Dear Beoworld
This one has been in my head for a couple of years now but I never really had the time taking care of it. Well, I finally pulled the trigger. So let me introduce the Universal (Beo)Link Adapter.
A device completely developed from scratch that lets you directly interface classic B&O products with any modern device.
It connects to any MasterLink or DataLink product. BeoSounds, BeoCenters, BeoGrams, BeoVisions, etc.
It lets you control any DL or ML device and either redistribute its analog audio output to modern AirPlay based speakers - or the other way around.
Possibilities are almost endless. It even has a bypassable RIAA preamp built-in as we all know that there are DL turntables with and without RIAA.
It can act as a ML master or slave, can record ML audio or inject it.
It will talk to e.g. a BeoGram 5500 using the earlier DL protocol, while it can also talk to e.g. a BeoCenter 9500 using the later DL one. Pretty cool controlling a tangential turntable from your phone… :-)
Decoding and re-implementing the old DL and ML communication protocols was quite a journey - but a fun one!
Design classics like a BeoSystem 7000 or a BeoSound 9000 can suddenly be controlled by a simple webapp and their audio output is magically distributed to any modern AirPlay based speaker - or your normal webbrowser. Even to multiple endpoints at the same time and in sync of course.
Haha, didn’t even stop there. Created a replacement for the ML plug as well. The result is a compact RJ45 <-> ML adapter.
I think this project can be called successful. Both visual and functional. Of course I’m interested in hearing your opinions on it.
Currently there is no commercial intent. It’s a one-off build as a showcase project and for personal use - literally “because why not”.
If you want to read a bit more about the project, have a look here:
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Universal Link Adapter
70 replies
Hmmm!
Quoted from the website:
“There is currently no intention from our side to sell this device as a product to individuals.”
What is the point of presenting this project/product here…..other than showcasing how clever you are - and to draw attention to the company behind: PolyVection?
MM
Location: Flensborg————Danmark
"Had to recreate a replacement for the ML plug as well. The result is a compact RJ45 <-> ML adapter. Works like the original one but does not depend on discontinued connectors."
Discontinued? No way! I still have access to new Masterlink connectors and I use these to make Masterlink cables to the original B&O specifications ;-)
Neat project though. I agree with MM, why share it with us if you aren't willing to make them?
Kind regards, Steve.
Location: The cable workshop, England
My B&O Icons:
Cables, friendly advice and great ideas for connecting Bang & Olufsen! Ask any questions at https://soundsheavenly.com to get the best from your B&O! Please visit my B&O YouTube channel at https://www.youtube.com/soundsheavenlycables
Hi, Thanks for your reply, yes this is a current Molex part and type approvals are already in place for it. I see from your website that the B&O flagship store in Berlin financed the project? That seems like a lot of commitment for them if this is your own personal project...are you or B&O Berlin looking to offer these to other B&O owners in the future? I could certainly be interested! Kind regards, Steve.Location: The cable workshop, England
My B&O Icons:
Cables, friendly advice and great ideas for connecting Bang & Olufsen! Ask any questions at https://soundsheavenly.com to get the best from your B&O! Please visit my B&O YouTube channel at https://www.youtube.com/soundsheavenlycablesHi Steve, Interesting. I tried finding it (the female socket, not the plug) but was unable to do so. Anyway, the RJ45 connector saves a lot of real estate on the PCB. So not a bad choice I guess. In the end there are also those official RJ45 <-> ML adapter cables available. Probably got carried away to quickly because I enjoyed making that small plug adapter. ;-) Thanks for the hint, will update the post accordingly. No, they did not finance it at all! They liked the project idea and lend out some recent network speakers plus a Halo and helped a bit with testing. That's all. Probably I also should indicate that a bit better there. It is not completely out of question that this project is ever being commercialised. I never though about that the first place. Just wanted to build that thing for at least 10 years out of a personal desire. As an extra it's a nice project to show on the website which is missing such work examples.Philip, IMHO, this is the coolest thing that has been posted here in quite a while! I'm undoubtedly biased since your project aligns with many of my interests and projects. I have many questions about what you have done so far. I will be watching this thread closely to see the level of information detail that you are willing to share. Would you elaborate on the connectivity to the non-B&O world? Which specific "use cases" are you currently supporting? Glitch p.s. I fully understand how challenging it can be to find the female/board side connectors. I've run into a similar situation where a seemingly common connector is unobtainable new. In my case, I ended up salvaging the necessary connectors from used equipment.Glitch, thanks for the praise :-) Audio wise the "non-B&O world" currently can be served either by the AirPlay protocol or by a html webstream. For both I'm using a really nice open source software called owntone. For the control part there is a simple html5 webapp that can be easily added to the homescreen of your smartphone. One can select all ML or DL sources from there and direct it to the desired output device. There are many scenarios that are tested in hardware but not implemented in software yet. It could e.g. act as a "source center" and handle N.Radio and N.Music requests on the ML bus. So for example on an incoming AirPlay stream from your smartphone it could automatically switch on the audio master and inject the music stream accordingly. Also it can map many functions to custom buttons on a BR Halo. So that one does not depend on the webapp only. It was implemented using the public available Halo python library.Hi, B3OHACK3R. That's seems indeed very cool and beautifully made. For once, the box is stylish and everything looks so professional, even the main board, for a personal "why not" project. Then just take Millmissen suspicions as a compliment! That said, it seems you have all the knowledge to make something a lot of people want since forever: just a simple Airplay emitter that will link say à whatever Beogram to an airplay speaker or receiver. No RIAA, no fancy link system, just that, Analogue to Airplay. Since you have the experience, could you tell use how difficult it would be and if you have any insight on why this is something that never came up? (Licenses problems with Apple lawyers, of course but even underground, looks like it never happened…). Congratulations again for your project.Location: Paris France
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