Greetings!

Last weekend I saved a Beomaster 4400 from my fathers basement.  This machine has seen a lot of action - and then inaction - throughout it's lifetime and I am debating whether or not it's worth trying to save it.

It was purchased new by my father in the late seventies and he used it in conjunction with a B&) turntable (not sure the model but that might be my next rescue attempt if this goes well) and some Advent floor speakers.  All I know for sure is that Dad loved this and it broke on him a few times with "something" going out in one of the channels.  He had it repaired once and when the other channel went out the whole thing went to the basement...for the next 15+ years.

I nabbed it last weekend, something I should've done years and years ago.  It was covered in dust and mildew and it took a good couple hours to clean the rosewood finish and then workdown the beautiful control panel.  I don't have the cover for the FM presets (I noticed in my research this is a common question) but other than that things seem to be cosmetically pretty solild.

I fired it up just to see how it would take power - though I had no speakers or sources hooked up to it.  It powered on fine and I was able to see the FM tuner working it's magic.  At that point I wanted to quit while ahead as I know it's not impossible to do damage just by playing with it before fully knowing the status.  

So...

I've found someone in Louisville, KY that will take a look at it and they've worked on B&) items before (ones older than this) but he did mention it could get expensive.  So I suppose my question would be; is there anything I should play with before handing it over; and what amount of money would be "too much" to put into this?  At this point I should add that the style of this piece works perfectly with what my wife and I have in our home which tends to be mid-century modern Danish.

I am a poor solderer (though I've never had a real reason to practice) and while I've rewired plenty of home-wiring, I've never done anything more intricate than that. 

Sorry for the very long post - anyone have any thoughts?

In my view the best receiver made by B&O . I would definitely try to fix it - I would suggest getting the capacitor kit from Martin if you can solder and have a go.

If you feel this would be beyond you, I would be very tempted to get someone who really knows and loves B&O to fix it. It is worth sending it to another country if necessary!

First thing is, caps and lamps from Martin, and Martin can also recommend which presets to change, Rich on this forum get his items repaired in Atlanta i think, contact him if you do not want to do it yourself.

Søren Mexico:

First thing is, caps and lamps from Martin, and Martin can also recommend which presets to change, Rich on this forum get his items repaired in Atlanta i think, contact him if you do not want to do it yourself.

That would be Benny Amina of Modular Electronics.  Benny just fixed my BM4000 and I couldn't be more happy.  He currently has my BG4002.  He is the authorized repairer of B&O for the Atlanta store.  He is also considered a go-to guy for any high end brand in the Audiokarma forum.  He also retips the MMCx line of cartridges to essentially MMC4 specs for a $100 flat rate.

My BM4000 ended up needing new output transistors, all new capacitors, the stereo lamp, a new tuner section, and all new switches.  Total cost for the repair was $300. 

Peter:  is the preset cover the same for the BM4000 as the BM4400?  I did not send my preset cover to Benny for fear of losing it, and Benny gave me one for nothing.  So - I have a spare I might be talked into giving up....

durden:

.....some Advent floor speakers...... anyone have any thoughts?

Welcome to Beoworld.

My additional thought besides recommending Benny should you want a pro to fix it (see above):

Ix-nay on the Advent-ay.  You can find some Beovox speakers on Ebay from that era for about $100-$150.  There are a pair of S40s on ebay that need a refoam for $40 plus $40 shipping.  I think that's a great deal, and S40s are very simple to refurbish.  I've done a pair and love them.  But you may want something bigger for the BM4400.

Pretty sure the tuning covers are identical - certainly I swapped mine about. For the BM4400, you need some good speakers. Surprisingly, S45.2s will work but really you want either S75s or M75/M100 speakers. I run my 4401 with M100s.

Peter :

Surprisingly, S45.2s will work

I'd second that, Peter, although not so sure about the 'surprisingly'.  If your rooom is small, they are possibly a better bet. 

Another option, although not strictly contemporary, are the MC120.2/S120s.  Although this reduces the power available from the BM because of the nominal 8ohm impedence of the speakers, it is still at least 50 watts RMS per channel  and that is plenty enough power for the room I use them in.

Cleve

This is a lot of great information - thank you all.

I spent some time with the Modular Electronics website and it's clear they love B&O equipment! I'll either be using them or the local electronics store here in Louisville who I've done some additional research on and found they are very highly thought of and will let me know if something is beyond their skill level.  Another thing to consider is budget as I have a Beogram 4002 to play with as well and I'm intrigued with what Mod Electronics has to offer in those refurbs.

The Advents are long gone - however I do not have any B&O speakers. Currently I was going to be using them with some Sequence speakers that fit very nicely with the decor of the room. These would not be a permanent solution - but would allow me to spend more money on fixing the B&O items I already have on hand. Here is a link to the set I have: http://www.sequencedesign.co.uk/sonata/sonata300.htm