I stumbled into being interested in B&O because I need to build a new hi-fi. My marriage broke up, and my wife took the separates with her, leaving me with a little Aiwa midi system that really doesn't add up. I'm not a full-on audiophile, but I'm a musician, and I appreciate decent sound, so I decided to start buying some bits to put a system together. I thought I'd start with a turntable, so that I could at least hear my vinyl, even through the crappy system, and I stumbled on lots of beautiful old Beograms, and started really lusting after a tangential turntable. Now, I know the system I have right now won't get the best out of one, but the bigger question is, would I be able to use it at all? I have a phono in, and that's it. I'm also watching a Beocentre 4000 with a pair of S40's on ebay, and wondering whether that will accomodate a tangential turntable? I don't have any deepseated desire to control all these things centrally, and I guess I'm thinking in the medium term, I'll put together a Teac reference system with a turntable for downstairs, and perhaps a vintage B&O rig for upstairs, since there I'll be able to tolerate waiting while I figure out/restore things, whereas downstairs, I really just need decent music right now-ish. So, any problem connecting a Beogram 6006, for instance, either to the phonos of a regular system, or to a Beocentre 40000?

You will need a turntable with built in amp. Plug into aux.

SamWise72:

I'm also watching a Beocentre 4000 with a pair of S40's on ebay, and wondering whether that will accomodate a tangential turntable?

Hi,

There are actually two Beocenter 4000s - one from the 70s with a single cassette deck and one from the 80s with a double cassette deck.  Given the one you are looking at comes with S40s, I suspect it may be the earlier 70s version.  If so, this is a gem.   It was my first venture into vintage B&O three years ago. 

It has a wonderful amplifier, an excellent tuner and, if it's working, arguably one of the best B&O cassette decks.  I used mine with a (tangential) Beogram 4004 with an MMC20EN and it sounded very good indeed through a pair of S45.2s.  Later, I used it with a pair of S40s and it also sounded good.  Indeed, some very experienced and knowledgable people on this site think the S40s are the best two-way B&O speakers of them all. 

Here's a link to an early post of mine about my initial experiences with the BC4000

http://forum.beoworld.org/forums/t/26042.aspx

Cleve 

 

Yes, it's the 70's one, and somehow, I won it for £5.19! Given that it's apparently in full working order, that's a bit of a steal, and I suspect that even if it's not as good as described, I can't go wrong for that price.

 

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/170782449490?ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1439.l2649

It looks as if you have a real bargain. 

Reading the sales pitch, it even infers the two compartment lids are working pretty well.  (The push button releases and the hinges on these are notorious for breaking).  Check the S40s to see if they have foam rot (the grilles are a simple push fit), but even if they do, which is likely given their age,  there are refoaming kits on the market for 20 GBP or thereabouts. 

Now all you need is a BG 4002 or 4004!

Cleve  

 

Nice find! I would agree completely with Cleve that the Beogram to get is a 4000/4002/4004. The latter two will be slightly easier to maintain - it is worth getting a decent one that works rather than a non working cheap one as they are not completely straight forward to fix!

The Beocenter 4000 is a beauty. It is based on the Beomaster 2200 which is a fascinating design, owing a lot to the modular TV design of the time. It is joined up with what is effectively prototype wire and is largely hand assembled. The circuit design is very similar to the Beomaster 4400 - IMHO the best receiver B&O made - and it is a solidly made well designed unit - the tuning preset controls are the best B&O made with beautifully weighted gearing.

Problems - the cassette player is a simplified Beocord 5000 - a model whose very name will strike fear into any technician! It does however dispense with the twin capstan drive which actually makes the whole thing a lot simpler but I would tend to leave it alone if (and this is very likely) it doesn't work. Revel in the glorious radio and amplifier - and best of luck in finding the turntable.

My 4000 was also very cheap but was donated to Tim and Beocentral and I think is the one here!!

Slight downer is that I'll work a 9 hour day Thurs, then drive for 2 hours, wish my son a happy 4th birthday and tuck him into bed, and then drive again to Brighton, because the guy can't wait a few days for me to pick up. On the upside, the system sounds very promising for what is virtually no money. I'm also doing to want to hook a CD player into this, if I can; what are my options? Doesn't have to be B&O. I'm excited!

There  is a second tape input which can be used with a CD player, although it is a standard 5 pin DIN socket rather than the more commonly used RCA type phono connections.  You should be able to use virtually any CD player from any manufacturer although you will probably need a Phono to DIN adaptor.  A B&O CDX is a good match visually, although good ones sell for a far bit of money now - 120 - 150 GBP and even more if mint. 

Cleve

The seller has contacted me claiming he dropped the Beocenter, and now it doesn't work, so sadly he can't complete the sale. Given the price, I suspect shenanigans, so I told him it's worth my while just for the speakers, I might be able to repair it, so please give me the address and I'll collect. We'll see what he does.

SamWise72:

I suspect shenanigans,

You're probably right, sadly.

Cleve

I think the seller is disapointed in the selling price and this is the way he thinks you will cancel the sale. unsporty! If you still go to pick it up, remove the speaker frets and inspect the woofer on foam rot.  

 

He claimed everything works so try it

 

I have the BC4000 as well and stll looks great for a '70 piece

Yes, I think so too. I replied that I was happy to take it even damaged, and he has simply not responded to my message. Today he moves house, and said that it "needed to be gone by today", so I guess that's it. I opened a complaint about it with eBay.

Interesting. Today I heard back from the seller, expressing hurt that I'd misjudged him. He says he's taken the Beocenter to B&O Eastbourne, and is having it repaired at his own cost. He is moving abroad, and his parents will collect it in 2-3 weeks, whereupon I can still have it for the sale price. If he makes good on this, I will really have misjudged him. I feel bad that he would do this for something I was buying for a fiver, but I suppose that it's till possible that he was actually trying to con me, and the "moving abroad" thing is a ruse, and he's just making me wait for a Beocenter that's undamaged. I'm following a couple of alternatives, and if everything goes well, I might end up with different B&O systems in 3 rooms!