I recently bought a Beocenter 9500. Everything "worked". However, things could be a lot better as the sound quality, in my opinion, was way short of what it could be. The sound was quite flat and lifeless when compared to my modded BM7000. So the Beocenter has become my latest upgrade project.

In essence I’ve done a capacitor and opamp upgrade. Here is what I’ve done to date:

Inside the Beocenter 9500 after upgrade.

1- Preamp/Source Select; Signal path caps replaced with WIMA (red caps). All other electrolytics replaced with Nichicon PW. Replaced LF353 opamp with OPA2134

2- Preamp/ Tone control; Signal path caps replaced with WIMA. All other electrolytics replaced with Nichicon PW. Replaced the two 4558 opamps with OPA2134

3- Amp/PSU; Signal path caps replaced with WIMA. All other electrolytics replaced with Nichicon PW.

4- CD Decoder; Replaced all caps with Nichicon PW except for C2366 and C2367, these were replaced with Nichicon Muse KZ

5- CD Servo; C2159 replaced with WIMA , C2103 with 47uF Vishay BC axial (in a white plastic case as opposed to the blue metal can; All other electrolytics replaced with Nichicon PW.

6- CPU/IR; All electrolytics replaced with Nichicon PW.

Can now report that the sound quality is much improved, particularly in the higher frequencies which are much clearer, detailed and have a "sparkle" to them.

I’ve yet to replace the following large snap-in style caps on board 62 in the PSU section:

C5 & C6 – 6800uF

C12 – 2200uF

C17 – 10000uF

I haven’t found any suitable replacements for these. Physical size and pin configuration is important here due to space restrictions and the plastic that clamps around the caps when mounted. Anyone replaced these caps?

At this stage I’ve left the tuner and tape boards as they are.

Also replaced were the three belts in the tape head unit and the two driving the tape/ CD covers.

I’ve also remounted the two top glass panels as the original double sided tape had failed. There has been much discussion on this forum on whether to use tape or glue (see this thread http://forum.beoworld.org/forums/t/37232.aspx). In the end I opted for glue. Main reason for this was I didn’t want the glass to stick up too high above from the edge of the frame due to the thickness of the tape.

Interesting project but; shouldn't this thread be more in place in the "workbench" section?

(*** edited by mika: yes, I agree and thus I moved it.)

MartinM:

Can now report that the sound quality is much improved, particularly in the higher frequencies which are much clearer, detailed and have a "sparkle" to them.

"much improved"????????

Are you sure? Or are you not falling for the trend of replacing capacitors for no good reason other than sound modification.

If you want the typical Far Eastern "tinkle tinkle" sound then buy a Far Eastern amplifier. If you want the American bass heavy sound then buy an American amplifier.

The typical B&O sound is smooth, mellow and easy to listen to, from brand new. I bought the first Beocenter 9000 when they arrived in the UK in 1986 and I had a new Beomaster 1900 before that.  In my current situation, I have had 100 or so 9500's and 9300's and the like through my hands and I listen to them all. Their sound type/quality, call it what you will, has not changed over all those years!

The majority of those components that you changed are not being used in stressed situations, will not have deteriorated and I am convinced  are still within original spec. They are being changed for changes sake and the result will be modification of the sound type away from that which was designed, rather than any real "improvement".

I was just trying to convey that there is, without question, more detail to the music than there was prior to the upgrade. To me that is a good thing. As always,what sounds good is very subjective from one person to another. The use of WIMA caps and BB opamps is nothing new and in my opinion is better quality than the components they have replaced. The resulting sound is clearer and more detailed but, still a laid back sound that does not give you listening fatigue like many modern systems.

Considering that the system is already about 18 years old, the caps will need replacement at some stage even if they are ok now. So why not replace them now while the system is disassembled and know that they will be good for years to come?