I just wanted to post a quick thank you to those of you who helped me decide what to do with my recent purchase of a beautiful Beogram 5000 turntable.
A few months ago I picked up this beauty off ebay and it arrived with a bent tonearm and the unexpected DIN connectors. I had originally wanted to have the DIN cable replaced entirely with an RCA lead. Thankfully, you talked me out of it!  It would have added an unnecessary expense and would have devalued the deck.

I took it in to B&O here in Toronto (Ross & his team are great) and had them fix the tonearm and service the rest of the machine.  It took a long time for this to get done, but I didn't really mind as I had an excellent condition Beogram RX to keep me company.

While waiting for it to be fixed I ordered the DIN / RCA cable from Steve at Sounds Heavenly. It arrived quickly, wasn't too expensive, and appears to be very well made.  I'm so glad I didn't have to buy a Radio Shack quality converter! 

I just hooked up the 5000 last night and it works and sounds perfect!  I don't notice much of a sonic difference between it and my older RX when playing music, but the 5000 does play louder and has notably less rumble.  I wish I could listen to both decks back-to-back, but I'm not that much of an audiophile.  The 5000 sounds fantastic!

I'm very happy with the deck, the treatment I received here, and the service at B&O Toronto . . .

Pics below:

Cheers,

mike s

Seems like a very pretty example - glad you got everything sorted. Enjoy!

Yes, this one looks beautiful. Well done!

Lovely deck. I remember swapping mine for a 5005, which wasn't nearly as nicely made.

Am I correct in thinking it's one of the more relatively rare B&O decks? 

Other than here, it was nearly impossible to find out anything about it online.  Even here on Beoworld, I've seen it seldomly mentioned . . . 

mike

Agreed! It's very pretty!  The dustcover does't have a scratch on it, which I find remarkable.  Sadly, it doesn't sit quite flush when closed, it's just the slightest bit warped and sits about a milimetre off on the left side, but it's really not noticeable.

mike s

It was the original deck for the 5000 system. The system was released as Beomaster, Beocord and Beogram. I remember going to the launch by my dealer - there was a very large audience and many systems were sold. The CD50 was promised to arrive soon but in fact took some considerable time! Beocentral have a nice write up, and as usual, excellent pictures. Despite this being a radial deck compared to the tangential 5005, quite a few of us would regard the 5000 as the superior record player. It is very similar to the other deck you have - I would suggest the other needs some attention!

Wow. That's excellent! Thank you so much for the extra info & history!  Both of these sites are indespensible!

Are you sure it is warped it might just need adjusting - two small screws at the rear of the lid. Carefully tighten up corrisponding screw and the lid should clamp down.

I am glad a main dealer sorted it for you. Did they bend the tonearm back and can you tell it was bent?

FWIW, I bought a 5005 to replace a 5000... and now I no longer have the 5005! The 5000 is wonderful. Enjoy!

The bend at the tonearm was at the counter-weight, a common problem with these decks I take it.  But no, you can't tell now.  They did a tremendous job! 

They also tried to fix the slight warp on the cover, but to no avail.  It's only perceptible when the deck is playing and the inner light is on.  I find the slight warp quite curious considering the excellent state of the machine, cosmetically.  It's but a minor annoyance, but will probably affect resale value if I ever considered selling it. . .

mike

It is!  I had the RX for about 10 years, but always envied the looks of the more modern & mid / upper level turntables.  I think I'll stick with my 5000 unless I find myself with the extra few hundred to blow on the best BeoGram I can find.  I don't honestly see that happening though, so I think I'll be happy with this!

mike

Michael Steeves:

They also tried to fix the slight warp on the cover, but to no avail.

Deep inside BeoWorld -I seem to recall a conversation on the warping of the dustcovers on these! This would cause a splaying like you are describing. I have done some cursory searches, but no luck. Anyone else?

++++EDIT++++ 

Found... though regarding the 6500 and the 7000 -my 5000 does have some sag and they are all so similar!

Ah ok so the last section had worked loose... The reason I mentioned the adjustments is that your dustcover doesn't look like it has the typical sag from your photos...?

Step1:

Ah ok so the last section had worked loose... The reason I mentioned the adjustments is that your dustcover doesn't look like it has the typical sag from your photos...?

No, it doesn't have the sagging problem, it's just lifted a slight bit at the front left corner.  It's a bit noticeable in the picture.  It doesn't bug me too much though.

mike

It does sound as if there isn't quite enough friction in the hinge to keep the lid flat - adjustment of which is achieved by altering the two upper screws at the rear of the cover. I would get a good fitting screwdriver and tighten the left screw by quarter turn each time, sit lid down and see if there is any noticable difference. Nothing to lose :)

Sorry Micheal having thought about things I wasn't thinking about your lid being different than the other types so I do not think your lid will have such adjustment - might be worth downloading manual and having a flick through...

Sorry about that :(

I can't really make it out from the picture, but there is supposed to be a gap of about 1 mm all around. Are you perhaps just missing the bumper at the front right corner? The lid is so flimsy that I suppose it would just warp with time in that case, just like the rear edge sag develops if anything at all is kept on top of the deck.

tournedos:

... just like the rear edge sag develops if anything at all is kept on top of the deck.

The famous B&O flowerpot sag on these turntables.