When I was in college in the late 70's, I purchased a Beogram 4004 and Beomaster 4400. I believe they cost me about 6 months of my income back then. I enjoyed them for about 4 years before they were stolen. Since then, whenever I see an old LP, I think back to my old system. I have owned many systems since then, but none ever had the character or presence that my old B&O system had.

Fast-forward 33 years. I recently have aquired a mint condition 4004 and a mint condition 4400 with the tuner preset cover intact. They both work, but I would like to get them "tuned up" before I put them to any serious use. I am assuming that all the components are original. Any advice?

Also, back in the 70's all I could afford were the 4004 and 4400 and did not purchase B&O speakers. I would like suggestions for some B&O speakers from that era that would have been good matches for the rest of the system.

Thanks for any advice and looking forward to hearing from all of my fellow B&O enthusiasts. I promise to post pics when everything is polished and set up.

Hello and welcome to Beoworld!

It's sad that you lost one of the greatest B&O systems ever made, though nice that you have found one again. 

For maintanance, there could be an ageing capacitor problem. As the components are getting older, they might get a bit out of spec and capacitors may be the worst sinners in these great products.

With the Beomaster, a general checkup is recommended. The output stage could benefit from new voltage regulators as these are particulary known to get bad and get the idle current for the output transistors wrong. This problem caused my own 4400 to fail. capacitors in the power supply and some in the line of signal could be checked with an ESR meter to check if they are in spec, replace those which are. At last, the 4400 could benefit from cleaning the faders on the front panel; A specialized "Fader-lube" is recommended for this, more info on site

As for the Beogram 4004, a common problem is bad speed regulators and flip-flop (33/45) relay. Another failure is known in the "needle set-down" system. A special air dampened cylinder is used to get the cartrigde in contact with the record in a safe and elegant manner. The grease would dry up and cause the system to not respond at all. A simple fix is to remove the old grease residue and put new acid-free oil instead. 

lots of info about these problems are on-site in the workbench forum.

As for the speaker choise, B&O made a couple for the Beomaster 4400. I have a pair of Beovox S-75's, they are very good. The bass can be "flappy", but i like that for classic rock music. The other models for the 4400 is the Beovox M-75 and M-100, based on a little different concept. You can read about them in the Beoworld product site and on Beocentral.com

-Søren Hammer

gcompton:

When I was in college in the late 70's, I purchased a Beogram 4004 and Beomaster 4400. I believe they cost me about 6 months of my income back then. I enjoyed them for about 4 years before they were stolen. Since then, whenever I see an old LP, I think back to my old system. I have owned many systems since then, but none ever had the character or presence that my old B&O system had.

Fast-forward 33 years. I recently have aquired a mint condition 4004 and a mint condition 4400 with the tuner preset cover intact. They both work, but I would like to get them "tuned up" before I put them to any serious use. I am assuming that all the components are original. Any advice?

Also, back in the 70's all I could afford were the 4004 and 4400 and did not purchase B&O speakers. I would like suggestions for some B&O speakers from that era that would have been good matches for the rest of the system.

Thanks for any advice and looking forward to hearing from all of my fellow B&O enthusiasts. I promise to post pics when everything is polished and set up.

Where are you located?  If you're in the USA, I can highly recommend a service person.

I am the proud owner of B&O's preceding system:  BM4000 and BG4002.  I have them hooked up to Beovox M70s.  I don't think I could be any happier.

Which cartridge are you running?

Hey Rich, thanks for replying. I'm running a MMC4000 cartridge. The 4400 has been checked out and everything is within specs, but the stereo meter works sometimes and sometimes it doesn't. My 4004 is what I want to get checked out throughly. Yes I am in the US. I about as far in the US as you can get, Topeka, Kansas. Who do you recommend?

Benny Amina of Modular Electronics fixed my BM4000 and BG4002 in the past few months.  Check out his web site - he has some BG400x restoration estimates on there.  Send him an email to get the ball rolling if you decide to send him the table.  He's outside Atlanta.

You aren't alone in your recommendation of Benny Amina. I've heard from several other stateside B&O enthusiasts and they all seem universal in their praise of Modular Electronics' work. Like I said before, the 4004 seems to work fine, but it's over 30 years old and I remember how I felt when I hit that age. I just want to have worry-free listening for a few years. I'll send Benny an email and go from there. Now I just need to find some era correct speakers...

I think Peter runs Beovox Pentas with his BM4400 (or is it the ever elusive BM4401?), though that's not exactly "era correct," methinks.

One can never go wrong with a pair of S45-2s.  There is almost always a pair for sale on Ebay, albeit without stands.

But you probably want something bigger....

I actually use M100s withe the 4401. The Beolab Pentas work with my BC2. M100s are the best match for the 4400 - I agree that S75s are good if a little bass happy. The M100s have much better bass control - on a test, they simply have more detail in the bass line that any B&O speaker I have heard bar Beolab 5s.

