19 to fill it in.
14. The Halo is basically useless with the theatre for anything other than music/volume control.
15. It looks amazing with the wood panel next to my matching BL18’s.
16. The whole thing looks absolutely amazing. It looks like a TV from the 1950 that jumped into the future.
17. I replaced my Sony 2016 AE1 OLED for the LG G2 and Im really not impressed with the G2. Its good for 4K but anything that’s 480p – 720p looks terrible.
18. Getting the TV mounted on the theatre was awful. The stand is plastic and feels cheap and it’s not really flush with my tv. I also can’t get it level with the theatre properly. I will have to tinker with it more but its a 2 person job.
19. I haven’t had the chance to watch a movie on it yet, I will watch Top Gun tonight to get a good sense of how it performs.
20. It doesn’t seem to have tuneIn radio built in. My other B&O products do.
21. Not to repeat myself but I could look at it all day even if the TV is off. It’s one of the nicest products Ive ever seen from them.

I’ll provide more feedback as I have more time to play with it more

[Author]

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