I'm in need of some advice on restoring a pair of Beovox s45-2's, but before I ask my questions, I'd like to say how much I've enjoyed reading through this site and following the conversations of people who admire the B&O line of products as I've begun to in the last couple of months.
My acquaintance with the brand began a few months ago while researching a turntable which offered ease of use and light tracking force to minimize wear on vinyl- and of course, good sound and aesthetics. (It's much better to look good than to feel good). I was reading through a thread on Audiogon where a commenter mentioned B&O tangentials and some others chimed in with praise for the line. I immediately set myself to the task of some serious hard-nosed googling, whence I came upon a photo of a Beogram 4002 with corresponding description- and I was smitten! Just a few short weeks later I was in possesion of a Bang und Olufsen Beogram 4002 in "as new" condition fitted with an MC20EN cartridge. I wasn't able to hook it up right away as I came up in the digital age and I'm just getting into vinyl and HIFI in general and hadn't yet aquired the necessary components. But I still spent many long moments gazing in wonder at the ergonomic perfection of the piece- often feeling compelled to stop as I walked past the table where it was prominently displayed to admire the perfect lines, the mellow tones and the square simplicity of it's design- the unexpected softness of the brushed metal as I gently ran my fingers across the top plate, the sheer weight of it as I lifted it with two hands gently to admire the solid build. At times, I had to remind myself that the 4002 wasn't plugged in as I was sure I could hear faint strains of heavenly music issueing from it. I began to get possesive of the 4002, even as I seemed to come more under it's spell. At times, I would start it up, without a record, and just ask it questions- as if I could somehow discern my fate in the stroboscopic spinnings of the platter as it spun effortlessly at speed. And yes, I began to refer to "it" as a "she". Just the other night I returned home slightly tipsy from an evening spent out on the town among friends with bottles of cheap red wine passed back and forth and I was feeling courageous and I approached the 4002 and laid before it a box of fine chocolates and a single red rose. I bowed low, and backed away slowly then blew a kiss at the 4002 and made a private oath as I waved it goodbye promising we'd meet again when we could be sure my intentions were true...
Okay, I think I've veered a bit too far off topic so I'll try to get to my original point- which was not at all about the Beogram 4002 but the Beovox s45-2.
I just came into possesion of a pair in decent condition, and am wondering what kind of odyssey awaits if I set about restoring it to top condition. By decent condition, I mean to say that they don't seem to have been abused; then again, neither do they seem to have been cared for meticulously. Cosmetically, I'd say it's 7 out of 10- with a few minor scratches along the bottom where they look to have been shifted back and forth on a bookshelf- not infrequently and without much care. The grills are intact with no broken pegs and no sag in the cloth, but a few small snags on the corners- also noticeable is a slight disoloring of the cloth with age. What concerns most is the small ding on one of the rear top corners where the metal border is very slightly crushed into the wood veneer- as if it had been dropped on its head from not very high. The ding is small enough not to be noticable at a quick glance, but big enough to stand out when given a long look under strong light. The damaged area looks to be a quarter inch square and about an eigth of an inch deep. Mostly I would be worried that this might be a factor involving bass resonance, but I don't know if it's big enough to really affect performance- it doesn't seem to have caused an actual opening, or breakage from the top through to the insides. The veneer is still in nice shape with no chips, and still nice color that can be made to look new with some wood finish and polishing cloths.
As to the drivers, they look to be in good shape and all original but for one of the woofers. It's fitted with a foam surround, not the butyl rubber surround, and it has a larger center hub than the other woofer which has what I know is the factory original from the many Google Images I've seen of the s45-2's. A few questions now:
1) Is it still possible to find NOS Peerless woofers to go with these- and if so, should I replace both rather than just the one?
2) Is it best to order the capacitor set from Dillen in Europe, or could I find the necessary parts locally here in Los Angeles- which might make for faster service as I'd be using a local B&O authorized technician.
3) Is that small corner ding going to degrade sound by affecting the pressurized box? Maybe a hard resin could plug it sufficiently it it's gone deep enough.
4) Would you eat the Moon if it were made of ribs and you could wash it down with a nice Heffeweizen?
I think it's best if we could get an answer to that last question first.
About the 4002. Axel Schurholz is now in possesion of my MC20EN for retipping with the 265 Euro option of Nude Shibata and Aluminum cantilever. It will go on the 4002 which will be used with the near perfect Beomaster 8000 that I just bought, which will power KEF 102's. The Beovox, if I have the restoration done, will be for a cousin who is now moving into his first apartment. I plan on buying a Beomaster 6000 locally which would also need some work, and restoring them both to top condition and then making a gift of these, including also a Beogram 2000(1980's model). Will I have enough money for the Heffeweizen by the time I'm finished paying for all this? Of course I plan on visiting my cousin often. What did you think? I am the ultimate master of giving gifts to other people that I really want but wouldn't otherwise buy for myself.
I think I've gone on too long, so I'll finish with saying again how much I appreciate this site and the efforts people here make to keep this brand alive and encourage others to enjoy it also.
Cheers all, Jim.