S45.2s are a perfectly sensible suggestion and are wonderful, if a bit bass light.

I certainly hope the following won't get me thrown out of the B&O club, but during the late 70's and early 80's after I purchased my BM4400 and BG4004, I lusted after a pair of Magneplanar Magnaplan IIIa speakers. At the time, I thought their styling and quality complemented my B&O system. In the 80's they cost $2500.00 a pair. Sadly, my system was stolen before I was able to complete my "dream" system. In the last 2 weeks, I have purchased a mint BG4004 and a mint condition BM4400. Today, I stumbled across a pair of IIIa's in of all places, here in the middle of Kansas USA. I honestly believe fate has led me to all of these finds. As soon as I get everything cleaned up and tuned up, I will sit back and live those years I missed out on. I have gray hair and my joints ache, but I still get that "tingle" as I'm rebuilding my system. I will probably still purchase some era-correct B&O speakers to complete my "ambio" experience and to augment the bass that the "Maggies" lack. Pictures will surely follow when everything is set up.

Gene, that sounds awesome.

I think you should go for it. I don't think you will get kicked out of here anytime soon, I've been mixing and matching for a while now and I'm still around!!

Looking forward to seeing the setup.

Just a thought.... I constantly see vintage B&O equipment for sale on the Internet. When my system was stolen in the 80's after 5 years of use, you could have taken the BG4004 and the BM4400 and put them on display in any high-end audio store and sold them as "new".  I didn't do anything special, I just used common sense and took care of them. The B&O equipment I see for sale on eBay and other sites makes me want to cry. Almost  new systems are dented, scuffed and look like they've been abused. My only thoughts are they must have been owned by some spoiled brats who didn't understand what they had. They just knew it was supposed to be the best. There is no reason why the aluminum panels should have dents or the wooden veneers should have coffee cup stains on them. Why should a door or lid be "missing"?

It baffles me. Just like some people shouldn't have children they will abuse, some people shouldn't be allowed to have electronic artwork they will abuse. I guess this seems like just some angry rant, but I cringe when I see abused children, spouses, pets and now B&O equipment.

I've always had similar thoughts. Why is it so hard for people to treat their equipment and other property with respect? 

My equipment lives an easy life and as a result all of it looks like I just unboxed it. It isn't hard to do at all.

This pretty much goes for all equipment I see. I'm even more picky about cars... A rant for sure! 

Gene:

There is no reason why the aluminum panels should have dents or the wooden veneers should have coffee cup stains on them. Why should a door or lid be "missing"?

Oh, I don't know.  Sometimes life just happens.  I remember dropping my entire CD collection on my RX 2 about 20 years ago.  (It wasn't even scratched!)

Then again, I have yelled at people for using speakers as end tables, or turntable dust covers as CD case stands.

What really gets me, though, are half-hearted and fully-stupid repair attempts.  Witness my second pair of M70s as I received them.  I can't imagine ever thinking, "Hey, my M70 frets won't stay on.  Maybe I should put a drywall screw through them all the way into the speaker baffle.  Yeah, that'll work, and it's a good idea."

 

 

Gene:

I certainly hope the following won't get me thrown out of the B&O club, but during the late 70's and early 80's after I purchased my BM4400 and BG4004, I lusted after a pair of Magneplanar Magnaplan IIIa speakers.

I've always wanted a pair of Maggies.

The single greatest pair of loudspeakers I ever listened to was a pair of Dahlquist DQ-10s back in the summer of '87.  Instead of buying the speakers, I bought the Nikko Beta 20 preamplifier and Phase Linear 400 power amplifier the guy was also selling.  I wish college-age Rich had the disposable income middle-age Rich has.  Of course, middle-age Rich also has a wife and kids and so spends money a little less easily than college-age Rich.

Still waiting on pictures....

Here are the long awaited pics with the Maggies. The cords still need to be organized, but as you can see, the record's spinnin' and I'm listenin'.

Also, just purchased a MINT, I MEAN MINT 3300 system. Beomaster 3300, Beogram CD3300, Beocord 3300, Terminal 3300 and wall bracket all for $199.00 USD!!! I'll put this in the wife's hobby room as soon as I score some speakers.

Rock and roll, man, very nice!  Looks like you got a space reserved there for a CD X and a component to be named later!

That looks like an awesome setup!

Enjoy sir, enjoy!!

Rich:

I've always wanted a pair of Maggies.

These are listed for $200 bucks on Craigslist here locally. Should college age Evan spend his turntable money?

I also have my eye on some Altec / Lansing / EV Voice of the Theater  boxes with horns Both would be pretty hard to hide from the parents!!

Save your turntable money and use your retirement fund or rent money for the Maggies. Make sure you listen to them first, because a trip to Magnepan will cost about a thousand to get them reworked. Even then, it is still a deal. I love mine.

