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ARCHIVED FORUM -- April 2007 to March 2012
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This is the first Archived Forum which was active between 17th April 2007 and 1st March February 2012

 

Latest post 12-27-2008 4:02 AM by Dave. 24 replies.
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  • 12-24-2008 1:10 PM

    • ducha
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    Beomaster 6500 vs. M100 speakers

    Hello everyone,

    I am seriously considering purchasing a pair of professionally rebuilt M100 speakers. They would be used with my Beosystem 6500. Is a Beomaster 6500 capable of extracting the full potential out of these 5-way speakers?

    Thanks,

    Aaron

  • 12-24-2008 1:29 PM In reply to

    Re: Beomaster 6500 vs. M100 speakers

    Hello Aaron

    I think the answer is not really. Of all the B&O amps, probably the Beomaster/Beolab 5000 combo from the late 1960s, the Beomaster 4000 and 4400 from the 1970s, and the Beomaster 6000 or 8000 from the 1980s would be best to handle these speakers. Peter uses a Beomaster 4000 with his M100s I think, and I'm sure would be able to offer some advice. The 4400 was the contemporaneous amp for the speakers when in production I think.

    The amp in the 6500 is not in the same class as those listed above IMO. 

    President, Beomaster 8000 Appreciation Society

  • 12-24-2008 3:31 PM In reply to

    Re: Beomaster 6500 vs. M100 speakers

    I actually use a Beomaster 8000 with my M100s at present. Wonderful speakers. I have used a Beomaster 7000 to drive them though and they are still fine. I'll pull down either the 7000 or a 5500 sometime this weekend and give it a try - I'll report back!
  • 12-24-2008 3:33 PM In reply to

    Re: Beomaster 6500 vs. M100 speakers

    Having said that, I agree with John that the 6500/7000 is not as good as the 4400 etc.
  • 12-24-2008 3:54 PM In reply to

    • ducha
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    Re: Beomaster 6500 vs. M100 speakers

    I do have a Beomaster 8000, but it is not working at present. I don't know if its worth putting the money into to having it serviced, so for now, my user system is the 6500. If you don't think the 6500 will properly drive the M100s, then I guess I will regretfully pass on the purchase.

    Thank you,

    Aaron 

  • 12-24-2008 4:01 PM In reply to

    Re: Beomaster 6500 vs. M100 speakers

    ducha:

    I do have a Beomaster 8000, but it is not working at present. I don't know if its worth putting the money into to having it serviced, so for now, my user system is the 6500. If you don't think the 6500 will properly drive the M100s, then I guess I will regretfully pass on the purchase.

    Thank you,

    Aaron 

    I have a BM8000 that I use with some Beovox Pentas. It's definitely worth having it serviced - this is a wonderful amplifier :) 

    President, Beomaster 8000 Appreciation Society

  • 12-24-2008 4:46 PM In reply to

    Re: Beomaster 6500 vs. M100 speakers

    It will work fine and M100s are really worth getting. Beautifully made - the rosewood is simply glorious! Nothing wrong with the 6500 - it is derived at least in part from the Beocenter 7000 and this had a very good amplifier.
  • 12-25-2008 2:44 AM In reply to

    • Xseries
    • Top 150 Contributor
    • Joined on 04-16-2007
    • Hampshire
    • Posts 433
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    Re: Beomaster 6500 and M100 speakers

    Go for them!  I sometimes feel people become too hung up about figures and power output.

    I used to use a Beomaster 900 with a pair of Beovox 3800 until I bought a Beomaster 4000 to replace it.  The output of the 900 is just 6 watts per channel but "drove the speakers" quite well.  Although the 60 watts of the Beomaster 4000 appears 10 times as much, as power is a logarithmic scale it is in fact only double the 6 watts.  The marginal difference between 55 ouput and 100 "max input" is therfore not so great.  The speaker rating is the recommended long term power input not the minimum that the amplifier must produce to connect to them!

