Hi All,

I have a BeoMaster 900 rose wood radiogram which we are looking to sell since we are down sizing to a smaller house. My parents have owned it since new and its been sitting in our lounge the entire time, it appears to be in good working order although hasn't seen much use (about once every 6 months) for the last 15 years or so. I think its speakers are fine, even at a decent volume there is no sign of distortion (I haven't turned them up fully). It has a stereo FM receiver which works well as does the turntable. The only issue I can find is the long wave tuning seems to be stuck the other bands are fine.

How is best to go about selling it? My usual inclination is to stick it on ebay, but I am not sure if that's the right way to go or are there better options? Is there anything in particular I should do if I do eBay it beyond watching out for the usual eBay scams? We are based in Nottinghamshire (very near the M1) England, so its not that far from most of the country. Are there any other features/options which I need to look for to determine the exact model we have?

Any advise or suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Charlie M

Ebay will get you the widest audience so to speak.

Craig

If I can find my 1968 catalogue I could help identify the item! I do not think they go for much as they are too big for many houses and suffer from the inability to move the speakers to accommodate house design!  I suspect that is why B&O stopped making them about 3 years before they dropped the same separates used in the combination (ie the BM 900 and BG 1000).

You might almost do better selling it as a piece of rosewood furniture for use as a cocktail cabinet or similar!

Brian  

(From the catalogue) Beomaster 900 RG De Luxe and Compact

These beautifully designed sterograms are bascially similar with elegant hand crafted cabinets of teak or rosewood finish.  The compact is designed for the smaller room.  Radio amplifier section is as for the Beomaster 900 table radios and is simply adapted for stereo broadcasts.  The Beomaster (sic) 1000 turntable unit is incorporated with autochange unit to choice on De Luxe model. There are two built in pressure chamber speaker enclosures and ample space for records or tape recorder.   Output 2 x 5 Watts RMS 

Size

 De Luxe 61 1/2" x 27" x 20 1/2"

Compact 51" x 21 3/4" x 20"

...they're not that similar looks-wise I'm afraid. The Compact is about 1/3 smaller than the RG, and is much more valuable because its styling is very clean and will fit in most contemporary interiors most elegantly. The RG is a little more clumsily styled in my opinion.

I sold a fully working 900RG in rosewood that I had repolished, so was in A1 condition, for about £120 on eBay last year. The same chap who bought it also bought a Compact a few weeks before for £200+ on eBay. I think those days might have passed though, becuase for months afterwards I saw RGs being sold off from elderly people's homes with starting bids/BINs in excess of £100, that simply failed to sell unfortunately.

One just didn't sell on ebay in the SE with an opening bid of £30... wish I had a Danish Mod decorated room it would suit.

 - D

i do have a danish mod decorated room and desperately want a radiogram...

any ideas apart from ebay ?

i would prefer the compact, but woudl settle for the time being with the de luxe (in rosewood)...

i think my parents had one about 30 years ago (second hand)... how good is the turntable ?

cheers

david

Asking on here is a good start! The Beogram is usually a Beogram 1000 which is a basic manual deck. Some do come with a Garrard autochanger. Neither are brilliant to be honest as they lack the suspension of the later decks and can be a bit sensitive, especially on suspended wooden floors.

Have you thought about something like an MC40 with 2400 system - more modern looking, better performance and upgradable. Also very cheap but still classical in appearance.

If it's to specifically fit in an interior Peter, then the RG Compact is probably the ideal choice. The long, low, uninterrupted lines are absolutely timeless, and really will fit in to that kind of styling better than the RG deluxe or the 2400 system. If I had room for one, I'd have a Compact in a flash :)

Agree about the BG1000 though, but the BM900 is a suprisingly good amp combined with the speakers in the RG, so if listening to the radio is a priority then the OP won't be disappointed.

thanks peter / john

i guess i am hoping that someone here will get in touch with a compact to sell !

maybe i should pay to become a silver member and put out an ad ?

i collect records (mainly from the 50's / 60's) but also furniture so thats why it has to be a radiogram... that said, i am sure that once i start i won't be able to stop (i am already looking at lots fo other bits and pieces)... my parents had the deluxe with a garrard deck - wish i knew what i had been playing with all those years ago !

