As a 40 something bloke I'm interseted in hearing your views on how it used to be.

As in ............ late 70's early 80's main stream affordable hi-fi was dominated by the "silver machines".

My humble household could aspire to pioneer's SA range of Amps etc - but B&O never featured. (way too dear)

Reason I write ..... my brother recently aquired a Pioneer SA 8800 Amp, Luxman deck with Ortofon moving coil cartridge & Celestion Ditton speakers.

To be blunt, I have a reasonable vintage collection of B&O systems including Penta's and his "silver gear" blows me away - against my set up's, his sounds far superior.

So, did the silver amp era dominate???? 

nikeyboy1212:

Reason I write ..... my brother recently aquired a Pioneer SA 8800 Amp, Luxman deck with Ortofon moving coil cartridge & Celestion Ditton speakers.

To be blunt, I have a reasonable vintage collection of B&O systems including Penta's and his "silver gear" blows me away - against my set up's, his sounds far superior.

So, did the silver amp era dominate???? 

Probably not that much when this equipment was new. B&O seems to be very prone to tired capacitors and such aging problems, that are mostly unheard of in other vintage gear. Some of them cause particularly the computerized equipment to eventually malfunction, but many of them will just result in the sound getting worse with time.

I believe this difference is partly due to the physical design constraints, like space in the enclosures - B&O kit tends to be tightly packed and therefore runs hotter. Also, the components that were used were physically smaller - not many others used tantalum caps for example.

Another thing is the electronic circuit design. B&O engineers seemed to have a habit of using plenty of capacitors on the signal path. For example, the 5000/5500/etc Beomasters have the signal passing through about a dozen electrolytic caps from the line level inputs to the speaker, while the Japanese counterparts may have three or four! Some of this is necessitated by the electronic switching and control as opposed to mechanical switches and potentiometers, but anyway, this multiplies the aging effect due to old caps.

I believe you might be pleasantly suprised if you recapped some of the amps - and speakers! - in your collection.

That was very interesting Mika!! Something I didn't know although I knew that B&O products are always jam packed with electronics compared to others that seemed virtually empty!

Another 40-something bloke here!

My father has B&O at home but it was always out of my price range when I was grew up.

I spent many years trying various combinations of new and second hand kit without ever being very happy with what I had, then around 3 years ago bought a second hand pair of Beovox S30's on a whim and the rest is history.

There may be something in the differences you hear, and I am more than happpy to accept that there are systems that are 'better' than the assorted vintage B&O that I have. That said I find almost all 'better' systems quite tiring to listen to with a harshness to the sound that vintage B&O doesn't have so I suppose it all depends on your perception of what 'better' is! 

Simon 

I agree with Simon with the fact that (especially older) B&O equipment has a certain 'tone' to it.
I do have an 80ies beomaster 5000 and a later beomaster 7000 and the difference is audible. The older 5000 has a somewhat more 'mellow' easier tone to it when used with the same speakers.

As mentioned before by Tournedos, these units hold alot of components. I had my 5000 upgraded with new caps and the difference is clear.
It does not outperform my (not upgraded) 7000, but sure made a difference in clarity and overal sound dynamics.

The amp is one thing, but also the condition of the speakers is important for good results. No matter how good your amp, the speakers are always final link in the chain. Due to it's design, age and use all penta's need a good check-up on speaker condition and at least changing the caps on the cross-overs in order to maintain sound quality.