It's a tough topic, this thread, since the sound is dictated by the speakers and the room acoustics. And I have heard units that play wonderfully in one room that fall flat in another - something about the room was just right for the power and performance of that particular unit (or wrong).

I haven't had a chance to listen thoroughly to a BM4400. Looking for a good one as Peter's unreserved judgment on its abilities is enough for me.

My BM7000 performs  well through a pair of Dynaudio Focus 140 speakers. The speakers are just right for the room they are in and that helps a lot, I think. I regret my years listening to RL speakers from a BM5500 - chiefly because an acquaintance back then brought a pair of better speakers to my flat, connected them, and blew the RLs away, with my BM5500.

But my recently refurbished Beolab 5000 performs better than the BM7000. I am, however, suspecting that the latter would improve if it got a similar refurbishment. Well over 200 different electronics components, from the power unit on down to small capacitors, were replaced in my Beolab 5000/Beomaster 5000 - and the measurements that resulted are spot on as the factory originally intended them to be.
I don't know how far off those spec's my BM7000 may have drifted with age.

I have listened to a BM8000, and was very tempted. There was a "roundness/richness" to the sound that I really liked.

Since B&O has always aimed for a natural sound reproduction I guess that's what one should listen for - and I'm very happy with what I'm hearing from the Beolab 5000, which is set dead neutral, with no extra treble, bass, loudness or whatever. That's how I like my music, and I think that plays a part when evaluating!
 

soundproof:

I have listened to a BM8000, and was very tempted. There was a "roundness/richness" to the sound that I really liked. 

You should definitely get a BM 8000 if you come across a nice unit! Mine is part of my main system in my living room and is in daily use. I absolutely love every single feature, from its massive size, weight and power output, to the lovely small details like the oil damping on the volume control (very necessary when visitors want to play with the volume, believe me).

Mind you, I am very envious of your Beolab 5000 system and am saving hard for one of the rebuilt systems like you have from Classic Audio :) 

In fact, I like it so much I have posted a picture below:

Looks beautiful.

Tomorrow I'm picking up a Beogram 4000 - think it will go very well together with the Beolab/Beomaster. 

soundproof:

Looks beautiful.

Tomorrow I'm picking up a Beogram 4000 - think it will go very well together with the Beolab/Beomaster. 

I'm sure it will - does the trim on the BG 4000 match the finish on the Beolab/Beomaster? My BG 4002 is teak and doesn't match up 100% with the BM 8000, though I kind of like the mix and match combination in my case.

The Beolab/Beomaster have black, laquered metal sides (something you don't see in  photos).

They're teak, but this Beogram 4000 is quite dark, palisanderish in the wood. (Claimed by seller and appears to be in photo - though they're supposed to be available only in Rosewood and Teak finishes according to Beocentral. Palisander would be perfect given those black side panels).

Definitely the system to have for all B&O! Or get the Beogram 3000 Thorens, like Frede! I used the 4000 with my Beolab 5000 system. The 5000 is a very lively amplifier and I preferred it to the 7000 as well.

Well, you know how to put a tear in someone's eye. Looks wonderful, doesn't it?
And at the time it was the best sound one could get for decent money.
Somehow I find that the Beogram 4000 fits better than the more authentic Thorens player (which I also understand has better bass?)

Looking forward to hearing a record through that setup at home.

j0hnbarker:

You should definitely get a BM 8000 if you come across a nice unit! Mine is part of my main system in my living room and is in daily use. I absolutely love every single feature, from its massive size, weight and power output, to the lovely small details like the oil damping on the volume control (very necessary when visitors want to play with the volume, believe me).

Mind you, I am very envious of your Beolab 5000 system and am saving hard for one of the rebuilt systems like you have from Classic Audio :) 

In fact, I like it so much I have posted a picture below:

 

I've got two (one in white, one in palisander) and I really, really love them. The palisander one is connected to a pair of mid-80s JBL's (in the L series) in my bedroom, and the white one is used with S45-2s in the kitchen. Both setups sound terrific.

The oil damping is gone in both my bm8000s..... ...dangerous!

