Hi,

I'm new to Beograms and new to this forum. I hope one of you experts can help me.

I've recently aquired a beogram 1500 and it's delcious. The only thing is that there seems to be a slight buzzing noise inside the unit, though sound from the speakers is amazing and crisp. Is this normal to have a buzz? I can't imagine it is. Sometimes when I turn it on there is no buzz for the first minute, but then it kicks in, even when the platter isn't turning. I'm hoping I can fix it. I love this turntable.

Sounds like an earthing issue. There should be no buzz!

Peter :

Sounds like an earthing issue. There should be no buzz!

Agreed ! Mine also buzzed until I fixed the earth.

Hello again,

I don't think it's the earth - I have the older beogram with the built-in amplifier. Inside the record deck is the hum, or buzz. Could it be the power transformer?

It could be - the transformer can delaminate and this will cause a hum - my Beomaster 3000 hummed a fair bit but you couldn't hear it through the speakers. There will still be an earth in your deck - the cartridge has an earth connection. The connections to the amp will obviously be internal.

I don't know about the earth connection, as the thing was buzzing even when switched to the radio or tape input.

Maybe it's just coincidence, but I checked under the deck and changed the voltage dial to 240, as it was on 220. Also I put some dampening material underneath the unit in case it was vibrating on the table surface. There is still a hum coming from inside, but it's a lot less, and I can certainly live with it, especially as the sound is sooo good through the speakers and I know my baby is really an old dinosaur. I hope it lasts a bit longer. Is it worth getting the power transformer replaced? Perhaps it's not even possible.

Well, that is up to you - if you can live with the current buzz, just let it be. The supply of replacement transformers will not be exactly plentiful unless you want to put something modern in there, and that could also be difficult (apparently 20 + 110 V secondaries are needed). A transformer from another 1500 might have the same problem.

According to the service manual, later versions (type 5230-3) have the transformer mounted in different brackets with rubber washers. Perhaps this was a known problem in the early versions.

Thanks for that. It makes sense now that you mention on later versions the transformer was mounted differently. I will leave it as it is. I absolutely adore this piece of equipment!!!