I have resentlig been the lucky owner of a rare product, at least I have never seen this before. You can see on the picture it is in very good condition, and of course it can play music with the fine 'tube sound'.

I think this one is perhaps the very first of the total new design / styling B&O adapted in the early sixties, a design without the cabinet 'frame of wood, officially the first in this design was Beomaster 900 [Henning Moldenhawer]. Did he design this cabinet before the BM900?

Was this product actually ready and was rejected because of the BM 900 and a brand new circuit design with transistors?

I think so!

Because no doubt - this is a prototype! ---- But the frontpanel is developed and ready for production, the product have a name "GrandPrix"

You can of course see what the actual product is? The "DIRIGENT" in a new cabinet.

/Frede

You are certainly collecting a number of very rare pieces!

Red Beogram 3000 with 12" arm

Beomaster 4401

The only black Beolab 5000 and Beomaster 5000.

And now a Grand Prix Dirigent. You will be rivalling the Struer Museum!

What an exciting find !
Definitely a Dirigent prototype thingy on its way to become designed by someone else.
Could be interesting to see the other sides, especially the
backside (and inside) and does it have ventilation grills on top ?

Martin

nice... a black beomaster/beolab 5000! is this original or a special version made by frede? do you have pictures?

best wishes

dario

Not original but very nice indeed !

http://forum.beoworld.org/forums/t/27580.aspx

Martin

A Frede special!

Martin,

Allow me a couple of days, I am out all day tomorrow, sunday I will post a couple pictures more.

The side panels a metal in black like the Beolab - the back is a kind of hand made / lab made grill and yes there are ventilation at the bottum and the top of the wooden part of the cabinet.

By the way Martin, the Dirigent FM --- do you have a stereo decoder to fit? and perhaps documentation how to do this? I imagine it will be the same decoder as for the Minette ?

/Frede

Frede,

No rush. It's just always exciting when something like this turns up. 

I would think that a decoder like the one mounted in my Grand Prix 609 would
be the one to fit.

The Dirigent 610K service manual mentions a complete MPX module as part
number 900 H 198
I have checked this up against the one in the Grand Prix but
that one only has the number 602 L 24 stamped on the backside.
I seem to remember that it is running on 200V DC so it could very well
fit in the Minette (and others).

The Dirigent 609K service manual mentions the FM stereo test broadcasts that
could be received by connecting f.e. a Beolit portable radio to the Dirigent, thereby
letting them receive each their channel using the stereo amplifier in the Dirigent to amplify
the signal from both but that's about all MPX info found in there.

The Minette 609K service manual shows three points for connecting the MPX decoder
(just before the output) but neither of the above manuals give any documentation
on the module itself.

The Grandprix 610 service manual mentions the Decoder 610 with a Noval socket
but refers to a separate manual for that module (which I am quite sure that I don't have).
However, it does give the connections to the Grand Prix circuit and also shows 6,3V AC
going to the MPX module so I suppose that would have been valve based or at least
prepared for it.

I have some Dirigent 609/610 sets in my collection that I never opened and also
some Grand Prix and Master Deluxe models from that time so maybe - just maybe -
one of them will contain a module. (I can dream, can't I).

I think, I will try to document the decoder mounted in the Grand Prix and maybe
also figure out how - and where it is connected.

Martin

thanks martin, peter & frede

the black beolab/beomaster 5000 combo looks nice!!! respect to your work frede. are you finished with your book project about the 5000 system?

regards

dario