Mr10Percent:

I have collected only two pieces of vintage B&O; A mint Beocenter 9500 - the stuff of my schoolboy dreams and a mint Beogram 8002.

Having played with the 9500, I somehow despite my nostalgia prefer (dare I say it) the Beocenter 2.  I for one think the new machines (some of them) are actually better than the old stuff.  

I would like a mint Beosystem 8000 (hint; this months 3^rd prize draw) but the ones I have seen are never mint and always look dirty to me (even after cleaning). I will patiently keep looking.

I don't think I will ever get vintage loudspeakers as the new gear is way beyond what ever was available back 20 years ago.

Other than that, that is me as far as buying vintage B&O goes. My third prize Beogram 2402 however be cherished and loved for what it is - a pristine museum piece.

 

10%

 

Interesting - if I am being honest, I prefer the 9500 to the BC2 - though I kept the BC2 simply because it now works better with my present set up. As a stand alone though - no contest! I do have a relatively early BC2 though with no audio feedback from the buttons. 

On speakers - I am also not so sure! I don't have BL5s - yet! - but I reckon some of my vintage speakers from the uniphase era can give my modern speakers including BL3s a pretty good run for their money! They take up a lot more space though!!

soundproof:

What's a fair price for a pair of Beolab 3000 flat-panel speakers? Been thinking of acquiring them ...

I have a Beolab/Beomaster 5000, a Beogram 4000, and a Beosystem 6500 -- all in excellent condition.
Been mulling whether I should get the "proper" speakers for the 5000s - will mull some more. Was very close to getting two Continental DM70 speakers instead, but decided that if I do go the vintage route I should go with the Beovox 5000/2500 combination. Still looking!

The Beogram I use almost every day. Wonderful deck - found it through dba.dk, and drove down to pick it up. Put a new stylus in it, though the older one was working - got the stylus from Soundsmiths.

The Beosystem 6500 was one of those "can't believe it!" stories. Found it through Lauritz.com, fair price and as I wanted one to combine with a BeoVision 8 I went for it. Won the bid, and when I drove down for the pickup I couldn't believe my luck - whatever dents or scratches are on the complete Beosystem and MCP6500 are my doing. Perfect working order and condition, and no problems since new.

Also have a Beomaster 7000, which is in storage. Will definitely put it to good use soon. (Actually, the Beomaster 7000  came with the other 6500 units, and then I came across a mint condition 6500 Beomaster, which made it possible to put together a proper 6500).

Anyone thinking about selling a good Beogram deck should wait a bit - the vinyl market is exploding, and people are hunting for good, vintage decks. I see the quotes rising regularly.

The Beolab 3000s, what's a good price, and what should I watch out for?

I got my BL3000s for £250 some years ago from my old dealer. In honesty, consider getting the BL5000s - there is quite a bit of difference in sound quality. I prefer my 4000s to the 3000s by quite a margin.

Yes. The Bl3000s would be a vanity decision, they would fit perfectly in my office ... but I'm skeptical, both as to the old drivers, whether they have to be replaced, and to the fact that I'm spoilt with my other speakers.

Hmmm - but they would look good up on that wall!

As much as I would like a huge B&O collection, space is the problem for me. What I do try to do though is do a bit of buying and selling so at least I get to play with different pieces. Saying that though I really need to get some pieces listed on Ebay. 

 

Craig 

Wonderful thread! Since i am quite new to B&O and i have been collecting some items for maybe just for the sake of collecting and because they are available, so this is very helpful information. Be it off the topic or not (sorry!) i would also like to hear your opinions on passive speakers. Which are good, which are superb, which are classics or flagships as said before, and which are rare (what doesn't always stand for quality.)  

 

With reference to earlier comments re:- preferrence of modern speakers to vintage ones I have to say I prefer some of the older ones to some of the later ones. A couple of examples are Penta's & MC120.2's both of which I own and are far far better (IMO) than a lot of the current range and cost mere pennies in comparison. I have to admit that they do take up much more room but sonically they are superb. I am currently on the lookout for some MS150's which need work but so far the ones I've come across have been far too costly considering the amount of time & money needed to get them up to spec'.

The "S" range of speakers are amongst some of the best and easily forgotten vintage speakers (most will have foam rot to the bass drivers). A bit of TLC & some electronics nous can get these performing wonderfully for next to no outlay. The rosewood ones also just look sublime due to the high quality veneers used, something that very rarely happens these days and costs an arm and a leg when it does!

Ones to avoid - not many to be honest as many vintage Beovoxes have plenty going for them but 2 that spring to mind are X25's & X35's - truly ghastly speakers with no redeeming features whatsoever.

 

Chris.

Got to agree with Chris about the Pentas and MC120.2s - I own pairs of both and they are really great sounding when connected to a good amp. B&O produced plenty of these!

I got S80.2 and S120 (same as MC120.2) + M150 all in very good condition.

