[speedsixdave]

Morning gents,

 

Thanks very much for those useful replies. Food for thought. I did not know about the OneRemote radios etc and there are some other interesting options on there like the the powerlink switches too.

The DAB/DAB+ thing I knew about, hard to know how much of an issue this will be down the line. I would hope the BBC would keep broadcasting on DAB for a while yet but I might be buying a white elephant with the BS4.

Useful to know that one can put two audio sources into the same system though.

All this would be easier (maybe) if the Panasonic had any kind of output options, but there’s not even a headphones socket on it. Ah well, you live and learn.

[speedsixdave]

Thanks very much for your help, Guy. That’s a great place to start looking.

Dave

[speedsixdave]

Hi all,

A quick update on this. I finally have a working MCL connection between the BC9500 and BL3500, after some shenanigans and possibly killing some of the display on the BC9500 (see seperate post). It really was as simple as making a single cable from the 3-pin din MCL speaker plugs to the 8-pin din MCL plug, but as it was the first soldering I’ve done in about 30 years it did not go smoothly. Eventually I realised I had a short between the pink (DC) and yellow (left signal +ve) pins (via the metal DIN casing) and now the thing seems to work ok.

As Mads pointed out the pink wire does nothing in the BL3500 so the fact that I broke the pink connection in the 8-pin DIN plug while trying to fix a loose green (right signal +ve) connection does not matter. All very much above my skill and dexterity levels, and I have new burns to prove it!

 

 

[speedsixdave]

Hi Guy,

Thanks for the response. I use the tape so rarely I hadn’t realised about the B and backwards L so thanks for that!

Everything seems to work fine except the lights. I can change sources with a Beolink 1000 remote and do all the things it should – change radio stations, stop and start CDs, change tracks, alter bass, treble and balance and all that – but there is no visual indication of most of this stuff on the Beocenter. As far as I can see all the Level 2 and Level 3 lights are gone – see pic below while playing a CD. The controls work however, and I can change radio station or CD track directly on the BC by touching the bottom panel in approximately the right place.

I did some investigation of my dodgy home-made MCL cable and found a short-circuit between the pink (DC) and yellow (signal left) wires, and I think this has been the cause of my problem.

I’m hoping that I’ve blown a fuse only and that a simple fix will solve all my problems, for this week at least!

 

[speedsixdave]

Hi Mads,

 

Thanks very much for that, some useful things to try there. I’m away for a few days but will try when I get back.

There was a cut-off ML plug in the back of the Beolab when I bought it so it may well be set to use the Masterlink at the moment,

As you suspect the plan is for the BL3500 to go in a different room eventually so Opt 6 sounds right, but at the moment it is in my lounge attached to the BC9500 by a fairly short MCL cable.

[speedsixdave]

Hello gang, I finally have follow-up questions to the above. I sourced some 3-pin and 8-pin DIN plugs and a length of original MCL cable, and utilising this wet Sunday afternoon I have just about managed to solder all three plugs on to the cable. My soldering is pretty shocking but there seems to be connection between all the right pins.

So, 8-pin plug into the BL3500 and the 3-pin plugs into the 3-pin MCL sockets on the BC9500, and I have sound! But… as soon as I plug the right 3-pin in, the sound from the powerlink-connected main speakers cuts out. I can control volume and source through the BL3500 with my Beolink 1000 remote, but the controls on the BC9500 appear to be disabled. It is as if the BL3500 over-rides the BC9500 completely. As an incidental if I plug some passive speakers into the speakerlink sockets on the BC9500 they work fine, and do not mute, but I still cannot control them directly via the Beocenter.

Any ideas? Could it be a wiring problem with my hamfisted cable?

Additionally I’d like to try the different L.Opt settings on the BL3500, but I can only find how to change them with a Beo4 remote. Does anyone know the right button sequence with a Beolink 1000?

Thanks in advance,

 

Dave

 

[speedsixdave]

Fantastic. Thank you both, that’s much the easiest thing then. And if I’m sourcing plugs, is the 8-pin DIN plug physically the same as a Powerlink plug?

[speedsixdave]

Thanks gents, very useful.

Steve, the attenuated converter arrived extremely promptly yesterday. I look forward to having a play with it over the weekend!

[speedsixdave]

Hi Steve,

Thanks very much for the speedy response – very useful and interesting. And yes, I meant Beocenter 9500, not Beosystem. Late night posting!

So a speakerlink input converts the high-level signal to a low-level signal within the Beolab, then re-amplifies it? That is some sort of madness but I guess allows the Beolab amplifiers to optimise the signal for their own drivers. I will try the 3000s with the line-in connection when your attenuated converter arrived and see if my insensitive ears can tell a difference.

My new old Beolab 4000s are Mk 1 with the RCA port so no problem there, I have lots of RCA cables around to experiment with at least.

I did not know that the Beocenter 9000 has pre-out sockets, that’s interesting to know. That makes it an option too, though I guess I would still need 4-pin speakerlink cables from that to make the displays on the Beolab 3000s work. It’s not critical but might be nice.

Am I right in thinking that the Beocenter 9500/8500 is the only ‘wedge’ amp/receiver/center that has both Powerlink sockets and an RIAA phono pre-amp? I would not really use the CD player and certainly not the tape deck at this point so was also looking at Beomaster 4500/3500 receivers, but as far as I can see these would need an external pre-amp to work with my Beogram 1902.

Thanks again!

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