I've been the happy owner of a Beosystem 5500 since 1988. The system has worked like a champ over these 21+ years and, on the whole, has been remarkably trouble-free. The CD player, which has received constant use, required service twice: a CMM adjustment in 1994 and a laser-head replacement in 1999. During the past year, we've been hearing the occasional symptoms (e.g., intermittent static noise, sudden interruption in playing) that herald a laser-head malfunction. Yesterday, there was a pop, and the Beogram stopped playing for good. The CD tray won't slide open any more.

The shop that repaired the unit in 1999 is no longer in business. I called B&O's technical support line and obtained the name of the authorized B&O repair shop in the SF Bay Area. I asked the rep if spare parts were still available for the 5500, and he gave me an emphatic yes.

Then I called the repair shop, L&M Electronics Service Co. in Daly City. The fellow I spoke to was surprised to hear that spare parts were available ("Who gave you that information?" he asked). According to him, laser heads for the Beogram CD5500 are no longer to be had.

I will take the unit in to L & M for diagnosis but would like to ask if anyone here knows of a source of spare parts for the Beogram CD5500.

Welcome to Beoworld !

The laser may not be available anylonger but fortunately, it's very rare to see a defective laser.
The majority of faults in these players are caused by dried out capacitors and they are indeed still
available. So one of the repairshops you mention may be smarter than the other, sounding like
one is able to actually repair a defective module while the other can only swap modules.
I am not saying it is so, it just sounds like that.

Martin

Thank you, Martin, for giving me hope. I need to clarify that I spoke to only one repair shop. The first number I called was B&O's Customer Service national tech support line, where I was given the name of L&M Electronics, the only authorized repair shop for B&O in the San Francisco Bay Area.

This brings me to the next question. Should L&M Electronics prove to be the type of shop that can't repair modules but can only swap them, does anybody know of another repair shop in the Bay Area that is more resourceful?

Daniella

Hi Daniella,

At this point, if I were a regular owner with no technical ability, and I got that kind of "can't do it" reply from an authorised center, I'd look for a tech-savvy Beoworld member in the USA who could probably do the job better than that establishment.

Try contacting Derek Au for a start - user "auric".

Any others who can do the job should jump in here too!

Menahem

Thanks, Menachem.

Since I asked my initial question, my CD5500 has been to the only factory-authorized repair shop in the Bay Area three times, and various elements were replaced or repaired. After the first two repairs, new failures occurred. At the moment it plays, although it has trouble with some CDs.

At the shop we were told that a laser's life is 20 years. Ours is 22 years old, so we suspect it won't last much longer. When the time comes that L&M Electronics can do nothing more for us, I'll contact Derek. I certainly don't relish the idea of having to rethink my entire sound system (at the repair shop they said that the new systems are junk).  

--

Daniella

Daniella,

While I agree that the new systems are junk (relatively speaking), I have a real problem with service centres that require 3 visits to solve a problem. This is not outer-space technology, for heaven's sake.

A respectable tech should BE ABLE to detect other parts that are slated for failure within the next couple of years. It's obvious that this was not done, and that, each time, they did a single-point repair only, with no regard for consequential failures.

There is NO life-time limit for a laser - it depends entirely on the hours used, and MORE IMPORTANTLY, the quality of the electrical current which operates it.

So overall, from what you report, I am not in the least impressed with their quality of workmanship.

On my website, there is a pdf file dealing with the Philips CD650. The insides of your CD5500 are based on exactly this Philips model, and even share some of the exact same circuit boards.

The work described as done on the CD650 is what your L&M tech should aspire to, in order to guarantee you a trouble-free use for at least the next 5 years, with no excuses.

The CD5500 is so well built that you should be able to enjoy it for at least the next 20 years, with the correct, professional maintenance.

I apologise if this is not such a nice complimentary message, but I really don't have a lot of sympathy for fancy stores who take money from customers in order to learn at the customer's expense.

Menahem

Menahem,

I appreciate the information you provided and the reassurance about a laser's useful lifetime. It lifted my spirits.

