Hi everybody,

I am new in the B&O world I am very enthusiastic with the brand. My mother in law just gave me a Beomaster 8000 with a Beogram 8000 (She had them in the basemen for 10 years) with no speakers. I already sent them to servicing since they have not sound and no cartridge. Looking and reasing for a good speakers for this receiver I found a pair of Pentas II and I am wondering how tyo connect the BM8000 to this Active Speakers. If anybody has suggestions please let me know. Thanks in advance for advices and responses.

Best regards,

Juan

If you wanted to connect the Beomaster 8000 to the Penta then you would take the speaker output of the amp into the speaker level input of the Pentas. However, you have 4 very decent and capable amplifiers there and it would seem pointless to use them in this configeration. Not to mention the fact that the displays on the labs will be redundant!

If you like these later speakers I would personally drive Beovox Pentas or RL140's off the 8000, or the earlier, larger uniphase M series speakers if you wish everything to remain true to age?

Hi,

Thanks for your answer and your advices. Actually, when I was looking for decent speakers for the BM8000 I wanted Pentas I, but I found Pentas II for a good deal, so I bought them. I know that I am wasting the amps of the Pentas with this configuration but it is what I have for now. What more suggestions are there?

Thanks. Regards,

Juan

Well as far as I can see that is it really. Talk to Soundsheavinly for leads it is unfortunate there is not a preamp output from the 8000 as that would IMO be a preferable way of achieving the connection. But like I said why not sell your PentaII's and get some Vox pentas which I am willing to bet could potenitally sound marginally better than your current combination going through two amps - I know low levels are involved but it is still a lot of unescesary signal path and potential distortion from a source not originally designed to drive signal level loads!

As an example I personally think my Pentas sound slightly better driven directly from my Yamaha amp than they do driven from the preamp out of my Beomaster 5500 using the penta amps. This is akin to you doing the same with your 8000 as the 5500 preamp out is basically the amp output through some resistors! (not quite, the 5500 amp is not in the same league as the 8000!) I hope to better the yamaha by using powerlink with a 6500 and just perhaps my master 5500 would benefit from a recap (I would controversially bet against!) but who knows?

It would be nice to see someone else's opinion but I think everyone must be too busy christmas shopping - oh cricky that reminds me

I think we are missing a big detail here..

Can't the Labs be bypassed so the Pentas are driven directly by the BM8000? I wouldn't bother with finding a different pair of speakers or attenuating cables, just drive the Pentas regularly.

I'm not familiar with the cabinet structure of the Penta so I may be wrong here, but can't the Pentagonal foot be taken off the amp and placed onto the speaker itself? If so - I'd go this route and save the amps for later.

Congrats on your purchase Juan!!!

Hi Evan I was going to suggest this but it still seems a waste really.. I dunno would he be better stripping and selling parts or sell the speakers whole and get some vox's with change to spare for a CDX or other nice addition?

I would first try to connect the Penta's you have now as a BeoVox, so bypass the amp of the Penta. In that way you know if you like the sound of the setup. After that you can make your choise.

Many many years ago I have actually made a modification to my BM8000. I have changed the pre-outputs so they were between the pre-amp and the amplifier, so I could use an Onkyo Dolby Surround decoder with the volume control of the BeoMaster 8000. I think this could also be used in your situation, but in that case it is a shame that the amplifieres of the BeoMaster 8000 are not used anymore. Maybe a pair of Red Line 140 would be a good combination with the 8000?

If I were a new member and came to ask this question, I'd be wondering why people won't just let me use my kit!

This is of course because you have a pair of very respectable active speakers, and arguably the best amp B&O ever made, so it is a bit of a shame to leave any of that unused... The most sensible thing would be to remove/bypass the Penta amps, as the BM8000 probably also sounded better when it was new - but it is also more likely to suffer from aging now.

But really, my advice is to just get a pair of 2-pin DIN speaker cables, switch the "input level" control on the Pentas to one stripe, input select to auto, be done with it, and play some music

Hi everybody,

Thanks for your answers and advices. All your posts are great information and help to me. Really I do not want to stripping the Pentas and taking out the amp Beolab 150. Reading the post of Blackrix I was wondering if I can make a modification in the BM8000 to obtain a pre-amp output without interferring the original amps. Therefore, I can use the Pentas II with the "line in" RCA and buy another pair of speakers to use the amps of the BM8000.

What do you think? Is this possible?

Thanks

Juan

It has been done........

Blackrix:

It has been done........

How can I do this?  