Evan:

Rich:

I've always wanted a pair of Maggies.

These are listed for $200 bucks on Craigslist here locally. Should college age Evan spend his turntable money?

I also have my eye on some Altec / Lansing / EV Voice of the Theater  boxes with horns Both would be pretty hard to hide from the parents!!

As long as you can say in the end, "It was gorgeousness and gorgeousity O my brothers!", does it really matter where your hi-fi budget goes? 

In all seriousness, do you see yourself collecting vinyl records EVER in the future?  Do you have a friendly local used record store (FLURS)?  If you can't answer both questions with "Yes" with 95% confidence, then don't buy a turntable.  With apologies to Eugene:  even if it completes the set.

If it were me, I'd get the Maggies, if I had the room to set them up in.  Unbelievable 3D soundstage with acoustic music, in the right room.  Never heard them with electric rock and roll (which is what I primarily listen to).

Gene:

Save your turntable money and use your retirement fund or rent money for the Maggies. Make sure you listen to them first, because a trip to Magnepan will cost about a thousand to get them reworked. Even then, it is still a deal. I love mine.

Good advice:  save your turntable money for a turntable and steal money from another part of your budget for the Maggies!

Rich:

As long as you can say in the end, "It was gorgeousness and gorgeousity O my brothers!", does it really matter where your hi-fi budget goes? 

In all seriousness, do you see yourself collecting vinyl records EVER in the future?  Do you have a friendly local used record store (FLURS)?  If you can't answer both questions with "Yes" with 95% confidence, then don't buy a turntable.  With apologies to Eugene:  even if it completes the set.

If it were me, I'd get the Maggies, if I had the room to set them up in.  Unbelievable 3D soundstage with acoustic music, in the right room.  Never heard them with electric rock and roll (which is what I primarily listen to).

I have always wanted a huge tangible music collection. I prefer CDs for purposes of ripping and convenience, etc. But with the way my interest in audio has been going in the past few years, I'm pretty sure I will end up collecting vinyl too! There is a music shop right on campus and at least one other on High street that I know of. So vinyl supply is good

As far as tables go I have a few picked out. The only B&O table I am really interested in is the 1202. Apart from that, I have discovered the Music Hall company and their MMF series, although I seriously doubt I'd fork out that kind of cash.

Regarding the maggies:
Problem 1) The ones for sale are pretty hard on my eyes. I think that particular pair is a bit too vintage for me. There's a pair of MG-C1s available for roughly twice the price..

Problem 2) Space - There simply isn't any! With the location these would be put into, there would be absolutely no room for my BeoVoxen. And  even more problematic, they would be operating in a space that is roughly 9' x 18'. I'm sure there would be no lack of bass!

Not problem 1) Budget - I am about to toss all of my 5.1 kit (good bye!!!!) onto craigslist so the dollars should even out.

Evan:

Rich:

As long as you can say in the end, "It was gorgeousness and gorgeousity O my brothers!", does it really matter where your hi-fi budget goes? 

In all seriousness, do you see yourself collecting vinyl records EVER in the future?  Do you have a friendly local used record store (FLURS)?  If you can't answer both questions with "Yes" with 95% confidence, then don't buy a turntable.  With apologies to Eugene:  even if it completes the set.

If it were me, I'd get the Maggies, if I had the room to set them up in.  Unbelievable 3D soundstage with acoustic music, in the right room.  Never heard them with electric rock and roll (which is what I primarily listen to).

 

I have always wanted a huge tangible music collection. I prefer CDs for purposes of ripping and convenience, etc. But with the way my interest in audio has been going in the past few years, I'm pretty sure I will end up collecting vinyl too! There is a music shop right on campus and at least one other on High street that I know of. So vinyl supply is good

As far as tables go I have a few picked out. The only B&O table I am really interested in is the 1202. Apart from that, I have discovered the Music Hall company and their MMF series, although I seriously doubt I'd fork out that kind of cash.

Regarding the maggies:
Problem 1) The ones for sale are pretty hard on my eyes. I think that particular pair is a bit too vintage for me. There's a pair of MG-C1s available for roughly twice the price..

Problem 2) Space - There simply isn't any! With the location these would be put into, there would be absolutely no room for my BeoVoxen. And  even more problematic, they would be operating in a space that is roughly 9' x 18'. I'm sure there would be no lack of bass!

Not problem 1) Budget - I am about to toss all of my 5.1 kit (good bye!!!!) onto craigslist so the dollars should even out.

CD's are out, dude! I prefer cassette tapes recorded on my Beocord 8004's and 9000's!

The Beogram 1202 is also a stunning piece, I would also like one, but the budget is rather small because most of my money goes to keeping my tangentials working to their best

Well Soren, just thought I would let you know I bought a new CD a few days ago

Hey, at least it's a spinning disc Close enough!

Still waiting for mine to arrive