It depends on the Beomaster but you can't go wrong with any of them, They sound really great for their age and not dated in anyway. They produce tone as acurately as they can or could at the time they were build which compared to speakers of today stands to be still very good and well worth the money.

The S120 and M150 are close. S80.2 needs power but plays the same. It's better for small room use or in a second speaker pair which I'm doing with S120 bringing the Beosystem 6000 to the same sounds of a Beosystem 8000.

The Beovox S45 are also great sounding units. The only Beovox to avoid are the Beovox X series. They look great but the S45 beats them 100% in the sound department and so does the rest of the Beovox families.

The only thing that could be rare is the colour/finish option. Oak, Teak,Rosewood, White

It takes time to locate white edition. I'm biased to have my Beovox S speakers in white. Looks very stylish!

redfresnel:

Wonderful thread! Since i am quite new to B&O and i have been collecting some items for maybe just for the sake of collecting and because they are available, so this is very helpful information. Be it off the topic or not (sorry!) i would also like to hear your opinions on passive speakers. Which are good, which are superb, which are classics or flagships as said before, and which are rare (what doesn't always stand for quality.)  

 

I have the following passive speakers  which can be regarded with some affection!

M100s - top of the range in the original Uniphase range. These have the best rosewood finish of any B&O product I have come across. A bit gentler in sound than my:

MS150s - these are big! Wonderful sound with a good amplifier - BM8000, 4400 and Beolab 5000 can all drive them well. 

S45-2s - bass light ultimately but super little speakers. 

I have given away my S120s simply because they went so well with my 9500 which I also gave away - described by a B&O insider as the best balanced passive speaker B&O have made.

Just discovered the M range of passive speakers after I did my first attempt at refoaming some M75's. Very nice Bass got them connected to a BM2000 at the moment in my workshop/garage. As already said S45's are fantistic value as they sell for next to nothing, and perform very well.

 

Craig

Hi Peter,

Thought I might revive this thread . . . as its was a very interesting question, especially for me as I think my collection would have to be quite focused and considered, living on the other side of the world where preowned pieces are not readily available and considerable sums are required to get units here you need to think carefully and plan!

Well, as some of you know I have just been bitten by the collecting B&O bug so to speak...however my appreciation of the brand started back in the early 80's, when my family purchased a system, which my parents still have and use on a daily basis to this day.

For me about 5 years ago i got a BS3000 with BL 6000 speakers, an iconic system to be sure, how many copies have been made in its image? 

However, when i came to adding an additional system to my downstairs living area I decided perhaps I could get something preowned .. . well ... this sent me on a journey of discovery, along which, I found beoworld and developed the desire to own those pieces I once coveted many years ago and hence I was bitten.

And so the first I have.... a BM6000 with S 80.2 speakers, wonderful system delivering rich full sound, and looks great too, so much so I had to get a new LCD tv as my 5yr old flat screen CRT looked like a big ancient box next to it!

So what would I like to get next? Well most of the pieces I would select would be for their iconic design status or status as top of the line models.

1. BM2400.2 with S45.2 speakers for my study, what an wonderful design and so far ahead of the competition at the time.

2. BG8002 to go with the BM6000 

3. BG4004 to go with the BM 2400 (what can i say the BG4000 - MoMa)

Looking ahead and given a larger home and living areas

4. BM 8000 with MS 150 speakers- love the long horizontal lines and top of the line of course.. (my living area would need to be large enough to do this justice and give it room to stretch its legs tho!)

5. BM6000 quad - love the simplicity of this unit and the rest of the matching system, can't believe its nearly 35yrs old. 

Well that would be my wish list given the space, time and of course money. Hmmmm. . . Well of course there's always the TV's . . . .

 

 

 

Can't disagree with any of that really. I have a full 2400 system including cabinet taking up space with Lee along with a Beogram 8002! My BG4004 is sitting on the desk next to my computer, my daughter is playing her cello next to my 8000 system and the MS150s are down in Eastbourne sitting next to my BM6000 quad ! All you have really missed out is a Beolab 5000 system and a Beomaster 4400!

Got most of it too and I was thinking about a Beomaster 6000 quad today. Whatever it's a joy to have.

 

Any comments on BM3000-2? I am about to receive one soon. It's mint and cost me 100 EUR so i dared to buy it without knowing too much about it. ;)

Very nice amplifier - pre-cursor to the 4400 though fairly different electronically. It took over from the Beolab 5000/Beomaster 5000 in many ways and produced a similar package in a more elegant and smaller package. I had one I used for a while but stopped as the transformer was quite noisy in the one I had.

Indeed! I got the amp this weekend and been testing it with Beovox 3000s and achieved probably the best combination with the material i own. Very round and smooth sound. I wonder if the transformer issue is a feature, since mine keeps quite a humming too. Wouldn't except that kind of noise from a quality product, though...

It is just age. Decouple it from the table or shelf and it improves! Two squash balls cut in half work very well!

All my amps of that era have buzzed. So far my 3000, 4000 and 4400 all suffered from it! Surprisingly though, my 900 hasn't...