trackbeo
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BeoLenciaga
Oooh. Wish I’d thought of that…
OK, yes, I admit to watching the “51st collection” fashion runway movie at couture.balenciaga.com . Are those Mercedes face masks limited edition too? One might be able to afford an in-stock item… Of course my nice BeoLenciaga would get scratched right away if I went to the airport dressed like that, and security threw me to the ground before calling the Carabinieri!
This has been a problem in Chicago ever since B&O distribution moved to New York. But aren’t partners required to be able to send out a repair, even if they cannot fix anything themselves? So there must be someone they use, try asking it that way. For example, BeoBoston store uses Atlantic Systems in Hanover, MA. Alas, mail-away requires that you be able to extract the amplifier chassis yourself. Maybe the OH store? (Was rumored to be related to the Chicago store when that closed.) Whoever they use, at least it’s closer than MA or CA. Good luck and please post your result for others! [Edit: No, forget Cincinnati, a $500 diagnostic fee! Applies to the repairs of course, but you can bet nothing will be less than $1000 as a result of sunk-cost psychology. Sheesh, I remember when Atlantic Systems started charging $50 minimums just to keep out the riff-raff and non-repairable junk…]
Hi trackbeo, Yes, I accepted the new update manually, I had to update each Emerge separately as they were set to have auto updates turned off. All is working fine at 10017 software level, with the auto updates still disabled after this manual update. Kind regards, Steve.
Thanks, @Steve, I understand that you were not willing to go through the hassle of creating another account and adding your products to it. So I sacrificed a BeoSound 1(2.gen) to test. Result: The iOS app (4.0.3.xxxxx) updates the firmware of a product added fresh to a new account, regardless of internal settings it may have had from a previous account. The iOS app does not ask if it can update the newly addded product, it just does so. Caveat Usor.
Correct, and it will continue to work even if you use the app to delete the Level from your B&O User account! (Well, maybe not B&Oradio. But Spotify Connect, or streaming from your in-house DLNA server, or AirPlay will continue to work OK. The device has smarts internally and doesn’t go checking to see if it’s “authorized” to play. Oops, mustn’t give B&O any ideas…)
More importantly, a clean, unbroken playback stream tells you (usually) that there are no devices on your network with a duplicate IP address as your Level. (Depends on the network hardware of course, but typically a duplicate IP will see packets suddenly being mis-delivered and then coming back again.)
The other thing you learned from your experiment is that the Halo is not at fault, and probably the network hardware is not at fault. The Halo and the app are not running the same code, yet *both* fail to find the Level. Despite being different code, probably both follow a similar procedure for “discovery” of available playback devices. Unlikely that the discovery ruleset has a flaw, so we conclude that likely the Level isn’t identifying itself, “answering” the discovery broadcast packets on the network. But you can’t 100% rule out the network hardware, so the next step would be to use itself to check on its connections. This is beyond the scope of a short answer and beyond the ken of “support” but basically you use the tools provided by the router to see if its connection (typically a list of MAC addresses and their corresponding IPs) is “active” versus “offline”, which has different meaning/words among vendors, but the basic idea is that the device has requested an IP address and responds to broadcast packets, and “offline” is maintained so the device gets the same IP address even without a reservation — but the router thinks it isn’t responding right now. If you can get a window into what the router thinks about your device when the Halo and the app think it’s missing, knowing that might help.
Regarding the Halo-Level disconnect issue, this happens alot with Sonos systems too, and the standard support response sequence is:
(i) assign static IPs, (ii) look to make sure no other devices got assigned the same IPs, (iii) don’t reboot the Level, reboot the Halo, (iv) don’t reboot the Level or Halo but reboot the Wi-Fi access point, (v) create a divided network (software or hardware) to see if it still happens with *just* the Halo and the Level on their own net, (vi) hardwire the Ethernet ports on both products, then (xx) all the other Wi-FI & networking boogiemen including network exenders and meshes (Sky Q known lossage, Eero (fails) vs. Orbi (works), and a whole rabbit-hole of stuff).
