Hello there,

I am looking for a durable and beautiful gramophone / phonograph in order to listen some of my very old LPs. Could you advise which in your opinon is the best? I suppose it should be a model where I can still buy a pin (cartridge?) for it. Can I also connect it directly to my BeoSystem 2500? It would be nice if the phonograph would fit to the BeoSystem 2500 design. Please advise!

 Regards,

 

The answer is really subjective - have you had a look at the various Beograms listed on the products pages, and if so, do you have a preference looks-wise?

The Beogram 4000 is easily the best built of the lot, and the 4002/4004/6000 derivatives are not far behind in terms of build quality. A 6000 would be a good find as it has a built in RIAA pre-amplifier that you would need (I think) if you want to connect to your system,

The more modern decks such as the 5005/9000/4500 might be a better cosmetic match, and some of these (look in the products section for the answer) have built in RIAAs too. The 5005 doesn't, but some of the others do.

My personal favourite is the Beogram 8002. I got one recently and can't stop listening to it - this is a seriously good deck! 

Thank you John for your reply. From the design I like these three models:

• Beogram 6500
• Beogram 7000
• Beogram 9000 

Can I connect these Beograms to my system? Do I need a converter or can I directly connect it to the 7-pin plug?

 

The 6500 and 7000 will fit directly. These decks are identical except for the badge! Cartridges for them are available from Soundsmith and sonically these are even better than the originals.

I agree with John as well that if it were me, I would seriously consider the Beogram 6000 which is made from better materials and is a classic of design. New cartridges for this are also available from Soundsmith. The built in RIAA/CD4 decoder is very high quality and the deck itself is easy to take apart for servicing. Unlike the later decks, there is almost no plastic used in its construction.

Thank you Peter, I also like the Beogram 5005. Does it also fit directly to BeoSound 2500? Can I check this myself on BeoWorld? Is it somewhere specified?

The cartrdiges are enourmosly expensive $200-550. Can only the pins be replaced rather than the whole cartridge? Please advise.

The 5005 will need a RIAA - Lifestyle AV do sell these. See here. By far the easiest decks to use will be the 4500, 6500 and 7000. (Or the afore mentioned 6000).

Unfortunately the cartridges are integrated units so it is not possible to replace just the stylus.  The SMMC4 is very good value for what you get.

Thank you all for your help. I will look for the decks you have mentioned above!

Cheers!

One more question: do you know which of the B&O phonograps can be hanged on the wall?

Best wishes

That's easy: none! They will all have to stay horizontal. You can of course put them on a shelf, and B&O themselves made those for some of the models which belonged to otherwise "wall ready" (so to speak) systems, like Beosystem 4500.

Thanks, I thought so. But when I saw a hanging Beogram in MOMA New York I got confused. Thanks!