I had some (refurbished/driverss & cap's) connected to my BM7000 for a time & although it won't have been the very best amp for these it certainly wasn't lacking when driving them to a more than decent level. The M150's actually sound excellent at even low volumes. They are now residing in Ireland connected to a BM6500 & the owner loves the set up.

Chris.

John, the original question was whether it is safe to use a Beomaster 6500 with M150's, and the answer is quite simply "yes".

In fact, Henrik above says he's using a pair with a BM7000, and he doesn't mention "struggling".

Nobody claimed that this combination would be a match to your fine BM8000. Only that a Beomaster 6500 will perform just as a Beomaster 6500 is supposed to perform, even with these speakers. And that creates the irritation, as you are not discussing the same part of the picture.

Coming to your example of a Beomaster 1500 (which is actually a very good amp, with a circuit design closely resembling a BM4400), yes, it would've probably been silly to buy one with a pair of M100's. But now consider that setup anyway, and compare it with whatever the recommended speakers for it were, S25 or S30? Which setup would you expect to sound better?

Finally, your last question - I have one of each (and actually the entire shoebox lineup), and would still choose the BM6500, thank you, as having more of those would be far more useful to me

I agree with Mika. Having had a very large collection of amplifiers and speakers, I have found that any of the B&O hi-fi range can be used with any of their passive speakers. The BM8000 is a fine amplifier but is not my favourite. I would actually admit that I have used my 5500 and 7000 far more with a variety of speakers including MS150s and M100s. The most important part of the equation would seem to be the source, followed by the speakers in my experience. My ability to tell amplifiers apart is one I would hesitate to try in an ABX test!

I have as main Beomasters:

2 Beomaster 6500

2 Beomaster 6000 '80s

2 Beomaster 8000

I have been using 6000 and 8000 since 2006 on and off depending on what was actually working and what was at Dillen. I can't make my mind up about 6000 or 8000 being my favorite of the two other than I think I can live with 6000 and the 8000 is to wide for any B&O stand I can find.

I have been using my first Beomaster 6500 for a year with the Beovox S80.2 and exept the right channel need for service the sound was good in my ears. Once you give the Beovox a touch of bass depending on the source as I find the S80.2 a little light on that it sounds just as well as the Beomaster 6000. I now got Beovox S120 waiting for the return.

Why 2 of each? 6000 and 8000 white and rosewood versions

I got the second 6500 by chance for not much.

In the future I'm going to go with the Beosystem 6500 and Beosound 9000 with the Beovision AV9000. I'm keeping the white Beomaster 8000 but that's going to be it.

tournedos:

John, the original question was whether it is safe to use a Beomaster 6500 with M150's, and the answer is quite simply "yes".

In fact, Henrik above says he's using a pair with a BM7000, and he doesn't mention "struggling".

Nobody claimed that this combination would be a match to your fine BM8000. Only that a Beomaster 6500 will perform just as a Beomaster 6500 is supposed to perform, even with these speakers. And that creates the irritation, as you are not discussing the same part of the picture.

Coming to your example of a Beomaster 1500 (which is actually a very good amp, with a circuit design closely resembling a BM4400), yes, it would've probably been silly to buy one with a pair of M100's. But now consider that setup anyway, and compare it with whatever the recommended speakers for it were, S25 or S30? Which setup would you expect to sound better?

Finally, your last question - I have one of each (and actually the entire shoebox lineup), and would still choose the BM6500, thank you, as having more of those would be far more useful to me

No Mika. Ben's original question was whether the 6500 'would struggle to power them'. I felt that the answer was yes, given the other Beomaster options out there. When I wanted speakers for my Beomaster 900M, I chose Beovox 1000s not Beovox 5000s. There was a reason for that. You yourself have answered my own question as to what would sound better using the hypothetical Beomaster 1500 situation, therefore I don't see what point you're trying to make. Of course the 6500 is more 'useful' in terms of being able to integrate into existing setups etc., but the bottom line is it will struggle (Ben's original question!) vis-a-vis other more powerful Beomasters, such as the example of the 8000 (the amp the speakers were intended for!).

I do like the 5000/5500/6500/7000 systems, but they are not good amplifiers (I owned the supposed 'best', the 5000) compared with what preceded them. B&O was moving towards the Beolab speakers in a big way by this point, and I'm afraid the amp in that Beomaster is not fully capable of exploiting the MS150s in the way they were intended to operate.

It sometimes beggars belief how dismissive of anything other than your 8000 you can be John.

