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Topic:
B & O Beomaster System
This thread has 5 replies. Displaying all posts.
Post 1 made on Thursday August 11, 2016 at 20:53
electrician
Long Time Member
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A customer of mine just purchased a house that has this installed throughout. Can't say I've ever seen it before. The Headend has (2) B&O 6 conductor cables spliced together with a special end that went to missing amp. Toning seems to go through wire but not spkr?
8 Rooms of audio.
Each room has VC and a B&O ML2 receiver thing and a pair of speakers. No equipment was left behind other than VC's, IR rcvr, and Spkrs. Can't even get speakers to tone.
If I just get home runs to all the VC's I think I can salvage some of his equipment, if not $$$$:)
Just trying to figure out how this system worked?

Post 2 made on Thursday August 11, 2016 at 21:01
jcmitch
Founding Member
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BeoWorld technical library [Link: beoworld.org]
You've got some reading to do.
OP | Post 3 made on Thursday August 11, 2016 at 21:08
electrician
Long Time Member
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August 2007
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On August 11, 2016 at 21:01, jcmitch said...
BeoWorld technical library [Link: beoworld.org]
You've got some reading to do.

I've reading about the stuff all night, originally I was thinking I may be able to salvage some of his "It has speakers everywhere, and knobs in each room" system, but after spending the very little time I had to look at it, I figured I better look and ask around.
I feel like it will be easier to get wires to the VC's and get rid of all the rest of the stuff, and throw in a current system.

Post 4 made on Thursday August 11, 2016 at 22:57
buzz
Super Member
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4,366
The "links" won't do anything useful without a B&O receiver as the head end. Fortunately, their signal distribution was mostly speaker level and you can just bypass the links. Probably you have the MCL2. If so, you'll need to follow the gray wire from the wall mounted unit to the gray box. The gray box is essentially a relay box that drops speakers on the line. There are also some amplified links. Anyway, you'll need to dig out the box and patch the speaker wires. BTW, these are not general purpose IR receivers, they only deal with the B&O IR commands that are 455kHz, not the typical 38kHz. IR commands are decoded in the gray box, then sent over the white shielded wire as B&O specific (2-way) commands. Obviously, all of the rooms play the same program.

If you are lucky, you could replace the links with wireless Sonos CONNECT:AMP's. If you are unlucky and I was the original installer, probably not, because I usually dropped the relay box into the drywall and CONNECT:AMP's don't usually fit inside drywall. If any of the wall mounted units are surrounded by a trim ring, that ring is a "pass through kit" and that's how you pass the gray relay box into the drywall. (otherwise the gray box is too big to fit through the mounting hole for the controller)

It is possible to pop the wall mounted controller out of its mounting shell without trashing everything (you may break a tab or two at this age), but one must be gentle. These are two piece units. First, one mounts a plastic shell in a drywall cutout, then the controller is snapped into the shell. You must carefully pry between the shell and the controller. Don't pry between the drywall and the shell. Once you get the controller out, there are two mounting brackets that sandwich the drywall from behind. WARNING: these are similar to toggle bolts, don't completely remove the screws or a piece will drop inside the wall -- you will regret this unless your intention is to remove, patch, and paint. You'll notice some oddly shaped slots in the back of the shell that will allow you to loosen the screws, then rotate the clamps 90°, releasing the shell.
OP | Post 5 made on Friday August 12, 2016 at 08:15
electrician
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Thanks buzz, how do I bypass the links without still running home runs to each zone? It seems like there is (2) of that 6 conductor going to 8 zones? Unless your saying put a Sonos amp at each mcl2.
Another thing I don't understand, is why how do the volume controls come into play, I'm assuming after the Mcl2 speaker level?
Again thanks for the help, I've been doing this stuff since the late 90's and have never come across it!

Post 6 made on Friday August 12, 2016 at 13:27
buzz
Super Member
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It is possible that there were some amplifiers scattered about, but I doubt this. Usually the speakers are all in parallel, switched by the relays. I expect that the in-wall volume controls are generic speaker level controls. And, I expect that those DIN plugs are a variant of DIN Speaker plugs -- there will be a larger flat pin and smaller round pin in the central area. The outlying pins are communication and power distribution and the central pins are the speaker connections. There are two plugs, left and right.

Usually, these systems were daisy chain, not home run.

Pull a volume control and trace its feed. You'll be able to tone the speakers and locate where the relay box was or is located. The relay boxes were terminated with raw wire.


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