I don't understand mate, it is far easier to bypass the penta amp than to tamper with your 8000 and as suggested above the 8000 will potentially give better results - I squeezed a small speaker wire between penta column and amp out the back then terminated with a DIn plug. Worked a charm until I could haul the amps upstairs for an overhaul :)

You have to create an output before the amplifiers in the BeoMaster. You can split the audio-output from the pre-amp in the BeoMaster so you can use both the amplifiers of the BeoMaster for passive speakers and the amplifiers of the Penta's. To make it work the BeoMaster needs to be opened!

Over the years this question has been asked before, and the answer is always the same: why?

Why would you want to power your speakers with the inferior Lab 150 amps when you have an equally as powerful, and to my mind superior-sounding, amp in the Beomaster 8000? The 8000 was the finest amp B&O ever made, yet in the set up you're talking about you are bypassing it completely and using the 150s instead? You might as well ditch the 8000 and get something else to sit on the sideboard to light up and draw power, because in this situation it is redundant.

Some research before you bought the Penta IIs would have told you that they were active and not really suitable to run with the Beomaster 8000. I have owned my 8000 for several years and run it with Beovox Pentas, and the sound is second-to-none. Your choice really is either to ditch the Lab150 amps and run the Pentas direct from the 8000, or ditch the 8000 and get something later in the B&O line that will work properly with the active speakers and give you the display readouts etc. Otherwise, you're just going to end up with a fudged and sub-optimal set up, and surely that runs counter to the whole purpose of buying B&O products in the first place...

Thanks for your opinions. The idea of taking out a pre-amp output from the BM8000 is to take advantage of the Beolab 150 of the Pentas II, and find a Beovox Pentas or a pair of Beovox of 120w to use with the amps of the BM8000. I will apreciate your opinions about this set-up.

If I connect the speaker cable (2 DIN) from the BM8000 to the speaker link of the Pentas II, am I by passing the Beolab 150 of the Pentas?

Thanks

Juan

JuanPC:

Thanks for your opinions. The idea of taking out a pre-amp output from the BM8000 is to take advantage of the Beolab 150 of the Pentas II, and find a Beovox Pentas or a pair of Beovox of 120w to use with the amps of the BM8000. I will apreciate your opinions about this set-up.

There is no advantage to using the 150s! Why waste time perservering with this sub-optimal solution?

JuanPC:

If I connect the speaker cable (2 DIN) from the BM8000 to the speaker link of the Pentas II, am I by passing the Beolab 150 of the Pentas?

From memory, no. To bypass the 150s you would need to connect the 2 pin DIN speaker cables directly from the outputs on the 8000 to the binding posts that connect the Pentas to the 150 amps underneath. Should be straightforward as others have already suggested. You could then enjoy the 8000 amp powering what are effectively Beovox Pentas, whilst you source some suitable alternatives. I would suggest Beovox 5000 panel speakers as a good solution, though RL140s would also be suitable.

HI FRIENDS,

I AM THINKING IN CONNECTING THE PENTAS (BYPASSING THE BEOLAB 150) DIRECTLY TO THE BM8000 AS YOU SUGESTED. HOWEVER, SOMEBODY TOLD ME THAT I CAN USE THE RCAs OUTPUT FROM THE TAPE 2 AS A PRE-AMP OUTPUT TO CONNECT THE PENTAS DIRECTLY TO THE RCA LINE IN. HE TOLD ME THAT THIS OUT CAN BE USED A PRE-AMP OUTPUT. IS THIS THRU? CAN I DO THIS WITHOUT AFFECTING THE BM8000 AND QUALITY? THANKS FOR YOUR OPINIONS 

BEST REGARDS,

JUAN

If you want to blow your ears (and possibly speakers) to kingdom come then by all means give it a go

If you use the Tape 2 output you will have no volume control, just maximum volume. I don't know what will give first, the Penta amplifier, the speakerunits or your ears. So the advise that was given to you is not a very good one, to say it mildly!

THANKS. I GOT IT. SO THIS OUTPUT IS NOT VARIABLE. RIGHT? 

Yes, it is not variable. So by doing this it will at least give a lot of volume, probably only for a short while.....

Take out the Lab 150 amps & displays & sell them on ebay. This will give you a pair of passive penta's making best use of your set up & you will probably also get more money for these than you paid for the entire speakers in the first place.

Chris.

Hey everybody,

Right now I am using the Pentas alone (BM8000 is under re cap) with my computer and the RCA line in, but I have an issue. I do not why the volume decreases surprisingly and I can not recover the original volume. Sometime when I turn on the Pentas they work find, but later the volume decreases. Please help. What I am doing wrong.

Thanks,

Juan

Are the amps going into standby due to too low signal level? (red LED?) If they are try increasing input level in the flap and check your laptop volume is adequate...?