He's being sarcastic - i.e. we should water down the booze we must be drinking. 'Hic..

Just looked at mine. It does seem to be missing the cover screw in the back. But B&O modified the backs with that cut so that the cables would be easier to attach.

If it's missing the stylus, Soundsmith can't rebuild it. They sell a comparable model - the SMMC-2 for $529.

What happened, did the Czech Republic become too expensive? They're being penny-wise, to appeal to the stockholders, and pound-foolish. It will alienate potential customers - e.g. me. High cost does not mate well with low wage. Where next, Vietnam? Will the last person leaving Struer please turn out the lights?

I believe it has a DIN connector, since it was designed to operate by remote control as part of a Beosystem 5000. Go for the DIN --> RCA adapter such as this.

Yes, it's fully wired and visibly thicker. Here's a summary of the three types.

No, but I'll bet it makes its own grooves.

For those who missed them the first time, they're baack..

No - you can't completely remove them. They should be dangling however - completely loose. Just keep turning all three screws counter-clockwise. This will have the effect of raising the platter since it lets the suspension springs 'take over'. If the record is scraping the deck either the record is warped or you'll need to make further

When I owned a BM5500 I used it to drive a pair of PSB Stratus Mini's. Sounded fantastic.