[etype76]

Mr10Percent wrote:

B&O need to capitalise on sales by introducing a small compact, powerful and flexible loudspeaker for Theatre surrounds. The Celestial is to much of a major install in my opinion.

I would agree. If there had been something in their current line I would have gone for it but instead I am taking delivery of a pair of Beolab 3s for that purpose. Even if they get Mozart working with the Theatre for surrounds, I don’t particularly want a pair of levels as rears. I would bet they are working on something.

I know my dealer has been very busy and I hope it is with the Theatre.

[etype76]

Severed_hand_of_skywalker wrote:

OUCH National Lampoons Christmas Vacation

Oh, pity poor Todd and Margo!

[etype76]

Thankfully the dealer can switch the voltage no problem. Not sure I can give them a shout out but a UK dealer who loaned Steve the red pair of Beolab 3s. These will work great as rears with the Theatre and also go nicely with the Beogram.

[etype76]

Thanks Guy, I’ll ask the dealer. Here in Japan simply “finding an electronic repairer” is easier said than done and with B&O products even more so. The dealer where I just got my theatre from may have a contact but I wouldn’t hold my breath. I would have to ask is it worth it for the 3s or wait for some to show up in the right colour here or US.

[etype76]

BeoMedia wrote:

Try adjusting the input sensitivity on the BeoSound Theatre instead and see if that improves. It is in the settings.

Yeah, thanks. I’ve tried low, med and high and there’s not much between them. I played Queen’s Greatest Hits on record and sounds very weird, actually missing vocals. Bohemian Rhapsody and Killer Queen on the lyric after the guitar bridge “She’ll absolutely drive you (wild…wild)”, the first “wild” in the backing vocals is gone or at least I can’t hear it. I compared it to the same album over airplay on Apple Music, totally different.

It is either:

My phono preamp to the Theatre

The line-in adapter

Speaker cable length (15m) (well, RCA to RCA into an adapter (RCA female/3.5mm male > into the B&O USB-C adapter.

[etype76]

I’m following this thread in a linear fashion and picking up some great info so sorry if I’m throwing out Qs that seem to be off topic.

What kind of expectations can I have regarding sound quality through the Line-in adaptor? As I said previously, increasing the gain on my phono pre-amp helped but still it’s not great. Some muddiness and the cracks and pops are pretty audible over my previous system. It’s making me think about changing my pre-amp but I wonder if that adapter will always be the weakest link to play from a Beogram.

[etype76]

I have now got better sound from the line-in Beogram connection with the Theatre. I switched the gain to 50db and the volume is much more in step with other sources.

With the Theatre, I wouldn’t need a power amp, right? At the moment I have the Beogram hooked to the preamp and the preamp output to the Theatre via the line-in.

Thx

[etype76]

Congratulations to all winners. Some great prizes there. For me, the BeoTime flute and Beosound 6 were standouts. But they all were lovely wins.

Happy Christmas to all Beoworlders and their families.

[etype76]

Guy wrote:

etype76 wrote:

Sadly, the cable I was waiting on did not arrive on time for the Beogram so I ended up buying some cheapo stuff from Amazon. The Line-in volume is significanlty lower than streamed music, I have the volume way past 50. It sounds alright but I little muddy to my ears.

What Beogram are you using? It may be that you need an RIAA pre-amp before the connection to the Theatre. This would explain the low level and ‘muddiness’. (I think that in an earlier post you said that you previously used a Beomaster 6000 with the Beogram, which would have had a pre-amp/RIAA stage built in.)

Mark wrote:

etype76 wrote:

Sadly, the cable I was waiting on did not arrive on time for the Beogram so I ended up buying some cheapo stuff from Amazon. The Line-in volume is significanlty lower than streamed music, I have the volume way past 50. It sounds alright but I little muddy to my ears.