To call the 5000/5500 "not good amps" is nonsense. Not the best amps ever built for sure (neither is the BM8000 for that matter) but still better than most.

And the 6500 WON'T struggle for power driving the M150's for most peoples use - even in party mood. To drive them at full welly would be unbearable in a normal setting.

Chris.

I can really appreciate Johns passion for the BM 8000, like I am for the BM6000 Quad. I also realise that the 8000 would be the best amp for the M150's (Not MS150's John). Unfortunately I am not able to acquire one although I have asked the seller of the speakers what he intends to do with his broken 8000.

Bottom line is that the Beosystem 6500 serves my purposes perfectly, much more than a BM 8000 even if I had to find one in working order and I have to be honest that I am glad that I have been reassured that I can use my 6500 with the speakers and I was rather depressed at the thought of two unusable speakers.

I think we will have to agree to disagree. I think the 6500 more than capable. It has a power output of 55W per channel which is more than adequate for almost anyone. From a circuit design point of view, it is a continuation of the same B&O design as the decent B&O amplifiers.

John, I'm using a pair of M150s with my bm7000 in my livingroom and I have been doing so for 15 years.

However, I also have two recently renovated bm8000s and a recently renovated bm6000 (as well as a bunch of lesser-specified amps). Yes, the 8000 and the 6000 performs better, but in my opinion the difference is not that big as one might believe from reading your post. I would definitely say that the 6500/7000 can handle the M150s well - the differences in sound compared to the 8000 are about the same as when I compare these amps using other smaller speakers. Yes, there are better b&o amps than the 6500/7000, but it's still an ok amp and I have been quite pleased with its perfomance even when using better speakers than the M150s. :-)

BenSA:

Well not only have a learn't that I didn't really make a mistake....I have learned a lot about speakers too!! Thanks for all the posts. Its been SO interesting and informative. Now I just have to wait for the Beovox M150's to arrive!

It's never a mistake to buy some vintage B&O! By the way (as Burantek wrote) -you should try to get the Beomaster 8000 too -it is not beyond repair.
Question is, if you want to spend the bucks to get it back in shape...If not, i'm sure you'll find someone who will buy it. Don't let the owner just dump it...

Medogsfat:

It sometimes beggars belief how dismissive of anything other than your 8000 you can be John.

To call the 5000/5500 "not good amps" is nonsense. Not the best amps ever built for sure (neither is the BM8000 for that matter) but still better than most.

And the 6500 WON'T struggle for power driving the M150's for most peoples use - even in party mood. To drive them at full welly would be unbearable in a normal setting.

Chris.

You're being unduly harsh Chris. I don't know how much time you spend on the site these days reading my posts, but you'll see that as an enthusiast, I am enthusiastic about lots of other B&O amps. For example, I have repeatedly lauded the Beolab 5000, the 1980s Beomaster 6000, the Beomaster 6000 Quad, the 'ironing board' Beomaster 2000, and to an extent the Beomaster 5000 that is the first in the 5000/5500/6500/7000 series. It's not just the 8000 that I am passionate about, but what I can say is that compared to many people voicing opinions on this thread, I have owned the majority of the amps in question for several years. Some I have moved on, and some I have kept, but they have all been with me for a considerable period of time and therefore I am confident that at least I am speaking from personal experience and not just making unfounded assertions based on esoteric performance figures. I had thought that as we were all enthusiasts together we could have a knock about and exchange strongly held opinions in an environment where no one gets offended. Peter repeatedly dismisses the Beomaster 6000 Quad as nothing more than two Beomaster 901s bolted together, but there is never a need for anyone to step in and ask Peter to tone down what he says. Why? Because that's his strongy held opinion and he's entitled to it.

Hopefully Ben will be pleased with the performance of his 6500 and M150 combination - actually Ben, you should report back and let us know how you get on once you have had chance to try everything out. Perhaps you could even try using your 6000 Quad (even though it is made from poor quality materials and has a rubbish circuit design) and let us know how that compares to the 6500 ;)

John

Aren't we just arguing the difference between sounding fine and optimal?

Ben may well find that there are better amps out there for his speakers  (I am not doubting your advice on this!)  ,  but he didn't ask what the best amp for these speakers is, he wanted to know  if the 6500/MS150 combination would work and  I very much doubt that he will experience any difficulties at all in getting a perfectly listenable sound out of his amp/speaker combination and I don't really understand why you are getting so frustrated with people who believe that this is the case.