    Brian 

  • 12-25-2008 3:52 AM In reply to

    Re: Beomaster 6500 and M100 speakers

    Agree - at normal listening, you will be lucky to get to 10W! The benefits of a really good amplifier is the ability to deal with the dynamics of the music and peak power and it is here that the 4400 and 8000 excel. However the 6500 has other advantages so just enjoy the music.
  • 12-25-2008 9:17 PM In reply to

    • ducha
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    Re: Beomaster 6500 and M100 speakers

    Thank you all for your responses. I was able to experience the M100s at a custom audio shop which specializes in building high end speakers. I was able to listen to the M100s and then to a pair of $25,000 US custom built speakers. I thought the M100s sounded as good, if not better than the custom speakers. Needless to say, I was impressed! Their price is a bit more than what I would expect to pay, but they have been professionally rebuilt and even upgraded with 15 year old Vifa tweeters from Denmark. When I factor in that they seem to be fairly rare, I think they would be the ultimate B&O speaker for a reasonable price. If I can ever get my Beomaster 8000 working, they would be the perfect match to it.

    Happy holidays!

    Aaron

  • 12-25-2008 10:23 PM In reply to

    • Dave
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    Re: Beomaster 6500 and M100 speakers

    Oh wow a pair of M100 with BM8000 would be nice, it would look great. Can't imagine what the sound would be like... This is when we wish we could jump into a time machine and see these brand new...

    Can i ask how much you've spent on these speakers to date? It may very well be worth spending the money to restore the BM8000 

    “Quality is never an accident; it is always the result of intelligent effort.”

    Your health and well-being comes first and fore-most.

     

     

  • 12-26-2008 4:50 AM In reply to

    Re: Beomaster 6500 and M100 speakers

    They are probably my favourite B&O speaker - certainly the favourite ones I own! Better looking than MS150s and don't shriek in the same way at high volumes, lots and lots of bass - much much better than Pentas and more controlled than the Beolab 2  for music. And the build quality is simply fantastic.

  • 12-26-2008 5:34 AM In reply to

    • Dave
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    Re: Beomaster 6500 and M100 speakers

    They sound like they are to die for  Smile

    “Quality is never an accident; it is always the result of intelligent effort.”

    Your health and well-being comes first and fore-most.

     

     

  • 12-26-2008 6:05 AM In reply to

    Re: Beomaster 6500 and M100 speakers

    I must confess that I had never realised just how good they were until another Beoworld member came around to listen to 3800s. We compared a whole range of speakers and used a 5500 as an amplifier. The detail on the bass through M100s was streets ahead of all the other speakers - the instruments were clear instead of just thudding. I am sure Beolab 5s are better but it was a similar feeling when listening to them - effortless and you could listen louder. I didn't have the MS150s around for the test so need to have another go with them.
  • 12-26-2008 7:25 AM In reply to

    • Dave
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    • Brisbane, Australia
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    Re: Beomaster 6500 and M100 speakers

    I want these so much. I'm guessing it would be really tough to find a pair, especially in this country. Ho hum :( I will be keeping my eyes peeled until a pair appears some day!

    “Quality is never an accident; it is always the result of intelligent effort.”

    Your health and well-being comes first and fore-most.

     

     

  • 12-26-2008 8:07 AM In reply to

    • Dave
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    • Joined on 04-17-2007
    • Brisbane, Australia
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    Re: Beomaster 6500 vs. M100 speakers

    ducha:

    I do have a Beomaster 8000, but it is not working at present. I don't know if its worth putting the money into to having it serviced, so for now, my user system is the 6500. If you don't think the 6500 will properly drive the M100s, then I guess I will regretfully pass on the purchase.

    Thank you,

    Aaron 

    Have you seen this page?  

    “Quality is never an accident; it is always the result of intelligent effort.”

    Your health and well-being comes first and fore-most.

     

     

  • 12-26-2008 11:17 AM In reply to

    • ducha
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    Re: Beomaster 6500 vs. M100 speakers

    I have not purchased the M100 speakers yet. I didn't want to invest in them until I was certain that they would perform well with my 6500. The shop that I found them in wants $750 US. They have been completely gone through and include original stands, both in great condition. I know that these are fairly rare (at least in the states), but wasn't sure if this was a fair price for them. The audio shop took them in trade from the original owner. The only thing about them I'm questioning is that the stands do not have the model name embossed on them. Also, the grills are held in place with velcro. Could these details be original to the speakers?????