If you can do (v) easily, either yourself or by borrowing some spare old networking equipment, that might cut a whole bunch of the yes/no tree from your dealings with B&O “support”. While it is theoretically possible that the Level’s wake-on-LAN design is flawed, it seems very unlikely because there would be *many* many many complaints. The Sonos gear I tend loses a zone or two once or twice a year, and even Apple Homepods disappear off the network occasionally, usually due to a catastrophic wireless interference issue — plus some edge-case recovery bugs in the products of course. But every 2 or 3 days? You can probably find and fix it yourself. Don’t give up, and maybe start a fresh thread here once you have your nope-that-wasn’t-it-either’s all in a row?
Thanks, that explains the “I have .10012, but the app *says* I got .10017, yet it offers me 10017.xxx” mistake. Great relief to know they didn’t creep in during the night and update-bandit us!-)
Alas, it does not ameliorate forcing an update on a product when it is aded to an account, rather than asking. I think they should ask for any products added — but one might argue that new products come pre-set to “updates=YES” and therefore such autobadhavior is appropriate, provided adding old “updates=NO” products leaves them untouched. (@Steve, you were going to accept your GVA speakers’ update at some point, so why not try creating a new account and add them, settings status quo? That would test if the App blindly updates them or if it accepts that “‘Off’ means ‘Off'”. I cannot afford the risk on my remaining old unit to test this.)
Sure enough: Level was left yesterday at v. 1.8.10012, with updates turned OFF. Today it shows it is at version 1.8.10017 (and updates are still turned off). But even that version has a red dot beside it, and on-offer is 1.8.10017.12375. I accepted that update, because who knows what the forced one broke such that they are offering an *even newer* version just hours later?!? After the manual update, the red dot is turned off, but it still only says v. 1.8.10017 as the current version, hiding the minor version number.
So either the current version display was intentionally lying (i.e. it was really still at 10012 but claimed 10017), or else an update was pushed to my Level overnight without my consent. Either way, it’s yet another case of… Bang & Olufsen software developers are inept and/or dishonest.
Although I switched off the automatic software updating feature, both my Levels have been given firmware V1.8.10017 now.
Nevermind that firmware might be buggy, that happens. Rather, pole up the developers’ @&$# for **forcing** any update. Forced updates definitely occur whenever you add a device using the new iOS app! I turned off updates in an older device to avoid a bug that B&O added and do not acknowledge (or “cannot reproduce” .hah.) — but now I can never delete said device from one location and re-add it to another without “accepting” the forced updatexxxxxxdowngrade. For those of you not paying attention, that means that even if you know about a buggy update version, you cannot avoid it when purchasing a new device. Even Apple managed to avoid such abject lossage with their famous HomePod firmware errors.
Not an answer, but here’s what I was planning to do:
The plug part comes in a little white cardboard box, stuffed into the perf-ed slot in the corrugated. That has a part number on it. I was planning to ask my dealer to look it up, then plus/minus-1 to see if the other countries were sequential part#s. Then is that part actually orderable, separately from the power supply as an assembly?
After that, harder would be looking for another OEM of Dee Van Enterprise Co. Ltd. DSA-45PDH. But when google didn’t come up with anything, I just decided to let it stick out of the wall farther on a crummy $6 adapter plug! Unaesthetic, but hey, the original U.K. plug is pretty clunky all by itself! Maybe I could spray the adapter Forest Brown…
Consider using the Core’s optical output to the Beolab 28’s combi-optical/analog input? (Steve @SoundsHeavenly assures us that the Core can do variable volume out over the optical. See: https://beoworld.dev.idslogic.net/forums/topic/beosound-core-beolab-18-connection/ )
It’s a cheap & easy thing to try while you wait for your Powerlink cables to be delivered. A high-quality optical splitter is important (because the Core only has 1 TOSlink output & 28s do not have optical “thru” to the other speaker), but the TOSlink-to-3.5mm optical cables are cheap. (Don’t use 3.5mm optical “adapters”, get one-piece cables; too much light loss/reflection otherwise, especially with a splitter inbetween.)