Simon

j0hnbarker:

Medogsfat:

It sometimes beggars belief how dismissive of anything other than your 8000 you can be John.

To call the 5000/5500 "not good amps" is nonsense. Not the best amps ever built for sure (neither is the BM8000 for that matter) but still better than most.

And the 6500 WON'T struggle for power driving the M150's for most peoples use - even in party mood. To drive them at full welly would be unbearable in a normal setting.

Chris.

You're being unduly harsh Chris. I don't know how much time you spend on the site these days reading my posts, but you'll see that as an enthusiast, I am enthusiastic about lots of other B&O amps. For example, I have repeatedly lauded the Beolab 5000, the 1980s Beomaster 6000, the Beomaster 6000 Quad, the 'ironing board' Beomaster 2000, and to an extent the Beomaster 5000 that is the first in the 5000/5500/6500/7000 series. It's not just the 8000 that I am passionate about, but what I can say is that compared to many people voicing opinions on this thread, I have owned the majority of the amps in question for several years. Some I have moved on, and some I have kept, but they have all been with me for a considerable period of time and therefore I am confident that at least I am speaking from personal experience and not just making unfounded assertions based on esoteric performance figures. I had thought that as we were all enthusiasts together we could have a knock about and exchange strongly held opinions in an environment where no one gets offended. Peter repeatedly dismisses the Beomaster 6000 Quad as nothing more than two Beomaster 901s bolted together, but there is never a need for anyone to step in and ask Peter to tone down what he says. Why? Because that's his strongy held opinion and he's entitled to it.

Hopefully Ben will be pleased with the performance of his 6500 and M150 combination - actually Ben, you should report back and let us know how you get on once you have had chance to try everything out. Perhaps you could even try using your 6000 Quad (even though it is made from poor quality materials and has a rubbish circuit design) and let us know how that compares to the 6500 ;)

 

I'm not doubting your enthusiasm one iota John - I just cannot accept your opinion that the 5000 types are not good amps and the way you simply dismiss some equipment which others may cherish.

Peter may well not be a lover of the BM6000 quad but I've never seen him denegrade it nor dismiss it out of hand on any post.

As to how much time I spend on here & read your posts? The answer is plenty, not just your posts but everyones which hold an interest to me.

Chris.

Actually I rather like the 6000 quad which is one of the most stunning designs that B&O have come up with. I do have one still! I call it two puffed up 901s because, from a circuit design point of view, that is what it is. The design in this case is more impressive than the sound. It is however an ergonomic triumph in many ways - back buttons and power switch excepted - to even think about such a design is incredible given the year.

Would I buy one - well yes I did! Is it my favourite amplifier - no and I would always recommend a different one for sound quality and indeed ease of repair! But most collectors will regard it as one of the jewels in the crown. A bit like Beovox 2500s which really have very little point these days!

Well the infamous speakers arrived today...rushed home instead of going back to work lol and furiously unpacked them and set them up to the Beosystem 6500. Cd in and press play....hmm...at first I wasn't sure as the sound is different but after trying a cd or two I decided I absolutely love them. Fills the whole room with music!! They are absolutely mint as well, even came with B&O speaker cables. The loudest I went was up to 50 then it was too loud for me. So I think they match absolutely fine, they look great and sound great!!

Thanks for the report - enjoy them Ben!

BTW, did you know that we like pictures?

haha.....will see what I can do!!

Here are some photo's just to give you an idea....haven't decided yet how I want to position them. Been listening all afternoon and have concluded they are spectacular. The speakers had been serviced by B&O and woofers fitted with new surrounds by a B&O technician. The seller was originally from Denmark, who oiled the veneer twice a year!

Pic1 (Sorry don't seem to be able to get all the photo's in one post!)

Pic2

Pic3

Pic4

Beautiful - now I miss mine

Chris.

Medogsfat:

Beautiful - now I miss mine

Chris.

I have to say I have been totally blown away, beautiful and amazing sound. Wish my pics were better though!!

Whoa - the veneer looks absolutely mint :)

Glad you like the sound of them. Next job is to see what they sound like with your 6000 Quad and the 4400 ;)

j0hnbarker:

Whoa - the veneer looks absolutely mint :)

Glad you like the sound of them. Next job is to see what they sound like with your 6000 Quad and the 4400 ;)

haha....true I will have to John. Actually after all the recent talk of the 4400, I got my one out and I have to admit, the sound is rather impressive...I shan't say more than that!! lol!!