Hi everyone! 

I've been a long time admirer of B&O products from afar, but only recently have I been able to afford anything. I've recently come into the position of being able to buy a Beomaster 1700 (Tuner and amp) as well as a couple of Beovox S45's. I am planning to hook up a 3rd party vinyl turntable to the amp (until I can afford a Beogram).

Forgive my ignorance of all things technical but I was wondering if anyone can see any problems with this set up? Does it matter that the output of the Beomaster is 2x30W and the S45's are rated to 56W continuos load and 75W music load (I'm not quite sure what this means....)? Will I be able to connect a non-B&O turntable? 

Any advice/comments are welcome! Thanks in advance,

Zack 

xisforextreme:

... Does it matter that the output of the Beomaster is 2x30W and the S45's are rated to 56W continuos load and 75W music load (I'm not quite sure what this means....)? Will I be able to connect a non-B&O turntable? 

...

Hi Zack

Musical load is sort of the same as peak level, so the S45 are able to handle 56W from now till the next century, and 75W in the peaks. The Beomaster is rated 2x30W, so everything should be fine, but even though 30W is less than both 56 and 75W, the speakers can be damaged if the Beomaster runs at maximum. I'm not sure that they have overload protection (my S80 has...)

Regarding connection of a turntable, be aware that the 1700 has RIAA built in, so the turntable should not have an inbuilt RIAA. B&O's turntable are not standardized, and some have inbuilt RIAA and some does not.

Christian

Hi Zack and welcome to Beoworld.
I gather you are talking about the 1700 with the caterpillar tracks,
If so, then it has a RIAA amp built in, so when connecting a non B&O deck (Which you can certainly do), make sure you don't use one with a RIAA amp in it. That will effectively amplify the signal twice and you will just get distortion.
As for the speakers, I can't see a problem.

Do your caterpillar tracks work?

Andy T.

Far too quick for me Christian!!

beat you by accident, I had just logged on. Now I am logging off to watch a movie, so you don't have to hurry for the rest of the evening.

Wow! Thanks for such a quick and helpful reply! Yes, as far as I am aware the tracks and the tuner/amp are all functioning perfectly. I'll definitely check out my turntable to see if it has an RIAA built in but I don't think it does. It's really good to know that I should be good to go, I've been excited about this for a while now!

Any ideas as to which B&O turntable I should begin dreaming of/setting aside my meagre student budget for? 

Welcome to Beoworld. I strongly suggest you get a Beogram - a 1700 would be an ideal choice for your system obviously and is one of the best sounding and under rated decks made by B&O. As you have posted so nicely and I guess are at the younger end of the age scale, if you find the deck (cheap!) I will give you a cartridge (trickier to find!) I would aim to pay about £20 for an acceptable Beogram - less if you go to car boot sales! Let me know if you find one and wish to take me up on this offer.

Nice system by the way. It does depend a little which S45s you have - if they have the single grille and three drivers, you have some of the best small speakers that B&O ever made and with a good amplifier, these will outperform some of the modern range. 

A true gentleman, Peter, as always!

Thanks very much for the offer - I'll be sure to take you up on that if I'm lucky enough to find one!