[Steve at Sounds Heavenly]

Hi,

Don’t worry, John has been very busy from what I gather speaking to him recently. I know his Theatres were delayed in transit but they have now arrived, I am sure he won’t mind me sharing this picture that he sent to me recently:-

Producing YouTube videos is very, very time consuming, but I am sure that John will have a superlative Beosound Theatre video coming when he gets the chance!

Kind regards, Steve.

[Steve at Sounds Heavenly]

Hi,
Yes, you can add ANY speakers, but passive Beovox speakers will require a power amp such as BeoAmp2 in order to connect to the Theatre. I don’t recommend using Passive or MCL2P as there are issues with correctly triggering these amps from newer B&O products with RJ45 outputs. The Theatre will be able to carry out room compensation with any passive speakers connected via any type of power amp, but it won’t have the acoustic profile of the speakers stored for magnitude and phase correction (unless you are using Beovox 1 or 2 speakers).

Kind regards, Steve.

[Steve at Sounds Heavenly]

Good choice!

There are some great speakers out there. for this video, I tried to look for one that would work for everyone, old or young, for existing CD collections or for online streaming, plus one that is underrated and forgotten about…

Kind regards, Steve.

[Steve at Sounds Heavenly]

As a further update, here are B&O’s official videos showing the installation process for each of the five Theatre mounting options:-

Included table stand:

Included wall bracket:

Optional motorised floor stand:

Optional motorised wall bracket:

Optional table stand:

Kind regards, Steve.

[Steve at Sounds Heavenly]

Here are some links to Geoff Martin’s blog (Geoff is B&O’s Tonmeister and Senior Sound Designer) which give an insight into the technical design and capabilities of the Theatre:-

Spatial Control: https://www.tonmeister.ca/wordpress/2022/09/19/beosound-theatre-spatial-control/

Dolby Atmos: https://www.tonmeister.ca/wordpress/2022/09/19/beosound-theatre-and-dolby-atmos/

History: https://www.tonmeister.ca/wordpress/2022/09/19/beosound-theatre-a-very-short-history-lesson/

Outputs: https://www.tonmeister.ca/wordpress/2022/09/12/beosound-theatre-outputs/

Bass Management: https://www.tonmeister.ca/wordpress/2022/08/31/bass-management-in-beosound-theatre/

A big THANK YOU is due to Geoff for his input into B&O products and also into this forum!

The full specifications of the Theatre can be found here:-

https://assets.ctfassets.net/8cd2csgvqd3m/1lIjveDQso6ZPAebic7pEY/95e758a56fe4d7149e5a81ba2ac2c36f/BeosoundTheatreProductSheetEnglish.pdf

Kind regards, Steve.

[Steve at Sounds Heavenly]

On a different aspect of the Theatre, it is worth noting that any brand of TV can be used. However, full integration (with control via a B&O remote) is gained by using the recommended LG G2 panels.

The 55″, 65″ and 77″ G series panels are the officially recommended options, but the 83″ and even 97″ G2 panels will also work seamlessly with the Theatre. As these are too large for the B&O brackets, these larger panels should be wall mounted independently from the Theatre, instead of using the B&O wall or floor mounts. HDMI and Ethernet cables are included with the Theatre to link to the TV panel. However, when wall mounting a larger TV separately from the Theatre, a longer HDMI 2.1 and Ethernet cable may be needed:-

HDMI 2.1: https://soundsheavenly.com/tv-input/55-180-premium-braided-hdmi-earc-21-cable-with-ethernet-for-8k-full-hd-and-beosound-stage.html#/4-length-3m
Ethernet: https://soundsheavenly.com/powerlink-rj45-cat5-connection-models-from-2013/28-2264-rj45-powerlink-compatible-shielded-cable-for-beolab-speakers-2013-and-newer.html#/3-length-2m/18-colour-black

The Theatre has a four port Ethernet Hub, so only one cable is needed to your internet router and the Theatre can then distribute wired Ethernet connections to your TV and video sources.