While L&M Electronics provided only a temporary solution to the problem in the first and the second repairs (and the third repair may prove to be temporary too), I'll say in their defense that they charged us only for the first repair, and it was a reasonable amount. The second and third repairs were completely free, since they were covered by the 6-month guarantee that came with the first repair.

I'll look for your pdf file dealing with the Philips CD650, so it can serve us as guidance in the future.

Thanks again,

Daniella

Welcome to BeoWorld!  I too have a Beosystem 5500, except I have the CD50 instead of the CD5500.  Though I don't have any personal experience with them, Atlantic Systems in Hanover, MA is an authorized B&O repair center, and seems to have a very good reputation here is the US.  You could try giving them a call, and see what they have to say.  I think there is a good chance that they might be able to fix the "laser" if new laser heads are no longer available.  Only downside is, you would have to ship the CD5500 to them for repair.  It's always nice to find a repair tech/shop that is willing to go the extra mile and "fix" a part, rather than just saying that the part is no longer available.  Good luck in getting it fixed, and don't give up!  I can understand how you feel about your 5500.

I wouldn't say the new (audio) systems are junk though.  I think they are still quite good, just not up to the standards of the 5500 and other older separate systems.  I think (for the most part) the current TVs, BeoLab speakers, and BeoSystem 3 A/V processor are definitely "up to standards".

If the laser is finished, it's finished, and there's nothing to do, no fix. In fact, apart from cleaning the lens, a laser is a non-fixable, non-serviceable and non-repairable part.

However, many times a "tech" says the laser is finished, when in fact it's just fine. The real problem is that it's not getting the correct current to it, so it cannot function correctly. Now, the men get sorted out from the boys in their ability to diagnose the exact problem on the laser control circuitry to take care of the substandard current, and thus return the actually fine (but thought dead) laser to full functionality.

As Martin said previously, there are those "techs" who have no clue about troubleshooting, and dumbly consign a fully-functioning laser to the garbage, because all they know is how to swap circuit-boards, and there are those techs who can troubleshoot at component-level, and tell you the real truth about your laser.

What makes the new systems relative junk is not their design, not their engineering. No - those qualities are, and hopefully always will be, B&O's trademark, with added intrinsic value. No, what I object to, is the use of inferior quality electronic components. There is no earthly reason why I should open up a BeoSound or any other current production unit, and find Samwha Korean capacitors inside.

There is no other component in a piece of electronic equipment, which has greater influence over lifetime and reliability, than the capacitor.

For heaven's sake, these Korean things are not going to last even 1/4 the lifetime of a high-quality Nichicon, Panasonic or Vishay capacitor. The differential cost in production would only be a couple of $ per unit.

The customer is going to be paying for repairs on these B&O's 5-10 years before he'd have to pay for repairs on a Panasonic, Vishay, or Nichicon equipped unit.

No, B&O, I cannot see your justification for using sub-standard components on your products. And Samwha IS substandard, compared to Panasonic, Vishay and Nichicon.

For B&O, there has to be a value-added factor both INSIDE the unit (excellent-quality components), as well as OUTSIDE (stunning design and useability).

Menahem

Hi,

Derek forwarded an email to me regarding this.  It has been my own experience that the lasers very rarely actually fail in these players.  It absolutely takes a good component level tech to sort this out.  I restore B&O gear as my own personal hobby, and have bought MANY "shop units" that had tags on them as un-repairable.  All of them are in fact playing just fine.  All of them needed only basic components replaced, not the laser itself.  Modern techs are sadly board swappers.  If a repair takes too long, or is too complex, they stay away from it.  This stuff does not pay shop bills.

BTW, as far as the laser goes, I do in fact have a laser power meter, which gives me a real value on the condition of the laser output.  This can not be measured using the test point current method.

Anyway, long story short....  I'd be willing to have a look at it, if desired.

Marc

Thanks, Marc. Good to know you're there and willing to look at it.

We're going to take the unit back to L&M Electronics one more time and tell them what we've heard from Menahem, Derek, and you. If they still can't come through for us, we'll contact you. Figuring out how to ship the unit to LA will be a challenge.