hello, i am new to the site and b & o so forgive my ignorance. i have recently inherited a beomaster 7000. (with cd player, tape deck & link) it has 2 cx 100 speakers and 4 cx50's. it is just not loud enough for my liking. i want to upgrade the speakers but don't want to shell out alot of money. the local b & o guy suggested the beolab 4 ($1,500) or 4000's ($2,500) would be a good upgrade, yet i have my doubts that they would suit my needs. i want to be able to crank my music loud. can anyone tell me if these speakers would do the job? if not what would be a good choice? also, anyone know how much this system would be worth if i decided to put it up for sale? thanks john

The value depends on the condition and the colour (black/black/ alu/black or white black?). They are great sounding systems. If you want to really pump up the system get the 4000s they are fantastic speakers. The beolab 4s aren't that great compared to the 4000s but still good speakers.

My advice would be to not get B&O speakers.  Part of what you spend for the speaker would be for an amplifier which is redundant since the Beomaster 7000 has a perfectly respectable amplifier built in.  Get whatever your favorite brand of speakers might be.  That's what I've done with my Beosystem 6500.

Another option would be to consider a second hand pair of Beolab Pentas.You would need to choose carefully as they can suffer from foam rot, but they would meet your needs nicely.

It's worth having a browse in the products secton here or on beocentral.com as some of the older B&O speakers may meet your needs too, eg, Red Lines or the larger members of the Uniphase range..

 

Simon

The BM7000 has a very good integrated amplifier, there is absolutly no need to buy active speakers.

A very nice combination would be Beovox Pentas or, little bit smaller, Redline 60/6000 oder the bigger Redline 140.

Especially the Redlines have a very nice sound for little money. If you install them on the ceiling, they are perfect.

Die_Bogener:

The BM7000 has a very good integrated amplifier, there is absolutly no need to buy active speakers.

A very nice combination would be Beovox Pentas or, little bit smaller, Redline 60/6000 oder the bigger Redline 140.

Especially the Redlines have a very nice sound for little money. If you install them on the ceiling, they are perfect.

I can agree with you on this, but not to my liking though : I've had a pair of Pentavoxes [after I tried a pair of Redline 140] attached to my MB7000 and they sounded fine, but that all changed when I tried a pair of Pentalabs III with my BM7000. I kept them, sold my Pentavoxes promptly and never regretted it; aspecially when playing loud.................

beologisch:

I can agree with you on this, but not to my liking though : I've had a pair of Pentavoxes [after I tried a pair of Redline 140] attached to my MB7000 and they sounded fine, but that all changed when I tried a pair of Pentalabs III with my BM7000. I kept them, sold my Pentavoxes promptly and never regretted it; aspecially when playing loud.................

Has anyone ever experimented on how much of this is due to the tiny DIN connectors and the typically really thin cable you can comfortably attach to them? I usually laugh at high-end cable voodoo, but it's easy to believe that there are audible effects when you think of the currents that flow in the passive speaker cables...

-mika
 

mediabobny:

My advice would be to not get B&O speakers.  Part of what you spend for the speaker would be for an amplifier which is redundant since the Beomaster 7000 has a perfectly respectable amplifier built in.  Get whatever your favorite brand of speakers might be.  That's what I've done with my Beosystem 6500.

Done the same here! I use Bowers & Wilkins speakers with my BeoMaster, and their new 680 series of speakers are absolutely stunningly good (and very affordable too!). They'd go with the BeoMaster 7000 fantastically. Definitely worth looking at/listening to...

As far as B&O speakers go, you could look at some of the larger BeoVoxes, such as S120s, which sound like they may suit your needs. If you want something more recent, then BeoLab 4000s would be perfect. If you're complaining that 2 pairs of CX100s won't go loud enough, then you may find yourself a little disappointed if you went for BeoLab 4s! Great in small rooms for very casual listening or with a computer, but they wouldn't cut it as 'main hifi speakers'...

Nice pair of M100s! Lots of bass and they will go as loud as the amplifier will let them. The limiting factor is the pre-amp in the 7000 which is good but not great. I would suggest that Beolab 4000s resemble a 30-40W amplifier powered speaker. Very nice though - I have a couple of pairs.

OK, to play veeeeery loud, you need Beolab Pentas III or something in the size of a BL1.

But a BM7000 and a pair of Beovox Penta is usually more than enough. Especially when modified like shown in the Workbench Workshops

There is no voodoo necessary, it works good enough. A 2.5mm2 wire, pure oxygen free copper with silver cover is more than enough for 2x110W RMS. The currents are not soooo high, the BM7000 works with +/- 40Volt in its amp, with an 8ohm speaker it's around 40/8=5A maximum current (never possible in reality...). That's not very much, even the standard plug will show no overload or any problems.

 The voodoo is to make people think that there are magical tools necessary.

Good quality parts, that's all what you need

 

tournedos:

beologisch:

I can agree with you on this, but not to my liking though : I've had a pair of Pentavoxes [after I tried a pair of Redline 140] attached to my MB7000 and they sounded fine, but that all changed when I tried a pair of Pentalabs III with my BM7000. I kept them, sold my Pentavoxes promptly and never regretted it; aspecially when playing loud.................

Has anyone ever experimented on how much of this is due to the tiny DIN connectors and the typically really thin cable you can comfortably attach to them? I usually laugh at high-end cable voodoo, but it's easy to believe that there are audible effects when you think of the currents that flow in the passive speaker cables...

