Hi folks,

I have a near complete 8000 series (Beomaster, cord, gram, remote, vox, owners handbook, schematics etc)

 I do not have the cabinet or speaker stands.
 

 I had hoped, for historical purposes, to keep the system complete, and one day in the future, be nice to see it in a hifi or design museum - these seem to me to be iconic pieces, classics, and i doubt there are few complete examples bought as a package like this.  Anyway, the amp recently stopped working recently, and needed a little attention anyway, and the condition is not "mint", so that dream is fading into the background..

I'm not sure which of the following is the better option....

 Repair/renovate. Is this going to cost big big bucks? Even opening the Beomaster cabinet seems daunting. Does anyone know anyone in the NW UK who repairs old B&O gear?

More likely, sell. Now I'm not sure whether to list as a complete system needing some attention, or as individual components

 Nor whether to advertise here, or 'auction' off on ebvay..

 Any thoughts???

 Can anyone give advice on the approx value?  

 

 

Best Regards,

Paul
 

 

 

 

Tricky one. The Beomaster will need to have capacitors and variable resistors replaced and there are a lot! However a working one is worth more than a bust one. However when you say not mint, it does rather depend on condition. B&O sells on condition and a scruffy working piece will never reach that good a price. The Beocords are almost worthless now - ridiculous really - though the Beogram is still sought after if it works. I take it that it has a MMC20CL cartridge.

Impossible to give a value really without seeing it. I got a full 8000 system - including BG8002, BC9000, BM8000, MS150s and stand  for £600 a number of years ago but I wouldn't expect to pay that much now. And apart from the speakers needing refoaming, it was mint.

I guess it depends on whether you want to make an investment in the system to bring it up to scratch, or whether you'd rather let it go to to either as a job lot or as separate pieces. If I were you I'd keep the lot (I've got a BM 8000 and it's my favourite piece of B&O), but the full system is massive and you'll need somewhere to house it comfortably.

If you sell it as separate pieces on eBay you'll probably get a good price for the Beogram and Beomaster as Peter says. If you want to fix the BM I don't know anyone in the NW, but Tim Jarman apparently worked on my BM 8000 before I bought it, so he might be a good person to contact (you can reach him via the Beocentral website at: www.beocentral.com). He does live in Farnborough though, so shipping the BM (how heavy are 8000s!?) might be a problem!

I have almost the same trouble with a Beosystem 6000.

So far its a white edition Beomaster 6000, Beogram 6006 and a Beocord 6000.

In non working condition those units are not worth much. However once they are up and running and the system is complete they can make the money back in the long run.

I got the Beocord running but the other 2 needs service (Beomaster dead, Beogram slight service) so Dillen is the guy I'm going to use. Still I'm in the west and have to pack them safely for the transport east.

It's best to fix it as you get the most out of it. The trouble with these units for the Beosystem 6000/8000 is the age and needs of a qualified service. Qualified service is gold but it can be found. Of course other systems applies too but those are the ones I got most experience with in terms of trouble.

There is one big advance in doing the repairs. It's a major selling point if you decide to. As the value of a Beosystem 8000 goes slowly down find the break even point.

Thanks for the responses. I'm a little unsure how to proceed, but I'm not rich so I guess it boils down to cost. I didn't really use the tape or vinyl much (yes MM cart), so after I've copied my old material they may aswell go.

I'm a little surprised at how little these pieces fetch, as I still find the design, interface, and innovative technolgy (*even by todays standards.. I mean, how many amps crossfade between inputs, or 'lock on' to FM signals?) attractive.. and considering the new cost.. well I guess accounting for inflation it would be about £10k for the lot new, today. Cripes!

The amp has had a few knocks, mostly out of sight (eg under flap and rear of heatsink), but I guess that means the intrinsic value isn't great, Problems accumulated in the past few months.. initially parts of the numerals didn't dispay correctly (i see this is a common fault), then the volume and frequency controls stopped responding, and just now it refuses to power up properly and shuts down automatically after a few seconds. I can actually use the amp despite the former two faults, as its my second systsem running off a PC with volume control, so perhaps if there's a simple fix for the shutting down...are there any fuses I can check or anything? I dunno.. if the value is negligible I suppose I've not got a lot to lose by attempting to work on the thing myself, although I'm not a technician so I'd probably bollox it up... :-) Probably wise to give Tim a call and get a rough idea of what needs to be done.

So sad the beocords are basically worthless.. that's cassette for you I suppose! I've had some good decks in the past, high end Akai and Denons.. but I'm still stunned by the self calibration and operation (for tape) which made others seem primitive.. amazing technology for 1982!!! I have it on good authority that these decks are amongst the best ever made, approaching the Nakamichi Dragons for sound quality. When I first got the system (about 4 years ago) the beocord initially went into self oscillation a couple of times, but that was after being stored for a year or two so perhaps some old caps needed to stablize. Subsequently both the beocord and beogram worked great, very impressive for 20+ yr old kit!!

~Well thanks again, and good luck with your systems chaps!!

I will report back as and when any developments take place.

Agree with you that the value seems low for what you get. The Beolab 8000 system (which is what it was known as) was the last real audiophile Hi-Fi made by B&O till the Beolab 5. Properly restored and with the correct speakers, it is still quite a performer. It is however just too big for most people and this is why it is not worth much. The Beogram, if in good condition can sell for a bit - and if you do have a Beocord 9000, that is possibly the one cassette player that might sell - though I wouldn't be too hopeful!

And that is why old B&O is more for the enjoyment than the money as a full system like the Beolab 8000 will mostly just break even if its complete and working 100%.

In that case you got the best offer for either selling or your own enjoyment. When the system is working it will stay that way for years to come and who knows what the used marked for the system will be. All you can do is stand behind it as great functional piece and that's a great feeling no matter what you do with it.