Dear all,

I recently purchased a Beomaster 5000 with Master Control Panel 5000, and the matching Beogram 5005. The sale was private and through eBay.
I'm very happy with the Beomaster. It has brought a new lease of life to my Beogram CD 3500 and Celestion Ditton 44s I've married to it.

My concern sits with the Beogram - it's generally in good condition. Signs of age rather than wear and tear. It's fitted with an MMC4 cartridge.

I've connected it to the Beomaster via the original 7pin datalink cable and have used the Phono socket (I understand this player is not fitted with a pre-amp stage).When I play an LP the sound which results is dreadful. Distorted, in both channels.
The tonearm tracks the record without incident. All the movement features of the player appear to work correctly. The speed adjustment appears to be good.

I've raised the height of the platter by turning in the 3 adjusting screws underneath. It sits at the recommended height.

From what I've described, can anyone tell me what the problem is likely to be? Is it time to dig deep and replace the MMC 4 or does it appear to be a problem with amplification?

Many thanks for your time.

You have released the transport screws from underneath the turntable, haven't you?

There's a small chance that somebody has retrofitted a RIAA amp in the Beogram. That is easy to check - just connect it to some other (line level) input on the Beomaster. If the sound is fine then, problem solved. But I suppose the seller would've informed you about such a thing.

However, I suspect the culprit is the cartridge, especially if you have already tried altering the tracking force. Take a close look at how the stylus exits the small circular opening in the body of the cartridge. It should exit the opening at dead center, straight and not leaning to any side, and definitely not touch the body of the cartridge.

Hi there - thanks for the fast response.

Yes I've unfastened the transport screws. No problem there.
I just unplugged the din from the Phono socket and tried it in Tape 1, then Tape 2. No sound from the playing record. I guess no alterations have been carried out on the original design.

I took a close look at the MMC 4. Looks fine, as in everything you suggest I check appears to be good and proper. The stylus sits nicely in the center of the head of the cartridge, it's free from dirt and looks to be in good shape. I've no idea what a 'good' stylus tip actually looks like though, so I've no way of telling if it's worn out. I guess it is. If one of you fine and passionate enthusiasts can concur that a knackered stylus will produce a distorted sound I'll go with that.

Any further thoughts? I really do appreciate your efforts.

Check also when playing a record that the MMC4 head runs free of the record, only the stylus is to touch the record, a MMC2 of mine played well for 2 LPs and efter that the suspention gave in and the head was touching the record, awfull sound.

Hi Soren,

Thanks - I've had a good look and the stylus is certainly the only thing in contact with the record as it turns.

The pictures below show the tonearm, cartridge and stylus in action.

I strongly suspect that the stylus is knackered (technical term!).

I have lost count of the number of decks that I have bought that had stylii that looked good but sounded awful.

Send it of to http://www.schallplattennadeln.de/  and get it refurbed and it will sound wonderful again.

While it is 90% certain to be the cartridge maybe worth plugging into another phono input on a different amp? Just a thought really!

Graham and Olly, thanks to you both. Good suggestions.

I can try another amp here - no problem. As for sending the cartridge off, as you suggested Graham, I'm sadly an idle Brit with rather limited multi-lingual ability. Have you used the re-pointing service before, as advertised on your recommended website? If so do they quote a price for a refurb upon enquiry or do you know roughly how much a refurb is likely to cost?

If you want an exact price I suggest you email Axel Shuerholz at info@schallplattennadeln.de

He understands and will reply in perfect English! Expect to pay around 90 Euros

I'm a used B&O reseller so I get mine done in quantity. I can recommend.

Nice one thanks Graham. I was just checking out a new SMMC 4 from Soundsmith. $149.99 + $35 shipping to the UK. I'll see what Alex says.

Cheers

Julian

pepps:

Nice one thanks Graham. I was just checking out a new SMMC 4 from Soundsmith. $149.99 + $35 shipping to the UK. I'll see what Alex says.

Cheers

Julian

Plus import duty which will be collected by the courier when he rings your door bell!!

Axel is within the EU so no import duty. He will charge you German VAT (19%) or sales tax, however.

Good point - ok I've emailed Alex. I'll keep this post updated with the outcome - may help others along the way.

Thanks once more for your help everyone.

Julian

If you test the Beogram 5005 on the Tape input, you must remove the two datalink
pins in the DIN plug on the Beograms cable.
If you don't, the Beomaster will stop the Beogram when you press Tape on the Beomaster
and switch to the Phono input (which is empty) when you press start on the Beogram.
In both cases, the result will be silence.

Martin

Thanks Martin,

I've sent the cartridge off to Axel - hopefully the refurb'll sort me out good'n'proper.

Update: I sent my MMC4 off to Axel. He fixed it and sent it back. I unpackaged it and excitedly attached it to my 5005. Placed a little Mozart on the platter and hit go.

It sounded dreadful. I was gutted.

Then I clicked back the stylus protector thingy and played the record again.

It sounds just perfect!

I'm still kicking myself for not setting it up properly...anyway it's all good in the hood and for the best price on the web. Recommended.

Congratulations!  And another thumbs up for Axel. 

In the States here, I'm a satisfied customer of Bennie who couldn't fix my MMC4 but sold me a retipped one he had on hand for the same price he would have charged me if I had supplied a cartridge he could fix.  (Did that make sense?)

Rich:

Congratulations!  And another thumbs up for Axel. 

In the States here, I'm a satisfied customer of Bennie who couldn't fix my MMC4 but sold me a retipped one he had on hand for the same price he would have charged me if I had supplied a cartridge he could fix.  (Did that make sense?)

Only if Bennie got the virus