BeoGram

Re: Which is the BEST Beogram?

Piaf — Mon, 26 May 2008 23:02:50 GMT

Jhb,

I am NOT an expert on Beograms, the title of expert goes to Martin and Peter, however, If the light comes on in the sensor arm it is possible that the belt that moves the arms is broken. This is especially likely if you hear the motor running freely.

By the way, the Beogram 4004 is a wonderful turntable!

Jeff

Re: Which is the BEST Beogram?

Peter — Mon, 26 May 2008 14:32:51 GMT

Agree with that. One of the joys of this deck is how easy it is to take apart. The wooden surround slides forward and as it does so, it releases the top panels. Remove all that you can - the control panel is removable a different way but doesn't need to come out. Be careful of the stylus when doing this!

You can then see all the workings. There is a long screw that should be driven by a small belt which is around a small white plastic wheel. See if you can see it.

Re: Which is the BEST Beogram?

tournedos — Mon, 26 May 2008 14:06:55 GMT

There's no lock whatsoever for the arm nor its carriage (another reason why these decks don't travel to well). The three screws only lock the floating part of the chassis to the rest of the frame. Most probably the small belt from the servo motor to the worm gear pulley is worn / broken / missing.

Re: Which is the BEST Beogram?

jaybull — Mon, 26 May 2008 13:51:20 GMT

Jeff,

I've got a newbie question. A friend got a Beogram 4004 and couldn't get it to work - namely the turntable arm does not move forward when you press the button. The light lights up and you hear the motor, but the arm does not move.

Knowing nothing about these turntables, I immediately suspected that the arm had been locked for shipping. He got the manuals and it showed how to turn the 3 screws on the bottom to 'play'. I did that, but still no arm movement.

Is there another locking mechanism in place? If so, can you describe how to unlock after shipping?

thanks, jhb

Re: Which is the BEST Beogram?

Medogsfat — Tue, 06 May 2008 05:47:34 GMT

Nice inheritence

I wouldn't pay to much attention to the low usage as time itself will have had a detrimental affect on certain components. These are mainly the electrolytical capacitors & the tacho disc. If you're lucky yours will have the later metal tacho disc and not the early cellophane one which will undoubtedly need replacing soon if not now.

The good news is that member Dillen (Martin) can supply you with both a capacitor kit & a brand new metal tacho disc.

As for the cartridge, I would highly recommend a Soundsmith SMMC20EN. The cartridges supplied by these are absolutely fantastic soundwise if a little less refined looking than the origal B&O ones. Not cheap though but a far better bet than trying to buy a used B&O one which will be @ 20 years old in any case with no guarantees.

I imagine the wire you mention will be a ground wire and connection is easiest by buying a DIN/RCA converter lead. Most likely you will only be able to find a 5 pin DIN converter (the original B&O lead will be 7 pin) but pins 1 & 7 simply unscrew and will be fine as these pins only carry the datalink for remote control.

Chris.

Re: Which is the BEST Beogram?

cash11 — Sun, 04 May 2008 23:42:03 GMT

I was just given an 8000. It probably has less than 100 hrs as it was my fathers and he did not use much. It has been in storage for about 15 yrs. I have no cable and I want to hook it up to a modern US Denon amp w/ rca's. It has a power cord and a wire with bare wire at end, I assume this is the ground. Is this worth buying parts for? What is the best cartridge for the money for it?

Thanks,

Beginner

Re: Which is the BEST Beogram?

beoaus — Mon, 07 Apr 2008 01:10:26 GMT

Best sound in my setup was either the BG8002 - MMC2 or the BG6000 - MMC20CL Quad. I think I'll put some more effort into getting the BG4000 - MMC20CL running again, it's been neglected. Must admit nowdays the BG4500 - MMC2 (sounds lightweight) or the BG6000- MMC20CL Quad (lot more base) gets the most use because of convienance with their internal RIAA's, so they would be hard to let go. My BG1203 - SP12 get a lot of use on the BM3400 and it sounds great.

Beoaus.

Re: Which is the BEST Beogram?

Friedmett — Sun, 06 Apr 2008 08:01:51 GMT

So far I have had the BG1202, BG2000(80s) BG8000, BG8002 and BG60006.

The 1202 was my first and it always played well and sounded fine. Got a new original stylus for it too(SP14 I think). Despite not having any other B&O to connect it to its good for its age. Still got it but unused for some years now.

