Well - it was about a year ago since my lovely trip to Veno with Peter to meet Frede and collect his freshly restored Beolab 5000 system and his beautiful Beogram 3000 (Thorens).

At the time I dropped off two Beolab 5000 systems I'd acquired - one for total restoration and one for a full check over in order to give it away as a BeoWorld Prize in a future draw.

My mandate was to have the system as original as possible - to the point where i asked for original front panels as opposed to the new and improved laser etched ones Frede has specially made.  I was told this could take some time, but i was prepared to be patient - and all good things come to those who wait they say.

A few weeks ago Frede sent me an email to say the units were ready for collection, so  I duly asked Gareth at LifeStyle AV to arrange a UPS  collection to bring them 'back to Daddy'

Luckily - i had the original 1967 transport packing for both my units - so transport would be the way it came from the factory all those years ago..

This very afternoon, i excitedly took them up to the office at LifeStyle for the 'unpacking and inspection ceremony' 

First to be unpacked is the Beomaster 5000..

Carefully wrapped in tissue paper and protective film.. there she is!  

Looking good already!

And here we are. WOW !!!

The finish of the restored wood is amazing.  The slider, front and side panels are amazing - and unit even underneath is pristine.  Speechless..

The front panel is totally original - just as i asked for.. and pristine. Couldn't have asked for better.

Now for the Beolab 5000.  This is the heavy box..

It's actually a box within a box.  The little sponge corners to 'suspend' the inner box are over 40 years old and are still doing their job

Again, wrapped carefully..

And again the lovely 'Frede's magic hands have healed this unit' labels on the underside this time..  (I don't read Danish so it could say that!)

... and finally - unveiled.

Beautiful.  The wood looks as fresh as the day it left Struer and every other part does too..  I'm delighted!

Would you just look at that.  A very special piece of hi-fi..

And here they are, together!

The obligatory 'arty shot'...  All of these photo's were taken on my iPhone4, so please excuse the quality in some cases.

Again, the attention to detail Frede shows - and the level of service, is amazing.  You get you own hardback book telling you all about the Beolab 5000 system with details of your own units and test results handwritten inside, all hand signed by Frede..

Accompanying the book is a folder with full test results for each component as well as certificates of authenticity proving these products were restored inside and out to as new or better specs.  A beautiful memento to keep with the units.

Test Results..

And finally, the man that did all this!  Frede Kristensen.

I now have two classic and very special pieces of B&O to cherish forever, which will join my pristine Beovox 5000 and Beovox 2500 cubes.  A set i'm very proud to own and my very own piece of B&O history.

Thank you to Classic Audio and Frede.  May you keep restoring as many of these as possible

Frede is a treasure. Visiting him was inspirational, and every day I'm reminded of the work he does, when I listen to my Beolab 5000/Beomaster 5000 while working.

I think you'll be very pleased with these, Lee. They look fantastic!

Looks a great job, you must be very happy Lee.

Shots of those B&O packing boxes are interesting, especially the labels that warn you to reset the voltage to 240V from the factory 230V setting. (Must be less critical than a US 110V warning....... presumably  different warning labels were stuck on according to the original export destination.) Looking under one of my old Beomasters (1001) the choices seemed to be 220, 130, 240, 110 (no 230V!)

Graham

Congratulations Lee,

Wow, your Beolab/Beomaster 5000 combo looks amazing... Soon i'll get my restored Beolab 5000 from Frede. ;-)

Best regards

9 LEE:

And again the lovely 'Frede's magic hands have healed this unit' labels on the underside this time..  (I don't read Danish so it could say that!)

Looking awesome. Really great work.

The Danish can be translated too:

Classic Audio certificates that this product does reach the standards for the classification: Classic audio product.

Certificate number: 1487, tlf: short for phone number. Ad 45 in front to reach Denmark. SE is Danish company official business registration number.

Kunde product= customer product

Registration: Nr:150

Lee,

They are absolutely beautiful.  Frede is a very rare soul in our modern world. 

Cleve