Hello everyone,

as I am very new to the whole Hifi Equipment thing in general and B&O in particular, I ve got to ask a few (probably dumb) questions. Please excuse.

I am quite interested in getting a 901 as I really like the design. I am a design collector so looks do come first for me, even though we are speaking about music equipment. I also got most of my music stored as mp3's on my hard drive, with fairly high compression rates though.

 My questions are now:

- Would it be possible to hook up my computer's soundcard to the 901?

- The 20W sound a bit meager to me. Is it still capable to put out some volume? Would it be possible to come close to "party levels" with it without damaging the unit? 

- What would be good speakers to go with it? I want 2 compact speakers. Doesn't have to be B&O, doesn't have to be too pricey. What I want is a versatile, dynamic sound and power. Oh, and good design maybe.

- Last but not least, are all the control elements on the front (sliders, buttons) made from aluminium?

 
Sorry guys, this thread must probably be a slap in the face to some of you. I hope you will talk to me anyhow.

Cheers,

Martin
 

The 901 is a nice device but have a look at the Beomaster 3000 ,4000 and 4400 as well. Not a dissimilar design and a lot more usable power and in the case of the 4400 one of the best amplifiers B&O made. Also consider the 1500 which is like the 4400, a more modern design of amplifier than the 901.

You can certainly attach any of these to your computer - I use a 5500 personally - and for any of these amplifiers, I would consider something like the S75 as a speaker that would be good for parties (plenty of bass) but good looking and cheap! RL 60.2 speakers are another possibility but probably more expensive. 

Thank you for your quick reply, Peter.

The thing with your suggestions is, that I don't really like the design with all the switches at the bottom, lights, etc. The 901 with its simpleness just looks way smarter. But I'll keep them in mind.

Lets get back to the 901 for a moment:

- Can I connect the 901 to my computer? I am not quite sure if your answer was just reffering to the models you suggested or to the 901 as well.

- How usable is the 901's power then? How loud can it get? Is it somewhat limited (speaking of parties, etc.)?

- Since its power output is 20W RMS, I would need to hook up 20W-Speakers to it, right? If yes, what would be your suggestion in this range?

- Would it be a hard time and expensive to get rather simple problems with the 901 fixed? I would assume, since it is as old as it is and not feature-loaded like something, it shouldn't be a too complex machine to deal with.   

Thank you very much for you time!

Martin
 

I don't know the 901 very well but I can answer - Yes it will connect to your computer via a jack/5 pin Din adaptor lead, simply plug it into the tape input socket.

I know the power output rating can be misleading though as B&O changed the way they did this some time back (1980's?). I would imagine it would be quite good but as far as "party music" goes I'm not at all qualified to answer. The Beomaster 5000 is also very good and has lots more inputs than the 901 and has manual controls or can be controlled remotely with the terminal 5000 or MCP 5000 the latter probably not what you would want due to its size and only really neccassary for programming.

Chris.

Thanks, lausvi.

I am still bothered by the speaker selection for a 901 though.

I was once told, that the speakers RMS wattage should be around 70-100% of the amps RMS wattage. This way, the amp is being able to theoretically deliver more than the speaker could take. This allows you to max out the speakers (party) while the amp is still only working at 75% and therefore does not distort.

Taking the S75 or even just the S45, the speakers would be way "stronger" than the amp, therefore putting out relatively low volume. This would force me to max out the amp to only even drive the speakers half the way, which in return will mean distortion and enormous strain for the amp.

 What do you think about that, guys?

Cheers, 

Martin 

zodiac:

Thanks, lausvi.

I am still bothered by the speaker selection for a 901 though.

I was once told, that the speakers RMS wattage should be around 70-100% of the amps RMS wattage. This way, the amp is being able to theoretically deliver more than the speaker could take. This allows you to max out the speakers (party) while the amp is still only working at 75% and therefore does not distort.

Taking the S75 or even just the S45, the speakers would be way "stronger" than the amp, therefore putting out relatively low volume. This would force me to max out the amp to only even drive the speakers half the way, which in return will mean distortion and enormous strain for the amp.

That's exatcly what I was thinking some months ago in another discussion here:  http://forum.beoworld.org/forums/thread/74407.aspx

As I was told in that discussion the S75's are relatively sensitive so it wont need too much power to drive them. The risk would be at the loudest levels of the volume scale but it would be audible before it would blow something up. But as I said, I have never had any troubles with the volume and I have never needed to exceed the volume of 7 in the scale of 0-12 of the amp (except with the weakest signal inputs).

