Dear both, Thank you for your replies - excellent news! This should complete (for now) the lounge set-up with a happy compromise met between floor space needing to be freed up around the sofa and the need for surround sound. They look like good bedfellows of the Pentas too. I was hoping to get some BL3000's but at the moment the expense outweighs the need - there is a very nice looking pair of BL4500's on eBay at the moment but they're after £600 or more. For now the Beovox will do the job while looking nice and sexy too.

Looking forward to seeing photos of the finished setup! In my opinion the use of MCL2Ps (or Beolink Passives) with passive speakers (either Beovox or non-B&O alternatives) is often overlooked in B&O setups.  It can bring some great advantages, not least the ability to site a speaker without worrying about mains power, and only having to hide a relatively thin two-core speaker cable.  It's also an ideal solution for safety reasons in bathrooms or outdoor setups.  Beolink Passives can also be purchased relatively cheaply, usually from systems that have been stripped out.

Hmmmm so a while after my post and I finally got around to setting up the Beovox 3000s with an MCL2P. No joy. The amp doesn't switch on when Speakers 5 is selected on the BV. Back to the drawing board. (The Powerlink lead I'm using is fully wired and was used on my Penta previously.)

I'm not familiar with the MCL2P, but most link products have to be set to the correct option. This may be your issue. May be worth trying the various options to see if any work. Use L.OPT. Stoobie

MCL2P is not a link product! It is ‘just’ an amplifier!! @pepps Did you configure the BV7 to use the PL output (where the 2P is connected) as rear/surround speaker? MM    

Do you have any front speakers (L/R) connected? MM