Gentlemen,
(wonder if there are any women at all on this site?)

I bought a Beogram 3300 about 10 years ago but have used it very little. It is in very good shape and has a MMC2 cartridge and when I bought it, it was as good as new. However, I found the sound a little "thin". I have a "no-name" RIAA amplifier to connect it to my BS2300 that was recommended and sold by my local B&O dealer.

Just recently I got a Beogram 9000 that was sold together with a BC9000 and BL5000 (it was the speakers I was after..) so I sold the BG9000, with the cartridge from my BG3300 as the MMC4 fitted on it was not working properly and I have no use for two record decks. I got payed surprisingly well also! :-) I decided to keep my BG3300 since I like the design better.

So, my questions:

1. Mechanically and soundwise, are the BG3300, BG5000, BG9000 more or less the same record decks but in different designs?

2. Which would you recommend: an original, never used MMC2 or MMC4 in its original package or a new made one from Soundsmith?

3. Im thinking about really give my LP collection a record deck it deserves. What is the absolutely best record deck B&O has made?

Thanks for any input!

/Peter

All the later tangential decks are the same apart from the fact that some have a built in RIAA. The only other material difference is the cartridge. They therefore all sound the same.

From a cartridge point of view, I personally would have a rebuilt cartridge from Axel with a Shibata tip. Soundsmith cartridges are much brighter which may however be to your taste - I personally find them fatiguing to listen to.

The best turntable made by B&O is the Beogram 4000 - nice heavy platter and beautifully made. An argument can be made for the 8000/8002 but this is less well made but has a very accurate drive system.

The best turntable branded B&O is the Beogram 3000 Thorens which has a more extended bass that any of the other Beograms.

Thanks for the quick reply, Peter!

I really like the design of the BG 4000/4002/4004, but they are also getting very old..and it says in the description that the 02/04 are remote controllable. Would that work in combination with a BS2300 and BEO4? I assume its only with the older standard it works?

Seems I might aswell keep the BG3300 and invest in a good cartridge instead I saw on the shallplattennadeln.de website that there is a significant price difference between MMC2 and MMC4, is it that more "bang for the bucks"? 

Thanks,

/Peter

Peter:

Mechanically and soundwise, are the BG3300, BG5000, BG9000 more or less the same record decks but in different designs?

You mention the BG5000 which is a radial arm deck and many would say that it sounds superior to the tangential decks of the stacking system variants (5500, 6500 & 7000). (The tangential deck variant of the BS5000 was the BG5005).