I have a Beogram 8002 connected to a SoundSmith phono preamp connected to the Theatre with the USB adapter from Sounds Heavenly. I have no complaints at all with the sound, it sounds fantastic and at the proper volume. The only issue I “might” have is once I was playing a record and it suddenly became silent. I think what happened is the Theatre changed sources, possibly on it’s own. I didn’t do the proper troubleshooting steps (because of panic) to determine if this was the case, I just restarted the Theatre and all was well again.

geoffmartin wrote:

etype76 wrote:

The Line-in volume is significanlty lower than streamed music, I have the volume way past 50.

The level of a line-level signal is dependent on the relationship between the output level of the source device and the sensitivity of the input to which it’s connected. As a wise woman I know says: “it takes two to tango.” This assumes that the output device has a maximum output level that is lower than or equal to the expected maximum input level of the downstream device. If the source device has a higher output than the expected, then you just get distortion, independent of the volume setting of the output device (because the signal gets clipped at its input, before the gain that’s implemented by the volume control). I wrote a much longer and geekier explanation of this here https://www.tonmeister.ca/wordpress/2021/05/07/turn-it-down-half-way/ with some extra related information here https://www.tonmeister.ca/wordpress/2020/06/03/beolab-3rd-party-source-with-a-high-level-output/

Guy wrote:

etype76 wrote:

Sadly, the cable I was waiting on did not arrive on time for the Beogram so I ended up buying some cheapo stuff from Amazon. The Line-in volume is significanlty lower than streamed music, I have the volume way past 50. It sounds alright but I little muddy to my ears.

What Beogram are you using? It may be that you need an RIAA pre-amp before the connection to the Theatre. This would explain the low level and ‘muddiness’. (I think that in an earlier post you said that you previously used a Beomaster 6000 with the Beogram, which would have had a pre-amp/RIAA stage built in.)

Thanks Guy, Mark, Geoff,

Yes, Guy, I have a Beomaster 6000. I aim to connect the Beogram to my old Creek OBH 15 preamp. A lot of stuff has happened which makes it convoluted but I’ll summarise:

> The dealer said the adapter was USB-C to RCA (which I thought was odd since I saw Steve’s adapter), I checked with dealer twice then came the inevitable apology that the adapter was in fact 3.5mm not RCA. Too late because I had already ordered 15m of RCA to RCA cable from UK. I also have a DIN > RCA cable on order too.

> I had an old DIN >RCA cable but found that it only had 4 pins and no ground so a lot of hum. The installer had to put the beomaster back in the chain and leave the Creek out using the old DIN > DIN cable.

> The delayed cable from UK led me to order 15m of RCA to minijack on Amazon for around 20quid.

There’s no doubt the sound from the vinyl is not great and I’ll stick with airplay over the holidays and then hopefully the cables will arrive and I can get the Creek hooked up.

[etype76]

The installers came back to hook up the Beogram and to change the table stand to the ‘against the wall’ type. They also did a better job with the cables. Sadly, the cable I was waiting on did not arrive on time for the Beogram so I ended up buying some cheapo stuff from Amazon. The Line-in volume is significanlty lower than streamed music, I have the volume way past 50. It sounds alright but I little muddy to my ears. There is a large distance of 15 metres between Beogram and Theatre (before I had QED 79 which was lovely.)

Anyway, the Beogram thing is a project for after the new year. As for other music sources, the theatre sounds great and I am really settling in with it.

[etype76]

To my eye, the first pic with the separation looks better. More in line with the rest of the panels.

The 2nd pic I can see the edge of the panel as it looks ever so slightly raised but it maybe the camera.

It looks sweet in both anyway!

[etype76]

Typically, what volume are you all using through the LG TV (obviously depends) but I am fairly close with the volume at 43-46 and the dialogue is pretty weak. A character also knocked on a door with the scene on the inside and the knock was barely audible. Other elements are fine such as action, score etc. I checked the app and the position is correct and sound setting on movie.

[etype76]

DHA wrote:

@etype76 to change the base to the half circle you will need to take the unit apart (i installed mine at home). I don’t think you can adjust it without the theatre being removed

Mr10Percent wrote:

etype76 wrote:

@xthx, Very nice setup and a 65” too. I thought it was a 55 from the thumbnail. Is that stand the one in the box? So you mounted the panel to the wall? I got the optional table stand and they installed the full circle of the stand but actually would like the half circle and get it closer to the wall. I wonder if it’s an easy change?

