Best speaker for B2? 3.5mm jack issues!

[David Henry]

I am having some real issues with connecting my Bose soundlink via the aux jack to the b2. In short, the audio will play for awhile then stop completely requiring either a reboot of the b2, unplugging and replugging the jack on the bose or restarting the Bose. I’ve tried a Bluetooth out and stronger dongle with no joy either. In short, the frequency of interrupts makes the b2 worthless when connecting via a 3.5mm. I’ve also tried three different wires at this point. Sometimes it’ll go a hour, sometimes it won’t make it through a track.


First, is there a fix for this?

If not, then Second, before I go buying speakers for the banana jacks I am looking for best recs on the speakers. If there is a go-to configuration that works; I’ll go with that. But I am not inclined to sink another 600$ into something just to get the b2 optimized.

I appreciate the timely response from Brennan but had I known I’d be your beta tester or UAT I’d have gone another way. This is a great device when it works but when I have these audio issues it seems like it isn’t worth my stress.

[Daniel Taylor]

I think yours is a rather unusual problem.  The analog line output is one of the less problamatic things on the B2.  However, it could be a problem with the HDD or the B2's software.  First, we need to narrow things down a bit.

Can you feed that output to any other device for awhile to see if the problem still occurs with the Bose device out of the picture?  How about plugging in headphones?

If the problem persists no matter what is connected to it, that localizes the problem to the B2.  I think it's a little early to say you have a hardware malfunction that needs repair.  Let's see what other advice is forthcoming from the forum and take it from there.

[David Henry]

Hi,

So I have allowed it to play all day via the male-male 3.5mm jack but did the following:

1. I moved the unit away from my mac and echo dot

2. I am not using the Web UI

It seems that when I try to manipulate the B2 via the Web UI this is when I experience the most cut outs.

This isn't a solution. This is just a current test. i will try tonight to run it via a Sennheiser headset via the jack and see if I get similar issues.

Can the b2 be affected by proximity to other devices? Or is the Web UI causing a cut out a known issue?

[PMB]

Hi David,

It is sounding like it maybe a WiFi issue. Power off the B2 > remove the WiFi dongle > power up and try playing via the headphones. Does the B2 play OK?

Paul

Brennan Support.

[David Henry]

Hi,

So after doing, I let a pair of Sennheiser headphones play all night, and after 12 hours, it seems to still be playing. I have switched back to the Bose Soundlink to see if I can replicate this. I will test this today, but am wondering if there is something about the Bose's bluetooth v. aux jack that is the issue.

This may resolve the first question then.

The second question remains; is there a list of speakers or recommended speakers for the b2? I haven't quite found it in other questions, other than people sharing their various amp and speaker configs.

[Daniel Taylor]

Such a list of recommended speakers would be unrealistically long.  The B2 should be able to handle any 8 ohm rated speakers.  Some people have connected quite expensive speakers to their B2 and have heard good results.  But most of us use more modestly priced speaker, and are equally happy.  There are some very good low priced speakers available.  Dayton Audio, Pioneer, and Elac are names that come to mind.

[PMB]

Hi David,

Let us know how it goes with the Bose.

Speakers are such a personal choice - size, colour, price, expectation, etc - and it is hard to recommend.

Paul

Brennan Support.

[David Henry]

So, the Wi-Fi dongle? Then I lose the great web UI capability? That seems like an odd trade off, and I am not going to continue there...there has to be a better solution than using 50% of the capability.

[David Henry]

So, we are back to where we were with the Bose after the dongle test and using headphones test. I just can't believe I am the first person experiencing an issue with the Bose aux cable configuration. This isn't just the "cut in/cut out" problem in other threads--the sound drops and doesn't return after rebooting B2 nor the Bose.

It isn't personal choices--I am just looking for something that is functional.

[David Henry]

Is there a recommendation for a stronger Wi-Fi dongle then? I think this has to be the issue--I notice a lot of drops when I am teleconferencing.

[Davywhizz]

Hi David. You could look at my post of this morning about how I improved my B2 wifi strength. Depending on where in the world you are, there are various options for dongles with antennae, but Brennan recommends they include a RT5370 chipset. You need to check if the antenna will be in the right - upright - position given the B2's vertical USB slots. Amazon is a good source. This is the one I got from Amazon UK:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/WiFi-Dongle-RT5370-Chipset-Boxes/dp/B01LYUWQZQ/ref=sr_1_5?crid=V38BNE36DTVZ&dchild=1&keywords=rt5370+wifi+dongle&qid=1590589587&refinements=p_76%3A419158031&rnid=419157031&rps=1&s=computers&sprefix=Rt5370+%2Ccomputers%2C231&sr=1-5

Regardless of wifi issues, neither a 3.5mm jack cable nor Bluetooth is usually seen as ideal for sending audio signals. Connecting the B2 via optical cable to an external amplifier, or using its own internal amp to connect speakers via the banana plug sockets would, as you suggest, usually give the best results. As others have said, most 8 ohm speakers will be fine. From memory, the B2 amplifier's power is only 15 watts per channel, so the choice is vast. Check out some reviews. I believe you could do a lot worse than Brennan's own speakers designed for the B2, but have no experience of them.

[PMB]

Hi David,

If the B2 played OK without the WiFi dongle it maybe your broadband --I notice a lot of drops when I am teleconferencing-- I've noticed that the B2 isn't that tolerant of network interruptions. You could try turning on 'WiFi Watchdog' - Advanced menu.

Paul

Brennan Support.