Soundproof: regarding palisander/rosewood - could it be some kind of language problem between danish and English? In the Swedish B&O brochures, the rosewoodish finish has always been referred to as palisander. BTW, very nice to read about your setups - I love the use of great vintage equipment. Regarding your BS7000: I've hade the same thoughts (especially since my palisander bm8000 got a complete overhauld and got re-capped), I wonder how much the sound of my BS7000 would be improved if an experienced b&o technician would re-align (and maybe re-cap) it

henrik:

Soundproof: regarding palisander/rosewood - could it be some kind of language problem between danish and English? In the Swedish B&O brochures, the rosewoodish finish has always been referred to as palisander. BTW, very nice to read about your setups - I love the use of great vintage equipment.

Rosewood=Palisander. That explains it. Nice.

BM8000 in white? That's going to look modern fifty years from now. 

Actually, picking up top of the line for its time vintage equipment, as long as you don't go too far back, is an excellent bet these days. It's hard to get modern audio components capable of creating anything like the sound you get from such units, without really going overboard with your money. I've had a real education on this topic over the past few years. And the vintage units end up looking unique - easily upgradeable with stand-alone DACs and refurbishment of the electronics.

I've also been inspired by Radioraheem. He had mint units in the various rooms of his apartment, picked up for a song by people who would much rather have a compact JVC all in one tin-can with small speakers. There are some real finds out there now, as vintage high-end units are coming on the market.

soundproof:

Rosewood=Palisander. That explains it. Nice.

BM8000 in white? That's going to look modern fifty years from now. 

Actually, picking up top of the line for its time vintage equipment, as long as you don't go too far back, is an excellent bet these days. It's hard to get modern audio components capable of creating anything like the sound you get from such units, without really going overboard with your money. I've had a real education on this topic over the past few years. And the vintage units end up looking unique - easily upgradeable with stand-alone DACs and refurbishment of the electronics.

I've also been inspired by Radioraheem. He had mint units in the various rooms of his apartment, picked up for a song by people who would much rather have a compact JVC all in one tin-can with small speakers. There are some real finds out there now, as vintage high-end units are coming on the market.

I've got a full 8000 system - including the SC80-2 cabinet - in white. Although I think the bm 8000 looks its best when in palisander (I like the contrast wood-alu-glass/plastic), I must confess that a white 8000 system also looks great (but in a slightly different way).

I also like the Radioraheem idea, and today I use several old beosystems in my flat instead of having it all beolinked up. I would like to get som great non-b&o systems as well - I am quite fond of some early 80s stuff (my last "normal" hifi before going all b&o was a Luxman/Nakamichi/Yamaha combination, BTW), and I sometimes browse the vintage sections of the audiokarma forums. I wouldn't mind a Luxman c05/m05 amp combo, a Tandberg 3001 tuner (or an early Yamaha) and a hi-end (but old) Sony cd player for the summer house, for example ;-)

Peter:

My 12" one is now a trophy which Lee has!

Did you have to get past a moderator to say that?

Andy T.

henrik:

 

Actually, picking up top of the line for its time vintage equipment, as long as you don't go too far back, is an excellent bet these days. It's hard to get modern audio components capable of creating anything like the sound you get from such units, without really going overboard with your money. I've had a real education on this topic over the past few years. And the vintage units end up looking unique - easily upgradeable with stand-alone DACs and refurbishment of the electronics.

johny13:

Henrik, is it possible to post a few hi res photos of your white 8000 system ?  It would be a good opportunity for you to gloat and the rest of us to turn green with envy !!  John Y

Of course!

Unfortunately, I'm busy renovating/rebulding my flat, so my white system is almost hidden in a corner in my kitchen and is surrounded by lots of magazines and stuff, but I still managed to take some lousy snapshots from my, at the moment, really messy apartment: http://web.mac.com/henrik.lundstrom/iWeb/slask/beoworld.html

henrik:

Unfortunately, I'm busy renovating/rebulding my flat, so my white system is almost hidden in a corner in my kitchen and is surrounded by lots of magazines and stuff, but I still managed to take some lousy snapshots from my, at the moment, really messy apartment: http://web.mac.com/henrik.lundstrom/iWeb/slask/beoworld.html

Henrik

Your white Beosystem 8000 is beautiful. I have never seen one in the UK, or else I would have snapped it up. Are these more common in Scandanavia? Also, did B&O make white MS150.2s?!

John