[LeMirage]

Thanks guys, all clear now. The base for most simple configuration is included.
I would be considering the Theatre as a standalone music system , and when my BV11 fails with a different TV it could be my home cinema sound system with (in the future possible?) my two Levels as rears.

 

 

[LeMirage]

What are the Theatre placement options on a shelf in a (large) TV cabinet? Is there some kind of small base included or can you put the Theatre itself directly on a shelf ? Without getting too much of sound interference kind of blocking the downward direction of the drivers?

 

[LeMirage]

I will continue troubleshooting when back home thursday and report here but I think I have found a few things regarding Halo quirks (both wifi and battery performance)

 

 

[LeMirage]

Wow, that good… these kind of posts really make me want to pull the Theatre-trigger. You are not affiliated with B&O are you ? ;)).

I would purely buy it for music as a standalone, the BV11 with BL4000 as rears is more then enough in our cosy TV corner.

Theatre vs two Levels stereo paired ? 10 to 1 ? 😉
Theatre vs Edge ? 5 to 1 ?
Steve help me here LOL
Edge is still so underrated….

 

 

 

[LeMirage]

Another vote for BS8, absolute timeless design and preloved dirt cheap….

The full development process, then you want it even more :

B&O Tech: Loudspeaker Development Process

 

[LeMirage]

With previous Halo firmware 1.5.930 the battery life was pretty good, almost a week with daily use. With the latest firmware we are back to the horrible battery life of the initial firmwares after product release again….:( Only thing added with the latest firmware according release notes was Theatre support. No clue why the battery consumption is back to HUGE now…. Would suggest anyone with a Halo table version to file a bug report from the app, hopefully it helps. I have the Halo on a Qi pad but do drag it a lot around the house so hopefully the battery drain issue is fixed soon.

 

I may have found something interesting in my setup causing the Halo wifi connection issues…..

Testing upcoming days and will report back here.

[LeMirage]

Severed_hand_of_skywalker wrote:

As far as Halo’s go that is.

spot on 😉

Well I installed the new firmware and the battery life of the table model seems significantly worse again:( Also I just encountered the dreaded boot-loop bug again, that was fixed a couple op updates back and not seen since then, it’s back! 🙁

the connection with my Level Stereo pair seems pretty stable, but now with the Edge it’s hairy. Sometimes it takes ten’s of seconds before Halo can find the Edge and display track info. Rebooting the Halo and Edge does not help. I have recently even installed a new wifi router since I had a rather old one and was hoping all the Halo connections issues were a result of being not compatible with the old wifi hardware. But no difference. Also fixed IP adresses did not help. The Levels have some kind of descent hardware controls on board but the Edge simply needs a Halo or a phone for daily use , the last I refuse. I just want a working B&O ecosystem with the phone / tablet just necessary for configuration purposes and not daily use. The essence remote works pretty good with the Edge, but that one does not provide track info. B&O please make a MK2 wheely, smaller , matching metal colours and small track info display. You will sell loads of them….

my Halo has been flying out of the window ALMOST 50 times now , but every time I’m able to control myself ;).

Another thing, I have reported to B&O support now about 5 times the Gold Tone colour still cannot be selected in the settings menu, even after at least ten B&O app updates in iOS since the initial report. The thing has been for sale like a year now, it’s a detail but still rather annoying for hardware at this pricepoint.

[LeMirage]

Anyone installed the new Halo firmware yet? I’m hesitant. Only change according release notes is added compatibility of the Theatre.

[LeMirage]

Isn’t it possible that there is just a general big misconception about using and enjoying the Edge? This is mostly fed by B&O’s failing marketing when the product was released and actually boosted even further by the optional wall mount ? This wall mount and the Edge being displayed as a clock in so many press images might have given the general public the idea this is the only suitable setup for a Beosound Edge?

 

But then there are the later A9 generations with drivers on the back as well…….but nobody is complaining about placement issues with that one! Because main reason for the back drivers was to give it a wider spacious sound as a standalone speaker right? (Using wall / corner reflection obviously). And that is exactly what the two drivers on the back of an edge are doing as well when placed near a wall.

It’s a guess but my idea is that quit a big part of the A9 users have it near a wall instead of free standing also maximizing performance of the back drivers.

 

The symmetric design of the Edge makes you believe it shouldn’t be placed near a wall but this is just not true. The beam control function in the B&O app with it’s (nice!) visual presentation perhaps also even emphasizes this assumed optimal free standing (hanging) position.

 

A9 (later versions with back drivers) and Edge have more in common then people might think, with the active bass port and huge bass driver as biggest differences obviously.

