Hello everyone,

I recently found a great deal on an assortment of vintage B&O components. One of the pieces is a cosmetically near-mint Beomaster 8000. When powering it up, everything seems to function properly (except for the center LEDs). But when connected to a pair of speakers, I get no sound. Before I set up an appointment with a B&O service technician, any thoughts????

 Thanks,

Aaron

(My find included)

-Beomaster 8000, Beogram 8002, Beocord 9000, Beolab remote

-Beomaster 2400 & remote, Beogram 2404

-Beogram CD50 & remote, Beogram CDX

-Beovox CX50s, Beovox CX100s

-3 Master Control Links

-Manuals, cables, speaker cable, etc.

-All items in great cosmetic condition for $410 US!

Hi Ducha

Great news and well done, you have now got enough gear to keep you busy for the next two years!!!  I got a similar setup about three weeks ago and I have slowly been working my way through it all.  So far, the beogram and the beocord have now been returned to full working order and I have refoamed a set of M150.2 speakers.  They now sound great. 

The beomaster 8000 was a new one for me, so the first thing I did was download the user and service manuals from this site.  You will need to upgrade your membership to do that.  I then went through both thoroughly and made sure that I was setting up and operating the unit correctly.  First checked fuses and the links on the side and set speaker buttons correctly.  Connected a known working source to Tape 1 and fingers crossed.  In my case, the volume came in big time and had to be crash stopped.  Reset the start volume and everything was looking good.  I also checked the output on the headphones as they usually give me a better idea of whether the signal path is OK.  Thereafter, I experimented with the tuner and most of the fundamentals are OK there.  In your case you will need to run through all of the displays and identify the functions that appear to be in order.

If at that stage you haven't heard a note, it is probably time to open up the box and again, you will need the manual to help there.  I still have a number of small problems that I need to address on mine and will be starting on a full dismantling and refurbishing job before Christmas.  This is the part that I enjoy.

It is difficult to describe the situation in more detail but if you do all of this are still not getting results, you have an interesting job ahead.  Either do it yourself if you feel confident or get professional help.

Regards

Geoff  

Hi Geoff,

I tried a set of headphones with no luck. I also tried both speaker channels as well as the on/off switches and still nothing. Since I don't have much experience with technical repairs, nor the time because I'm a full time college student, it looks like my 8000 will be off to the nearest B&O service center.

It sounds like you really like your M150.2s. I know that the M150s are the mate to the Beosystem 8000, and I always thought it would be neat to have a complete system from a particular era. I rarely see or hear much of the M150s, and I'm wondering if you have other B&O speakers to compare the sound quality to. I started out with a pair of S45-2s and thought they sounded great until I got a pair of S75s. Any idea what the difference in sound quality might be between something like S75s and your M150s? I would love to find a pair some day to complement my system.

Thank you,

Aaron

Aaron - you will be lucky to find a good pair of MS150s for a decent price, as they are very sought after and still very capable speakers. You could try finding a pair of S120s or MC120.2s. I have a pair that I use with my Beomaster 6000, and I'm very impressed with how they perform. I personally use a pair of Beovox Pentas with my Beomaster 8000, and if you use a pair of these with your 8000, I guarantee you will not be disappointed.

One note of caution - most B&O service centres will not know what to do with a Beomaster 8000 if you present them with one. You might find it difficult to get it fixed on your side of the pond. Over here in Europe we're lucky that we have two guys who do these kind of repairs for a hobby, but I'm not sure there is anyone there I know of who can help. Perhaps one of our US-based members could suggest someone?? 

Hi John

I don't think they'd call it a hobby! 

Maybe more a passion / incurable disease / calling / sideline...whatever 

They're very good though!

Cheers

NIgel 

h1npw:

Hi John

I don't think they'd call it a hobby! 

Maybe more a passion / incurable disease / calling / sideline...whatever 

They're very good though!

Cheers

NIgel 

True - I wasn't meaning to be disrespectful - I kind of meant that it was something they did in their spare time, and as a result they must really love the brand (which they clearly do). I'll stop before I dig a deeper hole of confusion :) 

Hi Ducha

Sorry to hear that there are no sounds coming from your unit just yet.  Did you check the fuses and what indications have you got on the panel display?

Yes, I am fairly happy with the M150.2's and have been comparing them with the Beovox Pentas that I normally use with the Beomasters.  The first thing that struck me was the large soundscape and an awful lot of bass, so you can work out that I have been trying to readjust the system to reproduce a "Penta" type of sound.  Funny how we get accustomed to listening to music in a certain type of way and when you hear it presented differently, it doesn't sound quite right.  I suppose that I will never know which speakers were giving the authentic reproduction, if any!!.

Since I have not used any of the mid range speakers (I jumped from S30's to Pentas) I cannot comment on how they compare.  In the end, you just have to find a pair and measure the length of the smile on your face.  Also, when you get to my age, the audio attachments on the side of your head tend to become the controlling factor of whether things sound good or not.

Have fun with your BM8000 and I hope that it doesn't cost too much to fix.

Regards

Geoff

Hi all,

Although I'm not keen on the idea of having to send my BM 8000 to be serviced, I am encouraged by the thought that the service center I'll be sending it to was the first B&O store/service center in the U.S. (Chicago). And I've heard that their service technician is first rate. I guess time will tell....

Thanks for the replies,

Aaron

MS150s are superb speakers. They have more real bass than Pentas which actually do flatter a little with an upper bass rise rather than ultimate extension. They can take everything the Beomaster can throw at them and a bit more. I actually prefer M100s to the MS150s as in common with a lot of the late uniphase models, I find the tweeter gets a bit strident at high volumes. This is more than the Pentas as well.

They are really rather large and I also find that the finish of the wood is again not as good as the M100s which have a more open grain and quite frankly better colour. The MS150s always look as if they could be covered in vinyl to me!! This again sems to be common to the last of the uniphase models - the S45-2 and S75 were good and the S80 and 120 more like the MS150. Internal finish of the later models is also less impressive - I wonder if different cabinet makers were used.

With a well set up amplifier, any of these big speakers will shine compared to the column active speakers especially in the reproduction of bass. I still find the saying that a good big one will beat a good little one true!

 You asked about comparison to the S45-2 - the S45-2 is a great small speaker but the bass is very limited. The MS150 is very well balanced but adds the bass. In a big room, it is great. In a small room, it will be overpowering.