Any Beolab speakers (right back to the original Beolab Penta in 1986) can be connected to the four stereo RJ45 Powerlink sockets of the Theatre. WiSA wireless Powerlink options are also available for compatible Beolab speakers (up to 8 wired speakers and 8 wireless speakers can be connected in total).

The Theatre has the acoustic performance of all Beolab speakers (plus Beovox 1 and 2) encoded internally, so it can intelligently share bass between all the speakers that are connected, according to their capabilities. Speakers that have a “Free/Wall/Corner” switch for bass level should generally be set to “Free” when connected to the Theatre, as this gives a flat frequency response to allow the Theatre to manage their bass capabilities to best advantage. The exception to this is Beolab Penta, which gives a flat bass response when set to “Wall” (mid switch position).

As the Theatre carries out room compensation on all connected speakers, they will actually perform better when used with the Theatre than they do on their own. The Theatre also has the magnitude response and phase response of all Beolab speakers coded into its software (ie. the performance of the speakers again frequency and time), so that any design quirks in the speakers will be corrected when they are played from the Theatre. This correction also applies when using a conventional music system to play to the speakers via the USB-C audio input of the Theatre.

As the Theatre only has four RJ45 speaker sockets, RH45 to Powerlink splitters can be helpful to allow for the maximum eight wired speaker connections:-

https://soundsheavenly.com/bang-olufsen/27-313-rj45-powerlink-compatible-splitter-new-powerlink-to-two-8-pin-din-powerlink-compatible-sockets.html#/20-length-02m

Hope this is helpful!

Kind regards, Steve.

[Steve at Sounds Heavenly]

Hi Keith,

Thanks for setting up this thread, which should become a useful resource for anyone wanting to get the best from Beosound Theatre. Please add to it if you have knowledge to share!

I will start by confirming that the Theatre has a USB-C input for stereo analogue audio. By using this adapter and a suitable cable, any audio source can be played through the Theatre (and also to any connected speakers):-

https://soundsheavenly.com/tv-misc/191-usb-c-audio-input-adapter-for-beosound-theatre-ref-6271374.html

By adding a suitable cable (available at https://soundsheavenly.com), any audio source can be connected, including Beosound music systems, Beogram turntables, music streamers, open-reel tape decks, as well as many other devices.

To enable the Line input on the Theatre, please open the B&O app, select the Theatre from the list of products and go to “Source List”. Choose “Line Input” and set the input type to “Music”. Go back to “Sound Settings” and turn on “Auto Sense” for the line input, with the sensitivity set to Medium.

If you are connecting a music source that has its own volume control (eg. the Powerlink output of a Beosound 9000) then please set the volume of the music source to around 50-75% to give normal control from the Theatre remote.

Hope this is helpful!

Kind regards, Steve.

[Steve at Sounds Heavenly]

…and the Theatre “knowledge base” thread is now live here:-

Beosound Theatre — Knowledge Base

See you there!

[Steve at Sounds Heavenly]

Thanks MM,

I have asked Keith if he can set up a new “sticky” thread for Theatre “know-how” and I will update everyone here once that is online!

Kind regards, Steve.

[Steve at Sounds Heavenly]

Hi guys,

Thanks for the feedback. The podcast is made up of a group of friends with very different views and backgrounds, but united by our shared love for B&O. Live group chats are always unpredictable in nature (especially when English is a second language for most of the group), but this often makes for a more interesting discussion. My personal approach is to always present as though children are watching, but each member of the group is free to make their own decision on how they wish to appear online.

There is a great range of experience between the group, as we have all been buying, setting up and enjoying B&O products over many years. Theatre is an item that is of particular interest to us all and hence it was no surprise that the viewing figures for last night’s episode were quite a bit higher than usual.

I like the idea of a “knowledge base” for the Theatre – maybe that could be a “sticky” thread on BeoWorld? What do you think?

Kind regards, Steve.