I guess the S45's would be better choice for BM901 rather than the S75's as the S75's are very large and they might seem to be "oversized" for the small 901 (not only by size but by the power ratings too). Only a matter of outlook, but with B&O's that's sometimes a big thing! I used the 901 and S75's but that was only because that was all I got (in B&O range) and I wanted to combinate them just because they are B&O's... :)

 If you need any details about the 901 (or the S75) or pictures of them I can send you: just ask.

I have a Beolab 1700  which is very similar internally.

Do not over-focus on  the 20 Wpc. It is more than enough for a typical living room it really isn't as much of an issue as you think it will be.   I  have used mine with Beovox S30's and Beovox S45-2's, and have never had to turn it above half way, even when listening to loud music.

When I was in my teens  my father had a Beomaster 1100 (Very similar amp) and Beovox S30's which we used successfully for parties on several occasions!

 Simon

Hey,

thanks again for all the replies. I am feeling really confident about the device now.

There are just two more question left:

- Roughly, how much is a pair of S75ers in good shape worth today, how much do beaten ones go for? I am having a fix-price offer here and I really cant tell, if the price is appropriate.

- Did they ever come anthracite-coloured?

 
Have a good evening everyone. And a good start into the week as well.

Martin

 

S75s came in teak, rosewood and aok and white as special order. If you are being offered a black pair, they have been painted.

I wouldn't pay more than £100 for a really good pair of S75s - a painted pair with stands - more like £50 - as long as they work! A pair without stands sold for £36 on eBay a few days ago.

Where do you live? 

Peter, you are indeed really determined, aren't you. Awesome.

I was guessing, that the price was way too high (250 €, ~ 190 GBP). But I must say, although not being original, the anthracite colour does suit the speakers really well.

I live in Berlin, Germany.

Would it actually be possible to get the stands separately from somewhere?
 

Shame - I have some S120s looking for a good home - overseas postage from the UK is not good though!

There are plenty of speakers around - don't pay over the odds! You could get M100s for less than £200!  

Ok, I dont wanna start the power rating thing again. But would 120s not be really be a bit over the top?

Shipping. It depends. It doesnt have to be too pricey. Or are you bothered about the handling?

 I do not really get this. While all the B&O system components over here are really quite affordable, B&O speakers are priced really over the top. I could probably get my hands on a decent deal with a pair of S45s. But you said, they were lacking bass in comparison to the S75s, right? 

I am actually up to asking you to give me some more tips on other B&O receiver/amplifiers. What others are there, that are minimalistic but still good looking? Doesnt have to be slider style.
 

zodiac:

I am actually up to asking you to give me some more tips on other B&O receiver/amplifiers. What others are there, that are minimalistic but still good looking? Doesnt have to be slider style.

Beomaster 2000 (the older one from the mid-70s). Still waiting for mine to arrive

It ought to sound good, as the amplifier output stage doesn't have the AC coupling caps anymore. Plenty of power, too.

The size isn't minimalistic, though. It's huge! And it's also from the era when the FM scale for some unfathomable reason ended at 104 MHz.

-mika

S120s are still easy to drive - prone to foam rot though - mine have new Peerless drivers in them. I am not keen on shipping them though - cost will be more than they are worth!

The first receiver I had was the Beomaster 2400-2 - now that is minimalist - no visible buttons at all! The 2200 sounds better and is cheaper though. This era of receiver was from when B&O under quoted power output. The 2200 officially is 40W per channel - it sounds like a lot more! If it were sold today, they would claim at least 75W a channel! The 2200 is one of the undiscovered gems of the B&O range. Practically hand made and has FM and AM bands. The 2400 only has FM.

The Beomaster 1900 is a great buy at the moment, and is a fabulous looking piece of kit. Prices in the  £20-50 range for a good one.

 
A work of warning on the speakers, some of the more powerful vintage speakers are  pretty big which may interfere with your concept of a minimalist look.  The S45-2s may be lacking in bass relative to the S75s but I wouldn't describe them as lacking in bass.

 
Don't be too disheartened by the prices on Beovox speakers. Prices vary wildly, often for no apparent reason, just be patient and jump in when you see a pair at the right price. There are loads of bargains to be had if you are prepared to wait for them to come along.