    Thanks Dave for the link for opening the BM 8000!

    Aaron

  • 12-26-2008 12:11 PM In reply to

    Re: Beomaster 6500 vs. M100 speakers

    The stands could have been sprayed. The clips holding the fronts on will have broken - velcro will be an addition. $750 seems quite expensive but there are not that many around.
  • 12-26-2008 12:41 PM In reply to

    • ducha
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    Re: Beomaster 6500 vs. M100 speakers

    I thought too that the price sounded high, but the fact that they've been professionally rebuilt and that there are so few of them around has me thinking twice. Being able to pick them up locally versus paying for shipping is also a factor. I'm quite sure I will never come across another pair of these in my area and certainly not professioanlly rebuilt!
  • 12-26-2008 1:09 PM In reply to

    Re: Beomaster 6500 vs. M100 speakers

    just my .02 cents...

    that price does seem high... you are approaching beolab 3000/4500/5000 territory.

    of course, if you wanted to stay w/ passives, you could probably pick up a couple pair(s) of other types for that $$$... s55 / s60 / mc120.2 etc... hmmm... i wonder if anyone has any available??? w/ stands! 

    • B&o bottle opener
  • 12-26-2008 1:23 PM In reply to

    Re: Beomaster 6500 vs. M100 speakers

    Not sure professionally restored cuts a huge amount of ice with me. I would rather have a dedicated amateur do it! I would not pay that - they are sonically well worth it though - as I paid about £175 for mine which seems about the price for a reasonable pair. They needed new capacitors and the phase link units reconing but were in beautiful condition. 

  • 12-26-2008 1:43 PM In reply to

    Re: Beomaster 6500 vs. M100 speakers

    Peter :

    Not sure professionally restored cuts a huge amount of ice with me. I would rather have a dedicated amateur do it! I would not pay that - they are sonically well worth it though - as I paid about £175 for mine which seems about the price for a reasonable pair. They needed new capacitors and the phase link units reconing but were in beautiful condition. 

    I am with Peter on this one. Exactly what does "professionally restored" mean?? It could mean all manner of things but will definitely mean that they did it to make money and probably cut corners where they could. Another thing that occurred to me is why were they "upgraded" in the tweeter department. What was wrong with the original tweeters? Could they not get original replacements from a donor pair?

    Seems very expensive to me especially as it is only recently, with all the discussions on the forum, that the prices for 100's and 150's has shot up. 12 months ago nobody wanted the bloody things!!

    Regards Graham

  • 12-26-2008 1:53 PM In reply to

    Re: Beomaster 6500 vs. M100 speakers

    Not sure the UK market is so strong! MS150s and M100s are big enough to live in - well almost! Hence they don't fit in most UK homes - at least as far as any sensible woman is concerned! I think the market in the US has always been a little stronger but $750 for speakers that are not in original condition and are 30 years old is a bit much. I thgink Graham and I are as one on this one - walk on by. B&O speakers are like buses - there will be another one along any time. I also can't see these moving any time soon! There is a recession on you know!
  • 12-26-2008 2:32 PM In reply to

    • ducha
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    Re: Beomaster 6500 vs. M100 speakers

    Thanks for all the advice and talking me off the ledge! I think I'll sit tight for a while and see how badly they want to get rid of them.

    Thanks,

    Aaron

  • 12-27-2008 4:02 AM In reply to

    • Dave
    • Top 50 Contributor
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    • Brisbane, Australia
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    Re: Beomaster 6500 vs. M100 speakers

    This reminds me of when i wanted to buy a Mercedes 450sel 1973... fell in love but price was unreasonable and it needed work - so one uses ones brain and lets it go until a great example comes along.

    “Quality is never an accident; it is always the result of intelligent effort.”

    Your health and well-being comes first and fore-most.

     

     

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