You will need to remove the panel from the SMI. Then, this video shows the “circle” or “half-circle” plate assembly with 4 screws. https://player.vimeo.com/video/750347084?h=b64cfd67f4

 

Thanks all. I see now how it fits with the half-circle fitting in the other half when close to the wall position. Mine is on a TV cabinet but it seems just too far from the wall. The only reason I think the dealer installed the full circle was perhaps so it can pivot towards the far sofa.

The dealer needs to come back and fit the wings and bring the line-in adaptor anyway, I wonder if it’s reasonable to ask:

Make the stand half-circle and lower the tv closer to the Theatre as it’s currently about 1cm above it.

[etype76]

@xthx, Very nice setup and a 65” too. I thought it was a 55 from the thumbnail. Is that stand the one in the box? So you mounted the panel to the wall?

I got the optional table stand and they installed the full circle of the stand but actually would like the half circle and get it closer to the wall. I wonder if it’s an easy change?

[etype76]

Great, thanks. I found the PDF through the B&O site.

https://support.bang-olufsen.com/hc/en-us/articles/4955893911569

It has some useful info such as LED status key etc.

[etype76]

Did you all get a physical copy of the User Guide with the Theatre? My dealer left only Assembly Guides.

[etype76]

A quick question for those of you playing around with the B&O app and the theatre. Where is the ‘Loudness’ option? I found it a couple of days ago, and lol like hell I can find it again.

How is the app working for you all? I am finding it quite laggy and buggy. Sometimes my listening positions are there and other times they are not.

I want to simplify the listening experience, what mode do I use if I just want to listen to music without any particular position? (When I’m just around the room and not planted on the couch.)

My Theatre was installed on Sat with the table mount option on a 65″ LG TV, the TV was delivered Fri specifically for the theatre. This setup is a huge departure from the norm for me (Beogram>Beomaster 6000>Beovox 3000) and it takes a while to get used to.

 

[etype76]

My Theatre is being delivered and installed this Saturday. I opted for the table mount with theatre on a 65” screen and no wings. Dark oak speaker cover. This is certainly the biggest shift I have gone for in terms of setup and I will see how I like music through this system. Definitely, the Mozart platform opening up for more flexibility will be something to consider down the road.

[etype76]

I had a listen to both the Beolab 18s and the Theatre and decided to go for the Theatre.

The 18s were beautifully crisp and the bass was deeper than what I’d heard people saying but the theatre provided a more well rounded experience. I brought Along a selection of tracks ranging from Beatles, Marvin Gaye and OST Tron Legacy and new West Side Story.

I dialed down the bass on the theatre and the overall soundstage filled the room nicely. I suppose my living room is around 30m2 or 100ft. The demo room was much smaller.

I went with the Oak cover.

They had the Theatre in stock and they offered either a 5% discount or a 5-year extended warranty. I might just take the 5%.

I was going to set it up myself but might have them do it but it seems silly to connect it to the aging Sony Bravia.

They added an audio adaptor in the quote but I might contact Steve as I’ll need the cable from the Beogram to the adaptor. The sales rep said the adaptor was like USB-C to RCA? He hadn’t seen one yet but I thought it was USB-C type to line-in?

Anyway, I’m very looking forward to the setup.

[etype76]

Thanks for the replies. I have got a demo booked for the 18s and Theatre next week and it will have to be one or the other (meaning not both!.) I watch movies but I’m not as avid as I used to be hence we’re still doing fine with our 55″ 8 year old Sony Bravia. Placement of the Theatre needs some consideration.

I’m kind of excited about it as I’ve wanted to get my hands on something latest from B&O which I have never done.

The M3 route to go wireless sounds intrigueing but wireless from Beogram is not a deal breaker. I will be removing all the cabling and cable hides from the walls/skirting boards but I would be fine with a single cable going to the speakers or Theatre.

In the meantime, I am enjoying reading expertise, opinions, impressions of the Theatre here.

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