I bought this from a fellow named Benny from Amina Audio in Georgia.  I think its a great retro-fit so now I have my tangent tracking turntable along with my favorate cartridge.  Among other things, the circuit board was completely washed and rebuilt and it looks like a work of art.   I'm also happy with the cosmetics.  Sounds awesome!

I bought it from him directly.  You can also send yours in for a refurbish and/or retro-fit.  Benny was kind and helpful on the phone.  I was expecting a Southern accent but he sounds like he's from Europe.  (?)

Thanks for that Kevin. Always fascinating to see others' equipment and settings. 

Particularly interesting to observe B&O products coupled with glass, a steam locomotive and ceramic Indian elephants!

Certainly different.

Hi Kokomo.  It sort of evolved.  First came the 9000 on the false wall.  It looked very blank underneath so I added the train which my nephews played with.  btw, the caboose says B&O.  We had a B&O railroad here.  The glass/TT setup, I had for awhile, so I thought it would be nice to put it under the 9000 setup.  The TT is heavy so it takes 2 elephants to hold it up.    Pray we do not have an earthquake any time soon.  Thanks!

Hi Kevin

I noticed you recently replaced a 800x series turntable with this 4002. How did that compare with the Grado conversion on your 4002? I had a good MMC2 on my 8002 and that took some beating, so it would be interesting to hear what you think the difference is between the decks and proprietary/non-proprietary cartridges.

j0hnbarker:

Hi Kevin

I noticed you recently replaced a 800x series turntable with this 4002. How did that compare with the Grado conversion on your 4002? I had a good MMC2 on my 8002 and that took some beating, so it would be interesting to hear what you think the difference is between the decks and proprietary/non-proprietary cartridges.

Hi Mr. Barker.

I was collecting turntables for awhile and bought a Grado Gold to go with a Dual 1229.  I knew of Grado's reputation and wanted to try it.  I really loved the sound of the Grado but missed the tangent tracking.  The Grado in comparison to the MMC is much smoother, has more substance, and is a lot punchier, to my own taste. 

I had a 4004 in the past, gave it up for an 8002, and now went back to a 4002 but with the Grado conversion.  My objective was to have the Grado and also tangent tracking.  Its very difficult if not impossible to retrofit a p-mount to an 8002 because of the thinness of the arm.

I also went back to the 4002 because it is much more solid than the 8000 series which in my opinion has a lot of plastic.  Personally, I don't like the BG8000 because it is a transition TT from 4002/4 to 8002.  BG8000 has 8002 body but still has the 4002 arm.

I'm particularly happy with mine because in addition to the circuit board rebuild, the arm was dampened to get rid of resonance, which I noticed with my first TT, the 4004.  The result is a very quiet TT and I didn't think it was working until the music started.

Best....

Seem to remember seeing a BG400X on Ebay a good while back with this conversion.

Craig

Kevin,

Now that you've had the Amina TT for a few months... any further thoughts on it?

Thx!

Craig:

Seem to remember seeing a BG400X on Ebay a good while back with this conversion.

 

 

Craig

This is a recognised conversion that had been done in the States for some time. The one Craig is thinking of also had a glass platter and a record clamp. The Grado cartridge was either silver or white and gave a better aesthetic result.

I agree that the 4000 type deck is in a different class of finish to the 8000. Not sure that I think any more of the 8002 than the 8000 though. I prefer the older cartridges personally.

I'm curious as to why someone would do a conversion to a (relatively) cheap (price-wise---I've never heard it) cartridge from the B&O standard?  Is there something to be gained here?  Looking at the Grado Gold prices they sell for $220 and that's half of what an MMC1/2 would go for? 

Hi, I don't really like that panel behind with those spirals. I think it spoils everything

but this is just my opinion. The rest looks good

macjonny1:

I'm curious as to why someone would do a conversion to a (relatively) cheap (price-wise---I've never heard it) cartridge from the B&O standard?  Is there something to be gained here?  Looking at the Grado Gold prices they sell for $220 and that's half of what an MMC1/2 would go for? 

I guess if you really use the deck a lot, a replaceable stylus will be a big plus.

burantek:

Kevin,

Now that you've had the Amina TT for a few months... any further thoughts on it?

Thx!

I am quite happy with it.  One of the best things I've done.  If you've listened to a Grado cartridge, there is a lot of substance and punch to it.  Granted my setup is not proprietal - the turntable goes into a ProJect preamp, to a Krell processor, into a McIntosh power amp, and ultimately thru B&W speakers.

As far as the Grado being less expensive, personally I'm finding out cost does not necessarily mean better or worse quality.  More of a matter of taste for me.

Cheers all!

Kevin...

Thx for the fast response... I have a few 400x's sitting around and I have -zero- time! I was considering sending (delivering) them to Benny to have them rehab'd as he is only ~4 hours from me... where I was mentally drawing the line was w/ the cutting/shortening of the cartridge arm, but if the results are better than your previous experience... well, then it may be worth it to do some of the tables!

The conversion obviously allows a variety of the Grado cartridges to be fitted. B&O cartridges were actually quite cheap originally and even the MMC20CL was relatively inexpensive. There is a captive market these days and Soundsmith cartridges are hand made and therefore very expensive. It is an understandable conversion in my view as the 4000 deck is very well made compared to most turntables and also offers a tangential arm of good quality.

burantek:

Kevin...

Thx for the fast response... I have a few 400x's sitting around and I have -zero- time! I was considering sending (delivering) them to Benny to have them rehab'd as he is only ~4 hours from me... where I was mentally drawing the line was w/ the cutting/shortening of the cartridge arm, but if the results are better than your previous experience... well, then it may be worth it to do some of the tables!

Its worth the 4 hour drive.  I bought mine directly from Benny and despite the best packing it still got jarred in the mail (UPS likes to throw pkgs). Happily, I was able to undo the damage.  Do one and compare them side by side.  On the phone, Benny is quiet and unassuming but once you get him talking........

I told him I know how to dismantle a 4002 and he asked me "How do you like the circuit board, how do you like the circuit board?"  I told him it was a work of art.  Get the Grado Gold over the Blue.

Best...

>Personally, I don't like the BG8000 because it is a transition TT from 4002/4 to 8002.  BG8000 has 8002 body but still has the 4002 arm.

This isn't true. Superficially the arm looks the same, but in fact it is a complete redesign!

The sled, the solenoid, the bearing, the sensor is completely different.

In fact the 8002 arm has much more in common with the 8000 arm than the 8000 with the 4002.

Derek