Simon
 

If you're after minimalist, you would do far worse than consider a Beomaster 6000 Qaud. It looks the business, will have no probs driving any of the speakers you have been discussing as it has much more grunt than the 901, and it also has the bonus of being one of only two Quad systems B&O produced. It's second-top of my wanted list after the Beomaster 5000/Beolab 5000 set up (which, incidentally, is also very minimalist and was in many ways the pioneer of B&O's useage of slide rule controls in the 1970s) which seems to be gathering a real follwing here on the site!

I also consider the Beomaster 8000 to be the finest receiver ever made by B&O. It is also very minimalist, with few controls visible to the user. The only drawback I suppose is the rosewood trim, which is a bit of an impediment to the design, but if you get lucky you might find one with white trim (more likely in Scandanavia, apparently). In terms of power, there's no B&O speaker this won't drive with 150w p/c, though you'll need a big space to house one. I have mine on a 1970s sideboard that I had brought over from Denmark, and it looks the business....though the sideboard is over 2m long!

Good luck with whatever you decide!

Alright, I should have probably stated in advance, that I really cannot get warm with the "controls-on-top" design of B&O.

That way, I only have the choice between 

Beomaster 901

Beomaster 1100 (where I dont like the extra dials slightly left of the middle on the upper row, and the fact, that they dropped the oldschool B&O Logo)

Beolab 5000 (rare & expensive, as far as I now)

and the Beomaster range 5000 to 7000 (but those are actually a tad boring again, but doing a good job in being really super minimal).

I just wonder, if somebody could tell me something about the sound quality of the 901. Especially in relation to high end models of the time, considering the rather cheap price of  ~ 120 Pounds.

 

zodiac:

I just wonder, if somebody could tell me something about the sound quality of the 901. Especially in relation to high end models of the time, considering the rather cheap price of  ~ 120 Pounds.

It's OK, but there's no helping that it has power amplifiers with a single-sided supply and therefore AC coupled outputs to the speakers. It wasn't quite high end quality then, and certainly isn't now. But if you like the design, go get one! I'm sure you won't be disappointed, if you just don't expect too much. It's still over 30 years old.

Probably you need to get two sets of B&O equipment, one for the looks and another for the sound. :-) 

As to the 5000-7000 Beomasters, I think they went a bit too far with the minimalism. With the exception of 5000, you can't really use them at all without a remote control... 

If you plan on listening to radio, you should note that many of the 70s receivers for some reason won't go over 104 MHz on FM. 

zodiac:

Alright, I should have probably stated in advance, that I really cannot get warm with the "controls-on-top" design of B&O.

That way, I only have the choice between 

Beomaster 901

Beomaster 1100 (where I dont like the extra dials slightly left of the middle on the upper row, and the fact, that they dropped the oldschool B&O Logo)

Beolab 5000 (rare & expensive, as far as I now)

and the Beomaster range 5000 to 7000 (but those are actually a tad boring again, but doing a good job in being really super minimal).

 

I just wonder, if somebody could tell me something about the sound quality of the 901. Especially in relation to high end models of the time, considering the rather cheap price of  ~ 120 Pounds.

 

£120! Is it gold plated! Think £20 for a 901! If you have £120, get a Beolab 5000 which should be within budget and get a piece of history. Also consider the 1500 which has a pretty similar electronic design to the 4400 and will blow the 901 away. 

Peter, you must have got something wrong there. I was talking about the original price.

Do you know, how much shipping of the S120s actually cost to Germany? Dillen told me, I should watch out for sensitivity in concern for volume efficiency. And the S120 seem to have quite a good value there. And those one do not seem to come around on German ebay too often. So I might be interested. Even when shipping is expensive.  

Well, to be honest, I am deciding between a B&O set containing the 901 and a pair of speakers or a set of Braun (top notch German audio manufacturer from the early 50ies to early 90ies and a electronics manufacturer in general, today they are known for their shavers) amp and speakers.

Both options would cost about the same, while the Braun stuff is a bit bland looking, so B&O wins the design part. But the Braun most likely will be the better amp, most likely (also considering the price of about 500 GBP in 1970, its just a different class). But the B&O speakers just look so good and the 901 would be easier to integrate into my interior design.

But nevermind. I got time to decide.

 

I ll pay for the shipping. Dont worry. Those speakers would cost me at least a 100 GBP over here.

So what would be your offer? Theoretically.