It might even sound better! Certainly it will sound different. Powerlink, being analog line-level audio, is susceptible to electrical noise, as you have discovered. Plus you’re doing a D/A conversion inside the Core (to transmit the digital source or broadcast audio over analog cables) and then an A/D conversion inside the 28s (to perform the sound correction/EQ/etc.). Even given the highest quality converters, it seems pointless. [Insert equally-pointless argument here about effectively reducing audio resolution bit-depth, by doing volume control in the digital domain. Just *try* it!!!]
P.S. What’s dumber than a $5000 Audioquest “Perfect-Surface-Silver” power cord? Gold-plated connector shields on a plastic or glass optical cable…
Sorry it was unclear: *IF* the Emerge uses a USB power supply, likely it’s similar to the one above, which is a *universal* power supply. Universal? Yes, you can read from its “INPUT” specs, it will accept anything from 100volts AC (Japan) up thru 240volts AC (United Kingdom), and 50 Hertz (Europe) thru 60 Hz (elsewhere). That power supply would normally come with prong sets for US, EU, and UK electric, which are nothing but big solid wires in a plastic holder that slides into the slots of that power brick. If you get the wrong prongs (which you will from the EU) because it’s nothing but wires, all you need is a cheap adapter plug that turns two round prongs into the standard North American flat prongs. Worth your time & trouble: Read the brief introduction at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mains_electricity .
Therefore, the only case in which you would buy a North American switching adapter is if B&O cheaped out and Emerge doesn’t come with a universal supply but rather comes with a single-voltage INPUT (220V only). This is possible but unlikely. (Or, as stated above, if it has an AC power cord and its own internal power, in which case you need to check those INPUT specs, on the bottom of the unit.) You’ll know for sure once Razlaw takes a look.
[No, only North America is 120 volts. EU is 220 volts. That’s the whole point of the single power brick and its “INPUT” legend. See below.]
Here’s a photo of the Level’s USB-PD 45watt power block, just for comparison. Hope the resolution is enough to read it; you may have to click the link for full size. Above is the back side of the slide-in power prongs that clip onto the block. (If it’s identical, it’ll save @Razlaw some typing!)
@Razlaw, confirm for @idua (1) whether they use wall-wart power block & USB-C cable, or internal power supply & figure-8 AC cord; (2a) if internal look on the bottom for the legend following the word “INPUT”; (2b) if wall-wart look on the plug-side for the legend following the word “INPUT”.
Then if you’re willing, for me/others and if it’s a wall-wart, the multiple legends following the word “OUTPUTS”. (That’s a bit of typing so if I cannot impose, then just the highest-voltage/wattage one should be enough to divine the rest.) Thanks!
So what do your power bricks say on the back for input and output voltages/amps?
(1) To put a finer point on it, the Emerge is believed to be unavailable worldwide because some of the chips it uses are the same as could be put into more expensive products like the Level or the Balance. Even in Denmark, the black one cannot be ordered from the website, only the more expensive wood one — and even that availability is quoted as November! (2) Allegedly Canada imported its stock thru the USA, but even if not anymore, they still suffer the same availability (and pricing) issues. Emerge isn’t visible on the USA version of bang-olufsen.com, so that means Arvato Supply Chain Solutions isn’t shipping any to North America. If it were, I expect the more-expensive one (which will be the only one available, remember) to cost about CDN$ 1100! How is this possible?!?! Convert Euro/D.kr average price to USD, no discount despite no VAT, plus add an additional 10%. Convert that to CDN, plus add another 5%. Q.E.D. (3) Bummer about Toronto, really you can’t ask “the buyer” at Holt Renfrew, even if you could figure out who that was.