The 2000 replaced the 1202 for whatever reason and got a new original MMC4. Never any trouble, Always sounding good. Sold it 3 years later from the time of purchase.

The 8000 was a projekt which needed a tacho disc. This was before Dillen made a reproduktion. Never got running and scraped. Dillen got some parts of it.

The 8002 replaced the 8000. Dillen fixed it and it runs like new with a Soundsmith SMMC2. Vinyl sounds awesome!

The 6006 needs minor work, but comes with a nearly new original MMC20EN and I do have a NOS MMC20CL too so I'm looking a bit forward to hear it in action.

My Best vote must be either 8002 or 6006 but so far 8002 even though the radial trackers do sound good.

Re: Which is the BEST Beogram?

Piaf — Fri, 04 Apr 2008 20:53:17 GMT

The “when working properly” says a mouthful. My Beogram 4000 has had a checkered life with much damage in shipment. It took a monumental effort and the patience of Job to get it back in dependable working order. Replaced broken internal parts and COUNTLESS adjustments.

However just the other evening I played the same record on my Beogram 4004 with its NOS MMC 20CL cartridge and then the Beogram 4000 with one of my old cast-off MMC 20CL cartridges and the 4000 came out the winner. Incredible! The comparison says amazing things about these B&O cartridges as well as the build design of the 4000 turntable.

So to say the least it was all worth the effort.

Jeff

Re: Which is the BEST Beogram?

bambam — Fri, 04 Apr 2008 15:28:35 GMT

I haven't had the opportunity to listen to many B&) decks but from a pure form perspective the 4000 is the winner. Everyone that sees it is in awe of the styling! And they sound great (when working properly!)

Cheers

Re: Which is the BEST Beogram?

Piaf — Sun, 30 Mar 2008 20:29:04 GMT

This has been an enlightening discussion and I appreciate all the input.

While I love all my four Beograms, having been inside all four, I can’t help but be somewhat in awe of the Beogram 4000 which is built like Bang & Olufsen intended it to last forever, and which it well might.

The Beogram 4002/4004 has one improvement that I admire, the secured arm assembly which makes a huge difference in shipping. However, the cost cutting is clearly evident everywhere else…. starting with the omission of the useful strobe.

The Beogram 8000 is undoubtedly my least favorite in part, because I prefer the esthetic appearance of the 4000 series and seeing no benefit in hiding the two arms under an aluminum panel.

While I appreciate the lack of the belt drive, the LED speed monitor, the “turn” feature for cleaning a record, and even the double-play function, the cheapened construction takes away from my personal appreciation of the end product.

A good comparison can well be made with Rolls-Royce, who for 100 years proudly boasted that they made “The best motorcar in the world.” They didn’t. Ferraris were faster, the simple Ford was likely more dependable, Bugatti more stylish, and Mercedes-Benz was vastly better engineered however the way in which Crewe made their motorcars put them in a class by themselves… more like rolling art.

So it is with the Beogram 4000. The beautifully built high end Thorens is probably a technically superior turntable, but place one side by side with a Beogram 4000 and the Thorens will suffer from the comparison.

Jeff

Re: Which is the BEST Beogram?

Jandyt — Sun, 30 Mar 2008 13:55:30 GMT

Re: Which is the BEST Beogram?

Peter — Sun, 30 Mar 2008 13:35:13 GMT

Jandyt:
Peter :

the 4000 is my favourite B&O deck.
I'm shocked Peter. I thought your favourite would have been the Thorens 3000. No contest!
Andy T.

Actually I very carefully said B&O deck. The Beogram 3000 is a Thorens - it even has Thorens written on it!!

Re: Which is the BEST Beogram?

Jandyt — Sun, 30 Mar 2008 13:30:46 GMT

Peter :

the 4000 is my favourite B&O deck.

I'm shocked Peter. I thought your favourite would have been the Thorens 3000. No contest!

Andy T.

Re: Which is the BEST Beogram?

Flappo The Grate — Sun, 30 Mar 2008 12:20:57 GMT

they don't make em like they used to

i used to have a manticore mantra a long time ago , built like a tank

3-4 years ago got a project to replace it , build quality is terrible in comparison

i love the classic bno turntables , they exhude fine craftmanship and were technologically impressive in their day

bno - why can't you bring out a dvd/cd/blu ray player of that ilk ?