Could it be possible people at B&O dealers have listened to Edge and A9 with a wrong setting in Edge beam control resulting in a disappointing Edge performance compared to A9? Don’t remember what default setting was after initial setup but B&O with software/firmware reputation I wouldn’t be surprised that it was front only (the first of the three “buttons” in beam control!)

Beam control settings have a HUGE impact!

 

But this is just a theory…..

 

I have played a lot with the Edge and i just absolutely love the sound of it. Even at lower levels (bass port closed!) you can easily feel the bass in bass heavy tracks. I have only compared it to my set of Levels configured in stereopair but that’s a matter of apple’s and oranges due to the latter obviously having full stereo capabilities. So for the moment I use them both alternately depending on music choice, volume and knowing the neighbors being at home or not:).

 

Regarding the roll mechanism for volume control, i simply never use it, don’t like it at all. The Edge and Levels are both controlled with the Halo as well as a remote wheely. Can’t emphasize the brilliance of that nifty little remote enough for usage with almost any Beosound product. They should make a new MK2 (miniature) version of it clever commercially positioned between Halo and Beoremote ONE . And in more colours please!

[LeMirage]

Well it is mentioned specifically in various reviews and google home is also mentioned in B&O’s own first time setup video I have just noticed. Very weird since indeed this is a non gva speaker!

anyone more info on this?

 

Edge video from B&O:

 

 

[LeMirage]

Room callibration seems to work again…..

strange. Maybe the multiple reboots of both Levels helped….,

still on firmware 1.8.10017.12375

[LeMirage]

@Mbee, confirmed, just tested and same here….

(Level stereopair)

oh dear, the B&O experience with these speakers can be SO much better if they get their things together on the software department

[LeMirage]

I lost you in the last part Trackbeo, but thank you so much for your efforts. For the moment I just accept the fact that my master Level in the stereo pair needs a switch of and on every three days.

 

a different interesting question, maybe Steve has the answer for this since he had a youtube battery with changing the battery.

If using the Level for longer periods (some users maybe always) can one remove the battery and just store it to avoid unnecessary tickle charge ? And still being able to use the Level om AC power only?

 

 

[LeMirage]

Thanks Steve and Trackbeo for all in the info.

What makes the Halo issue extra weird is the fact that when my Halo can’t find the Level the Level itself still is able to stream music without any issues. So the Level seems only partially offline in the B&O network. Because once the Halo is unable to find the Level, the Level also does not appear online in the B&O app. There is a red dot and “offline” status symbol. But the Level is playing music?! (In stereo pair) .

Level off and on again and app closing from the backround and restarting and all is normal again. No need to reboot/reset the Level, just off and on.

restarting the wifi router without touching the Level does not help, the Level needs to switched off and on.

[LeMirage]

Lol, no it’s a different red dot, bigger and clearly stating the device is “offline” and the app can’t find the device….
(but the Level still is able to stream and being controlled from the buttons on the Level, not via the Halo nor the app)

[LeMirage]

Anyone using a Halo with the Level? Every 2-3 days my Halo will lose connection with the Level. Only solution is switching the Level off and on again. Then it works again for a few days until the same problem repeats. Other device connected to my Halo is a BV11 and that still works fine when the connection with Level is lost. From support (and also mentioned here by another member) I got the advice to assign static IP’s to Level and Halo. Did that but no improvement. Any ideas???

 

 

[LeMirage]

I did not find any new features Steve. But the good news is my stereo pairing has been super stable the last 48 hours so the dropouts were just a temporary thing.

What I did discover was the “automatic standby” bug still has not been fixed. In the initial Level firmwares the speaker was programmed by default to switch off automatic after 90 minutes of silence when operating on battery power. In the later firmwares there came the introduction of a toggle switch in the settings menu to set this function on or off. However with stereo paired Levels this never worked! The master Level does indeed follow instructions of the toggle switch but the slave speaker always shuts off after 90 minutes making this feature useless for stereo paired Levels . I will report the bug and hopefully it gets fixed then, but I just really wonder why they don’t catch these things by themselves ?!

[LeMirage]

Although I switched off the automatic software updating feature, both my Levels have been given firmware V1.8.10017 now. According release notes bug fixes and stereo pairing performance improvement but actually I am encountering dropouts now from the left channel?! I will monitor stability upcoming days.

 

no more other Level users here??

 

 

 

[LeMirage]

Really happy with this firmware, finally the table Halo has a useful battery performance now. With moderate use it holds up about five days in between charges. Very acceptable compared to the marginal 24-36 hours from previous versions.

 

still my Halo’s sometimes loose connection, but this problem seems to be in the Level and/or wifi router.

 

 

[LeMirage]

Finally got the new firmware after return from holiday. Battery life has improved A LOT !!! Wifi stability testing in progress……

 

 

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