As to your potential Copenhagen airport buy, labelling is required by EU law: Just turn any unit over and look at the bottom, for something saying “INPUT ~ 100-240V.” But you don’t even need to ask a kiosk attendant: Despite claiming 60watt+30watt+30watt amplification, the Emerge power specs list a USB-C cable! This means a wall wart power supply, probably a 45-watt USB-PD (USB “Power Distribution” type) unit like comes with the Level. Its ~100-240 etching is almost invisible, but has international, slide-on, power prongs. Despite B&O intentionally not supplying multiple plugs, you’ll just add a simple adapter to the one they give you, no voltage converter needed. (Something like the “Kriëger” travel plug, US$ 6.) Even if I’m wrong and they ship some single-country wall wart, you can buy a USB-PD supply matching the same specs for the higher negotiated voltages. Just magnify the etchings & you’ll see. Good luck and let us all know how it works out!
— What location? (Generally I mean – I don’t want to snap up your bargain, I promise.)
— Is it for new orders or a for a showroom pair? (You’ll know: An April order for 18s in the USA wasn’t quoted delivery until June.) Showroom displays must be refreshed every year or two, so you’ll see an occasional discount from that.
In the USA March 1-April 30 there was a 15% reduction on Beolab 18/19/20/28, which diminished the 30% “U.S. stupidity fee.” (18s cost 29% more than EU prices incl. VAT! After recent price increases now only 23% extra.) After that sale… Beolab 20s were gone from the website/EOL. EOL on the 18s is always possible; maybe some marketing maven thinks the Beolab 28s are a better speaker than the 18s, and also pushes whole-line margins up? (Arguable whether a test tube & dog bowl can replace a pencil…)
But as design icons, I would expect that if 18s were going EOL, B&O would produce some unique “final edition”, like they did with the Beolab 5s. Maybe they’ll just update the electronics, which are dated, but still perfectly OK. So you wouldn’t really get shafted by that. But start with #2 above. Presumably you already did *ask* your dealer and got no answer?
Talking through my hat here, but that part *looks* like a mounting shock bumper: A narrow bolt/machine screw goes down into the whole thing thru the bottom (narrow) hole, tightening a flat metal washer which fits (stops at) the middle hole/shelf. Having now attached this bumper to the chassis, the top (largest) hole either supports a flat board that is affixed elsewise, or has an inverted screw on it, which slumps into the upper indent/saucer. Or invert it, if you have a screw fitting into an upper board or chassis part that rests on a base: it’s a rubber foot that can be firmly fitted to one item but without squishing the whole thing making it pointless. The key will be whether you also have an extra screw & washer lying around!?!
P.S. Just looked at your newer pic; not sure I would ever rest a mechanical part onto a (flexy) circuit board, thus agree with you that doesn’t look right.
In the USA, thru June 30, 2022, 20% off any one Beosound Level or Balance, using code “BESTSELLER20” at checkout from the website. Depending on which device & color, that’s $50-100 less than amazon.com sold them for, last year. Not as good as importing a Level from the U.K. last week, but if you were planning to buy (say) a white marble Balance anyway,…
(Note: The footnotes say the code is “unique to you” but it isn’t, of course. Also right now if you add a pair of items to your cart they both get discounted.)
No, the touch controls on, e.g. a BeoCenter 9500, worked perfectly! (As did those big-office-building elevator buttons — remember their NE-2 glowing glass rings? — back in the 1980s.) This is why I suspected something about powering down the keypad. Well, that combined with the fact that a powered-off “full sleep” Sonos Move loses almost 6% of its battery every day but the BeoSound 1 somehow only loses about 2%!
One of my Beosound 1 (2nd gen, non-GVA) is the fussiest touch-button in the house! I had suspected that sleep mode (even on AC), was powering down the “keyboard” until the motion sensor (which can be very-low-power) picked up something. This may be all in my mind, but one thing isn’t: It always takes at least 2 tries to start it up. And it’s fussy about a “full finger” press the second time, not too long, not too short, must be centered. Mine is flaky enough that I can’t tell for sure if it’s pressure-sensitive or just needs enough moist flesh to trigger a capacitance detection. It’s hokey — and maybe yours just needs to be returned under warranty — but lick your finger, turn around three times, click your heels together, and try again. Once mine is running, the swipe functions work fine… but getting that first LED lit and the “boop” play sound takes multiple tries.