i did have a linn sondek however small children and hi-fi don't mix so it had to go... haven't played a record in over 2 years and i can't wait much longer !

there is a rosewood rg for sale at £200 out there at the moment, however from what this thread has been saying it seems i abit too much to pay...

if i do get one and its not mint... who do i see about sorting out the electrics / belt etc ?!?!?

thansk in advance

regards

david

Not much special radiogram expertise around I'm afraid - but the bits and pieces separately, i.e Beogram 1000 and Beomaster 900 are both quite common and not too hard to work on, you'll find lots of discussion on them around the forum. I'd want the original speakers to be in good condition, everything else is probably fixable - and if not, you could replace them with another unit that works. I have a feeling that good 900s are getting up in value, though, and could easily cost more than an entire RG over there.

I've always wanted one of these myself. There was one for sale locally, but it was a bit far away and I don't really have the space for one anyway

£200 is a lot of money. I had one that I had repolished and was working 100% that I sold on eBay about 8 months ago for £120. It was a cracking listing taken outside in the sun with a B&O soldier, original manuals, etc. £120 was a great price and loads more than I was hoping, but given the time and effort that went into polishing it (professionally - but done as a favour to me) I thought it was fair enough as the buyer got a minter RG than they'd pick up on the open market. Funny thing was that for months afterwards eBay listings for RGs appeared with starting prices of £100, but photos taken inside (often) dirty and shabby old people's houses where they'd clearly passed away/were going into care and the RG had a table lamp and a vase on top. Made me equal amounts pleased/pi$$ed off, as it's not as easy as simply looking at completed listings to get a price - COME ON PEOPLE IF IT WERE THAT EASY WE'D ALL BE AT IT!

Anyway - £200 is way off unless it's a Compact in teak with a functioning reel-to-reel (there's no chance, trust me). If you're in the UK a shabby but functioning rosewood RG Deluxe should be no more than £50 tops. If you want to give me £200, I'll get you a mint RG Deluxe and have it repolished for you ;)

thanks for the offer john but as a ex-cabinet maker, the polishing is the only bit i can do !

looks like i have missed the boat and will just have to wait checking ebay religiously for the next one to sail / sale...

will post a wanted on this site (been very tempted to upgrade to gold in an effort to win some the the great gear up for grabs)...

if you hear of one (teak compact) please let me know... is the teak one rarer / more desirable than the rosewood one ?

its funny, but in the collectable world of 1960's danish rosewood furniture, it would easily be worth £200

regards

david

I would have rosewood every time! More expensive originally as well. If one has the reel to reel in, definitely worth £200 as the reel to reel decks are extremely good and have their own following.

Good luck David - keep on searching on eBay and I'm sure one will turn up!

Teak seems to be more desirable - I think it has something to do with the fact that this wood fits into contemporary interiors easier than rosewood. A few teak Compacts I've seen over the years have been advertised as sideboards first, and radiograms second.

cheers peter / john

will keep looking !

regards

david

just to a happy ending... bought 900rg compact in rosewood (lovely condition and hardly used) on ebay last week for £102 ! really chuffed... will be on the forum again when it arrives and to ask more questions / post images....

thansk again

david

Congratulations on your purchase. I look forward to the pictures!

Simon

Well done! The Compact is the one to have :)

its just arrived, and while its stunning, within seconds the following problems became apparent...

1

its just arrived, and while its stunning...

1 left speaker not working

2 record player only works at 78

3 amp very quiet with record player

4 loads of noise / static on amp...

any ideas - if there a speacialist repairman out there ?

david

David

Where are you based?

Simon

hi simon

i am based in manchester (south) but i have a little van and a desire to get it working well (everyone telle me to rip out the insides and put modern gear in but as i collect old records, i want an old sound )...

happy to take it wherever to the rigth man !

david

Your best option is to speak to the King Street B&O dealers in Manchester as they have access to an experienced B&O repairer whio may be able to help you, or you could  PM the user 'Kingstreet' on this forum.

Simon

quietdesign:

everyone telle me to rip out the insides and put modern gear ...

Whatever you do DON'T do that - you will devalue it instantly if you do. Only serious collectors will pay top money for it if you ever decide to part with it and will want it as original as possible.

 EDIT - just found THIS on ebay which may interest you though. Should slot straight in.

Chris.