Hello, all.  I just inherited a beautiful Beocenter 9000 and a pair of Penta I speakers (bought new in 1989) in pristine condition and working perfectly.  Even the foam surrounds of the speakers is still good, surprisingly.

I'd like to try the Pentas out with my home theater receiver and would like to know how to hook them up?  I believe they currently connect to the Beocenter 9000 with a proprietary type of connector.

Also, if I decide to sell either the 9000 or the speakers, is there a market here in the US and what might they be worth?  Thanks for any info.

Regards,

Ray K.

Ray, welcome to Beoworld !

... a proprietary type of connector...
Nothing like that !
If they are passive speakers (with no built-in amplifier) they hook up using DIN, the only
worldwide connector for HiFi home-stereo speakers ever to be standardized, everything else
is proprietary or otherwise non-standard.
DIN plugs can be found on Ebay and many other places.

If they are active, they have a line-in (RCA-type, yes - that's also a standard) socket at the
bottom that you can use.
Remember to use a variable line out from your source or it will be at full throttle constantly.

Regarding eventual selling prices, I suggest you check Ebay.
There is sound interest in those items but as with everything else B&O, condition is everything.

Martin

Dillen:

Ray, welcome to Beoworld !

... a proprietary type of connector...
Nothing like that !
If they are passive speakers (with no built-in amplifier) they hook up using DIN, the only
worldwide connector for HiFi home-stereo speakers ever to be standardized, everything else
is proprietary or otherwise non-standard.
DIN plugs can be found on Ebay and many other places.

If they are active, they have a line-in (RCA-type, yes - that's also a standard) socket at the
bottom that you can use.
Remember to use a variable line out from your source or it will be at full throttle constantly.

Regarding eventual selling prices, I suggest you check Ebay.
There is sound interest in those items but as with everything else B&O, condition is everything.

Martin

Thanks, Martin.  These are  active speakers with the 150 watt internal amp so they do have a line in RCA input.  Can I just feed them with the normal speaker outputs from my Home Theater receiver that normally feed my left and right speakers or, must I feed them an RCA pre-amp output?  I have pre-amp outputs on my Onkyo amp but don't use them and am not sure if they are variable or fixed outputs.

You must use the pre-amp output.
(Never a speaker level into a line-in !)
And make sure it's variable or it will end up a terrific experience.
To test if it's variable, try connecting f.e. the record leads of a tapedeck
or the line-in from your PC audiocard and see if you can adjust the signal level
on the theater thingy.

Martin

Dillen:

You must use the pre-amp output.
(Never a speaker level into a line-in !)
And make sure it's variable or it will end up a terrific experience.
To test if it's variable, try connecting f.e. the record leads of a tapedeck
or the line-in from your PC audiocard and see if you can adjust the signal level
on the theater thingy.

Martin

Thanks, Martin.  I've checked the manual for the Pentas and there is also a terminal on the back entitled "Speaker Link" which has a 2-pin DIN socket.  The manual says this input can come from a receiver other than a Bang & Olefsen.  The technical spec for this input is that it will accept 11V/.15K Ohms and the manual gives instructions for setting the input level to one of three positions depending on whether the receiver is a 4 ohm or an 8 ohm.

Doesn't all this mean I should be able to connect the Pentas to the speaker outputs of my receiver with a cable I can fabricate with a DIN plug on one end and bare speaker wires on the other?  I'm thinking I should be able to do this as long as I keep the volume control on my 35 watt  receiver low enough to prevent overloading the Pentas?  Am I OK with this line of thought?

Yes, that will bypass the built in amplifiers.

The wattage is no problem for the speakers to handle.
What blows speakers is distortion. Keep the volume where the sound is clean
and you'll be safe. That's a general rule.

Martin

Dillen:

Yes, that will bypass the built in amplifiers.

 

Martin

The way the user manual is written, it looks like the "Speaker Link" input still goes through the 150 watt internal amp.  These speakers are currently hooked up through the Speaker link input to the output of a B&O BeoLab 9000 receiver at the 2 wire DIN connectors.  The 9000 is only 30 watts output and I'm sure the 150 watt internal speaker amps are being used as the sound is clear at very high volumes.