-mika
 

Don't worry about it - even lowly 1.0mm2 wire has only 0.019 Ohms/metre resistance. A 2 metre speaker cable will only be 0.076 Ohms!

You could also consider adding a Beovox Cona subwoofer to any passive speakers you use.

 

Craig

Puncher:

tournedos:

beologisch:

I can agree with you on this, but not to my liking though : I've had a pair of Pentavoxes [after I tried a pair of Redline 140] attached to my MB7000 and they sounded fine, but that all changed when I tried a pair of Pentalabs III with my BM7000. I kept them, sold my Pentavoxes promptly and never regretted it; aspecially when playing loud.................

Has anyone ever experimented on how much of this is due to the tiny DIN connectors and the typically really thin cable you can comfortably attach to them? I usually laugh at high-end cable voodoo, but it's easy to believe that there are audible effects when you think of the currents that flow in the passive speaker cables...

-mika
 

Don't worry about it - even lowly 1.0mm2 wire has only 0.019 Ohms/metre resistance. A 2 metre speaker cable will only be 0.076 Ohms!

Smart4rse!!

Jandyt:

Puncher:

tournedos:

beologisch:

I can agree with you on this, but not to my liking though : I've had a pair of Pentavoxes [after I tried a pair of Redline 140] attached to my MB7000 and they sounded fine, but that all changed when I tried a pair of Pentalabs III with my BM7000. I kept them, sold my Pentavoxes promptly and never regretted it; aspecially when playing loud.................

Has anyone ever experimented on how much of this is due to the tiny DIN connectors and the typically really thin cable you can comfortably attach to them? I usually laugh at high-end cable voodoo, but it's easy to believe that there are audible effects when you think of the currents that flow in the passive speaker cables...

-mika
 

Don't worry about it - even lowly 1.0mm2 wire has only 0.019 Ohms/metre resistance. A 2 metre speaker cable will only be 0.076 Ohms!

Smart4rse!!

What's even worse is I that even knew that - I didn't have to look it up. (BICC Tri-rated wire which is dual rated as 18AWG or 1.0mm2 is actually 0.0195 ohms/Metre) - How sad's that!

Don't you think we're getting a little over-technical considering the OP only wanted to know which speakers to buy?

Again, I would recommend a bigger old pair of BeoVoxes, such as S120s or as Peter says, M100s...

Alex:

Don't you think we're getting a little over-technical considering the OP only wanted to know which speakers to buy?

Again, I would recommend a bigger old pair of BeoVoxes, such as S120s or as Peter says, M100s...

No  - I was answering a specific question (with fact rather than opinion) from tournedos who was worried that "thin" cable may compromise his speakers.

thanks for all the responses! good info. i went to the local b & o store today to drop off a blown cx100. the guy showed me the 4000's. impressive and good looking. he said they were $4,000!! must have misheard him say on the phone that they were $2,500. also looked at the subwoofer ($2,900) anyway, alex posted that he uses non b & o speakers with his system. i did not know this is possible? how do i accomplish this? do i have to splice the speaker wires? also i did not understand the technical discussion about the cables. is something i need to know? thanks john

tournedos:

Has anyone ever experimented on how much of this is due to the tiny DIN connectors and the typically really thin cable you can comfortably attach to them? I usually laugh at high-end cable voodoo, but it's easy to believe that there are audible effects when you think of the currents that flow in the passive speaker cables...

-mika
 

 

The thickness of the wire won't noticeably affect the quality of the sound, but just whether or not you can transmit massive amounts of power through it.  I work on electronics in a particle physics laboratory and on electronics for PET Scanners.  This type of equipment is far more sensitive than human ears, but the wires we use would be laughed at by audiophiles who think their fortune-costing cables make a real difference. 

Johnny, any 4 to 6 ohm speaker pair (without amps) rated at about 80 to 120 watts RMS should be fine for your needs. Connect them to the 7000 with good figure-eight wire, your B&O seller will be able to point out where the positive pin and the negative spade are in the sockets --- he/she may even wire up some leads for you.

Non-B&O brands are good too, but hear them first!!! I'd suggest to listen in a similar sized room with similar furnishings to what you have---sound bounces of smooth shiny surfaces(!!) and more bounce equals less reality. Some sellers have carpets, thick curtains and sound-deadening furniture to give the impression that loud is great. Ears are just as important as other senses --- as they go (through deafness), you'll miss them!

Just to add to what Goldfrog said, the two-pin DIN B&O adapters are found easily on ebay.  If I recall correctly, the little round pin is positive, so the red speaker wire gets connected to that.  Then the black wire gets connected to the large rectangular pin.  Connecting non-B&O speakers to the system is pretty simple.  Don't get speaker wire that's too thick though, or the ends won't fit into the 2-pin adapters.  16-gauge speaker wire should be fine for your needs.

Here, this is what you need for the non-B&O speakers:

http://cgi.ebay.com/Rare-for-Bang-Olufsen-DIN-Speaker-Adapter_W0QQitemZ290209440702QQihZ019QQcategoryZ32838QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

You can see the two little screw terminals in the plug.  You just strip the a little bit of the plastic covering from the ends of the red and black wire and insert the copper wire into the little screw terminals.  Then tighten the screws.  That's it.

 And no that technical bit going on about the speaker wires wasn't anything you need to know.