[Steve at Sounds Heavenly]

Here are some links to more information about the Theatre on B&O’s own YouTube channel:-

Aluminium production:

Sound design:

Acoustics:

Design story:

Woodworking:

This link takes you to a spreadsheet listing the details of the Theatre’s compatibility with TV panels from a range of manufacturers: https://beoworld.dev.idslogic.net/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/3rd-party-TV-or-projector-with-Beosound-Theatre.docx

Kind regards, Steve.

[Steve at Sounds Heavenly]

If you are interested to know what it is like to live with Beosound Theatre, then please join me and Miki at 7pm (UK time) tonight on the Beotalk podcast to find out!

Kind regards, Steve.

[Steve at Sounds Heavenly]

Thanks MM,

That is interesting, I also love Beosound 8 (especially after hearing a talk from Geoff Martin in “The Cube” at Struer about how much the digital signal processing had improved the sound). I hope to be able to feature this in a video soon.

Yes, auto-sensing on the Aux input would have made the Beosound 1 even better, but on balance I think the addition of a CD player makes it a better all-round solution for someone wanting their first B&O product.

Adding a turntable via the Aux input, now that would make it really great, what a good idea!

Kind regards, Steve.

[Steve at Sounds Heavenly]

That looks awesome!

Yes, you can use the Beosound 1 as a speaker with a system that has DIN or RJ45 Powerlink outputs via these cables (you will need to turn the Beosound 1 to Aux manually as it doesn’t auto-sense on the Aux input):-

DIN Powerlink (1990-2012): https://soundsheavenly.com/tv-masterlink-control-and-sync/15-264-datalink-cable-for-bo-beocord-etc.html#/9-length-18m
RJ45 Powerlink (2013 on): https://soundsheavenly.com/playmaker-and-essence-wireless-streaming/84-378-rj45-to-aux-input-cable-add-core-essence-or-playmaker-to-your-bo-system.html#/9-length-18m

Kind regards, Steve

[Steve at Sounds Heavenly]

Hi Mark,

Which YouTube sources are quiet? I think all the usual B&O YouTubers except John at B&O Manchester have covered the Theatre so far – John has been affected by supply issues but I know he has now received several Theatres in store so I guess he will likely be videoing them soon.

It is a superb product and there are links to a number of YouTube videos about the Theatre (including on my own channel) in this thread.

Kind regards, Steve.

[Steve at Sounds Heavenly]

Hi Frank,

That is not an analogue audio connection on the A1, it is a digital data interface to allow the A1 to be used as an external USB interface when connected to a compatible computer. The analogue audio compatibility of the Theatre USB-C connection is different, this is a specific re-allocation of the D+ and D- data interchange pins to allow for a stereo audio input. No other B&O products support this analogue audio input via USB-C as far as I am aware.

Kind regards, Steve.

[Steve at Sounds Heavenly]

Hi Frank,

The A1 doesn’t support an analogue audio input via USB, only the Theatre supports this.

The second generation A1 doesn’t have any cabled audio input, only the first generation A1 has this via a 3.5mm minijack socket.

Kind regards, Steve.

[Steve at Sounds Heavenly]

Hi Matador,

Yes, all of the original 95 units sold immediately, then B&O started to upgrade customers’ own Beograms. The name “4000c” is to cover the 4002, 4004 and 6000 models that are currently being upgraded, as this is seen as a common model number to cover all the individual models being worked on.

Kind regards, Steve.

[Steve at Sounds Heavenly]

Thanks MM,

That was a much better explanation than I could give when typing from my tiny phone screen!

Kind regards, Steve.

[Steve at Sounds Heavenly]

Hi,

Yes you can use these adapters to link two existing 8 pin Powerlink cables into one RJ45 socket of the Theatre:-

https://soundsheavenly.com/bang-olufsen/27-313-rj45-powerlink-compatible-splitter-new-powerlink-to-two-8-pin-din-powerlink-compatible-sockets.html#/20-length-02m

Kind regards, Steve.

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