I just purchased a Beocord 9000 on eBay that reportedly is in like-new condition having seen extremely little usage. (Long story, unrelated to this question.)

 

I previously purchased a Beocord 8004 that was badly damaged in shipment, now fully restored and performing amazingly well. After that experience (broken glass panel and broken internal parts) I insisted that the seller agree in advance to double-box the 9000 if I “won” it.

 

This is the ONLY way to go with any B&O product. First the deck is wrapped in plastic, then placed in the B&O Styrofoam & box… and that box placed in a second one filled with proper cushioning material.

 

Owning four Beograms including a Beogram 4000, I was intrigued by the Beocord 9000, representing something of the zenith of B&O cassette design.

 

So what differences can I expect to find between the most impressive Beocord 8004 and the Beocord 9000? I read the review here on BeoWorld, but in many ways, it went over my head.

 

I look forward to your views.

 

Jeff

I have had both. The 9000 obviously has the clever CCC technology which calibrates the tape for you. This was designed at a time before the standard tape types appeared. This effectively reduced the usefulness of this feature though it is easier to use for an amateur than altering the settings on an 8004. The 9000 has three heads - one is used for the CCC - so the size of the other heads are reduced slightly in size, which is a slight disadvantage. Both decks record very well. The 9000 also has the go faster strip!

I kept my 9000 mainly for sentimental reasons - there should be an azimuth adjusting tape included with the deck - based on a TDK MA-R cassette - very cool!! 

Actually the zenith of B&O cassette design IMHO was the 70s Beocord 5000 which was the one B&O cassette deck with a B&O designed transport. Like the Beogram 4000, it seemed to be built to a stunningly high standard and featured twin capstan drive. Unfortunately, they do wear and can eat tapes! Lovely machine though and years ahead of the opposition.

The Beocord 9000 is the top machine, no doubt about that but in
my opinion and based on my experience, you will have to use
the computer calibration always and, despite it promises the world
when using cheaper tapes, you will have to stay with the better quality tapes to really enjoy the CCC.
The 9000 will also have to be extremely well set up and adjusted
to give its 100% but given that, it will beat every other cassettedeck, even most "household" open-reel decks !
The 8004 is a better deck for the general user, again in my opinion,
as it doesn't rely that heavily on CCC and its precision adjustments and most people will find
it giving better results in daily use.
If you stick to the tapes for which it has been adjusted, it
will outperform most other decks easily and would be close behind it's bigger brother.
They are both superb machines.
The Beocord 5000 (80's tower version) is another superb deck, much better than the newer 5500/6500/7000 autoreverse series.
Wonderful sound and easy to use.

Martin

I agree completely with Martin here!

Thank you Peter and Martin for your insight.

 

My Beocord 8004 was so badly damaged in shipment that UPS refunded the purchase price as well as the shipping. Any sane person would have taken the money and run. I, on the other hand making no claim to “sanity” took the money and with the help of Bill Rapp who supplied the full idler tire assembly as well as a replacement glass, restored this deck to its original condition.

 

Truthfully I didn’t expect this deck, considering the sheer amount of damage, to perform as well as it does. The sound is truly remarkable… very close to the quality of my Beogram 4002.

 

One of the counter LED’s fails to illuminate from time to time, but other than that, this deck is fairly close to original condition. Thank you Mr. Rapp!

 

I am genuinely looking forward to seeing up close and personal how the Beocord 9000 compares to my Beocord 8004.

 

Thanks again for the helpful information.

 

Jeff

Missing or intermittent LED display segments is a common problem in all Beocords, Beocenters and Beomasters of that era.
I have rebuilt displays available on exchange basis for most models. 

Martin

Martin,

 

You really are an amazing asset for B&O enthusiasts.

 

My intermittent non-working LED has “failed” only three times and each occurrence was very brief indeed. All LED’s have been operating correctly for weeks, so following my basic motto: “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it,” I will leave things alone, at least for now.

 

None the less I will keep your offer in mind should the LED finally pack it in permanently. And thank you for it!

 

Jeff